‘Screenrush’ Essentials… David Cronenberg (films and career)
David Cronenberg@ScreenRush posted “a look at David ‘Master of Body Horror’ David Cronenberg’s illustrious career”, which we tweeted a link to when it came out.
In this lull between the European and Canadian promotion of Cosmopolis and the US promo, I thought I’d rewatch David Cronenberg’s films. Anyone care to join me? I’m on eXistenZ this week! Thought this type of article is helpful to support this activity. The article is an informative, concise overview of all his work and career.
I’ve posted the introduction, the titles of the look’s four parts, and the content for one, which covers his more recent work leading up to Cosmopolis.
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| Toronto Sun [Stan Behal/QMI Agency file photo] |
“Less than a year after David Cronenberg took his last film, A Dangerous Method, to Venice he’s back with Cosmopolis which is going to be released in UK cinemas this week. Based on the novel by Don DeLillo, Robert Pattinson (Twilight), stars as Eric Packer, a young Wall Street bigshot who is trying to make his way across New York in his limo to get a haircut, all the while making wreckless business deals, meeting women and avoiding an imminent threat on his life. Brimming with suspense, paranoia, horror and of course sex, it presents a terrifying critique of modern day society. It sounds as if Pattinson’s Packer could be the new Patrick Bateman – an overpaid yuppie who harbours more than his fair share of demons. It’s also somewhat of a coming-of-age role and might make people see him in a new light. Cronenberg has helped other stars move away from big franchises, most notably doing wonders for Viggo Mortensen’s career. Hopefully he could do the same for young R-Patz.Cosmopolis also stars Paul Giamatti, Jay Baruchel, and Juliette Binoche, a more than capable cast. Watch the trailer below…”
- “The Horror Years: Part 1 – First Steps”
- “The Horror Years: Part 2 – Mastering the genre”
- “The Complete Director”
- “What’s Next?”
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| Photocall at Cannes 2012 |
“Once he made his name terrifying audiences, Cronenberg was out to prove that he was not simply a one trick pony but that he could do anything he wanted. His first attempt was M. Butterfly, starring Jeremy Irons. Set in 1960s China, where a French diplomat falls in love with an opera singer. Unfortunately it came out to mixed reviews. Still, it was new territory for the Canadian director and with Crash (above left), which blended elements of horror with drama, critics started to see another side to him. It was an adaptation of a novel by J. G. Ballard, supposedly unfilmable due to its difficult and explicit content about a couple who find sexual arousal from car crashes. Needless to say it was incredibly controversial with many people simply calling it pornographic, however others saw past its explicitness calling it an interesting piece of filmmaking. He went on to make Spider, a dark drama starring Ralph Fiennes revolving around a mentally disturbed man who gradually slips back into his fantasy world created by an illness during his childhood. It was very well received and displayed Cronenberg’s great versatility as a director which he used to huge effect in his next films A History of Violence (second from left) and Eastern Promises (second from right), both starring Viggo Mortensen. The two films received wide acclaim and demonstrated how he can turn his hand to any sort of genre. Following them up with his last feature, A Dangerous Method (above right), an adaptation of a book and subsequent play by John Kerr focusing on the intense relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Mortensen), though compared to his previous work, it didn’t quite reach the high watermark of craziness that we’ve come to expect from Mr. Cronenberg…”
...Thinking of Rob
Spunk Ransom
Robert Pattinson U.S.
...Let Me Sign
...Robert Pattinson Profile
Official Cosmopolis Site
Alfama Films
Cosmopolis at IMDb 
Simon&Schuster
Cosmopolis Film.com
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