David Cronenberg's first two short films on DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Kevin M]

Have David Cronenberg's first two short films Stereo & Crimes of the Future ever been made available on DVD? I looked at the Short Cinema Journal titles but found nothing.

 

[PaulP]

I think they're on the recently-released Fast Company 2-disc DVD.

 

[Kevin M]

I rented that from Netflix and on the extras they mentioned these films, that is why I was interested...I didn't know it had a second disc. Fantastic, thank you!

 

[Kevin M]

.....well just like Dead & Buried's bonus disc it is listed at Netflix as "Release date: Unknown.

Damn it.

 

[Levi]

Hi,

There were two versions of Fast Company released, a limited edition two disc set with those two films including as bonus features, and a single disc version which omitted those two films.

eBay almost always has a DVD for sale that is just those two Cronenberg shorts, but I'm pretty sure it's a bootleg, so buyer beware. My suggestion would be, for any Cronenberg fan, track down the LE and add it to your collection! It's well worth owning.

There is also a pretty neat import DVD, usually available on eBay, with a couple of television episodes directed by Cronenberg. (I forget the name of the show, but one of the episodes is titled "The Lie Chair" or something similar. Check IMDB for further clarification.) The import DVD is Region 0 and generally available for less than 15 bucks.

--LEVI

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Thanks for the fantastic info, Levi.

 

[PaulP]

Yeah if you're a Cronenberg fan, this is a great DVD. The 2-disc version is just under 18 bucks over at DeepDiscountDVD - great deal!

 

[Damin J Toell]

The R0 disc available cheaply on eBay is a bootleg taken from a significantly more expensive R2 DVD available in Japan. The shows included are "The Lie Chair," an episode of the CBC series "Peep Show," and "The Italian Machine," an episode of the CBC series "Teleplay." "The Lie Chair" is a forgettable ditty on a standard horror theme, but "The Italian Machine" is wonderful Cronenbergian fun and makes a great appetizer for "Fast Company."

As for Stereo and Crimes of the Future: you'll probably only ever watch them once each, but they're must-owns for people who want to seriously explore Cronenberg's body of work.

DJ

 

[Kevin M]

That's my problem, I wish to see them as a Cronenberg fan but I didn't enjoy Fast Company enough to warrant buying the two disc set, it was a fairly well made 70's exploitation racing flick (the actual racing footage was very well done) but not good enough IMO beyond a casual rental.

Maybe if I look around Hollywood or Blockbuster they might have it...hey, unlike Netflix my local BB did have Criterion's Carnival of Souls so anything is possible I guess.

 

[JoeStemme]

With the imminent stateside release of Cronenberg's new CRIMES OF THE FUTURE upcoming, a look back at his first pair of short feature films.

STEREO (1969) & CRIMES OF THE FUTURE (1970) - David Cronenberg's first short feature, STEREO (63 minutes) sets up his future career from the get go. A scientific investigation by the 'Canadian Academy of Erotic Enquiry' goes predictably awry. Telepathy, deviant sexuality and violence all play a part in Cronenberg's debut. The cold, dank environment shot in sterile B&W gives it an almost surreal feel, as does the deadpan narration.

CRIMES OF THE FUTURE is similarly brief and also disquieting in its fetishistic inquiry into the “House Of Skin”. After an epidemic, most women (and some men) have become infected. The need for the species to continue to breed creates an institute of increasing perversion and fetishism including the growth of extra body parts and other manifestations. Shooting in color, Cronenberg's second film is a bit slicker if no less sterile. While neither movie is fully successful, together, they form a creepy, hard to shake atmosphere of antiseptic degeneracy. Cronenberg arrived pretty much fully formed. It will be interesting to see his updated take on CRIMES OF THE FUTURE.


I got to see both films on a double bill several years ago with Cronenberg himself there for a Q&A. When he stepped up to the podium just after the end credits of CRIMES OF THE FUTURE finished, he dead-panned: “What a brave audience!”. Cronenberg was an engaging guest speaker who fully acknowledged that he was still finding his footing. The most amusing anecdote he conveyed was of a Canadian film writer who had praised STEREO and CRIMES as brilliant “pure cinema.”

The same critic then raged that with THEY CAME FROM WITHIN (aka SHIVERS) he had 'sold out'!

STEREO and CRIMES OF THE FUTURE are available to stream on the Criterion Channel. They are on DVD and Blu Ray on Blue Underground's 2-disc FAST COMPANY set. STEREO is included on Criterion's SCANNERS Blu Ray, with CRIMES OF THE FUTURE on their VIDEODROME release. Both pop up on Youtube.