EHT David Cronenberg's trash and boost the ratings and the The correlation isn't as odd as it victim because Videodrome penetrates sounds. Science fiction has always been and changes him. His odyssey may con­ a genre of ideas. See the movie. Read the Videodrome tain elements of standard fairy-tale ar­ book. Find out just know well ideas can chetype, but it's a long, long way from be developed on screen when somebody being a stock plot. with talent is at the top of his form, Renn's ambiguity is passed on to the viewer in Mark Irwin's tight, well- Andrew Dowler • composed cinematography. When Nicki Whats going to get In the way here, the Brand (Deborah Harry), Renn's lover, one and only thing that might prevent tells him she wants to audition for VIDEODROME p. Claude Heroux d./sc David Cronenberg's Videodrome from Videodrome, he reacts with horror we David Cronenberg exec p. Pierre David Victor reaching the wide, wide audience It Solnicki assoc. p. Lawrence Nesis 1st asst d. share, but if s her that s bathed In warm, John Board Z nd. asst d. Libby Bowden 3rd. asst deserves Is the "l-don't-llke-that-stuff" golden light and him tbats In the cold d, Rocco Gismondi p. co-ord. Roger Heroux tech. syndrome. You know It; the odds are dark at the side of the frame. Similarly, advisor Denise Di Novi p. mait Gwen Iveson asst a thousand-to-one that, at some point or p. mait Janet Cuddy p. sec Angela Gruenthal we're i^^ aware of bis, and our, cont Gillian Richardson loc matt David Coats- another, you're a party to It, It's your taintedn^ In the establishing shots worth art iL Carol Spier 1st asst art d. Barbara complete unwillingness to go to a movie that feature shining skyscraper city- DunphySnd. asst art d. Tom Coulter trainee art because the subject matter, or the style, scapes behind, and above the brown d. Jo-Ann Landenheim props master Peter Lau- or the genre turns you off. terman asst props Greg Pelchat set dresser squalor we really live in. Inevitably, the Angelo Stea 1st asst set dresser Enrico Campana For me, if s anything about a young eye focusses on the shining to the exclu­ 2nd. asst set dresser Gareth Wilson 3rd. asst man or woman coming of age, especially sion of the squalor, just like TV. set dresser Gary Jack costume des. Delphine at the turn of the century, especially in White asst des Eileen Kennedy wardrobe master Carol Spier's art direction carries it Arthur Rowsell Sp. malce-up Rick Baker music the Australian outback forw^d, placing the characters in messy, Howard Shore wardrobe asst Maureen Gurney For a lot of you, it's science-fiction, unattended-to environments and the wardrobe trainee Denise Woodley hd. make­ horror, violence and, especially, David up Shonagh labour hair stylist Tom Booth cast­ actors respond beautifully, behaving like ing/principals, actors Clare Walker IWalker/ Cronenberg. shambling derelicts; James Woods Bowen) casting extras Peter Lavender d.o.p./ Forget the syndrome. Videodrome Is (Renn) especially, until brought to life by operator Mark Irwin Ist asst/focus Robin Miller as far above the average sclgnce fiction/ The Tube and its violent fantasies. 2nd. asst/clapper/loader James Crowe stills Rick Porter gaffer Jock Brandts best boy Scotty horror movie as Coppola's The Conver­ Though Videodrome is James Woods' Allen electric Gary Phipps key grip Maris Jansons sation is above the average mystery —. a movie all the way, all the supporting asst key grip David Hynes grip Brian Daniels loc movie to which it is thematicaily close — players are excellent, creating interest­ sd. mix, Brian Day boom op. Michael LaCroix and worthy of the same kind of careful video co-ord. Michael Lennick IsL asst video ing, well-defined characters even when, Lee Wilson 2nd. asst video Rob Meckler const attention. from a script point of view, they are man. Bill Harman hd. carpenter Alexander What makes It so is that Cronenberg required to be nothing more than plot Russell asst hcL carpenter Joe Curtin carpenters has found, for the second time in only devices. Special mention, however, Kirk Cheney, Alan Sharpe, Robert Sher, John Bankson five features, something filmmakers can labourer Charles Martin hd. painter Nick Kosonic should go to Pefcr Dvorsky as Harlan, scenic painters Janet Cormack. Reel Puhm go a Ufetlme and never find at all — a Renn's comic technical wizard, and painters Simon Harwood, Elaine Cohen, Bill Gib- real monster. In The Brood, be did it Deborah Harry, who, despite reported son trans, co-ord. Don Baldassarra hd. driver with child abuse and created a first-rate problems on the set that resulted in her Randy Jones driver/Winnie John Vander Pas driver Al Kosonic driver/Mr. Woods Isidore of time and partly, I suspect, to keep shocker, but child abuse is a present part being trimmed, has made Nickl Mussalum driver/Ms. Harry David Chud unit those numbers up, it concentrates solely reality for only a few of us. Videodrome's Brand a marvellous kink. pub./Toronto Jill Spitz unit pub./Montreal on folk, MOR and rock and lumps toge­ monster Is much more pervasive, de­ Kinky sex and kinkier violence play a Suzanne Daningburged. Ron Sanders Ist asst ed. ther 3S artists whose only common vouring and deadly to all of us — it's Elaine Foreman 2nd asst ed. Michael Rea Mr. big part In Videodrome, as they do In Cronenbergs personal asst Richard Zygot- ground. In many cases. Is their Canadian television Itself (Look, I don't want to get most of Cronenberg's work. The differ­ kiewicz Mr. David's sec. Monik Nantel Mr. C. citizenship. preachy here, Cronenberg certainly ence here, to reassure the "l-don't-like- Heroux's sec Monique L6gar6 Mr. Solnicki's The Intention, and the achievement, doesn't, but I happen to agree with bis that-stulf' crowd. Is that they are never sec Ellen Rosen comptroller Serge Major asst was clearly to produce a mainstream thesis). Television is transforming us all, comptroller Gilles Leonard p. 300*1 Lacia Kornylo "gratuitous", nor Indulged in beyond asst acc't Rachelle Charron bookkeeper Mau­ show for a mainstream viewer, but It is says Cronenberg, replacing our lived the demands of the story. Nor are they reen Fitzgerald receptionist Bonnie Gold p. sheer superstition to believe such a reality with its created images. "It's the played for tltlllation, and 1 speak as a assfs. Richard Spiegelman, Howard Rothschild viewer actually exists. Through the years, retina of the mind's eye," says Brian man who enjoys bis sado-masochistic craftservice Lydia Wazana p.c. Filmplan Inters it has been well, though Informally, O'Blivion. That name, by the way, is the national Inc, running time 88 min, colour 35mm fantasies; you can close your eyes during dlst/Eng Canada & LIS Universal Pictures l.p. documented that the citizen likely to caracter's own creation for himself This those bits and not feel like you're missing James Woods, Sonja Smits, Deborah Harry, Peter have a religious experience watching is the first script in which Cronenberg the film's raison d'etre. If you can close Dvorsky, Les Carlson, Jack Creley, Lynne Gorman, Carole Pope rub her crotch while doing has allowed bis sense of humour full your eyes at all during Videodrome, Julie Khaner, Reiner Schwarz, David Bolt, Lally ""High School Confidential" is also likely play and, in context, he Is very witty. Cadeau, Henry Gomez, Harvey Chao, Kay Hawtrey, you're unbelievable. This is a film that David Tsuboucbv, Robin Mcculloch, Sam Malkin, to tremble with rage and visions of Sid The excellence of the central concept doesn't waste a frame and that spends Ronald Reece, Vicious while watching Paul Anka do - that we ar,e all tainted by the monster an amazing number of them expanding 'My Way and tell how writing it while - generates the excellence that fills and refining its central idea. thinking of his hero, Frank Sinatra, Videodrome at every level. In Michael Whether you're predisposed to like brought him to tears. Apka fans, of Crlchlon's Looker, only part of TV is Cronenberg or not, Videodrome is worth course, will be equally unentbused bv bad: the pure good guys penetrate the your attention as a thoughtful film on a Peter Shatalow's Rough Trade and admirers of Valdis baddies' stronghold and slop the evil. serious subject and, if that subject and "Play Me A Rock'n Roll Song" will not Stock plot. Here, Max Renn, president of Cronenberg's Ideas on it appeal to you, Heart of Gold leap with glee at the sound of beavv CIVIC-TV la station very much like let me recommend a much quieter metaUlsts Rush and Saga. It is the inevi­ Toronto's CITV-TV) is hero, trying to horror: Four Arguments for the Elimina­ table corollary to the something-for- penetrate the mystery of Videodrome, a tion of Television by Jerry ManderfQuill, everyone principle : you will also pro­ satellite-beamed program of graphic, New York, 1978) which covers much the duce something for everyone to bate. plotless sex-and-violence. Renn Is the same material as Videodrome, but Heart Of Gold, Insight Productions" three- To cope with this. Heart Of Gold's villain because be wants to broadcast this through reason, not drama. hour, three-part CBC Superspeclal (aired producers have adopted the Laugh-In Dec. 12, 13, 14) is a classic case of the principle : mix it up and keep it moving; good idea falling among bad ones and if you don't like what's on right now, going tragically wrong. stick around, therell be something to According to John Brunton, the show"s your taste in just a few minutes. On one executive producer, the original idea — level this is perfectly true and, whatever a history of Canadian rock — was chan­ your taste, when Heart Of Gold finally ged after consultation with the oracle of gets around to it, you're more than likely American TV ratings, which revealed to be delighted. The researchers and that. In that countrx at least, prime-time crew have unearthed or created some rock drew lowly and humble numbers. wonderful pieces of performance and So "Canadian rock" became "Canadian inter\ie\\ on almost eveiy performer pop," which is not at aU the same thing. covered. I wont list tn\ favorites; it Pop can include dlxielarrd, big bands would be pointless unless your taste jazz, blues, folk, country, middle-of-the- exactly matches mine iwhich, inciden- road (MORI, rock, reggae and anything lalh, is why I'm doing this review in else that's ever recei\'ed AM airplav and terms as general as I can make tbemi. Canada has produced imporlanl and The problem, though, is thai the laugh- interesting artists in virtually all those In principle keeps you from savoring fields. But Heart Of Gold doesn't tr\' to xour favourites. With a tew exceptions be complete Partly from considerations - Anne Murray and Ian &, Sylvia, among

Febriiary 1983 - Cinema Canada/35 REVILWS others — the segments are so short and Jonathan Starr, both in their first film concert audiences. Contrasted with choppy that you'\e no sooner settled Fernando Arrabal's roles) spend their summer vacation at Toby's narcissistic daydreams are into a groove than you're jerked right out the well-to-do country home of their Hoang's real and tragic memories of hjj of it again. After a while, you start to feel Uncle Alex (Jean-Louis Roux) and Aunt separation from his parents and his llkl you're watching the world'slongest Odyssey Elsa (Monique Mercure). The childless tiesperate escape from Cambodia. K-Tel commercial. couple dote dutifully on their charges, Although the film essentially poses The good ideals further cluttered by a of the Pacific dressing them immaculately in Victorian the cbilciren as mere vehicles for their conflict between the documentary and clothes and surrounding them with gad­ own fantasies, nothing can excuse the "entertainment special" aspects of the gets, toys and television. One day a wootien expresslonlessness of their act­ show. The latter phrase Is Brunton's and Over a year later than Us originally young Cambodian refugee boy named ing, especially that of Starr and Ky HUot he Insists It describes bow be always anticipated release date, Fernando Hoang (Ky Hunt Uk) arrives, and the Uk. And Mercure's and Roux's efforts conceived Heart Of Gold to be. But he's Arrabal's Odyssey of the Pacific has three fast friends take to exploring to­ are marred by the weary vapidity of the given us lots of docurnentary material chugged into Canadian theatres, and gether In the surrounding woods. Their dialogue. Rooney did his scenes on and often at the expense of the music. the suspicion is that this anachronistic day-trips lead them to the discovery of a weekends (usually In one or two takes) Time after lime we are given only frag­ clunker will be ortiered to pull out fast. crippled ex-locomotive engineer, Thu- travelling back and forth from a play he ments of very good songs and songs It concerns the daydream fantasies of bal (Mickey Rooney), whojiyes as a was then doing on Broadway [Sugar Interrupted for a line of narration or three children who plot to escape the hermit in a decrepit railwaj^fflf. Thubal, Babies). He too is a victim of the film's artists' commentary. True, the Interrup­ uninaginatlve confines of their bour­ who calls himself the Empe'rbr of Peru, dialogue, but his hyperbolic rantings tion points are well-chosen, but if music geois life, on board a ressurrected steam sits astride a wheelchair-throne, and are bammed to the hilt, even though is the point, then any Interruption is locomative. Unfortunately, the film Is with darling eyes, flashing teeth and an delivered from a wheelchair. Widening jarring and destructive of what is very deplorably scripted, poorly acted and annoying glisten of spittle at the corner the film's credibility gap even further, often a fine performance. technically flawed. Its principal problem of his mouth, pontificates magnilo- the extras appear embarrassingly aware On the other hand, there Isn't enough lies In the leaden inauthenticity of its quently about whatever madness comes that they are In a movie. Apparently, the documentary material. In one segment, language — not surprising considering to mind. It Is all very reminiscent of playwright-turned-dlrector Arrabal has Robbie Robertson tells how he and The the international melange which con­ Lewis CarroU minus the profound, poetic little skill extracting from actors what it Band joined Bob Dylan and got booed tributed to this EngUsh-language film. lunacy. The children stumble across takes to give a film authenticity. from one end of the earth to the other. Spanish-born Arrabal does not speak Thubal's hidden locomotive and set On a more positive note, there is an You're never told why and, if you're at English himself, yet be bravely (or fool­ themselves the task of restoring it to its anachronistic element to the filmwhic h all curious, that omission may m£ike you ishly) made the film in English. The original glory. So that Hoang can rescue barkens back to age of steam. It is very resentful (it was because Dylan bad internationally reknown playwright/ and marry his mother, they plan to manifest in the chlltiren's outmoded never played rock before - this was director co-scripted the film with travel to Cambodia on the ressurrected clothes. In the vaudeville troupe they 1965 — and his folkie audience despised Quebec writer Roger Lemelln of Les train, with Thubal at the engine. Thubal encounter on the railroad tracl«, in the the stuff. So, when he showed up with Plouffe fame, and bis words were con­ encourages and stokes their fantasies, locomotive, and in the very feel of the electric guitars, they decided he was veyed into English by an on-locatlon but at the last minute declines to go with photography itself. Appropriately, the translator. Another factor compounding selling out). There are lots of other them, proving that even a "mad" adult Acadian folk singer from New Brunswick, examples and they all follow the same this linguistic contrivance was that the can't share the fantasies of children. actors were predominantly French- Edith Butler, arranged the musical score; pattern : enough Information to awaken Arrabal has said that his own chil­ Just as through her ballads she attempts your interest, not enough to pay It off. speaking, were directed in French, yet delivered their lines, for the liiost part. dren's fantasies were the inspiration for to keep alive the spirit-memory of a In addition, there are a few flat-out In English. That is, when they weren't the film, and ironically the fantastical displaced people and their obsolete factual errors in Donald Sutherland's being dubbed! One Is tempted to ask : side of the film does seem genuinely Acadian language, in Odyssey the haunt­ orotund narration and a couple of unin­ why was this film even made in English ? linked to a child's imagination : the one ing song which accompanies shots of tentional structural howlers, the best Surely it would have rung truer In believable thread in this whole improba­ the locomotive seems to be attempting being that right after Randy Bachman French, not just in terms of language, ble concoction. A good part of the film to raise the extinct machine from the deUvers his seriously-held belief that but also In the actors' delivery and even consists of Tobys dreams of grandeur. dead. Unfortunately, this film Is stillborn, Canadian music is a world-wide force, the film's very content. The impression Each of bis fantasies involves some if only because Arrabal refused to deliver we get no-talent Lisa dal Bello desper­ one is left with Is that the film keeps ingenious stroke of Inventiveness on his a potentially poetic vision in its appro­ ately shaking her breasts to sell us her missing the station, as its European part, turning potentially dlsasterous priate language. one hit, "Pretty Girls." sensibilities drive it in one direction, situations into triumphs in front of an Most of the moments In Heart Of Gold and its attempted North American adulatory crowd. But these wildly cheer­ Lyn Martin • that I liked have faded from memory. commercialism drives It in another. ing crowd scenes are so sloppily inserted What remains Is the overall feeling of that they bear no continuity with Toby's ODYSSEY OF THE PACIFIC i. Fer profound irritation and frustration at The story begins when nine-year-old filmed fantasies. They are too obviously nando Arrabal sc Arrabal, Roger Lemelin do.p. seeing a good idea wrecked for bad Liz and seven-year-old Toby (Anick and what they are : shots of ballgame and Ken Legargeant art d. Rene Petit, Fernand Durand reasons. Despite this, I hope Brunton got cost des. Franpois Laplanle ed. John Broughton the numbers be wanted, because they sd. Claude Hazanavicius p. Claude Leger, Romaine just might get him the money to do what Legargeant assoc p. Fabien Tordjmann, Joel Nuffer asst to p. Ann Burke p. man. Suzanne Roy unit he says be really wants to do : a series of man, Michel Siry asst unit malt HaroldTrepanier 13 half-hours on the same subject. That, coor. Yolaine Rouleau chief acct Micheline rather than Heart Of Gold, is what both Bonin, Armand Soussan, Natacha Poloudnenko, artists and audiences deserve. Anne-Marie Berthier accts. Jeannette Ruffel, Christine Guilbault p. sec. Jacqueline Soussan, Pascale Reiher, Noi^lle Guichard a.d. Michel Gau- Andrew Dowler • thier,FrangoisChopineau,Michele Mercure, Pascal Roulin cont Catherine Breton cast Daniel Haus mann, Michele Mercure cam. Claude Larue asst cam. Daniel Jobin, Joslin Simard, Camille Maheux HEART OF GOLD p. John Brunton lain 2nd cant Maurice Roy, Georges Archambault stills Peterson d. Peter Shatalow assoc p. Ann .\Iavall Takashi Seida, Fred Smith sd. ed. Nadine Muse exec. p. John Brunton asst (o p. Susan Hull asst ed. Elizabeth Guide, Sarah Mallinson ad. efx. narrated by Donald Sutherland ed. Cathy Gulkin Henry Humbert, Jean-Pierre Leiong dla. d. Hubert photographed by ; Mark Irwin, Rene C Hashi. Fielden, Helehe Lauzon mixer Michel Descombes Robert \ew, Philip Earnshaw, John Walker, Rick ward, mist Dominique Forest ward, asst Louise Mason, D,,A, Pennebaker, Larry Wood asst camera Rousseau makeup Micheline Foisy props Serge Robin Miller, Carl Harvev, John Hobson, Donna Bureau asst prop. Simon La Haye, Pierre Gros Mobbs, Mar\in Midwicki, Michael May, William DAillon, Herminio Billetle, Philippe Chevalier sp. Brown sd. rec. John Thompson add. sd. rec efx. Louis Craig, Jacques Godboul, Henri Simard Bryan Day, Randy Johnson, Ron Judkins, Gene head elect Denis Baril elect Brian Baker key Bernard, Chris Edges sd. ed. PeterThillaye re-rec. grip Raymond Lamy grip Philippe Palu drivers Paul Coombe asst eiL John Brooke film asst Daniel Mercure, Yves Lamarre, Pierre Siry. unit Daphne Pallon grip. Maris Jansons and David pub. Lucienne Appel, Monique Mollette leachei- Hines asst grip Christopher Dean &. Rodney Daw Sandra Saint-Laurent lab. Sonolab Inc., Montreal research consultant Lany LeBlanc researchers mixing studio Sonolab Inc equipment Cinimafl John Brooke, Charles Lazar, Claudette Jaiko theme optical effects Film Docteur du Quebec Inc music Fred Mollin titles & animation Stuff music produced and published by Les Editions processing FilmHouse p.c Insight Productions Lise Aubut Enr, 1981 Produced with the flnanel" Co, Limited in association with CBC and Labatt participation of Film Corp, Entertainment Plnan^ Brewing Co, Ltd running time: 3 hours, 16mm ces Ltd, Canadian Film Development Corporation, Cdn. dist Insight Productions tp. The Diamonds, Linstilut quebecois du Cinema, Antenne 2, ' The Crewcuts, The Four Lads, Paul Anka, Bobby Musee Ferroviaire Canadien, Canadan Pacific LI . Curtola, Ronnie Hawkins, The Band, Ian &, Sylvia, p.c Cine-Pacificlnc/BabyloneFilms,S,A,running Mandala, Joni Mitchell, Lovin' Spoonful The Mamas time: 59:21 colour, 3Smm Lp. Mickey Rooney & The Papas, Steppenwolf, Neil \ oung David Clay­ Monique Mercure, Jean-Louis Roux, Guy Hoffmann, ton-Thomas, Andy Kim. The Guess Who, Gordon Anick, Jonathan Starr, Ky Huot Uk, Valda Dalwn Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, MUETJ) McLauchlan, Jean-Pierre Saulnier, Marie-Josee Morin, Mauncc \ald> BTO, Anne ,Murra>', Gino V'annelli, Dan Hill, Podbrev; Vlasta Vrana, John Stanzel, Michel Bar- Bruce Ciockburn, Rough Trade Lo\erboy, Chilli- relte, MichelBartolini,GeorgesTaliorky,"'"''*'>' ,."• uack. Lisa dal Bello, Triumph, April Wine, Saga, • Ky Huot Uk. left, Jonathan Starr, and Anick: Lewis Carroll minus the lunacy Trach Chanh, Jean-Pierre Ronfard AnnilieSchmio , Rush Burton Cumming,s, ,\ndre Melanpon, ^^^^___

36/Cinema Canada - February 1983