Videodrome: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: Canada, 1983
Director: David Cronenberg
Writer: David Cronenberg
Cast: James Woods, Sonja Smits, Deborah Harry, Peter Dvorsky, Leslie Carlson, Jack Creley

Release Date: October 24th, 2022
Approximate Running Times: 88 Minutes 38 Seconds (Director's Cut), 87 Minutes 21 Seconds (Director's Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (Both Versions)
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English SDH (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £34.99 (UK)

"Max Renn (James Woods) is looking for fresh new content for his TV channel when he happens across some illegal S&M style broadcasts called "Videodrome". Embroiling his girlfriend Nick (Deborah Harry) in his search for the source, his journey begins to blur the lines between reality and fantasy as he works his way through sadomasochistic games, shady organisations and body transformations stunningly realised by Oscar-winning makeup effects artist Rick Baker." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Brand new 4K restorations from the original camera negative by Arrow Films of both the full-length director's cut and the US theatrical cut, approved by director David Cronenberg."

Here is additional information about the transer, “The original 35mm negative was scanned in 4K 16-bit resolution at Company 3, Burbank. Additional intermediate film elements were sourced for the Director’s cut sections. The film was restored in 4K and graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision at Silver Salt Restoration, London.”

Videodrome comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 85 GB

Feature: 63.5 GB

Arrow Video’s 2015 Blu-ray used a dated source that was originally used for The Criterion Collection’s 2010 Blu-ray. Fortunately, this new release comes with a brand new 4K transfer that is vastly superior to all previous home video releases' transfers. Colors are perfectly saturated, flesh tones look healthy, image clarity, contrast, and black levels are solid. Also, there are no issues with compression, and the image retains an organic look. This is a solid encode that anyone who is a fan of VideoDrome should be thoroughly satisfied with.

Audio: 4.5/5

Each version comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English. This is the same track that Arrow Video used for their 2015 Blu-ray release. The audio is in great shape; dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced; ambient sounds are well-represented; and the score sounds appropriately robust. That said, things sound very good range-wise. Both versions come with removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include three image galleries: Behind The Scenes Stills (7 images), Lobby Cards (43 images), and Production Stills (77 images), a short film directed by David Cronenberg titled Camera (6 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), three theatrical trailers (4 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), seventeen deleted and alternate scenes from the TV version, this extra is titled Pirated Signals: The Lost Broadcast (25 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with cinematographer Mark Irwin (26 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with executive producer Pierre David (10 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Dennis Etchison, author of novelisation of Videodrome (16 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival promotional featurette from 1982 (7 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Why Betamax? (1 minute 11 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Helmet-Cam Test (4 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Samurai Dreams (4 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a round table discussion from 1982 with David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, John Landis and Mick Garris titled Fear on Film (25 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival documentary by filmmaker Michael Lennick on Videodrome's video and prosthetic makeup effects titled Forging the New Flesh (27 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival documentary featuring interviews with Cronenberg, George A. Romero and Alex Cox on Cronenberg's cinema, censorship and the horror genre titled Cinema of the Extreme (21 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Tim Lucas, the on-set correspondent for Cinefantastique Magazine and author of Videodrome: Studies in the Horror Film, reversible cover art, six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards, a fold out double-sided poster, and a 60-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Definitely Not For Public Consumption: Videodrome Replayed written by Justin Humphreys, extracts from Cronenberg on Cronenberg titled New Flesh For Old: The Tax-Shelter Experiments, an essay titled Cutting The New Flesh: Censoring Videodrome written by Brad Stevens, Tim Lucas Remembers Michael Lennick, Somatechinics: A Videodrome Critical Roundtable by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Cerise Howard, Josh Nelson and Emma Westwood, and information about the restoration.

Summary:

Content wise, there has always been an element of sci-fi when it comes to the films of David Cronenberg. That being said, this has more to do with the themes he explores and not so much to do with employing elements that are widely used throughout sci-fi cinema. And though today, something like the Betamax tape that’s featured prominently throughout Videodrome now feels like a relic from the past. When Videodrome was initially released, it was actually a technology that was slightly ahead of where the masses were at the time when it came to how they watched their favorite television shows and movies.

Right from the get-go, Videodrome announces that it is unlike anything that you have seen or will ever see again. And though Videodrome does follow a linear narrative, it is the way that narrative evolves that goes against the norm. Every moment of Videodrome is told via the viewpoint of its protagonist, Max Renn. Thus, making Max Renn’s perception now our reality.

From a production standpoint, the neo-noir inspired visuals do a pitch-perfect job of setting and maintaining the videodrome's mood. A few standout moments visually include a scene where Max’s stomach opens up and he inserts a gun into the vaginal-looking orifice. Another standout moment is when Max discovers that his girlfriend Nikki has now become part of Videodrome. And of course, the finale, when Max finally takes control back from those who have manipulated him.

Key collaborators on Videodrome include cinematographer Mark Irwin, who worked with David Conenberg on all of his films, from Fast Company to The Fly. And composer Howard Shore, who has composed all but one film by David Cronenberg since The Brood except The Dead Zone.

From a casting and performance standpoint, there’s not a single performance that is lacking, and in most instances, excels. Headlining the cast is James Woods in the role of the protagonist, Max Renn. He delivers an extraordinary performance that easily ranks among the best performances of his career. Other standout performances include Deborah Harry in the role of Nicki Brand, a radio disco jockey and Max Reen’s love interest in the film; and Sonja Smits in the role of Bianca O’Blivion, who’s the daughter of Professor Brian O’Blivion. These two characters are also the women in Max Renn’s life, with Nicki taking up the earlier part of the film and, after her disappearance, Bianca filling the void she has left. It should be noted that these two characters serve different functions when it comes to Max Renn’s journey. Max gets satisfaction of the flesh from Nikki, and Bianca helps Max Renn connect with his new flesh via cerebral interaction.

One of the main themes explored in Videodrome is content: who controls it?, and how can it be subverted? And when it comes to artistic ambitions versus commerce, this battle for control is more relevant today than when Videodrome was initially released. Also, it should be noted that, culturally and technologically, a lot has happened since Videodrome was first unleashed upon audiences. Fortunately, despite there being a few things that date Videodrome, the result is an extraordinary film that hasn’t lost any of its potency after all these years. "Long Live The New Flesh!"

Videodrome makes its way to 4K UHD via a definitive audio/video presentation from Arrow Video, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

 Written by Michael Den Boer