1283 A History of Violence

[Finch]

tolbs1010, I watched Eastern Promises twice and just could not connect to it except for the scene of the attack on Viggo's character in the sauna. That had a tension that the rest of the film lacked, for me. There aren't many Cronenberg films I flat out didn't care for, but Eastern Promises is one of them.

[beamish14]

tolbs1010, I watched Eastern Promises twice and just could not connect to it except for the scene of the attack on Viggo's character in the sauna. That had a tension that the rest of the film lacked, for me. There aren't many Cronenberg films I flat out didn't care for, but Eastern Promises is one of them.

I haven’t seen it since its release, but I remember finding it to be incredibly predictable.

Maps to the Stars isn’t necessarily a great work, but it is very idiosyncratic. It’s really Bruce Wagner’s playground, though. He’s created a whole universe of his own through his novels, TV projects, and films

[Aspect]

For me, Cronenberg's career can be broken down into two phases - 1975 (Shivers)) through 1999 (eXistenZ) and then 2002 (Spider) through now. I love almost everything in the first phase and nothing in the second phase, though I do like some, such as Spider and A Dangerous Method. While he adapted some material in the first phase, such as The Dead Zone, The Fly, Naked Lunch, M. Butterfly, and Crash, it seems like there was a clear thematic match between what he was adapting and the original screenplays he was writing. Once the 21st century came along, he seemed to branch out further, which is admirable, but the results haven't been as consistent or memorable. I'm not entirely sure why, but it could be because many of them are from screenplays by other writers. He seems like he's filming them from the outside as opposed to inhabiting them from the inside. The style is much more subdued and objective. Then again, I haven't much admired the recent scripts he has written such as Cosmopolis and Crimes of the Future either.

I really, really wanted to love Crimes of the Future, especially since it was reportedly an older screenplay he dusted off, but that film seems to lack the focus of the earlier work. I remember thinking that large parts of that movie were superfluous. In fact, many of his more recent movies lack a narrative drive that was present in the films from the first phase as well as some from the early part of the second, such as A History of Violence, which I have many problems with, but at least it moves well. Did the drive largely go away after that? I'm not sure. He's still a genius. I just know that, at this point, I'm not expecting riveting work from the man. Echoes of his former greatness will have to suffice.

Note: I haven't seen The Shrouds yet, but I get the impression that it's wayward and incohesive.

[Zot!]

I generally agree with your assessment, though I wouldn't say I "loved" the first phase without exception, but yeah, he lost me when he tried to be a prestige film director, and wound up just being middling and at times even boring. His weirdo preoccupations and personal voice help elevate that first phase beyond what it was on paper. But he's not the first auteur to lose his way. Neither Eastern Promises or History of Violence did anything for me, despite the great players.

I watched Eastern Promises twice and just could not connect to it except for the scene of the attack on Viggo's character in the sauna.

Unfortunately I couldn't get the identical scene from Schwarzenegger's Red Heat out of my mind. I kind of like Red Heat more, even.

[PfR73]

I emailed Criterion after the announcement about which cut they are doing, they just emailed me to say it will be the international cut and that they've updated the product page to reflect this:

New 4K digital restoration of the international cut, supervised by director of photography Peter Suschitzky and approved by director David Cronenberg, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack

[tolbs1010]

tolbs1010, I watched Eastern Promises twice and just could not connect to it except for the scene of the attack on Viggo's character in the sauna. That had a tension that the rest of the film lacked, for me. There aren't many Cronenberg films I flat out didn't care for, but Eastern Promises is one of them.

A Cronenberg film for non-Cronenberg fans, perhaps (although I am a fan). It's his most conventional movie. The Dead Zone falls into this category too, maybe. EP is yet another variation on the 'patriarch trusts/likes the non-blood son-figure more than his own son' story. Not very Cronenbergian, but he directs the shit out of it; the sauna scene being the flashiest example of that. Steven Knight's script gives Viggo, Cassel, and Mueller-Stahl some delicious scenes to showcase their skills. The parallel plot with Watts' character has subtle depth and a pleasing progression. Jerzy even gets a nice role and nails it. There's a lot to like for this viewer.

Spoiler

Maybe the happy ending, a first in a Cronenberg film that I can think of, is upsetting to some of the Cronenberg faithful.

[therewillbeblus]

The film’s dedicated thread has many wonderful insights from Mr Sausage throughout, and a great appreciation by John Cope on the last page. I haven’t read it in a while, but the thread helped me appreciate a movie that I never cared for all that much before. Now, a few forum pages and a couple viewings behind me, I think Eastern Promises is quite a rich film