Cronenberg’s Crash on collision course for Criterion release
Long overdue for a home-video upgrade, David Cronenberg’s Crash will get a proper Blu-ray release from the Criterion Collection this December.
When it comes to movies titled Crash, there’s an important distinction to be made when talking about Paul Haggis’ multiple Oscar winner and David Cronenberg‘s NC-17 firebrand. As film snobs such as myself often clarify: “the good Crash, not the other one.”
On that note, “the good Crash” is finally coming to Blu-ray.
Making this news even sweeter, the company remastering the A/V presentation and corralling the supplements is none other than the Criterion Collection. (For those outside the United States, Arrow will be releasing their own edition.)
This upgrade of Cronenberg’s adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s 1973 novel is long overdue. Crash was released on DVD in 1998, but light on any bonus material that might shade in the director’s obtuse approach to the subject matter (a movie producer and his wife find themselves assimilated into a subculture fixated on the link between sex and car crashes). Then again, given the new nature of the DVD format at that time, the paltry supplements aren’t entirely surprising.
With Cronenberg’s work being the subject of much critical study, Criterion recognizes his contribution to cinema as a whole (the company also assembled stellar home editions of Videodrome, Naked Lunch, The Brood and Scanners). I like that they are now delving into the transitional efforts that would steer the Canadian master further from conventional horror, as he infused more straightforward dramatic work – like Spider and A History of Violence – with horrific elements.
Similar to Naked Lunch, it bears noting that Crash was long considered “unfilmable” due to its button-pushing content. While the director’s adaptation of Ballard’s explicit novel omits certain elements, what comes across on-screen is a meditative understanding of the work itself.
The film also reflects the A-list talent that would come to define Cronenberg’s later work: James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas (Zodiac) and Deborah Kara Unger (Silent Hill) comprise the stellar cast.
DAVID CRONENBERG. dark. Next
Crash will be released on Blu-ray December 1.
Are you a fan of David Cronenberg? Have you seen Crash? Let us know in the comments.