From
the back cover
“Heads
explode. Parasites fly at people’s faces. Televsion sets breathe. A woman grows
a spike in her armpit and unleashes a cataclysm on the world. These are the
startling images David Cronenberg uses to shock and disturb us as his films
travel through a nightmare world where the grotesque and the bizarre make our
flesh creep.
“Yet beneath
the blood and gore, Cronenberg has carved out a reputation as one of the
masters of the horror and science-fiction genres. Undaunted by the controversy
which has followed him throughout his career, Canada’s own ‘Baron of Blood’ and
‘Prince of Horror’ continues to dazzle audiences with the shocking force and
power of his vision.
“This
book is the first to deal with the work of Cronenberg. Seven critics examine
what it is that these horrific films are saying to us. They explore and analyze
all of Cronenberg’s explosive creations, from the unique Stereo, though such masterpieces as The Brood, Scanners and Videodrome,
to his latest film, The Dead Zone.
“Serving
as a counterpoint and insight into the man and his work is a frank, searching
and comprehensive interview with Cronenberg himself─a brilliant and
relentlessly provocative challenger of our sensibilities and our passions.”
Review
Most
of the essays in book are interesting. William Beard’s “The Visceral Mind: The Major Films of David Cronenberg” is
expansive and often acute in its observations, although the essay runs way too
long. “The Comedy of David Cronenberg,”
by Maurice Yacowar, is spot-on, in its directness, length and points. John
Harkness’s “The Word, the Flesh and
David Cronenberg,” as well as William Beard’s and Piers Handling’s
interview with the director (“The
Interview”), are excellent, as well.
The other essays did not interest me, either because of their analytical
subject matter (e.g., Tim Lucas’s “The Image
as a Virus: The Filming of Videodrome”) or their pompous, stubborn and mean-spirited
agendas (Robin Wood’s “Cronenberg: A
Dissenting View”).
Shape is a superb read for its
spot-on analyses, one worth seeking if you are a fan of early Cronenberg films, or someone
who is just interested in the auteur’s work.
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