Why is he so often compared to Lynch?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — David Cronenberg
bdunbar89 — 15 years ago(October 24, 2010 04:58 PM)
I really don't see many similarities between their films. Both are masters, but to me they couldn't be more different when it comes to style, tone, and subject matter. Aside from both making "weird" movies I don't see much a throughline, why is it that they're so often compared?
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IEatWords — 13 years ago(April 26, 2012 12:24 AM)
Cronenberg isn't anywhere near Lynch in terms of film craft. Cronenberg is all about concepts which are far too literal and come off borderline goofy on screen. There's nothing subtle that leaves anything to the imagination.
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srinath_r_htanirs — 11 years ago(January 10, 2015 05:15 AM)
Lynch isn't that very subtle either. Surrealists are hardly subtle. And subtlety is hardly a quality that you should be looking for in these filmmakers.
But it's insane that you say he doesn't leave anything to the imagination. Some of his supernatural films like Scanners, The Dead Zone, The Fly are thinner in terms of concept, but they are highly stylized. Most of Cronenberg's other films are ambiguous and provide high scope for imagination. They are thematically deep (eXistenZ, Crash, Cosmopolis, Spider, Videodrome, Naked Lunch) and have good character development (Maps To The Stars, Dead Ringers, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence). -
IEatWords — 11 years ago(January 11, 2015 12:25 AM)
Homie please, Lynch could figure out how to make a dog bark more subtle than Cronenberg could hone in on one of his badly executed themes. If Cronenberg leaves something to the imagination it's due to him being such a weak film maker that he's simply unable to execute his ideas. He's a B movie film maker, at best. Naked Lunch had potential, but it was ruined by his phallic obsession.
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srinath_r_htanirs — 11 years ago(January 12, 2015 12:03 PM)
Look, I like both of them and have watched every film of both. That's insanely biased. Even some of Lynch's films like Wild At Heart have shades of B-Films. Cronenberg did start out with B-Films, but he matured throughout his career. From Dead Ringers, he made real quality films with character depth and complex plots. Dead Ringers, eXistenZ, Naked Lunch, Crash and Spider are not what they seem superficially and there's a lot more that one discovers in retrospect. The atmosphere and tone in those films perfectly bring out his ideas.
Saying his films are imaginative because he's weak is ridiculous and plain wrong. A lot of elements in his films are intentionally ambiguous and that is how they should be.
Lynch took normal themes and presented them in his unique style and using complex plots. Cronenberg took really challenging themes and tackled them with success a vast majority of times.
There's no need to belittle one to praise another. -
IEatWords — 11 years ago(January 12, 2015 10:28 PM)
Wild At Heart is by far my least favorite Lynch film. Nothing clicked, other than a shotgun and it was just a silly mess for the most part. I liked Naked Lunch for the most part, by far his most polished film to my tastes, other than the Fly, but that phallic obsession..
Something like Crash tries too hard for symbolism - just too blunt and a bit attention whorish as if to say "Take me seriously, I'm being symbolic now, it's not as juvenile as it may seem to you third world viewers". Yes, he has his themes, but the execution is lacking most of the time. -
LifeVsArt — 11 years ago(January 13, 2015 12:54 PM)
Whenever I read the "tries too hard" critique I try not to ignore the rest of the writing.
I think both Lynch and Cronenberg are great, genuine auteur directors - they are rare gems that should be valued - I truly admire them as artists with distinctive perspectives. Some may prefer one to the other, but some prefer Clapton to Hendrix, or Caravaggio to Vermeer - what else is new. I'm grateful that Cronenberg is still sending out his lightning bolts (yes, I though "Cosmopolis" was brilliant - looking forward to seeing "Maps to the Stars"). I selfishly wish that David Lynch would get up from his full-lotus and also continue to create feature length films, but I respect that he will say what he has to say in the time and way he chooses to say it. -
IEatWords — 11 years ago(January 14, 2015 12:50 AM)
It's the perfect way to describe it. Crash is the definition of trying too hard. That's what is irritating about the man and his fans. He's got this big ego that doesn't come close to matching the product he puts out, and his fans act all uppity as if his blunt films are too hard for critics to understand. It's the opposite Cronenberg is a glorified B movie maker, which would be more tolerable if he didn't think so highly of himself.
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srinath_r_htanirs — 11 years ago(January 14, 2015 04:39 AM)
Crash doesn't try too hard. In fact, its actual theme doesn't cry loud and resides within inner layers. That's a sign of having a clear idea of what it is.
Just because his works are indie or that he works on a low budget doesn't mean he makes B films. He started out with a few high concepts (even they were social commentaries), but his accomplished films were deep lessons of the human mind and its interactions with the environment. No B filmmaker can execute complex themes and provide for character development in the way he has done so often. And atmosphere in his films is genuinely elite. Just because you keep crediting such a tag to him doesn't mean it will eventually ring true. You're only disregarding his acclaimed and accomplished works of a level, that not all top filmmakers can achieve, let alone B filmmakers. -
srinath_r_htanirs — 11 years ago(January 14, 2015 04:49 AM)
I don't get that trying too hard part, all auteurs try their best to give quality films, why should it be a criticism? And, Crash seemed to me as something that came naturally for Cronenberg.
I liked Cosmopolis as well, I think it's one of his best and incredibly under-rated. I'm guessing you'll like Maps To The Stars as well - it's a dark satire on Hollywood from a superficial perspective and it has got more to it. It is surprising to see the film get wider acclaim than expected.