From Blipvert Sent Thu, Dec 25th 1997, 02:07
From Blipvert Sent Thu, Dec 25th 1997, 02:07
wells wrote: > At 11:29 AM 12/24/97 -0800, Gonzi 'Fresh' Merchan wrote: > > > >And this from a fellow who LIKES Atari Teenage Riot? pffft! Take a look > >at Videodrome and tell me Come to Daddy was not inspired by it. I won't > >even try to defend Naked Lunch and Crash as they are both works of art > >and I feel stand on their own as such. During the holiday season while > >the family is visiting, I do suggest trying to dig up some of the > >horribly mangled and out of print video copies of Croenenbergs early > >work floating around at the smaller video stores. Particularly The > >Brood, with its snowy canadian landscapes and sexless mutant > >manifestations of psychic energy its the perfect film for the holidays. > >Watch the movie, you'll see :) > > > > > not too familiar with his works outside of Naked Lunch & Crash, which were > both awful movies and posessed none of the art of the original novels. I loved Ballard's early films, particularly Videodrome and Brood. I remember sneaking peaks at Scanners and Videodrome on the Moviechannel when I was a kid and how they blew me away. I looked at all of his films again as an adult and enjoyed them from an objectctive view point as art. I loved Deadringers. When Naked Lunch came out, I could not have been more disappointed. It failed as a Cronenberg film and as a Burroughs novel translated into a film. I didn't see M Butterfly because I was so disappointed in Naked Lunch. Crash was also a huge disappointment. Ballard's novel was extremely cinematic and should have been easy to shoot. It could also have been the inspiration to a film that didn't necessitate the novel as a structure for a screenplay. Crash turned out to be nothing more than a flaccid, non-sexy B-film about sex with no originality or artistic statement. Both Naked Lunch and Crash looked as if Cronenberg was suddenly making B films again but this time he has no artistic voice as a film maker. Very sad. > Crash especially. what an awful movie - nothing more than a porn. I wouldn't even call it that. One of my criticisms of it is that it totally lacks eroticism. > anyway. i'll try to check out The Brood.. it certainly has to be better > than Crash. You should definitely check out The Brood, Scanners, Dead Ringers and Videodrome. >