Stereo - David Cronenberg (1969)

Stereo
From David Cronenberg



IMDB

Quote :

Sometime in the future, the Canadian Academy for Erotic Inquiry is investigating the theories of parapsychologist Luther Stringfellow. Seven young adults volunteer to submit to a form of brain surgery that removes their power of speech but increases their power for telepathic communication. An unseen group of students observes the results. As the experiment progresses, Stringfellow's theories come to fruition. Later, aphrodisiacs and various other drugs are introduced to the subjects to expose an inherent polymorphous perversity.

Talking about insomnia, maybe this movie should be prescribed as a medicine against it
It is not bad, one of earliest Cronenberg's work. The filming and camera work are really good! Really beautifull shots! The ideas are also really great
But there are no sounds, I mean absolutelly no sound: no music nor any environmental sounds, nothing. Only a background voice over who talks once in a while about the experiment. So because it is sooo quiet, sometimes, you tend to forget you are watching a movie, and then the voice starts again, O yes shit So quite difficult to follow
Apparently Cronenberg didn't have enough money to buy soundtrack films.
For the rest, well, I dont know, dont think it is very very good, it probably would have been better with sounds although it does kind of add something unic, artistic and odd to it

4 reasons to watch it:
1. You are a Cronenberg fan and want to discover his early work, dont expect genius stuff but interesting nevertherless
2. Minimalism fascinates you
3. You are on Prozac
4. You want to have a very good night sleep



Maybe this would also require a second viewing to be totally understood (and maybe better rated), the explanation from the voice is quite intellectual which makes it even harder to follow...



Here is a good explanation of the movie + Crimes of the Future which I haven't seen yet (but think it is similar stuff)

Quote :

"Stereo" is an underrated early Cronenberg movie. People tend to find it inaccessible on the grounds that it is 'boring', or due to its quasi-intellectual voice-over soundtrack (which was applied since Cronenberg did not have enough money to spend on soundtrack film) or 'incomprehensible' plot. The voice-over naturally enhances the feeling of "verfremdung", which can be argued as being for the good of the final result.

The topic of a Canadian Academy for Erotic Inquiry is an extremely difficult one to pull off. The way it's made, however, with its austere milieu, its quasi-academic speaker voice and the contrasts between the harsh milieu and the characters' pursuit of the topic of the 'plot' makes it a rather good film its sparse conditions for creation considered, all the more if one is into austere films rather than bombastic ones. Hopefully some 'madwoman' or 'madman' will release a few copies of this movie on dvd, someday.

Downloading riiiigt now! Sleep, here I come!

Did it work?

Haha was only joking