Videodrome

3.50
    Videodrome
    1983

    Synopsis

    As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.

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    Cast

    • James WoodsMax Renn
    • Sonja SmitsBianca O'Blivion
    • Debbie HarryNicki Brand
    • Peter DvorskyHarlan
    • Leslie CarlsonBarry Convex
    • Jack CreleyBrian O'Blivion
    • Lynne GormanMasha
    • Julie KhanerBridey
    • Reiner SchwarzMoses
    • David BoltRaphael

    Recommendations

    • 88

      TV Guide Magazine

      A fascinating rumination on humanity, technology, entertainment, sex, and politics that is virtually incomprehensible on first viewing and needs to be seen several times before one can even begin to unlock its mysteries. (Review of Original Release)
    • 80

      The A.V. Club

      Its dense mysteries remain more tantalizing than distancing: No other director integrates the creepy with the cerebral quite like Cronenberg. (Review of DVD 9/13/04)
    • 80

      Variety

      Film is dotted with video jargon and ideology which proves more fascinating than distancing. And Cronenberg amplifies the freaky situation with a series of stunning visual effects. (Review of Original Release)
    • 70

      The New York Times

      Though Videodrome finally grows grotesque and a little confused, it begins very well and sustains its cleverness for a long while. (Review of Original Release)
    • 40

      Chicago Reader

      Never coherent and frequently pretentious, the film remains an audacious attempt to place obsessive personal images before a popular audience--a kind of Kenneth Anger version of "Star Wars." (Review of Original Release)
    • 38

      Chicago Sun-Times

      The characters are bitter and hateful, the images are nauseating, and the ending is bleak enough that when the screen fades to black it's a relief.. Videodrome, whatever its qualities, has got to be one of the least entertaining films of all time.

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