Crash

David Cronenberg’s Crash is a study of incredibly sick people who share a mutual fetish involving sex and car crashes, which means that it’s also one of the most disturbing films ever made. Even after seventeen years, the film has lost none of its potency. I’ve been writing on the subject of film for a very long time. As a result, I like to think that I am fairly thick-skinned as far as adult content is concerned. In all of that time, one film has consistently given me the creeps no matter how many times that I see it. That film is Crash. Each time that I have watched this film, I keep asking myself, “Why? Why are you watching this? How is this film going to benefit you in any way, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually?” These are all valid questions, and my answer to each one of them is this: “I have no idea.” Crash is a somewhat provocative and intellectual film, which explores some interesting – if entirely troubling – ideas. In many ways, Crash is typical Cronenberg in the way that the film explores the effects that car crashes have on the human body. If you are familiar with Cronenberg’s work, you will note that he is quite preoccupied with the functions of the human body – in this case, the American obsession with vehicles and the extreme sexual implications of that obsession. In the film, a man named James Ballard (James Spader) is drawn into an underground club of fetishists who derive sexual pleasure from viewing, and being part of, violent car crashes. The leader of the group is a horribly scarred man named Vaughn (Elias Koteas, in one of his best performances), who regularly stages re-enactments of celebrity car crashes, and whose philosophy is deeply rooted in the “reshaping of the human body by modern technology”. One of his followers, a woman named Gabrielle, is clad in a full body brace which nearly renders her immobile and in constant need of assistance – in effect, the physical manifestation of Vaughn’s twisted delusions. Both James and his wife, Catherine, spend most of their days carrying out sexual exploits with other partners, only to come home and reveal the graphic details to one another. Right from the start, we see that their relationship is a bit on the unorthodox side, and so it is not entirely absurd that these two people would fall into a cult such as this one. Thankfully, the film never offers any easy answers to ease the audience. We are thrown into the pit along with these morally repugnant individuals to watch their sick fantasies play out. Those looking for the “point” of it all will be sorely disappointed. This is a film about the nature of obsession and unexplainable desire, and there are no pat or contrived explanations to be found. The sex scenes within the film are graphic and unsettling, as these people come together simply as a means to an end. The sex within the film is devoid of emotion and, more often than not, unapologetically shocking. Crash earns its NC-17 rating and then some. With this being said, these scenes sit comfortably within the context of the film, pulling us even further into the dreary, rain-drenched world of flesh, metal, and steel that Cronenberg has created.  Crash is a noteworthy film. However, whether or not you should choose to subject yourself to this sort of material is entirely up to you.

Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg has always been pushing the boundaries of cinema since his first feature Shivers (1975), which labeled him “The King of Body Horror.” Cronenberg started out as one of the most impressive genre directors of the 1970s and early 1980s with titles such as The Brood (1979) and Videodrome (1983) that featured provocative imagery along with themes of the fear of the human body and with social commentary on either psychology in The Brood to technology in Scanners (1981) or the media’s control over our own perception of reality in Videodrome. Cronenberg succeeded greatly with these brutal cult classics but it was only a hint of the more original and groundbreaking works to come. Cronenberg arguably made his big career breakthrough film with his last horror opus and also his most commercially successful to date with The Fly (1986). This showed the director continuing his past themes but this time with more thoughtful character development and crafted a timeless tragic love story. With Dead Ringers (1988), Cronenberg marked a new beginning as a true film auteur with this stunning psychological drama starring Jeremy Irons in two roles as identical twins. A deeply moving and challenging film that was the first in which Cronenberg began evolving into his own personal voice and even genre that left both fans and critics amazed and carried onto Naked Lunch (1991). It was in 1996 though that this new voice made his most controversial and many would say his most shocking film with Crash. James Spader plays film producer James Ballard who is in an open marriage with his wife Catherine (Deborah Unger). They both engage in various infidelities but are only aroused when discussing the intimate details of their extramarital sex. After being involved in a near fatal car accident, James along with Dr. Helen Remington (Holly Hunter) come to discover an underground sub culture of scarred and Omni sexual car crash victims who use car collisions as a sexual turn on. It soon becomes a jolting life force that each character crave. The quiet and abstracted like dialogue delivery from the actors is superb, the atmospheric cinematography is unsettling, the cool and at times rock & roll musical score from Howard Shore sets the mood in an instant. Like a lot of great films, it leaves you with a new point of view on its story and themes after each viewing but it is one that will repeal many. With an open mind for stories on what is dark of the soul, it will have a lasting impact. A disturbing film that remains one of the greatest of the 1990s. Cronenberg expresses many ideas in each of his films, sometimes he’s more successful at it than others but with contemporary titles such as Spider (2002), A History Of Violence (2005) and A Dangerous Method (2011), he continues to evolve and experiment with new stories as well as challenge the audience. An essential director whose work deserves to be discovered and studied.

beau film

One of David Cronenberg's classic independent films that cut the edge into the genre. With a stunning cast for 1996 starring: James Spader, Debra Kara Unger, Holly Hunter, Elias Coteas and Rosanna Arquette, it's no wonder such a controversial, blatantly metro sexual film has remained successful over time and collectible as a classic of the genre. Quite simply put, "Crash" is about car crashes being the foreplay of sexual fetishists. The kind of graphic sexuality makes pornography look crude, square and aimless drivel. Certainly not performance art. In contrast, Cronenberg's project is making cutting edge remarks about the human body's beauty and it's sexual relationship to the mechanical technology that cars are. in a sense, many people 'get off' on various parts or processes of cars. How the driver of a classic Corvette in mind condition feels behind the wheel driving offers an example. Cronenberg takes humans' obsessions with cars to their utmost, and nearly unthinkable, degree. Each actor's performance is breathtakingly brave. James Spader, Debra Kara Unger and Holly Hunter are very difficult to forget as these characters. Hihgest recommendations as truly unique performance artistry in every respect.

What an awsone movie! One of Chronenberg's most addictively diaturbing masterpieces!

Einer meiner Lieblingsfilme in hervorragender Qualität.

... adattamento del romanzo di Ballare. Cronenberg tira fuori tutta la sua classe, adattandola al romanzo, in maniera eccelsa. Versione DVD perfetta sia come audio che video. Buono gli extra. Solo un piccolo consiglio: leggete prima il libro e poi guardate il film, per scoprirne tutte le differenze (soprattutto inerenti la censura)... Consigliato a tutti indistintamente...