best/favorite David Cronenberg movie
 

Which is Cronenberg's best?

What about RABID or FAST COMPANY?
I'm a fan of most of his films, but I have to go with THE FLY. An excellent reinterpretation of what was originally a pretty hokey (but kind of lovable) 50's SF/horror film. Probably his most commercial (and successful) film, but it still manages to contain much of his unique vision.

1. Naked Lunch

tied for 2nd - Fly, Scanners and Videodrome.

Videodrome is my favorite, followed by The Dead Zone, The Fly, and Scanners.

Videodrome

I have to admit I've never seen The Fly or Scanners, but of what I have seen, I vote for eXistenZ.

either Videodrome, Naked Lunch or Spider. :)

Dead Ringers but it's a dead heat between that and Naked Lunch,

A tie between Videodrome and Dead Ringers. I voted for Videodrome, though.

I gotta go with:

1. FAST COMPANY
2. RABID
3. THEY CAME FROM WITHIN

RABID!!!!!!!

The Dead Zone - one of a handful of Stephen King based films I've found a lot more enjoyable than the source material...

But it was either that or The Fly by a small margin. :)

Tough choice...looking through the list, I realize how many movies DC has made that I really like. And you didn't even list Rabid or Shivers - either of which I might have chosen. But I will cast my vote for Videodrome because I think it has held up best over time. Runners-up are Rabid, Naked Lunch and The Dead Zone.

I think you can only include 10 choices in a poll. Pity, as Rabid is a lot of fun. I have never even heard of Fast Company, lol. Anyway, I have yet to see a Cronenberg film I haven't liked to some degree, but I definitely have a top 3.

1. Dead Ringers -- voted for (first Criterion I ever bought **tear**sniff**)
2. eXistenZ
3. Naked Lunch

RABID

Scanners

The Dead Zone

Same here.

Dead Ringers is his finest film, as a director.

I'd list that, along with The Fly, The Dead Zone, and eXistenZ as tied for my favorite.

The Brood

The Fly

I can't say that I'm a huge fan of DC's movies, but when I see one, take Dead Ringers, I find myself seriously contemplating it for long periods of time. His movies are so disturbing, yet thought provoking.

Dead Zone

For me Dead Ringers, Crash and Videodrome are my favourites. I voted for Dead Ringers.

tough one, but i voted for Dead Ringers. the Fly and The Dead Zone were real close.

Spider... Cronenberg is like a good wine...

I loved Spider - while it may be slow as hell, the atmosphere and freakiness of this film feels so real IMO anyway.

I'm a sucker for scanners though as well :)

What, no one's going to say M Butterfly? :lol:

I'm a big Cronenberg fan, and that's the only film of his I didn't like in any way.

David Cronenberg
 

What is your favorite Cronenberg film?

Re: David Cronenberg
 

not a Cronenberg fan in the least but The Dead Zone is a fantastic flick

Re: David Cronenberg
 

The Fly..that's my fav flick of his....

Re: David Cronenberg
 

Videodrome

Long live the new flesh

Re: David Cronenberg
 

The Dead Zone is great and the ending was moving with Walken's performance.

Re: David Cronenberg
 

The Fly

Re: David Cronenberg
 

Dead Ringers, I find it to be his most moving flick, and Jeremy Irons' dual performance is amazing. Cronenberg is one of my favorite directors, and for me, most of his films are pretty consistent in terms of quality.

Re: David Cronenberg
 

"Death to Videodrome, long live in new flesh"

...but I still haven't seem Shivers (waiting for it to ummm... come in print), Crash, or Eastern Promises

Re: David Cronenberg
 

Videodrome is my favorite, Dead Ringers is his best.

Re: David Cronenberg
 

I'm not going to vote, on the grounds I've only seen one of these films. But that film was A History of Violence and man, I love that one. The story is interesting enough, but kind of simple and straightforward; it's the kind of thing that could easily have felt like an overlong episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent more than a feature film. But the pacing, the terse dialog and solid performances really infused it with a lot of tension. My wife and I were genuinely concerned for the local sheriff. And the sex scenes were just...primal, for lack of a better word. They didn't feel at all like most movies's sex scenes. (I'm not just saying that because I have a thing for Maria Bello!)

I'd heard this was great back when it was released, but never got around to seeing it. We turned it up for $4.00, I think, at Best Buy back in 2008 and finally watched it last year. It's easily one of my favorite films of the past decade, and one that I would strongly recommend as a blind buy for anyone who hasn't seen it, but appreciates intelligent films aimed at mature (meaning, "thoughtful") audiences capable of provoking a genuine emotional response throughout.

Re: David Cronenberg
 

I really liked it but I thought the teenage son ruined it; I get the idea that he's representing the dark youth Viggo had but it was hammed up IMO.

And Hurt's performance was awesome.

Re: David Cronenberg
 

I could see the son detracting from the film, but not "ruining" it. I didn't find his performance hammy, though there were some contrivances with the writing that I can't lay at the feet of the actor. I didn't see him so much as a representation of his father's "dark youth" as much as I saw him as a kid who just found out that his entire life had been crafted inside a bubble that was just burst.

Fathers and sons become adversarial at different stages of their lives, and it's common for a son to view himself as his mother's primary protector. In this case, the son felt that way literally; I could easily see how, through his eyes, the truth about his father was a threat to his mother and himself. That he become as volatile as he did, I thought, was perfectly reasonable given his age and the extraordinary nature of the events he'd endured.

Contrast him with Thora Birch's boyfriend in American Beauty, who was little more than a cliche wrapped in moodiness designed to pass for individuality. That character had been raised not in a bubble of lies that let him grow up relatively peacefully and happy, but rather at the mercy of an overbearing, dictatorial father and a mother who'd long since left her family to retreat into herself. I found the son in History more believable. His reaction to his circumstances rang truer to me than the military brat who searches for "beauty" by videotaping a bag blowing in the wind.

Un-de-freaking-niable!

Re: David Cronenberg
 

Yeah, I can see the angle of his change in demeanor based on confusion over his father's past but I thought his antagonizing of his father was rooted in trying to be adversarial. Those were the times that it went overboard for me as it was too much goading from the character; if it was a bit more subtle, it would have worked IMO.

What I saw was an "angry youth" character whose purpose was to drive the father's past psyche back out. His eager taunts for his dad to shoot Ed Harris or how he became violent at school made me think of what the younger Mortensen's development might have been like.