Altered States vs. Videodrome
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Aphostile — 20 years ago(March 10, 2006 06:50 PM)
I liked both, but Altered States was my favorite of the two. Videodrome was plenty interesting, but it really kind of left the viewer hanging. In the movie, there was too much talking about videodrome and not enough illustration of it.
I'd disagree the two movies were similar though. They were actually both fairly unique as movies go. I guess there was a vaguely common theme in the search for the unknown, but that unknown was something very different in each. -
CrowBarSpine — 19 years ago(May 28, 2006 11:06 PM)
VIDEODROME by a mile!!
A masterpiece in general and IMO Cronenberg's masterpiece.
However, i don't think you can really compare these 2 films - in many ways they are two totally different concepts - even though both deal with hallucinations and both the main character's reality warping into something else - to the point of physical.
I only saw Altered States for the first time last night and enjoyed it very much. And i have to admit, i kept thinking this has a Videodrome "vibe" to it to a degree - but again, both movies are entirely different in their APPROACH and in story.
In a slight way - i felt Cronenberg's The Fly was more similar to Altered States than Videodrome. With The Fly you have a mad scientest who is altered by his experiments (accidently though in The Fly), same with William Hurt's character, a mad scientest - but when Jeff Goldblum turns into the Fly - it's almost Altered States-ish with the monkey version of William Hurt?
Then again, The Fly was a remake - but also a "rethink".
Actually, there was a scene in ALTERED STATES that seemed straight out of Cronenberg's SHIVERS. When William Hurt wakes up and his body - in particular his arm and chest are warping! The chest part is VERY similar to a scene in Shivers where a character's chest is warping. So who knows, maybe Altered States was influenced by Cronenberg in a small way?
Altered States was 2 years prior to Videodrome and it wouldn't surprise me if Cronenberg saw Altered States and it definitely wouldn't surprise me if Cronenberg enjoyed it. (infact, Altered States may have been the movie which Cronenberg took great interest in William Hurt - they were going to make Total Recall in the mid-80s - then finally got to work together in A History of Violence) But by no means do i think Altered States influenced Cronenberg with Videodrome. -
PaleMoonLight33 — 15 years ago(August 22, 2010 03:29 PM)
Cronenberg films are complex and highly intellectual. The special effects in his movies are spot-on.
Paddy Chayefsky took his name off the movie. The visuals are ok in AS, but nothing near Cronenberg. I think I'll just read the book.
I mean, it's like comparing apples and oranges. There not really similar. I thought AS was more akin to 2001. -
haewatein — 14 years ago(May 01, 2011 08:20 AM)
definitely Altered States simply because it's more unique and I've never seen a similar movie to it.
I like Videodrome and most other Cronenberg films but none of them comes close to this experience here.
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SEUL CONTRE TOUS
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Balthazar Bee — 13 years ago(July 29, 2012 10:50 AM)
Damn right, Videodrome.
As good as Altered States is, it never quite transcends the gimmick of its own premise let's take a super-smart, super-driven character (and cast William Hurt who can play these characteristics in his sleep), stick him in an isolation tank, and have the experience fundamentally alter his life and perception. And throw in a few hallucinogens for good measure.
Now, the film's one truly sci-fi conceit yes, that one is probably the least intriguing aspect of it. It doesn't top the wonderful imagery of the hallucinations, and (as good as he is generally) the single-mindedness of William Hurt, in the face of such potential harm, begins to irritate. Instead of enhancing the story, this development arguably sabotages it, propelling it into the realm of the monster movie.
But hell, despite this, I love it, and watching it again last night on blu-ray was a wonderful experience.
For me, Videodrome is leagues ahead in almost every regard.
Let's take one aspect almost at random. James Woods and William Hurt are very similar actors in the respects mentioned above, and their characters are similarly driven to push the boundaries of their respective fields. But while Hurt continues to rather gratingly and implausibly push further into the abyss despite the pleas of those who care about him, Woods's Max Renn has no choice; the possible mutations/hallucinations he experiences as a result of the Videodrome signal have done their damage, and circumstances make it impossible for him to escape. (It'd be interesting to see the two switch roles. Or face off in a movie with a smart script.)
Or the use of surreal imagery. While Altered States contains some lovely and terrifying psychedelic Freudian hodge podge while Jessup is in the tank or whacked out on mushroom soup, Videodrome is far more disturbing in the way it integrates the hallucinations into the story proper. Max Renn is our window into the world of Videodrome, and as his perception shifts, so does ours. Eventually, we aren't given even a toe-hold on "reality". The cancer gun that has grown out of Max's hand is real to him, and thus real to us. But is it hallucination or mutation?
Anyway, it's just one guy's opinion, but I prefer the nightmarish unanswerable quality of Videodrome's "philosophy" over the rather pat pseudo-science of Altered States. The former haunts, while the latter amuses. -
psychocosmic-1 — 13 years ago(January 09, 2013 03:37 AM)
Great that you wrote that! I began to read this thread and wanted to "explain" my view on Videodrome, but why should I, you did it so well?
Adding some of my thoughts, though, I see Videodrome as both a possible critic on TV and video watching that without a doubt has changed our way of thinking AND actually, feeling, possibly more than any other invention of the 20th century, par computers. BUT also the talk about the "New Flesh" is Our Future. Where will we go? Ask the young who grow up with computers and internet from the cradle. Why bother about the physical reality when the videoworld/internet/computer world offer anything between information, interaction, communication and entertainment? When we are dead, what will future generations do in and about the physical world? Some kids just dont go out anymore! We are mutating already. Thats what I think Cronenberg wanted to explore. And the very real aspects of these thoughts we can see signs of already, although the film was made in 1983 and is a science fiction idea.
Maybe we should discuss this on the Videodrome messageboard too..?