“Bambi” was traumatizing. “Dumbo” was also traumatizing. “Blue Lagoon” disturbed him greatly. Those are some of the gems from just the first minute of this excellent interview with the great Canadian director David Cronenberg. Just imagine how much more is in the following 90 or so minutes.
So if you do have a spare hour-and-a-half during the next couple of days, then we can’t help but recommend this. The 70-year-old discusses many of his features from “Shivers” through to “Cosmopolis,” and along the way gets into a range of topics including his roots as a filmmaker in Toronto, his early interest in medical science and how it informed his body horror movies, sadomasochism, and what defines him as a filmmaker.
Filmed for the German program Kennwort Kino at last year’s TIFF, it’s basically wall-to-wall Cronenberg talking about his art and the art that inspired him, and it’s a must for any fans of the director. There’s probably a lot of stuff in there that he’s discussed before that Cronenberg experts will know already, but whenever someone talks for this long, new details are inevitable, and it makes for a fascinating listen. Enjoy! [Ray Pride]