RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / Videodrome
Videodrome

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Videodrome (1983)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
80 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:45

Fresh:36

Rotten:9

Average Rating:7.2/10

Consensus: Visually audacious, disorienting, and just plain weird, Videodrome's musings on technology, entertainment, and politics still feel fresh today.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Television

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Max Renn runs an unauthorized cable channel in Toronto that caters to viewers demanding increasingly violent and pornographic material. One night, in search of new programming fodder, he stumbles... Max Renn runs an unauthorized cable channel in Toronto that caters to viewers demanding increasingly violent and pornographic material. One night, in search of new programming fodder, he stumbles across a scrambled satellite transmission emanating from unknown regions -- a startlingly graphic broadcast that routinely depicts the brutal torture and murder of women. Excited by his find, Renn attempts to track the show to its origins, but he continually encounters resistance, including a warning from one of his programming suppliers that the broadcasts are not dramatizations but depictions of actual murders. Undaunted, Renn finally traces the show to Pittsburgh, where he encounters the transmissions of a Messianic madman known as Brian O'Blivion. Although O'Blivion is dead, his daughter continues to spread his twisted gospel by broadcasting old videotapes of his sermons, encouraging people to embrace the barbarous new TV world as reality. Eventually Renn finds the man who is controlling all the hallucinatory video violence. But by then, Max has begun his own descent into madness, an insanity culminating in physical manifestations of the exploitative sleaze he has profited from over the years. [More]

Starring: James Woods, Deborah Harry, Peter Dvorsky, Les Carlson

Starring: James Woods, Deborah Harry, Peter Dvorsky, Les Carlson

Director: David Cronenberg

Director: David Cronenberg
Screenwriter: David Cronenberg
Producer: Claude Heroux

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Videodrome

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Videodrome is arguably one of Cronenberg's best horror films, and it holds up brilliantly.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
07/12/06
Staci Layne Wilson
Staci Layne Wilson
About.com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/25/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

On a line starting with quality and ending with incompetence.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Michael Thomson
Michael Thomson
BBC

No review available.

comment Comment
03/24/03
Brian J. Arthurs
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

No review available.

comment Comment
04/13/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

A showcase for some of the most unforgettable special makeup effects work ever to see a movie screen.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

Never coherent and frequently pretentious, the film remains an audacious attempt to place obsessive personal images before a popular audience -- a kind of Kenneth Anger version of Star Wars.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 1 Comment
06/06/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

No review available.

comment Comment
06/25/03
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

No review available.

comment Comment
02/23/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

The director captures the worst-case scenario of what might happen at the dawn of the video era, going all the way back to our parents' warning us not to sit too close to the television.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
09/26/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Thematically, it connects easily with most other titles in the Cronenberg oeuvre, with the added treat of having been released far ahead of its time.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
09/01/04
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

By the time it reaches its...inevitable-feeling conclusion, 'Videodrome' has become more than a mere horror film--it's an indictment of everyone represented by its characters.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
09/29/04
Phil Freeman
Phil Freeman
culturevulture.net

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/21/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

[I]t stands out as one of Cronenberg's very best.

Full Review Source: ESplatter | comment Comment
06/19/08
Lucius Gore
Lucius Gore
ESplatter

No review available.

comment Comment
06/11/05
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

Home to the delicious Miltonic idea that what Adam dreams he wakes to find real.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
03/09/03
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

frequently nonsensical, but was years before its time

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
02/16/03
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

It certainly sets the skin a-crawl, I'll give it that.

comment Comment
05/22/04
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

Nearly twenty years after Videodrome was shot, it still feels contemporary.

Full Review Source: Flipside Movie Emporium | comment Comment
10/24/01
Jeremiah Kipp
Jeremiah Kipp
Flipside Movie Emporium
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Videodrome

April 27, 2009: Uni Preps New Videodrome Opens in new window
Universal has announced plans to remake David Cronenberg's "Videodrome," with Ehren Kruger set to write and produce. More...

March 01, 2007: "Saw" Maker to Tackle "Scanners" Remake
Darren Lynn Bousman, director of "Saw 2," "Saw 3," and the upcoming "Saw 4," will soon be helming a remake of David Cronenberg's... More...

See All

More Movies

Coming Soon in Australia
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date

50% 50% It's Complicated 07/1

What’s Hot On RT

RT's 2009 Favourites

RT's 2009 Favourites

Our editors pick their best films of the year

2010's Biggest Films

2010's Biggest Films

We preview all the new year's major releases

Best of the Decade!

Best of the Decade!

Find out what movies made our lists...

20 Must-See Films

20 Must-See Films

Our guide to the biggest and best films

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Annual Ketchup Edition
60
  • Harold Ramis Discusses Filmography, Teases Ghostbusters 3 Source: Heeb Magazine
14
  • National Film Registry Adds 2009 Selections Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
  • New Moon Tops Moviefone's 2009 List Source: Hollywood Reporter
30
  • Star Trek Tops 2009's Most-Pirated Movies List Source: Hollywood Reporter
19
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
111
  • New Toy Story 3 Clip, Photos Posted Source: Slashfilm
26
  • Danny Trejo Talks Machete, Possible Sequels Source: Collider.com
14
  • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
16
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar, Sherlock, and Alvin Team Up To Break Records
392
  • Critics Choose Must-Sees and Worsts of 2009
250
  • RT Editors Choose Their Favorite Films of 2009!
143
  • RT's Ten Most Popular Movies of 2009
94
  • Total Recall: New Year's Eve Movies
43
  • Weekly Ketchup: Annual Ketchup Edition
30
  • Five Favorites of the Five Favorite Films of 2009
28
  • Friday Harvest: Eclipse, Robin Hood, and more!
27
  • Critics Consensus: The White Ribbon Is Certified Fresh
24
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Continues Its Run In 2010
12
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
74
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
22
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • RT on DVD: Wassup, Bruno
3
  • Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
0
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Videodrome at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Videodrome at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
40 Best Films of the 2000s
40 Best Films of the 2000s External Link

Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!

Competitions
Win Fantastic Mr. Fox prizes
Win Fantastic Mr. Fox prizes External Link

Tickets and more to win for the forthcoming Wes Anderson film

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2010, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.