From his early horror movies, including Scanners, Videodrome, Rabid, and The Fly—with their exploding heads, mutating sex organs, rampaging parasites, and scientists turning into insects—to his inventive adaptations of books by William Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Don DeLillo (Cosmopolis), and Bruce Wagner (Maps to the Stars), Canadian director David Cronenberg (b. 1943) has consistently dramatized the struggle between the aspirations of the mind and the messy realities of the flesh. “I think of human beings as a strange mixture of the physical and the non-physical, and both of these things have their say at every moment we’re alive,” says Cronenberg. “My films are some kind of strange metaphysical passion play.” Moving deftly between genre and arthouse filmmaking and between original screenplays and literary adaptations, Cronenberg’s work is thematically consistent and marked by a rigorous intelligence, a keen sense of humor, and a fearless engagement with the nature of human existence. He has been exploring the most primal themes since the beginning of his career and continues to probe them with growing maturity and depth. Cronenberg’s work has drawn the interest of some of the most intelligent contemporary film critics, and the fifteen interviews in this volume feature remarkably in-depth and insightful conversations with such acclaimed writers as Amy Taubin, Gary Indiana, David Breskin, Dennis Lim, Richard Porton, Gavin Smith, and more. The pieces herein reveal Cronenberg to be one of the most articulate and deeply philosophical directors now working, and they comprise an essential companion to an endlessly provocative and thoughtful body of work.

Initially regarded as a cult figure with a strong following amongst sci-fi and horror film fans, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg emerged as a major and commercially viable film director with mainstream hits such as A History of Violence (2005) and Eastern Promises (2007). With his unique ability to present imagery that is both disturbing and provocative, Cronenberg creates striking films, noteworthy not just for their cinematic beauty but also for the philosophical questions they raise. The Philosophy of David Cronenberg examines Cronenberg's body of work, from his breakthrough Scanners (1981) through his most recognizable films such as The Fly (1986) and more recent works. Editor Simon Riches and a collaboration of scholars introduce the filmmaker's horrific storylines and psychologically salient themes that reveal his pioneering use of the concept of "body horror," as well as his continued aim to satirize the modern misuse of science and technology. The Philosophy of David Cronenberg also explores the mutation of self, authenticity and the human mind, as well as language and worldviews. While Cronenberg's films have moved from small-market cult classics to mainstream successes, his intriguing visions of humanity and the self endure.

An illustrated monograph on the work of legendary writer/director David Cronenberg, master of body horror and cinematic provocateur behind films such as The Fly, Scanners, Naked Lunch, Eastern Promises, and Crimes of the Future David Cronenberg’s films have long enjoyed a cult following, pushing the boundaries of taste, blending high art with horror, and straddling the commercial and the cutting-edge. Here, the reader will be presented with the familiar and unfamiliar aspects of iconic films such as Videodrome, The Fly, Naked Lunch, and Crash. Though dividing the book into two halves suggests a binary, the Jungian-inspired chapters within each will emphasize that this work—and the world itself—is perpetually shifting. The reader will progress through these different stages (of Jungian individuation and therapy) and see how the recurrent narrative, cultural, and visual themes loop back and intersect with one another. Rather than a straightforward narrative about a filmmaker, this book will be a dreamlike exploration of all that is Cronenbergian. Featuring a foreword by Oscar-nominated actor Viggo Mortensen, it also includes interviews with composer Howard Shore, production designer Carol Spier, cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, and producer and playwright/screenwriter Jeremy Thomas.

David Cronenberg's A History of Violence - the lead title in the new Canadian Cinema series - presents readers with a lively study of some of the filmmaker's favourite themes: violence, concealment, transformation, sex, and guilt.

For more than thirty years, David Cronenberg has made independent films such as "Scanners" and "A History of Violence" which aim to disturb, surprise, and challenge audiences. He has also repeatedly drawn on literary fiction for inspiration, adapting themes from authors like William Burroughs, J. G. Ballard, and Patrick McGrath for the big screen; "David Cronenberg: Author or Filmmaker?" is the first book to explore how underground and mainstream fiction have influenced and can help illuminate his labyrinthine films. Film scholar Mark Browning examines Cronenberg s literary aesthetic not only in relation to his films obvious source material, but by comparing his movies to the writings of Vladimir Nabokov, Angela Carter, and Bret Easton Ellis. This groundbreaking volume addresses Cronenberg s narrative structures and his unique conception of auteurism, as well as his films shocking psychological frameworks, all in the broader context of film adaptation studies. "David Cronenberg" is an essential read for anyone interested in the symbiotic relationship between literature and filmmaking. "David Cronenberg" is a work that attempts to illuminate and unravel the connection between the great Canadian auteur and his literary influences. "Film Snob Weekly""" "David Cronenberg" is an essential read for anyone interested in the symbiotic relationship between literature and filmmaking. "Video Canada""" """""

This volume explores the proliferation of contemporary art that uses sequences of images to explore ideas of space, time, movement and duration. Etienne-Jules Marey, Eadweard Muybridge and other 'chronophotographers' first explored these ideas at the turn of the nineteenth century; since then chronophotography has been in the shadow of cinema, but now it is emerging once again in post-cinema practices, digital art and new experimental photography. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, artists have found that sequences offer new opportunities for exploring continuing issues regarding aesthetics that operate at the intersection of time and space.#13;#13;The book contains number of illustrated essays by international critics and theorists and discusses the work of a wide range of artists engaged in contemporary chronophotography. The introduction also uses insights from chronophotography to dispel the myth of persistence of vision.

Essays in film and the humanities.

This collection of seven critical essays explores the multifaceted nature of the cinema achievements of David Cronenberg. From The Fly through Crash and M. Butterfly Cronenberg's work has been provocative and important to the development of contemporary American film.