Cronenberg Filmography: how one Toronto director changed filmmaking and turned actors into megastars
Cronenberg Filmography: how one Toronto director changed filmmaking and turned actors into megastars
Over a 40-year obsession with mutants, fetishists and freaks, David Cronenberg has transformed from avant-garde boy wonder into one of Canada’s most famous director (you can read our feature profile of him here). Below, a film-by-film guide that reveals how Cronenberg influenced filmmaking the world over—by turning actors into megastars, challenging ratings boards and earning Oscar nominations.
See our guide to the Cronenberg effect »
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- Cronenberg cast porn star <b>Marilyn Chambers</b> as a woman who unleashes a zombie epidemic after an experimental surgery gives her a taste for human blood. <em>Rabid</em> helped Chambers go on to have a successful career in mainstream films, earning her the title "porn's most famous crossover."
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- <em>Rabid,</em> 1977
- Rabid, 1977
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- The drag racing flick—a departure for Cronenberg—co-starred actor <b>Nicholas Campbell. </b> He who went on to appear in <em>The Brood, The Dead Zone</em> and <em>Naked Lunch</em> , but found much greater popularity (and several Gemini wins) for his portrayal of Dominic Da Vinci in <em>Da Vinci's Inquest</em> and <em>Da Vinci's City Hall</em>.
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- <em>Fast Company,</em> 1979
- Fast Company, 1979
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- The sci-fi horror film features <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY-03vYYAjA">an iconic scene of a human head exploding</a>. Such gory special effects inspired the pre-digital masters of horror, as well as <em>Saw</em> franchise impressario <strong>Darren Lynn Bousman</strong> who was slotted to re-make the film in 2007 (the project never came to fruition).
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- <em>Scanners,</em> 1981
- Scanners, 1981
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- The cult classic about snuff films stars a young<b> James Woods</b> as a sleazy TV exec and Blondie frontwoman <b>Debbie Harry</b> as a sadomasochistic psychiatrist. Both actors broke out in <em>Videodrome</em> (especially Woods) and went on to appear in dozens of films.
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- <em>Videodrome,</em> 1983
- Videodrome, 1983
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- An adaptation of a <b>Stephen King </b>novel, <em>The Dead Zone</em> has Hollywood wattage courtesy of mid-career stars <b>Christopher Walken </b>and <b>Martin Sheen.</b>
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- <em>Dead Zone,</em> 1983
- Dead Zone, 1983
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- <b>Jeff Goldblum</b> is an eccentric scientist who gradually morphs into a fly-monster after a failed experiment. <b>Geena Davis</b> co-stars in the gory film, which was one of the biggest box-office successes of Cronenberg’s career and won the Academy Award for makeup. Both actors went on to acclaim in <em>Jurassic Park</em> and <em>Thelma and Louise</em>, respectively. They were also married just a year after working together on <em>The Fly</em>.
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- <em>The Fly,</em> 1986
- The Fly, 1986
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- <b>Jeremy Irons </b> played a pair of twisted twin gynecologists after <b>Robert De Niro </b>and <b>William Hurt </b>both reportedly passed on the starring role. Along with <em>The Mission, Dead Ringers</em> helped Irons transition from British stage and TV to mainstream Hollywood films.
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- <em>Dead Ringers,</em> 1988
- Dead Ringers, 1988
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- <b>Roger Ebert’</b>s review of the film, which centres on a fictional version of writer <b>William S. Burroughs:</b> “While I admired it in an abstract way, I felt repelled by the material on a visceral level.” Repellent, sure, but Cronenberg's movie introduced Burroughs to a new generation of readers.
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- <em>Naked Lunch,</em> 1991
- Naked Lunch, 1991
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- The movie, which is about people who take sexual pleasure from car accidents, sparked a ratings controversy in the U.K. and the U.S., and won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes.
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- <em>Crash,</em> 1996
- Crash, 1996
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- <b>Jennifer Jason Leigh</b> and <b>Jude Law</b> team up in the thriller about a video game system that plugs into players’ central nervous systems. Released the same year as <em>The Talented Mr. Ripley, eXistenz</em> was part of Jude Law's filmography that solidified him as a star in North America.
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- <em>eXistenz,</em> 1999
- eXistenz, 1999
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- Cronenberg, along with stars <b>Ralph Fiennes</b> and<b> Miranda Richardson,</b> made headlines when they waived their salaries during shooting to keep production going on the underfunded psychological thriller.
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- <em>Spider,</em> 2002
- Spider, 2002
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- The widely praised film stars <b>Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello</b> and<b> Ed Harris.</b> The screenplay received an Oscar nomination, as did supporting actor <b>William Hurt.</b>
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- <em>A History of Violence,</em> 2005
- A History of Violence, 2005
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- Cronenberg’s look at the Russian Mafia in London won the audience prize for best film at TIFF and earned star <b>Viggo Mortenson </b>an Academy Award nomination.
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- <em>Eastern Promises,</em> 2007
- Eastern Promises, 2007
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- Cronenberg assembled a movie star triumvirate for the period film: <b>Viggo Mortensen </b>as Sigmund Freud, <b>Michael Fassbender </b>as Carl Jung and <b>Keira Knightley </b>as one of Jung’s patients.
- (Image: Sony Pictures Classics and Entertainment One)
- <em>A Dangerous Method,</em> 2011
- A Dangerous Method, 2011
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- For an adaptation of the <b>Don DeLillo </b>novel, Cronenberg tapped <em>Twilight</em> hearthrob <b>Robert Pattinson.</b> Despite Pattinson’s legions of fans, the movie only earned $6 million worldwide—but it did give the erstwhile vampire one of his first serious dramatic roles.
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- <em>Cosmopolis,</em> 2012
- Cosmopolis, 2012
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- The upcoming dark comedy about celebrity culture stars <b>John Cusack, Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson</b> and Toronto’s<b> Sarah Gadon,</b> in her third Cronenberg feature.
- <em>Maps to the Stars,</em> 2014
- Maps to the Stars, 2014
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![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/culture/the-cronenberg-filmography/&title=Cronenberg Filmography: how one Toronto director changed filmmaking and turned actors into megastars&picture=https://cdn.torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/david-cronenberg-filmography-intro-624x395.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_247414" align="aligncenter" width="656"] Cronenberg on the set of A Dangerous Method with Viggo Mortensen (Image: Sony Pictures Classics and Entertainment One)[/caption]
Over a 40-year obsession with mutants, fetishists and freaks, David Cronenberg has transformed from avant-garde boy wonder into one of Canada’s most famous director (you can read our feature profile of him here). Below, a film-by-film guide that reveals how Cronenberg influenced filmmaking the world over—by turning actors into megastars, challenging ratings boards and earning Oscar nominations.
See our guide to the Cronenberg effect »
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