Cronenberg on Cronenberg (Directors on Directors) [Paperback]

David Cronenberg (Author), Chris Rodley (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Directors on Directors | Publication Date: February 6, 1997

Cronenberg on Cronenberg charts Cronenberg's development from maker of inexpensive 'exploitation' cinema to internationally renowned director of million-dollar movies, and reveals the concerns and obsessions which continue to dominate his increasingly rich and complex work. This edition brings Cronenberg's work up -to -date with an additional chapter on Crash.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

David Cronenberg is Canada's most provocative director. With internationally acclaimed films such as Scanners, The Fly, Dead Ringers and Naked Lunch, he has demonstrated his ability to touch painful nerves and invest his own unique genre with a rare philosophical and emotional intensity. In this stimulating, vivid book--combining memoir, behind-the-scenes movie stories and unsettling and original insights into the traumas of the late 20th century--David Cronenberg reveals the concerns and obsessions which dominate his rich, complex work. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

With films such as The Brood and Videodrome, David Cronenberg established himself as Canada's most provocative director. With subsequent movies such as The Dead Zone, The Fly, Dead Ringers and Naked Lunch, Cronenberg demonstrated his ability not only to touch painful nerves, but also to invest his own developing genre with seriousness, philosophical dimension and a rare emotional intensity.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber; Rev Sub edition (February 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571191371
• ISBN-13: 978-0571191376
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fascinating - transcends its peers three-fold, January 8, 1998

By 

Mark Cuadrado - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cronenberg on Cronenberg (Directors on Directors) (Paperback)

This must-read is for anyone who has ever wondered about the relationship between venereal diseases and their application to modern Film. Cronenberg's style of writing is extremely poetic, subjective and provocative; his meditations bring forth a Proustian dialogue that is as infectious as it is terrifying. The ideas of a 'biological horror film' are not only discussed, but engage the reader as only the greatest horror writers, past and present, have done; bears comparison to H.P. Lovecraft and Du Maurier.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much needed, very in-depth--essential for film fans., February 23, 2000

By 

William Errickson Jr. (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cronenberg on Cronenberg (Directors on Directors) (Paperback)

David Cronenberg--what do we do with him? Is he a horror filmmaker? A Canadian who makes art films? A schlockmeister? Cronenberg bucks all categories and trends because so many of his films cannot be placed in any genre. You'll not find any tough-talking hipsters a la "Pulp Fiction"; you'll find no romantic cliches a la "Chasing Amy"; you'll find no staid, genteel period pieces a la Merchant-Ivory. With Cronenberg what you get is sui generis, an auteur in the true sense of the word, a man whose perverse, atheistic, disturbing visions are realized on-screen in a wholly uncompromising manner. In this book of interviews you get to hear this brilliant, highly articulate man talk about his films, production, story ideas, influences (Burroughs & Nabokov, how about that!), diseases and viruses, social mores, the responsibiblities of the artist, and more. Personally I find Cronenberg a more interesting thinker than other filmmakers, even ones I like a bit better (Woody Allen, Scorsese), because he's primarily an intellectual who is not afraid to look at the non-human aspect of his films--the insect, the parasite, the video image--and postulate its unique existence. Recent films like "Crash" and "Naked Lunch" are difficult, rewarding works, although I know many people who hate these films. Film fans are notoriously divided on where Cronenberg stands--some called "eXistenZ" a wooden bore, others one of the great SF films of recent years. Some say "Videodrome" is a mashmash of half-thought ideas, or that "Crash" is pretentious and ridiculous. Some men can't watch "Dead Ringers," while many film critics consider it Jeremy Irons' greatest performance. I think these films are oddly brilliant and exciting. And I'd rather watch a mediocre Cronenberg film than just about any independent or Hollywood film--Cronenberg always gives you something to think about. Well, make up your own mind by reading "Cronenberg on Cronenberg." Hopefully this will be the first of many books on the man and his work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true Auteur, January 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Cronenberg on Cronenberg (Directors on Directors) (Paperback)

This book is quite simply fascinating. When I was first introduced to Cronenberg's films I was immediately struck by how perverse, disgusting, intelligent and touching they are. What interests me about this book is how articulate Cronenberg is, how the thought processes behind many of his disgusting or "out there" images come from a real sense of purity and clarity. He is a fascinating specimen, and more than deserving of the 256 pages devoted to him. I wish critics, feminists and film historians who have dismissed Cronenberg, based on limited theories, should read this book and learn the workings of a true artist. In my opinion it is hard to criticize something you've never embraced in some way.