David Cronenberg’s controversial Cannes Special Jury Prize winner Crash gets the 4K treatment from Arrow Video. Marie fastened the seatbelts nice and snug to see how the adaptation of JG Ballard’s transgressive novel plays almost 25 years after its original release.
The fact that Crash was passed for theatrical exhibition completely uncut at the time by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), and yet simultaneously banned in parts of the United Kingdom, probably tells you everything you need to know about the impact of this movie in the 1990s. It’s either love or hate, and very little in between.
Almost 25 years on, and the world is a different place. That’s not to say that deliberately crashing a car with the intent of injuring or killing other people purely for one’s own sexual gratification is now acceptable; but the 21stcentury experience of violence and consensual sexual activity which is available on-screen surely renders many elements of Crash less shocking than on its original release.
The film follows film producer James Ballard (the same name as the author of the original book from which director David Cronenberg adapted his film, and played by James Spader) and his wife Catherine (Deborah Kara Unger) whose marriage is icily emotionless and who appear to gain arousal only by sharing with each other details of their sexual activity outside of their marriage. Despite the lack of emotion, Unger’s Catherine never seems disconnected from what’s happening, nor is it a performance of ennui; she’s distant but not detached ……………
Following a head-on car crash, the couple become involved with crash survivor Helen (Holly Hunter) and crash reconstructor Vaughan (Elias Koteas), part of a group of people who seek sexual arousal and gratification through reliving and playing out automobile collisions. When James Spader is the most sexually conservative character in the room, you know that boundaries are being pushed.
By the end, of course, both Spader’s film producer and his wife have joined the group in their car crash fetishism, and come up with their own games to enhance their sex life together.
Watching Crash in 2020, the shocking aspect is not that it is subversive, violent, or explicit, but that innocent people driving their car home one evening could lose their lives to fulfill a total stranger’s sexual proclivities, and it’s not even mentioned. Every other aspect is completely consensual. There’s also a sickening element of voyeurism in some of the crash restaging which Vaughan performs, which did impart a feeling of unease – again a result of them being true events under reconstruction with real people having been the victims.
The scenes of sexual activity (perhaps with the exception of Catherine and Vaughan in the back of his car) are not depraved but merely a matter of personal taste, and vary from erotic through urgent to perfunctory, and yet at the same time are largely passionless which only adds to the edgy tone.
But while Crash may for some still be provocative, controversial and at times weird, it’s also plainly a commentary on how far people need to (and are prepared to) go for stimulation, when they can have anything they want on demand and nothing is exciting anymore. It’s a mood akin to that which we’ve seen more recently in Dan Gilroy’s 2014 film Nightcrawler, where only the most extreme outcomes are acceptable.
Arrow Video have pulled out all the stops for this release, with several new interviews with crew members, a new commentary, and a couple of Cronenberg shorts for good measure.
The UHD disc contains:
4K restoration of the uncut NC-17 version, supervised by director of photography Peter Suschitzky and approved by director David Cronenberg
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in High Dynamic Range
5.1 and 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD Master Audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary with film scholar Adrian Martin
Cronenberg Challenge – new interview with director of photography Peter Suschitzky
Mechanical Animals – new interview with executive producer Jeremy Thomas
The Shore Thing – new interview with composer Howard Shore
License to Drive – new interview with casting director Deirdre Bowen
2019 Q&A with Cronenberg and actor Viggo Mortensen at TIFF
1996 Q&A with Cronenberg and source novel writer J.G. Ballard at the National Film Theatre in London
Behind-the-scenes footage and contemporary press interviews
Architect of Pain: The Cronenberg Project—brand new video essay by Caelum Vatnsdal on Cronenberg’s use of architecture and location
Crash! (1971, 18 mins)—short film originally broadcast as part of the BBC’s Review series, starring J.G. Ballard and loosely adapted from his 1970 novel The Atrocity Exhibition
Two short films inspired by Ballard and the novel Crash: Nightmare Angel (Zoe Beloff, 1986, 33 mins) and Always (crashing) (Simon Barker and Jason Wood, 2016, 14 mins)
Two Cronenberg short films: The Nest (2013, 10 mins) and At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World (2007, 4 mins)
Original Trailers
Fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Vanessa Morgan, Araceli Molina, Jason Wood and Zoe Beloff, and a reprinted excerpt from Cronenberg on Cronenberg
Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
The Blu-ray contains:
4K restoration of the uncut NC-17 version, supervised by director of photography Peter Suschitzky and approved by director David Cronenberg
High Definition Blu-rayTM (1080p) presentation
5.1 and 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD Master Audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary with film scholar Adrian Martin
Cronenberg Challenge – new interview with director of photography Peter Suschitzky
Mechanical Animals – new interview with executive producer Jeremy Thomas
The Shore Thing – new interview with composer Howard Shore
License to Drive – new interview with casting director Deirdre Bowen
2019 Q&A with Cronenberg and actor Viggo Mortensen at TIFF
1996 Q&A with Cronenberg and source novel writer J.G. Ballard at the National Film Theatre in London
Behind-the-scenes footage and contemporary press interviews
Architect of Pain: The Cronenberg Project—brand new video essay by Caelum Vatnsdal on Cronenberg’s use of architecture and location
Crash! (1971, 18 mins)—short film originally broadcast as part of the BBC’s Review series, starring J.G. Ballard and loosely adapted from his 1970 novel The Atrocity Exhibition
Two short films inspired by Ballard and the novel Crash: Nightmare Angel (Zoe Beloff, 1986, 33 mins) and Always (crashing) (Simon Barker and Jason Wood, 2016, 14 mins)
Two Cronenberg short films: The Nest (2013, 10 mins) and At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World (2007, 4 mins)
Original Trailers
Fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Vanessa Morgan, Araceli Molina, Jason Wood and Zoe Beloff, and a reprinted excerpt from Cronenberg on Cronenberg
Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
Crash is released by Arrow Video for digital download on 30th November, and on Blu-Ray and 4K on 14thDecember.
David Cronenberg’s controversial Cannes Special Jury Prize winner Crash gets the 4K treatment from Arrow Video. Marie fastened the seatbelts nice and snug to see how the adaptation of JG Ballard’s transgressive novel plays almost 25 years after its original release.
The fact that Crash was passed for theatrical exhibition completely uncut at the time by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), and yet simultaneously banned in parts of the United Kingdom, probably tells you everything you need to know about the impact of this movie in the 1990s. It’s either love or hate, and very little in between.
Almost 25 years on, and the world is a different place. That’s not to say that deliberately crashing a car with the intent of injuring or killing other people purely for one’s own sexual gratification is now acceptable; but the 21stcentury experience of violence and consensual sexual activity which is available on-screen surely renders many elements of Crash less shocking than on its original release.
The film follows film producer James Ballard (the same name as the author of the original book from which director David Cronenberg adapted his film, and played by James Spader) and his wife Catherine (Deborah Kara Unger) whose marriage is icily emotionless and who appear to gain arousal only by sharing with each other details of their sexual activity outside of their marriage. Despite the lack of emotion, Unger’s Catherine never seems disconnected from what’s happening, nor is it a performance of ennui; she’s distant but not detached ……………
Following a head-on car crash, the couple become involved with crash survivor Helen (Holly Hunter) and crash reconstructor Vaughan (Elias Koteas), part of a group of people who seek sexual arousal and gratification through reliving and playing out automobile collisions. When James Spader is the most sexually conservative character in the room, you know that boundaries are being pushed.
By the end, of course, both Spader’s film producer and his wife have joined the group in their car crash fetishism, and come up with their own games to enhance their sex life together.
Watching Crash in 2020, the shocking aspect is not that it is subversive, violent, or explicit, but that innocent people driving their car home one evening could lose their lives to fulfill a total stranger’s sexual proclivities, and it’s not even mentioned. Every other aspect is completely consensual. There’s also a sickening element of voyeurism in some of the crash restaging which Vaughan performs, which did impart a feeling of unease – again a result of them being true events under reconstruction with real people having been the victims.
The scenes of sexual activity (perhaps with the exception of Catherine and Vaughan in the back of his car) are not depraved but merely a matter of personal taste, and vary from erotic through urgent to perfunctory, and yet at the same time are largely passionless which only adds to the edgy tone.
But while Crash may for some still be provocative, controversial and at times weird, it’s also plainly a commentary on how far people need to (and are prepared to) go for stimulation, when they can have anything they want on demand and nothing is exciting anymore. It’s a mood akin to that which we’ve seen more recently in Dan Gilroy’s 2014 film Nightcrawler, where only the most extreme outcomes are acceptable.
Arrow Video have pulled out all the stops for this release, with several new interviews with crew members, a new commentary, and a couple of Cronenberg shorts for good measure.
The UHD disc contains:
The Blu-ray contains:
Crash is released by Arrow Video for digital download on 30th November, and on Blu-Ray and 4K on 14thDecember.
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