David Cronenberg:Long Live the New Flesh(1986) is an insightful and entertaining documentary on the films of David Cronenberg. Full of different opinions about what is Cronenberg. Begins discussion on Shivers(1975) and ends with shots of The Fly(1986). Great interviews from Martin Scorsese, Stephen King, and critic Robin Wood. Shows Croenberg as a movie maker that dares to go beyond what is mainstream cinema.
Long Live the New Flesh: The Films of David Cronenberg (1987 TV Movie)
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Rather dry documentary.
poolandrews18 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Long Live the New Flesh: The Films of David Cronenberg is a talking head documentary that lasts for just over an hour & looks at the films of Canadian director David Cronenberg spanning from his first major film Shivers (1975) through to The Fly (1986).
To be honest with you while I am a big fan of Cronenberg's work I can't say I was that impressed with this. Sure it was made before the time he went mainstream but there's not that much discussion about the individual films he had made up to 1986 & instead is more of a platform for him to express his opinions & for other people to say how good he is. Horror author Stephen King & Oscar winning director Martin Scorsese both offer insights as to why Cronenberg & his films are so good, so different & so radical. They don't say anything revolutionary or anything anyone hasn't said before & as such are forgettable little interview snippets.
To balance the praise out critic Robin Wood is interviewed who clearly doesn't like Cronenberg's work, he comes across as a close-minded idiot though.
There's a section on censorship that has interviews from the head Canadian censor, the head US censor & the head UK censor who all try to make arguments that this stuff is depraved. Luckily attitudes have changed & it's both odd & ironic that James Ferman the head of the notoriously strict (at the time) UK censor at the time was interviewed as no David Cronenberg film has ever been cut by the BBFC although Videodrome (1983) was slightly cut by it's distributor Universal to avoid controversy.
Cronenberg talks in riddles, while he comes across as intelligent & well spoken I must admit I sat there once or twice not really understanding what he was trying to say, I felt a bit left behind as his psychological dissection went beyond what I could grasp.
Overall this isn't the best documentary around, sure there are clips from the films but there's not much discussion about the individual films themselves & the interviewees just go off on obscure random rants & or praise & or explanations. I would have liked a bit more information on the films themselves to be honest.
Cronenberg fans should definitely check it out but I doubt you will learn anything new or particularly interesting.
To be honest with you while I am a big fan of Cronenberg's work I can't say I was that impressed with this. Sure it was made before the time he went mainstream but there's not that much discussion about the individual films he had made up to 1986 & instead is more of a platform for him to express his opinions & for other people to say how good he is. Horror author Stephen King & Oscar winning director Martin Scorsese both offer insights as to why Cronenberg & his films are so good, so different & so radical. They don't say anything revolutionary or anything anyone hasn't said before & as such are forgettable little interview snippets.
To balance the praise out critic Robin Wood is interviewed who clearly doesn't like Cronenberg's work, he comes across as a close-minded idiot though.
There's a section on censorship that has interviews from the head Canadian censor, the head US censor & the head UK censor who all try to make arguments that this stuff is depraved. Luckily attitudes have changed & it's both odd & ironic that James Ferman the head of the notoriously strict (at the time) UK censor at the time was interviewed as no David Cronenberg film has ever been cut by the BBFC although Videodrome (1983) was slightly cut by it's distributor Universal to avoid controversy.
Cronenberg talks in riddles, while he comes across as intelligent & well spoken I must admit I sat there once or twice not really understanding what he was trying to say, I felt a bit left behind as his psychological dissection went beyond what I could grasp.
Overall this isn't the best documentary around, sure there are clips from the films but there's not much discussion about the individual films themselves & the interviewees just go off on obscure random rants & or praise & or explanations. I would have liked a bit more information on the films themselves to be honest.
Cronenberg fans should definitely check it out but I doubt you will learn anything new or particularly interesting.
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