Crash [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: David Cronenberg David Cronenberg

Overview

Be it a car commercial, a James Bond thriller or a teenage coming-of-age film, the auto as an erotic icon is nothing new in cinema. This controversial erotic Canadian independent film from David Cronenberg takes that symbolism even further, sending it down a twisted road of bizarre sexuality and fetishism that many viewers may find offensive, close to pornographic, or highly questionable at best. It is the kind of film that is sure to generate discussion concerning the complex relationship between technology and human sexuality. Based on J.G. Ballard's cult novel Crash (1973), it centers on people who are sexually aroused by automobile wrecks. James Ballard and his wife Catherine are into bizarre sex with other people -- as is seen in the opening scenes. One day James is involved in an ugly car crash resulting in the death of a man in the other car. The passenger Helen Remington survived, though she too is injured, and James and Helen later meet briefly in the hospital. While there, James also encounters the enigmatic Vaughn who later introduces James to a select group of car-crash fetishists who frequently gather to watch Vaughn's careful reenactments of celebrity car crashes in which the drivers wear no protection, not even seatbelts. Helen and James meet again by chance at the refuse yard where both of their wrecked cars are impounded, and the two develop yet another of the film's rather twisted relationships, together attending Vaughn's re-creation of James Dean's deadly wreck. Following the fun, the partygoers repair to the home of the head stuntman, where they meet up with the rest of Vaughn's bizarre cohorts, including the beautiful but tragically injured Gabrielle (Rosanna Arquette, a crash victim herself with whom James also becomes involved. When not messing with the other women, James tries to respark his marriage to Catherine by including her in his smashing get-togethers, the highlight of which is to be a reenactment of the decapitation of Jayne Mansfield. This is a very adult film, and in the U.S., the film received an NC-17 rating because it features prodigious sex, homosexuality and violence. Cronenberg did not dispute the rating.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/01/2020
UPC:	0715515253611
Original Release:	1996
Rating:	NC-17
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:40:00
Sales rank:	8,056

Special Features

New 4K digital restoration supervised by Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, and 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, both approved by Director David Cronenberg; Audio Commentary from 1997 featuring Cronenberg; Press conference from the 1996 Cannes Film Festival featuring Cronenberg; Suschitzky; author J.G. Ballard; Producers Robert Lantos and Jeremy Thomas; and actors Rosanna Arquette, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, James Spader, and Deborah Kara Unger; Q&A from 1996 with Cronenberg and Ballard at the National Film Theatre in London; Behind-the-Scenes footage and press interviews from 1996; Trailers; English Subtitlesfor the deaf and hard of hearing; Plus: An essay by film critic Jessica Kiang

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

James Spader	James Ballard
Holly Hunter	Dr. Helen Remington
Elias Koteas	Vaughan
Deborah Kara Unger	Catherine Ballard,Actor
Rosanna Arquette	Gabrielle
Peter MacNeill	Colin Seagrave
Nicky Guadagni	Actor
Ronn Sarosiak	Actor
Judah Katz	Actor
Alice Poon	Actor
Cheryl Swarts	Actor
Boyd Banks	Actor
John Stoneham Jr.	Actor
Howard Shore	Composer

Technical Credits

David Cronenberg

Bobby Moresco

Paul Haggis

J.G. Ballard

David Cronenberg	Director,Producer,Screenwriter
Chris Auty	Executive Producer,Producer
Deirdre Bowen	Casting
David Lee	Sound Mixer,Sound/Sound Designer
Andras Hamori	Executive Producer,Producer
Ted Hanlan	Stunts
Robert Lantos	Executive Producer,Producer
Jeremy Thomas	Executive Producer,Producer
Bobby Moresco	Screenwriter
Paul Haggis	Screenwriter
David Evans	Special Effects Supervisor
Dino Pigat	Sound/Sound Designer
Marilyn Stonehouse	Producer
Tom Bjelic	Sound Effects,Sound Editor
J.G. Ballard	Screenwriter
Warren Appleby	Special Effects
Lloyd Adams	Stunts
Orest Sushko	Sound/Sound Designer
Tony Van Den Akker	Sound/Sound Designer
Christian Cooke	Sound/Sound Designer
John Laing	Sound Editor
John Smith	Sound/Sound Designer
Andy Malcolm	Sound Editor
Dale Sheldrake	Sound Editor
Lou Solakofski	Sound/Sound Designer
Stephanie Reichel	Producer

Editorial Reviews

David Cronenberg's graphic adaptation of J.G. Ballard's controversial 1973 novel doesn't work like most films. For one thing, the main character (James Spader) experiences no great change in his life. He starts out disturbed, and only becomes more-so after his near-fatal car crash. Lured into the world of Vaughan (Elias Koteas), who runs an underground group of car-crash enthusiasts, Spader finds himself adding technology to his already prodigious list of sexual kinks. In the process, his fatalistic wife gets to live out her death fetish, and Spader himself becomes immersed in the techno-erotic subculture along with fellow damaged souls Holly Hunter and Rosanna Arquette. The film starts out with three bizarre sex scenes in a row, and many more follow. Although they aren't strictly exploitive and are necessary to the plot, squeamish viewers may find the film rough going. Crash paints a disturbing and coldly revolting portrait of turn-of-the-century Americans, advanced in technology but retarded emotionally. For these numb, disconnected people, humanity has lost its appeal, and their only remaining thrills can come from twisting their useless bodies into a bloody wreck on the freeway of the millennium. Cronenberg has fashioned a brutally candid return to his favorite themes, as well as coaxing a surprisingly dark and perceptive performance from Hunter, who steals the film from its uninvolving star. It's not for the timid, but is well worth seeing.

All Movie Guide - Robert Firsching