Well that was a messed up film of weirdness and I liked it. Good performance from James woods. Some good effects.

My review is not directed at viewers who have yet to watch _Videodrome_ ; it's aimed to give myself an idea of what I thought of this movie so I can decide whether I want to watch it again or not. That being said, this wasn't the first time I've watched the film, but the original time (way back in the mid-80's, probably not long after its release) I watched this and was more intrigued with the special effects and mild body horror than I was with the message this film projected. Watching it now, I watched it to actually ingest the concept of the movie and I can agree with what most others say: its message is far more relevant today, especially with the advent of streaming media and a basically unfiltered, uncensored, unstaunchable torrent of material available to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Do I think that an actual "Videodrome" (arena) exists that creates tumors or alters our brain? No, of course not; but I've no doubt the torrent of media available to the insatiable minds of humanity is having its effect on the collective soul of humanity. For those watching this for the first time (assuming you're still reading my review, even after I said it wasn't directed at you), don't watch this expecting a lot of mind-bending special effects or grotesque gore. It's THERE - in small doses - but that's not what this movie is about, nor what it's directed at. Watch this for the statement it makes, then make up your own mind as to whether you agree or not. _Videodrome_ will either make you want to stop watching (TV, movies, streaming video) or it will whet your appetite for more of what's out there. You decide. Personally, for a movie that was released 30 years ago, I found the special effects still pretty cool - even though somewhat dated - and the gruesomeness was enough to sate my appetite. It was the message of the film that appealed to me the most, however. Would I watch it again? Meh, this was actually my THIRD time (maybe 4th? I don't even know, now) to watch it, and this time I "got it"... If I were to ever watch it again, it would be purely for the sake of nostalgia, certainly not because it's a great movie.

I honestly can't believe how awful this movie was. The premise, all the good reviews... I was very excited to see this. One of the most disappointing movies of all time.

(English below) Come profetizzato dal film stesso, ormai siamo arrivati ad una soglia di assuefazione tale che le immagini proposte da “Videodrome” non riescono più a lasciare il segno se non dal punto di vista artistico. Il messaggio e le atmosfere rimangono comunque parecchio affascinanti. A tratti incoerente e contorto al punto da sembrare fine a se stesso, cosa che non può far altro che aggiungere ulteriore fascino alla pellicola. Un modo efficace e poco bacchettone di trattare i pericoli dei media in quanto capaci di “riprogrammare” sia gli ideali che il modo di percepire la realtà che ci circonda. =================== As predicted by the film itself, we eventually got to the point that the images shown by the “Videodrome” would hardly have any impact on us, if not as captivating set pieces. However, it’s still a poignant commentary on how media can “reprogram” our ideals and mold our perception of reality. At times it gets so convoluted and incoherent that it’s hard to figure out what really happened, but that’s part of the fun.