Videodrome

David Cronenberg's Videodrome (1983) is something of a cult classic and recently got the Criterion treatment for a new Bluray edition. I is an exploration of the effects of television on people and was somewhat inspired by Marshall McLuhan. James Woods plays Max Renn, the seedy owner of a local cable TV station that plays soft-porn and other graphic material. He is searching for the next big thing that will make his station profitable, when he meets  another TV personality  Nicki Brand (Deborah Harry) and starts to investigate S&M, which coincides with a snuff transmission that a pirate engineer has discovered on the airwaves. Little by little Max becomes infected by the TV images he has been watching. I think Cronenberg has packed a lot of ideas in this film-it still seems relevant today. The Criterion treatment includes: audio commentary - David Cronenberg w/ director of photography with Mark Irwin, audio commentary - actors James Woods and Deborah Harry, Camera (2000), a short film by Cronenberg, Forging the New Flesh, a half-hour documentary, Effects Men, an audio interview. Bootleg Video: the complete footage of Samurai Dreams, Fear on Film, a roundtable discussion from 1982, original theatrical trailers and promotional featurette, stills gallery featuring rare behind-the-scenes production photos, and a booklet featuring essays by Carrie Rickey, Tim Lucas, and Gary Indiana.