Perhaps well-known director David Cronenberg knows everything about horror films. He is an inspired and creative person.
Since the beginning of his cinematic activities (1975), David has shot nineteen unique in conception full-length films, in each of which meticulous film critics have not noticed a single directorâs stamp inherited from previous works. Acknowledgment of the genius of one of the most distinctive directors of independent cinema was the commission to him to lead the jury
of the 1999
Cannes Film Festival .
However, we traditionally start the story about him with a biography.
Third-generation expat
David Cronenberg was born on March 15, 1943 in Toronto. His grandfather, a first-generation expatriate, a Lithuanian Jew, was named Foreman. However, having sailed to Canada, the ancestor immediately exchanged it for Konenberg. Perhaps I wanted to deceive fate? After all, the richest resident of his homeland was called Leopold Kronenberg. The enterprising grandfather in a new place created a small family business (bookstore), which he passed on to David's father. He, getting a bypass from the shop, also worked as a journalist in the newspaper Toronto Telegams. The mother of the future director was a musician by education. She accompanied the dancers in the Canadian Ballet.
Study. Movie passion
After school, David Cronenberg entered the university of his native city. His humanitarian orientation manifested there. In the course of study, the student transferred from the faculty where they studied the exact sciences to the faculty of English literature, which he graduated in 1967.
At the university, David became interested in cinema. The case helped. One of his friends made a short film about classmates. Cronenberg watched him as bewitched. He was attracted by the possibility of transforming reality with the help of cinema.
At first, he directed and directed two short films: âFrom the Gutterâ (1967) and âMovingâ (1969).
Original philosophy of creativity
David was an atheist, he did not want to take for humanity the divine nature of man. The creative personality was attracted by transcendental mutations of the mind and body of people. Developing a unique direction invented by himself in cinema, the young director, obviously, proceeded from the principle of "do not believe your eyes."
Student David Cronenberg doubted the obvious in knowledge about man, imagined the visible, giving him a mysterious and mysterious nature. He formulated the cornerstone idea of ââhis future creativity, which stated that any person is like a mad scientist, and the life surrounding him is a laboratory for experiments.
Adept movie
His next two short films - âStereoâ (1969) and âCrimes of the Futureâ (1970) - were already created according to the concept. David developed the topic of human mutations, discoveries of unknown abilities in him, deformations of his psyche. Deviation from the norm was stubbornly put at the center of his work by a novice Canadian filmmaker, and this, on the one hand, seemed like madness.
But on the other hand, you must admit, God alone knows where the boundary is drawn between genius and mental illness. Even Plato called human thought delirium granted from above. According to the recollections of the students, this ancient Greek philosopher himself had a long conversation with someone invisible. It is enough to recall the biographies of some people of creativity. Indeed, according to modern scientific data, Dostoevsky (a severe form of epilepsy) and Gogol (schizophrenia) are recognized as mentally ill. From time to time, the literary king of horrors Stephen King is also treated for insanity (this is confirmed by interviews).
One thing is not in doubt: aspiring director David Cronenberg created his own worlds, bizarrely reflecting the human essence in a crooked mirror of scripts.
First feature film
1975 marks a new stage in the work of the director. The first full-length film âConvulsionsâ appears on the screens. David Cronenberg (hunting more than captivity) has accumulated funds for a budget film. His script tells the story of a crazy scientist-genetics, who brought out new human parasites that affect the enhancement of human sexual function. He lives on one of the residential islands located near Montreal. The first experiment on the implantation of parasites, the grief scientist makes on his mistress. However, the situation soon got out of control - an entire epidemic erupted on the island, transforming respectable citizens into cruel sexual maniacs.
Filmography of Maestro Cronenberg
From this not without flaws films actually originate from David Cronenberg films. The list of them at the moment, as we have already mentioned, has nineteen items: from âSpasmsâ (1975) to âStar Mapâ (2014).
However, already in "Convulsions" he showed himself as a real director. Dialogues are verified. One feels the leitmotif of the film: irony. The efforts of the actors are visible. All that could be done to build the quality of a cheap film was done by David Cronenberg. The filmography of the director is really impressive. As you can see, after the success of the first film, the young director did not rest on his laurels, but was looking for new stylistic finds, original expressive means.
This was followed by a search for style in the three subsequent budget paintings. And finally, in 1981, a creative search brought the author a result. There was obvious luck: the film "Scanners", created according to a script written by the director himself, brought him recognition in the world of cinema. Experts qualified the genre of the picture ambiguously, calling it a detonating mixture of a detective, a horror film, science fiction, a shock horror (the script narrated the accidental creation of a new human race as a result of a pharmaceutical experiment).
Looking ahead, imagine the full filmography of the director. We will talk about it further.
No. p / p | original name | Rental Name | Year of creation |
1 | Shivers | "Cramps" | 1975 |
2 | Rabid | "Rabies" | 1977 |
3 | Fast company | "Dissolute company" | 1979 |
4 | The brood | "Brood" | 1979 |
5 | Scanners | "Scanners" | 1981 |
6 | Videodrome | "Videodrome" | 1982 |
7 | The dead zone | "Dead zone" | 1983 |
eight | The fly | "Fly" | 1986 |
nine | Dead ringers | "Tied to Death" | 1988 |
ten | Naked lunch | Naked Lunch | 1991 |
eleven | M. Butterfly | "M. Butterfly" | 1993 |
12 | Crash | "Car accident" | 1996 |
13 | eXistenZ | "Existence" | 1999 |
fourteen | Spider | "Spider" | 2002 |
fifteen | A history of violence | âJustified Crueltyâ | 2005 |
16 | Eastern promises | "Vice for export" | 2007 |
17 | A dangerous method | Dangerous Method | 2011 |
18 | Cosmopolis | "Cosmopolis" | 2012 |
19 | Maps to the Stars | "Star Map" | 2014 |
Movies of the 80s. Sign tape "Dead Zone"
Director David Cronenbergstal is recognizable in his work on the relevant issues that sound in them. NTR really began to affect human life. Viewers openly waited for new works from the creative Canadians in much the same way as today the Russian reading public expects another novel from Victor Pelevin. And the author did not disappoint them. His next film, Videodrom, surprised the director with the depth of his vision of the social problems brought into society by commercial television and the press. In the depths of the disclosure of the problems, the handwriting of the master was visible. Cinema criticism, struck by this level of foresight, was in a state of overloaded computer.
And as early as next year, the Dead Zone, a Cronenberg film based on the novel by Stephen King, won two international prizes at film festivals. Criticism calls this film work the best horror movie of 1984. Briefly outline the plot of this wonderful work. Primary school teacher Johnny Smith, a resident of Maine, is in a serious car accident. He has been in a coma for five years. Finally, having come to himself, Smith discovers the Gift within himself: the future of other people seems clear and understandable to him.
The nurse caring for him, Johnny points to the mortal danger that threatens her daughter. Immediately returning home, the mother manages to save the child from the fire.
Smith is not mentally prepared for such a transformation. The attending physician suspects an aggravated mental disorder, he examines the patient, he takes his hand ... and sees the past. He sees the war, a young woman giving a child to evacuated people in a leaving car. The doctor is shocked, this is his mother, and she is alive (until then he considered her dead)!
Johnny does not know how to live with his gift. His girlfriend returns to him, still in love with him. However, the next story that happened with him finally takes him out of a shaky mental balance. Police officers use him as a psychic in the investigation of serial killings of young women. Suddenly in the midst of an investigative experiment, the deputy sheriff leaves. Johnny Smith introduces himself to the person who has served, and he and the sheriff drive home. The assistantâs mother shoots at those who arrived from the doorway of the house, but misses, and the sheriffâs return shot is correct. Bursting into the house with the sheriff, Johnny sees her son piercing himself with a pair of scissors - a maniac who was doing these terrible murders.
He is shocked that he has become an instrument of fate ... Smith becomes a recluse, settles in a shack. But human glory haunts him, people go to him for advice. The predictor manages to prevent yet another misfortune: a man, having changed his mind, saves his son, who was supposed to fall through the ice.
The audience is really addictive and fascinated by the "Dead Zone". The film, created as a result of the joint work of Stephen King and David Cronenberg, turned out to be fascinating and extraordinary.
But it ends tragically. Sarah, the beloved Johnny, becomes a volunteer in the campaign of the candidate for the presidency of the United States. Candidate Stilson, who came to a meeting with voters, greets people by the hand, while touching the main character of the film. He sees his future: becoming president, the candidate will unleash the third world war.
John understands that his mission is now global - to save the world. But for this you should kill Stilson. That is, he, the teacher of the children, will have to break the Commandment of God (âDo not kill!â). The forecaster is experiencing a mental crisis, but he decides to take such a step. Moreover, he knows: his attempt will be successful. But he does not see the details ...
However, no shot was fired. When John pulled out a gun, Stilson hid behind Sarah's child. This succeeds in filming a reporter, and the published picture destroys the applicantâs career, prompting him to commit suicide.
Teachers are ahead of candidate security. They open fire on him and mortally wound. John dies before explaining to his beloved what happened.
Popularity growth, movie budget growth
It was a success! Judge for yourself: with a Dead Zone budget of $ 10 million, box office revenues in the United States alone amounted to more than 20 million! The world viewer, as you know, paid another 20 million dollars. The film is named the best horror film of the year, has awards of international film contests.
After this film, another director would rest on his laurels. However, David Cronenberg is unstoppable in his work. Films for him is his life. He considers the income received not as a source of enrichment, but as a way to get funds for creating new films. By the standards of the townsfolk, he is simply obsessed ... The fanatic utterly âburnsâ the earned income from âMetvo Zoneâ in the production of the new blockbuster âFlyâ. This film seems to have been watched by the whole world ... Do you think (by analogy with the efficiency of the previous film) that the income from "Fly" amounted to $ 40 million? Do you want 60?
90s. Recognition, awards
After The Fly, the name of David Cronenberg becomes a brand in the world. In the last decade of the twentieth century, a self-taught director came in recognized and venerable. He managed everything! He began to experiment in genres, and successfully. William Burroughs praised the film adaptation of his dystopian Naked Breakfast. In 1990, the master tried himself in the film adaptation of the play by D. Hwang. He managed to make a rating film "Madame Butterfly", recognized by experts. Of course, he does in his favorite genre of horror films. The film "Car Crash", created based on the work of James Ballard, brings the director of the Cannes Film Festival award.
In 1999, David Cronenberg was recognized as the world's No. 1 director. The filmography of the master was replenished with the cult film "Existence". The author was able to show the process of how human consciousness falls into the trap of virtual computer reality and begins to replace the real world with it.
He is assigned to lead the jury of the Cannes Film Festival. And he holds the most scandalous award in the history of the contest, having beaten the award-winning masters and handed them over to beginners. Indeed, for Cronenberg, who began his career with budget films, there is only one criterion for creativity: pure talent. So there was nothing left for the âsacred cows from the cinemaâ, how to make a good face in a bad game.
New Century Films by Cronenberg
In 2002, the chamber minimalistic thriller âSpiderâ set the tone for the entire competitive program of the Cannes Film Festival. The master with the scrupulousness of Dostoevsky plunged the audience into the bowels of the human psyche. Dennis Cleg is globally susceptible to schizophrenia and is susceptible to the oedipus complex. The film leaves the impression of a complete hopelessness of the life situation of the protagonist.
The paths of creativity are inscrutable. The crime drama âJustified Crueltyâ (2005) based on the novel by D. Wagner was nominated for an Oscar. The directorâs subsequent films were box office, but it was not until 2014 that the film-allegory Star Map was awarded an Oscar. As the work of the master of recent years shows, he gradually moved away from the topic of gene mutations, focusing on subjects with a philosophical second bottom.
The talented director proved himself as a writer. David Cronenberg never ceases to amaze with the versatility of his creative gift. âUsedâ is just his starting novel, but upon reading it remains the impression of a classic pen. Readers became convinced: not only the language of cinema canadian knows perfectly. His novel captures and holds readers in suspense from the beginning to the last page.
Instead of a conclusion
What is interesting for the general director David Cronenberg? In fact, he is self-taught. Do not prepare graduates of literary universities to make films. Did it bother him? Probably no. It helped. Precisely because no one told David how and what should be removed, he walked in his own unique way.
This begs the analogy with A. S. Pushkin, who was an unloved child in the family, and therefore was left to himself until he was 9 years old (at the same time, his brother was âmasteredâ by his father, and his sister by his mother). This was enough to lay the foundations of genius ...