Should Go Back To Making Horror and Sci Fi
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rnlol — 14 years ago(March 22, 2012 02:40 PM)
That's true of some fans. My dissatisfaction with his last few films is not that they lack the sci-fi concepts and body-horror imagery of his older films, but that they're really quite pedestrian, even if very well-made.
I don't want him to keep doing the same thing. In fact, if adherence to the sci-fi/horror material means nothing but films like eXistenZ, then I'd prefer he moved on to other things. eXiztenZ, though good, feels somewhat worn-out, recycled, and even dated.
I want him to make exciting, unique, imaginative films.
Spider was excellent. The first warning signs, for me, were with A History of Violence, though overall I think that film is outstanding, intriguing and unique. It's his last two films that have felt somewhat dull and pedestrian (though I do still like them both).
Cronenberg's films were once inimitable, now they're ordinary. That's the crux of the problem, not that he's abandoned a specific body of images and concepts.
That said, the new teaser for Cosmopolis looks like I'm going to get exactly what I want. -
srinath_r_htanirs — 11 years ago(December 21, 2014 05:47 AM)
Cosmopolis and Maps To The Stars are a return to Cronenberg arena at least in terms of complexity and atmosphere. I loved them. I was also not very satisfied with Eastern Promises, A History Of Violence and A Dangerous Method. They were well made, but they could've been made by any good filmmaker, not necessarily him.
That being said, I feel eXistenZ is as relevant now as ever, has a great re-watch value and it is one of his best works. -
ravenosa — 13 years ago(August 23, 2012 02:22 PM)
"They want to be 10 years old again and see Scanners when they weren't supposed to."
Funny stuff. I was 11 when my babysitter got in trouble when my parents found out about her taking me to "Scanners" on opening night.
I must say, I DO agree with Cronenberg! Those are the films of his I miss -
mark-lenard — 14 years ago(February 08, 2012 06:01 AM)
Yes, you could argue that virtually all his films qualify as horror; they depict the human body as having a will of its own and focus on the destructive consequences of that autonomy. The reason so many people assume he turned away from horror is that after Scanners, Cronenberg's world is more a place of dread than fear. So whether you think Cronenberg turned away from horror sometime in the 80s depends on your definition of horror.
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Disardor — 14 years ago(August 06, 2011 10:34 AM)
I wouldn't mind seeing him do something horror or sci-fi related again but I don't want to see him do it just to do it; I'd rather it be something his heart is in. Clearly it seems in the past several years horror/sci-fi is not where his interest has been. I'm with the others saying some of his non-horror/sci-fi movies are among his best, too.
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mark-lenard — 14 years ago(February 06, 2012 09:23 AM)
His latest IS scifi. I don't have IMDbPro so I can't tell you whether it's listed in pre-production or not, but it looks as if it's good to go.
http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/08/05/david-cronenberg-to-direct-jonath an-lethem-novel/ -
samantha3 — 14 years ago(February 06, 2012 09:46 AM)
It's COSMOPOLIS,by Don DeLilo, it's done shooting, and calling it science fiction is a big stretch. Read it and see. It's considered a major novel by a major American writer, but not science fiction. Not the same genre at all.
The film has a website but it doesn't seem to be working at the moment. Google listed it just now, though. -
mark-lenard — 14 years ago(February 06, 2012 10:21 AM)
No, that's not all.
Media Rights Capital has already acquired rights to Lethem's novel as part of a package deal that, among other things, specifies David Cronenberg as director.
Nothing is certain in the film business, but it's the latest project to which Cronenber5b4g has made a firm commitment and it is most definitely science fiction. -
samantha3 — 14 years ago(February 07, 2012 12:09 AM)
Well, I'm glad to hear it, but I still say I will believe DC is doing it when I hear that it's shooting. Too many things can happen, as he has said himself.
Once (maybe even more often than that) the studio went bankrupt. That finished his project.
More often, he says he falls out of love with a project, and apparently has no trouble getting out of it if he does.
But it's nice to imagine what he might do with the property. -
samantha3 — 14 years ago(February 07, 2012 11:55 PM)
DC said recently that he hasn't dropped an interest in either horror or science fiction; it would all depend on an interesting project. I think as he gets older he is less and less interested in doing what he considers repeating himself, and more and more exploring where his mood and intellect take him.
Thank goodness. How many other directors keep surprising their audiences pleasantly, I mean. Not like Terrence Malik, for example.
I just watched a FILM4 interview with DC on his new film, and he makes the statement he has made before, that he is just interested in "exploring the human condition". It's our good luck that his explorations lead him in some interesting and often unsettling directions. -
JohnQuincyPublic — 10 years ago(August 11, 2015 03:47 PM)
Thank goodness. How many other directors keep surprising their audiences pleasantly, I mean. Not like Terrence Malik, for example.
What are you saying? That Malick
unpleasantly
surprises his audience?
You're pretty lousy at this empty snark thing.
I got news for em. Theres gonna be hell to pay. Cause I aint Daddys little boy no more -
TheBloodyNine — 14 years ago(February 19, 2012 08:19 AM)
I agree. TBH I really have not enjoyed the modern Cronenberg, his ultra realistic, grounded stories have just bored the beep out of me. They're well made and well acted, but I just wish he made something more engaging, Eastern Promises and The Dangerous Method were just so dry. I love the Fly, Videodrome, The Dead Zone and eXistenZ
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Curzon_Street — 13 years ago(April 12, 2012 09:35 PM)
This is SciFi, and there's plenty of violence, although I wouldn't call it horror.
http://www.altfg.com/blog/movie/david-cronenberg-catching-fire-alfonso -cuaron/
David Cronenberg Catching Fire Possibility?
Unfortunately, neither Margarethe von Trotta nor Catherine Breillat is in the running as a replacement for Gary Ross, who officially left The Hunger Games' sequel Catching Fire a couple of days ago. The names currently being bandied about online (and purportedly by Lionsgate) belong to three North American males: Mexicans Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Canadian David Cronenberg (photo).
All three filmmakers would add "prestige" to Catching Fire, something that, if a Los Angeles Times report on the issue is to be believed, would please author Suzanne Collins, "who is much more interested in quality filmmaking than box-office prowess." Now, let's not be cynical. Aren't we all more interested in "quality filmmaking" than in "box-office prowess"? Really
If his speech at the Gotham Awards last year was genuine, Cronenberg might enjoy tackling something like Catching Fire. The director called himself "a complete fraud" after receiving a Career Tribute from a group honoring independent films, explaining that he has remained an "indie" filmmaker simply because "I've failed to sell out. I've tried endlessly, since the beginning, I've tried to sell out to Wall Street, to the studios, to the networks, to the bourgeoisie, to the mainstream, to the moneymen, and it has never worked out." Well, if this Catching Fire "list" isn't pure b.s., maybe now it's his chance.
Cronenberg's next release, which should benefit from the Catching Fire publicity, is Cosmopolis, featuring Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Paul Giamatti, and others. The film opens in France in May, and has a good shot at getting screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
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franzkabuki — 13 years ago(April 15, 2012 11:57 PM)
AHOV & EP are excellent, but after having seen A Dangerous Method, I´m certainly on the verge of agreeing with the OP as it was such a bland, toothless, well mannered, even sort of superficial number. In fact, it´s his only film that´s virtually unrecognisible as Cronenberg´s work.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan -
JohnQuincyPublic — 10 years ago(August 11, 2015 04:05 PM)
In fact, it´s his only film that´s virtually unrecognisible as Cronenberg´s work.
I thought it was eminently recognizable as a Cronenberg film - I just didn't like it at all! lol
David Cronenberg comments on A DANGEROUS METHOD
I got news for 1c84em. Theres gonna be hell to pay. Cause I aint Daddys little boy no more