Did anyone else think Videodrome was a muddled mess?

[mshulman5]

I just didn't enjoy that much. I was waiting for something interesting to happen and it really never did. It was just a confusing mess with nothing explained very well at all. I was especially put off by the ending. Endings like that just get under my skin. Won't give away any spoilers, but man I expected more with the good things I had heard.

Videodrome 5.5/10

[countchocula]

For me, there were enough clues to go on. If you can stomach it (no pun intended), I'd recommend repeated viewings.

[Elgyn]

I had a little trouble following it the first time as well. Like count already said, try watching it again.


P.S. - I`m a little confused about your feelings about the ending. You say it 'got under your skin', but that you were also 'put off' by it. So, did you like the ending or not?:confused:

[mshulman5]

Put off to me is bad...as in it made me angry.

[Cronos]

i didnt really have much of a problem following it, at times i got a little confused...but ive never really had much of a problem following any of cronenbergs films

maybe you'd find it easier to follow on a second viewing

[saintofscars]

It's all about messing with reality, so it's bound to seem a little weird. To fully appreciate Videodrome you have to accept the idea that reality isn't as real as our perception of what it is, or what we want it to be.
And TV is more real than reality if you watch too much of it;)

[mshulman5]

I don't mind when a movie takes perceived reality and throws it out the door. I thought Videodrome was good in that sense. The story itself just made the whole Videodrome thing lose meaning with me. There was just way to much left unexplained for a first time viewer. Sure I'll watch it again eventually, and I'll probably think a little better of it. For a first time viewer however...unless you're a genre fan well you simply will not like it.

[therealjohng]

Isn't Cronenberg known for fucking with his character's realities?

[saintofscars]

You're right, mshulman5, this isn't a film for non-genre fans and even then it takes a few viewings to sort it out. It deffinately plays by it's own rules!

[skweemkween]

Originally posted by saintofscars
It's all about messing with reality, so it's bound to seem a little weird. To fully appreciate Videodrome you have to accept the idea that reality isn't as real as our perception of what it is, or what we want it to be.
And TV is more real than reality if you watch too much of it;)

My thoughts exactly. Maybe I was secretly given a steady diet of psychotropics from my high school cafeteria but I was a huge fan of this movie when I was a freshman and didn't have any problems understanding it. Then again, often times I do feel I was dropped on my head as an infant.

Videodrome is looked upon with fond teenage memories and nostalgia. Cronenberg in general got me thru high school. Second only to SCTV.

[mshulman5]

Looking back on it I probably would have enjoyed this movie more if I had seen it as a teen since I'm of the mid 90's high school generation as well. But like alot of other movies that do not stand up well against the tests of time this one to me fits that mold. I wish I had seen it when I was younger so it could have left a deeper impression on me. That's why I'll always love Jason Voorhees. I was 13 or 14 and not supposed to be watching Friday the 13th. There was something about watching movies that were forbidden, and when you see Jason at that young and impressionable an age it leaves something with you that you'll never forget. Now when I've just recently turned 27 I find myself just saying ehhhhhhh alot more because it's alot harder to leave an impression.

[SilentNight29]

yeah, it seems like the older ya get the more hardened to stuff you see on the screen you get. Still, I am suprised every now and then...

Irreversible would be the last one that comes to mind that really took me back in shock.

[wheresdonnie?]

I had seen other Cronenberg movies before, so I kinda knew what to expect. But I loved every confusing minute of it, and it bears up well to repeat viewings. Also, this is nowhere near as confusing as his other glorious mindf***, Naked Lunch. I had no clue what was going on in that one

[spacemonkey]

Cronenberg is allways playing with that idea of whats real and whats not....and he always touches upon the subject of violence and sexuality in his films. Rabid, Crash, Shivers, The Brood, Videodrome all have the same themes in common....violence and sexuality.

Another good example is Existense. Ive said it many times in the past, but I think existense is just another version of Videodrome. Only thing is that instead of dealing with television, it deals with the world of video games and virtual realities. But they are also a bit different because I think Existense goes a little deeper into the whole theme of questioning reality.

I wish hed tackle the subject of the internet, Id love to see what he would do with it.

[stevereno]

I've never been able to sit through this movie. I dont know why, I just can't.

[Inglorious]

I watched it last night and I found it VERY confusing. I also understood it in a strange way. And I think I got all the answers and picked up on most of the present clues... but it left me wanting more.
It was one of those movies I wanted to reach the end very quickly to learn what was going on, and by the time the end came I realized I knew what was going on and I wanted it to keep going...

I liked it... alot... but I didnt love it and maybe didnt fully get into it.

[Gluttony]

I really didn't find Videodrome to be a confusing mess, I just didn't like the movie. Less profound and interesting in my opinion. Also, I thought it would have more viscera flying around than it did. Basically, I was expecting the exact opposite of what it was.

I like some of Cronenberg's movies, but my usual reaction towards his work is "eh." Spider, Dead Ringers, and Crash are good examples.

[TATU]

Two words: Cancer Gun

This movie is confusing as hell, but that's just what I liked about it.

[vash777]

yeah well any movie that has debbie harry asking you to cut her with the saw on a swiss army knife is worth a second watch to me i saw this movie as a very young person actually think i saw it back in 86 sounds about right yeah its confusing! i watched it the other day and it didnt help cronenberg is a master at wrapping things up in a nice moldy taco then setting it ablaze hence screwing with the flow of a movie but i will say this the movie was shocking then and now!

[wheresdonnie?]

I loved Videodrome. Freaked me out!
8/10

[adamjohnson]

I blind bought the criterion, which was like 30 bucks.

I thought I would really enjoy it, but, to an extent, it was difficult to stomach, and even more difficult to understand. I bet I would understand more with a re-watch. The problem therein is that I dont know if I WANT to rewatch the thing.

[wheresdonnie?]

Originally posted by adamjohnson
I bet I would understand more with a re-watch. The problem therein is that I dont know if I WANT to rewatch the thing.

Dude, it's well worth a rewatch. It completely confused and grossed me out the first time I saw it, but now it gets better every time I watch it.

[chinton]

I was with this film until



Spoilers!!!!!




the vagina stomach that worked as a tape deck that madew the other guy explode at the end!!!!!! God that w as so silly.

[ERIN_LoJ]

I guess it was mediocre. In some ways I really enjoyed it, others just liked it, others didnt really like it..one of those movies where it's hard to make a decision. Confusing, yes, but I got the basics of it in the end.

[X-Nightcrawler]

Originally posted by chinton
I was with this film until



Spoilers!!!!!




the vagina stomach that worked as a tape deck that madew the other guy explode at the end!!!!!! God that w as so silly. *rolls eyes* Again!?

Ugh, I can't believe Cronenberg is so "highly acclaimed". Every fucking movie he does has the same fucking fuck fucking visuals. It's always some kind of every-day item but organicky and vagina-esque. I thought it would only be the case in Naked Lunch (which I didn't like either) with the typewriter or ExistenZ (which I didn't like either) with the gun things. All of his movies are the same crap that make no sense.

What a hack.

. . . he said having only seen two of his movies.