The Completest Checklist: David Cronenberg Collection Part 4 (of 5) The films of the 2000s up to the 2020s
Welcome to The Completest Checklist, a profile series that will be featuring a collection set of discs that is a part of my film library. It will serve to be a thorough checklist of the films in the collection that we own that may also provide information and status of missing titles, or editions that are not in the collection.
On exhibition for this first series will be the film works of director David Cronenberg. In Part 1 to 3 we featured Cronenbergs early works from the 1960s to mid 1990s. This week we will be presenting the director’s films from the early 2000s to the 2020s.
On this edition of The Completest Checklist we will be delving further into our David Cronenberg collection of films. In part one we showed off the Bluray of a collection of David Cronenberg shorts as well as a variety of formats for his films Shivers and Rabid. In part two we looked at Fast Company, The Brood, Scanners and Videodrome. In part three we presented Dead Zone, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, M Butterfly and Crash.
For this week we will be presenting the following eight titles:
eXistenz, Spider, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, A Dangerous Method, Cosmopolis, Maps to the Stars, and Crimes of the Future.
Okay, so here it is the conclusion of the Completest Checklist of David Cronenberg’s filmography. At the end of this post you will see a complete list of the films directed by David Cronenberg and the home video format that we own it on. As I mentioned in past posts that our collection is in good standing and up to date as far as what is currently available. We own all of the 4K UHD Editions that have been made available in the US and a few imported ones. All the films are, at the very least, represented in HD quality via a Bluray disc.
Last time I talked a bit about customizing collector’s edition of sets and how we put some added material to pad our sets to fit our need to be completest in the way we saw fit, by keeping what we considered to be nice slipcovers or compiling videos into a DVD. I’ve also been displaying pics of some subject related magazine issues. For instance on this post we have a Fangoria magazine that featured an article about Cronenberg’s 2002 feature film Spider. The special thing about this issue is that I was able to get it signed by the Man himself at a Horror convention that year. It may be hard to see but his signature is right there on the cover. It was a really cool horror convention, and I remember fairly little about it other than that I was able to win two DVD copies of Bill Paxton’s film Frailty and meeting David Cronenberg which was very brief, but really cool.
At this point I was already a big fan of The Fly and had been getting into Dead Ringers. I was not too keen on Crash at all, but I did ride high on eXistenZ having seen it in the theater when it came out. I had liked Jude Law in alot of things at this time, from his roles in Artificial Intelligence and The Talented Mr Ripley, and I also remember that even though I liked The Matrix I felt that the better “going into a video game reality world” movie was eXistenZ. There actually had been a few movies that played in this theme that I thought were pretty cool. Does anyone remember Equilibrium or The Thirteenth Floor?
Anyway, my Cronenberg fandom was peaking around this time as I began to reconsidering Dead Zone along with Carrie, both of which were movies I was investigating after having watched on and fallen in love with both Sisters and Dead Ringers. The thing about Dead Zone was that I had seen it before, same as Carrie, but had not considered the director as the prodimenSto stopS source of creativity as the branding of Stephen King loomed so large in those projects. I remember being very interested in movies like Videodrome and Naked Lunch, but when I tried them I think they were too heady for me to engage with at the time. I had decided maybe I should start at the beginning with Cronenberg and try to get a handle on his themes and ideas and how they evolved. I remember the shorts being really interesting but having the same reaction as I did with Videodrome and Naked Lunch.
When I got to Shivers that really opened me up to what he was offering. I loved how it explored the fears of sexual deviancy through parasites that would hijack the body and reduce their host to just succumb to their base desires. It’s Night of the Living Dead meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I had originally saw it on home video DVD but had recently seen it on the big screen. I remember watching Rabid and thinking it was basically Shivers again, which I thought was a bit redundant. I have since seen it again and think that it is better and has more going on than I initially thought. I had tried watching The Brood once and I think I watched it late at night and perhaps slept through it, and I think I did similarly with Scanners. I got the chance to re evaluate Scanners in the mid 2010s when Shout Factory put out the Scanner sequels on Bluray and my brother and I recorded an episode of our podcast called “Separate But Sequel” on Scanners III The Takeover. I had originally found Scanners very boring and kind of bland as the palette was very 70’s orange and brown, it just seemed very unappealing. The sequels I think were a bit more fun and really played with the concepts in cool ways at times, but really they were Saturday morning cartoon level of narratives.
I’ve got to say going through my history watching Cronenberg’s films I’m seeing a few weird parallels to Brian De Palma. I mean, they both did movies about soul connected twins (Sisters/Dead Ringers), psychic powered people(The Fury/Scanners), and have each adapted Stephen King novels (Carrie/The Dead Zone). They both even made groundbreakingly successful remakes of classic films (Scarface/The Fly). I don’t know, maybe I’m reaching, but I just thought that it’s a kind of interesting parallel.
Now I can’t say I remember having seen Spider, I think I did, but I just don’t have any recollection. I really should make time to see it, that and my other blindspot Map to the Stars. I have great appreciation for both A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. I remember seeing both in the theaters and understanding that this was a different era for Cronenberg that although might have less body horror in it, was to me some of his most compelling films. I did not see A Dangerous Method in the theater, I’m absolutely sure, but I did watch it on Bluray. In college I was very keen on the writings of Carl Jung and his theories on the collective conciousness and remember believing that Cronenberg might have an interesting take on this biopic. I ended up not being a fan of this one, but couldn’t tell you why. I guess I found it forgettable.
What was not forgettable was Cosmopolis. I did see this one in the theater and thought Robert Pattison was great in it. I had not seen Twilight, so I couldn’t tell you that my expectations were that high for him but I found him compelling, the setting in the limo interesting and it was that surrealistic complex Cronenberg that I wasn’t engaging with earlier with on Videodrome and Naked Lunch, but now I was taking it in.
That last movie that Cronenberg put out that I have seen is Crimes of the Future and I felt it was very good and it gave me the same high complexity that Cosmopolis gave me. This is the thing I want to say of my appreciation of Cronenberg: I am a fan of his entire body of work and I know that at times I might not be in the right mind set for what he’s offering, but what I can say for sure is that once I am ready for what he’s offering, I know that it will be mind-blowing.
Existenz (1999) *DVD* DIMENSION FILMS *BD* 101 FILMS (UK Region B)
For the longest time we’ve been waiting for a Bluray to come out of eXistenZ and it just never seemed to happen. Eventually we decided that we had to have it on BD and I believe this was sometime after we had bought a Region free player that we figured that ordering the import would be good enough. Now what you may notice about this edition is that it’s a dual format set, which means it has a DVD and a Bluray. Now we owned the Region A DVD, which was released by DIMENSION FILMS and since the Bluray and the DVD was the same disc we could sell the Region B DVD and keep the Region A disc in it’s place. This is how we customized this particular set. So we had the slipcover, the booklet and the disc and also kept our Region A DVD all in the same set. We, of course, did this in the hopes that someday the movie would come out in the US properly.
Existenz (1999) *4K UHD* VINEGAR SYNDROME UHD
When Vinegar Syndrome announced this we ordered it immediately. I had no idea that it would sell out or not but I definately wasn’t going to take that chance. I remember it cost a little over $50, which I was okay with because I knew I was getting the limited edition slipcover, the booklet, the discs and everything. It’s crazy because I can see on ebay they have it listed for like $200 plus. This is for sure a prized possession because like I said earlier it’s one of my favorites of his works.
Other Editions
L’atelier d’images (2024) 4K UHD/Region B BD, FRANCE
There is a media book set with one exclusive interview with Film Critic Olivier Pere. It’s pretty lengthy but I’m not sure if I need the insights of this French film critic about this film. That day may come, but for now I’m checking this off the list.
Spider (2002) *BD* SPHV SONY
We had the DVD of this for the longest time as well and while I was hoping for a special edition set, this one is a good release with at the very least the extras that were on this upgrade. In this case we decided not to keep the DVD and that the Bluray would be enough to check this off.
Other Editions
Metropolitan Film (2024) 4K UHD/Region B BD, FRANCE
There is a media book set with exclusive features of 2002 Crew interviews, Anatomy of a scene featurette, and a feature entitled David Cronenbergs Masterclass: a 2002 Cannes Lecture. I think it might be worth getting at some point, but currently it’s too expensive.
History of Violence (2005) *BD* WBHV WARNER BROS
We upgraded to this Bluray from the DVD not too long ago, it’s got some bonus materials and is pretty decent. I personally would love a collector’s edition of this one day, either on BD or 4K UHD. I would definitely order it day one, especially if ARROW VIDEO put out a special edition of it like they did Demolition Man or The Cell.
Other Editions
There are a few other editions of this in foreign countries but they all carry the same extras.
Eastern Promises (2007) *BD* KLSC KINO
I love that KINO LORBER put this out and that we could upgrade from the DVD we had. It’s not a very in depth set, although it is great that it is in 4K UHD and has a few bonus materials, I would love a feature length commentary by Cronenberg or a scholar. But as it is, this one is fully checked off the list.
Other Editions
Metropolitan Video/Seven7 (2008) Region B BD, FRANCE
This set contains a few extras that are not in the US 4K UHD edition and they are a feature length documentary on prison tattoos called “The Mark of Cain” and a beyond the movie feature interview with writer/Russian specialist Pierre Lorrain. I don’t feel particularly strongly for these extras so I doubt I will seek out this set, so I will consider this checked off the list.
A Dangerous Method (2011) *BD* SPHV SONY
A Dangerous Method (2011) *BD* eONE Home Video
Okay, so this is what happened. I was doing the research on the Other Editions of these releases and when I came across this one and I was like, “Hmm… this looks like it has some stuff that’s worthwhile.” I did some quick shop comparison for this eONE edition of it and just decided to order it because it didn’t cost that much. When the set arrived I saw that it was a dual format set and thought Oh I could just keep the BD disc and sell the DVD. So that’s just what I did. The only thing I wasn’t able to get for this custom edition set was a slipcover, which there is one for this. Thing is I didn’t want to spend all that much for it, so I didn’t go all out.
Well, I had already taken the pics before so I just figured I’ll take one new picture with the customized disc in the set. Anyway, both sets had somewhat exclusive features that I thought would be nice to have together and in one set so I used a two disc Bluray disc holder and just added it to the set as a way to preserve shelf space.
Cosmopolis (2012) *BD* eONE Home Video
I remember getting this from Best Buy and just needing to pick it up like within the first week of release, because I wanted the slipcover and I wanted the exclusive dual formats. I am hoping that it gets an even better release but for now the extras and the slipcover package are pretty decent and I’m pleased enough with it.
Other Editions
Stone Angels (2012) Region B BD, FRANCE
This set contains one extra that is not on the US edition, which is the FNAC David Cronenberg Masterclass feature.
Ascot Elite Home Entertainment (2012) Region B BD, GERMANY
This set contains a few extras including set interviews, B roll Footage, film premiere featurette, and bonus interviews with David Cronenberg and Robert Pattinson. Being as these two releases are not that easy to find, I’m just fine settling for what I have now to just check this one off.
Maps to the Stars (2014) *BD* SPHV SONY/eONE Home Video
This one had a similar release deal as A Dangerous Method, it seems, because these both similarly had exclusive features. In this case I decided to keep both cover artworks as well as discs but to just fit them into a dual bluray case. By doing this it makes for one concise set with both bonus features and this set does have the exclusive slipcover to boot.
Crimes of the Future (2022) *4K UHD* NEON DECAL
This was the American based release and it’s a nice set with slipcover and plenty of features. It’s unfortunate that it doesn’t have a bluray disc in the set but it’s fine as the 4K UHD is more than enough to make this feel complete.
Crimes of the Future (2022) *4K UHD/BD* SECOND SIGHT LTD ED
I would’ve considered the Neon Decal as a release that was enough to check this title off the list but with this set from Second Sight Films the check is fully off. It’s got great packaging, art cards, a booklet, a slipcase and loads of features. This is a really great set and I’m really glad we have it.
Other Editions
Metropolitan Films (2022) Region B BD, FRANCE
This set contains a couple of extras that are not on the US or UK editions. The FNAC David Cronenberg interview, about 15 minutes and a short making of which is 5 to 6 minutes long. Doesn’t seem to warrant a priority buy. I’m going to count this one as checked off the list.
Alright, that’s all for this week. Tune back in here next week where I close off this series with a branched out checklist of Cronenberg non-director works and other relative collections.
Now that we’ve completed displaying all of the titles in the collection let me give an overview of the overall checklist including home video formats that we own.
The Full David Cronenberg Filmography Completests Checklist
Early Shorts, 1966-67 (From the Drain/Transfer/Crimes of the Future/Stereo)
BD
Shivers, 1975
DVD
BD
Rabid, 1977
DVD
BD
Fast Company, 1979
BD
The Brood, 1979
DVD
BD
4K UHD
Scanners, 1980
BD
4K UHD
Videodrome, 1983
BD
4K UHD
The Dead Zone, 1983
BD
4K UHD
The Fly, 1986
DVD
BD
Dead Ringers, 1988
BD
Naked Lunch, 1991
BD
4K UHD
M Butterfly, 1993
BD
Crash, 1996
BD
4K UHD
eXistenZ, 1999
DVD
BD
4K UHD
Spider, 2002
BD
A History of Violence, 2005
BD
Eastern Promises, 2007
BD
4K UHD
A Dangerous Method, 2011
BD
Cosmopolis, 2012
DVD
BD
Maps to the Stars, 2014
BD
Crimes of the Future, 2022
BD
4K UHD
The Shrouds, 2025
Not Yet Released