The Cinema of David Cronenberg: From Baron of Blood to Cultural Hero / Edition 1

by Ernest Mathijs

Overview

David Cronenberg as moved from the depths of low-budget exploitation horror to become one of North America's most respected movie directors. Since the early 1970s, the soft-spoken 'Baron of Blood' has attracted widespread controversies with a steady stream of shocks - sec-crazed parasites in Shivers (1975), exploding heads in Scanners (1981), revolutionary flesh technology in Videodrome (1983), mutating bugs in The Fly (1986), car crash scars in Crash (1996), and psychopathic bursts of gunfire in A History of Violence (2005). This new study provides an overview of Cronenberg's films in the light of their international reception, placing them firmly in the cultures they influenced. It also highlights often-ignored works, such as the race movie Fast Company (1979), and includes a chapter on the latest film Eastern Promises (2007). Amidst bans and boos, Cronenberg has developed a consistent cult following for his chronicles of humankind's struggle with its ever-changing environment, bugged by technology and changing social roles - becoming a hero of contemporary culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781905674657
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	11/26/2008
Series:	Directors' Cuts
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	804,878
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Editorial Reviews

Overall, however, this is an absorbing and readable volume that amply demonstrates the richness of Cronenberg's work.

Film Quarterly - Martin Fradley

Overall, however, this is an absorbing and readable volume that amply demonstrates the richness of Cronenberg's work.

— Martin Fradley

Film Quarterly