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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA)
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 1
EAN: 9780783228457
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 0783228457
Label: Universal Studios
Languages: EnglishOriginal LanguageDolby Digital 2.0 MonoFrenchOriginal LanguageDolby Digital 2.0 MonoEnglishSubtitledSpanishSubtitledFrenchSubtitled
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
MPN: D20387D
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Publisher: Universal Studios
Region Code: 1
Release Date: September 08, 1998
Running Time: 87 minutes
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: February 04, 1983
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
THE MANAGER OF A TORONTO CABLE-TV STATION TRACKS AN UNLISTED TORTURE/DEATH SHOW.
Amazon.com essential video:
Love it or loathe it, David Cronenberg's 1983 horror film Videodrome is a movie to be reckoned with. Inviting extremes of response from disdain (critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the least entertaining films ever made") to academic euphoria, it's the kind of film that is simultaneously sickening and seemingly devoid of humanity, but also blessed with provocative ideas and a compelling subtext of social commentary. Giving yet another powerful and disturbing performance, James Woods stars as the operator of a low-budget cable-TV station who accidentally intercepts a mysterious cable transmission that features the apparent torture and death of women in its programming. He traces the show to its source and discovers a mysterious plot to broadcast a subliminally influential signal into the homes of millions, masterminded by a quasi-religious character named Brian O'Blivion and his overly reverent daughter. Meanwhile Woods is falling under the spell, becoming a victim of video, and losing his grip--both physically and psychologically--on the distinction between reality and television. A potent treatise on the effects of total immersion into our mass-media culture, Videodrome is also (to the delight of Cronenberg's loyal fans) a showcase for obsessions manifested in the tangible world of the flesh. It's a hallucinogenic world in which a television set seems to breathe with a life of its own, and where the body itself can become a VCR repository for disturbing imagery. Featuring bizarre makeup effects by Rick Baker and a daring performance by Deborah Harry (of Blondie fame) as Wood's sadomasochistic girlfriend, Videodrome is pure Cronenberg--unsettling, intelligent, and decidedly not for every taste. --Jeff Shannon
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
Definitely a cult film and by far, one of the best Criterion releases (cover art, features, booklet, etc)
This movie is bizarre, gory, provocative, insane and surreal...Long Live David Cronenberg and Criterion Collection!
Rating:  -
No matter how you take this movie (I like to think that it's a camp take-off on a Vincent Price movie) it seems a shame to waste the acting talents of Blondie and James Wood on so prosaic a story. Cronenberg is able to do such a good job at making the most salacious sado-masochistic scenes look positively mundane. He also makes a naked Deborah Harry about as sexy as a dishrag.
OK, how can you take anyone named Dr. O'Blivien seriously, no matter how engrossed he is in his subject (not to mention where did he get such a 'hot' daughter). The idea that at some point, whether with the help of drugs or a type of brainwashing, we will have the ability to control people through the images sent through their TV sets. It's currently being tried in North Korea where the TVs are two way and every one can be watched.
Does this film make a statement, well yes, but the real question is: Is it worth listening to the message?
Zeb Kantrowitz
Rating:  -
This movie has a preposterous and dated plot consisting of mostly half-understood McLuhan, The acting is very poor. The script is worse. The special effects are ludicrous (watch James Wood push his head into a TV screen made of back lit dental dam material - Gee, How did they do that?).
This is my nomination for the world's worst movie.
Rating: -
Videodrome is an interesting sci-fi horror film. It's the type of film that gets better with each viewing. It's also got some pretty amazing make-up effects by the incredible Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London, The Frighteners). So while the film does show its age at times (mainly during the segment where Max is having his hallucination recorded by Spectacular Optacle owner, Barry Convex), the majority of the special effects hold up incredibly well after 26 years. Videodrome is a cult classic for a good reason. While it may seem odd at first, it's actually an intelligent and well-made sci-fi horror film. That old layer of skin may look and feel like a film that is too weird for most audiences that's outdated and doesn't make any sense, but beneath that old flesh is the new flesh. In this case, the new flesh is actually a superb film with a quick witted script, a terrific story, special effects that hold up to this day, and just a worthwhile experience overall. It's a cult classic that's worthy of being added to any horror or sci-fi fan's collection. Long live the new flesh.
Rating: -
In the event of an emergency when watching this film, your empty popcorn bucket makes a useful vomitory aid. Your couch cushion can be used as a floatation device, when the bucket overflows, to drift yourself out of the living room and as far away from the tele as you can possibly get. You'll be sick to your stomach for sure knowing you've wasted good money on bile such as this!
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