{"id":72535,"date":"2020-09-22T11:56:24","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T08:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/25-things-we-learned-from-david-cronenbergs-shivers-commentary\/"},"modified":"2020-09-22T11:56:24","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T08:56:24","slug":"25-things-we-learned-from-david-cronenbergs-shivers-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/25-things-we-learned-from-david-cronenbergs-shivers-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"#25 Things We Learned from David Cronenberg&#8217;s &#8216;Shivers&#8217; Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a285fc848e4b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a285fc848e4b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/25-things-we-learned-from-david-cronenbergs-shivers-commentary\/#Shivers_1975\" >Shivers (1975)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/25-things-we-learned-from-david-cronenbergs-shivers-commentary\/#Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\" >Best in Context-Free Commentary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/25-things-we-learned-from-david-cronenbergs-shivers-commentary\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#25 Things We Learned from David Cronenberg&#8217;s &#8216;Shivers&#8217; Commentary<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">watch Movies<\/a> or TV series visit the <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/dizi.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dizi.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.7--><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Welcome to\u00a0<\/i><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Commentary Commentary,<\/i><\/b><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits David Cronenberg\u2019s first (true) feature film via the Shivers commentary<\/i>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>David Cronenberg hasn\u2019t made a feature film since 2014 which is a real crime against the future. He\u2019s keeping busy with the occasional acting gig, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Consumed-Novel-David-Cronenberg\/dp\/1416596143\">writing novels<\/a>, and being proud of his son\u2019s directorial efforts \u2014 seriously, see <em>Possessor<\/em> when it opens this year \u2014 and now he\u2019s also recording new commentary tracks. <strong><em>Shivers<\/em><\/strong> was his first professional feature film, and it\u2019s new to Blu-ray from Vestron Video along with a brand new commentary.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Shivers_1975\"><\/span>Shivers (1975)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Commentators: David Cronenberg (director\/writer), Chris Alexander (moderator)<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong>1.<\/strong> Cronenberg\u2019s is sick with a cold \u201cvirus\u201d as he records this commentary track for a movie about a plague of another kind.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> The movie was filmed in and around a condominium complex on Nuns Island off Montreal. The cast and crew lived in the building during production.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> Most of the photos during the opening advertisement for the Starliner Towers <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear to be stock photos although Cronenberg isn\u2019t sure where they came from.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong> Ivan Reitman produced the film, but he\u2019s also credited as music supervisor. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t afford to have a traditional score, so it\u2019s all needle drop music\u201d that Reitman acquired. It wasn\u2019t until 1979\u2019s <em>The Brood<\/em> that he was able to hire a composer in Howard Shore with whom he has since collaborated with fourteen more times.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.<\/strong> The star of his first two films, Stereo (1969) and Crimes of the Future (1970), was Ronald Mlodzik who appears her as the Starliner Towers salesman. \u201cIt was my pleasure to get him into a movie where he would be paid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> Joe Blasco handled the special effects here as there wasn\u2019t a Canadian industry in that field yet. \u201cThere had not been a serious horror film made in Canada\u201d to that point.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<\/strong> <em>The Dead Zone<\/em> was his first film with stereo sound.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.<\/strong> \u201cWe were very cynical about straight business-like\u201d jobs and workers, he says in regard to the film\u2019s disdain for the norms of a proper society.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.<\/strong> Cinepix wanted Cronenberg\u2019s screenplay but weren\u2019t too sure about letting him direct. Their desire to snag a horror film \u2014 they\u2019d found success selling softcore films to Europe but had no success cracking the US market \u2014 left them uncertain. They hesitated so long that Cronenberg had actually visited Los Angeles and found major interest from some of the independents. He returned to Canada ready to pack his bags and move to the US, but the Canadians finally found the financing and their nerve.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.<\/strong> The only feature footage Cronenberg has shot in the United States is a portion of <em>Maps to the Stars<\/em> (2014). Perhaps coincidentally, that was also his final film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> Cronenberg laments not having the benefit of CG to make the slug look better or at least erase the wires, but he\u2019s okay with it as a product of its time. \u201cUnlike George Lucas I had no desire to go back and correct it with modern <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. Let it live in the time that it existed with all the flaws. That\u2019s where it belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.<\/strong> Alexander comments that his films are sometimes criticized for being too serious despite being \u201csecret comedies,\u201d and Cronenberg seems surprised. They agree that people are often nervous to meet him though. \u201cOh that\u2019s true, they think I\u2019m going to kill them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.<\/strong> Asked about the shifting pathology of the slug and its abilities, Cronenberg says \u201cif there are inconsistencies it\u2019s either intended or its my fault. It\u2019s my disease to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.<\/strong> Susan Petrie\u2019s character needed to cry for some scenes, but she told Cronenberg she was unable to do so on command. She told him that \u201cjust before the scene where I cry I want you to slap me across the face really hard.\u201d He complied, she asked him to do it harder, and he followed through. \u201cNot being a sadist it wasn\u2019t something that was natural to me.\u201d The cast and crew grew familiar with the process, but Barbara Steele had yet to experience it. When she finally saw it happen \u201cshe was shocked beyond belief.\u201d She grabbed Cronenberg and confronted him and only calmed once it was all explained to her.<\/p>\n<p><strong>15.<\/strong> Steele\u2019s bathtub scene features a leg double in the shots of the slug in the tub near her.<\/p>\n<p><strong>16.<\/strong> Cronenberg mentions being offered to adapt J.G. Ballard\u2019s <em>High-Rise<\/em> into a film, \u201cbut I\u2019ve kind of done it already.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>17.<\/strong> The cooking fork seen in Lynn Lowry\u2019s hand at 45:42 left a permanent mark on Cronenberg\u2019s left bicep. The beat where she brings the fork down in self-defense accidentally struck him, and he still has the scar.<\/p>\n<p><strong>18.<\/strong> <em>Shivers<\/em> was written under the title <em>Orgy of the Blood Parasites<\/em>, but it was filmed under the title <em>The Parasite Murders<\/em>. In the US it was retitled <em>They Came from Within<\/em> which Cronenberg found clunky. He also never really liked <em>Shivers<\/em> as a title either, but he could think of nothing better.<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.<\/strong> They mention an infamous article about <em>Shivers<\/em> in the Canadian magazine Saturday Night in which the writer declared that \u201cif we need to make movies like this to have a Canadian film industry then we shouldn\u2019t have a Canadian film industry.\u201d Cronenberg wasn\u2019t bothered personally by the high-profile slam, but as the films were funded in part by the government he soon discovered the damage it cost. The government was scared away from funding his follow-up, <em>Rabid<\/em> (1977). \u201cIt really delayed by career by a year or two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.<\/strong> Wally martin plays the doorman and also played Mr. Cloudhopper on <em>MisteRogers<\/em> \u2014 which I\u2019ve just learned was a series from Fred Rogers that predated <em>Mister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.<\/strong> The moment that often happens in commentaries occurs here around the 1:08:30 mark.<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.<\/strong> Joe Silver plays a doctor here and also voiced the Creep in <em>Creepshow 2<\/em> (1987). \u201cI didn\u2019t know that,\u201d says Cronenberg.<\/p>\n<p><strong>23.<\/strong> Cronenberg is convinced that Dan O\u2019Bannon borrowed heavily from the creature element here for his own film <em>Alien<\/em> (1979).<\/p>\n<p><strong>24.<\/strong> Cronenberg cameos via his voice earlier, but he appears on screen at 1:17:58 as one of the infected.<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.<\/strong> \u201cBody horror\u201d was never a term Cronenberg applied to himself, nor was it an approach her intentionally took with his work.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\"><\/span>Best in Context-Free Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote\">\u201cMy understanding of what horror was, was medical and modern and bodily-focused.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe also wrote the theme song for the worst sitcom of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople kind of thought of him as an evil Robert Redford.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKey scenes in your films always happen in the intimacy of a lavatory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA movie without humor is disconnected from the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWatching this movie is watching me learn how to make a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had no idea that I sullied Mister Rogers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have to admit, this is a very strange movie.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span>Final Thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><em>Shivers<\/em> remains an interesting slice of early horror from Cronenberg, and it\u2019s great <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> seeing it finally released on Blu-ray in the US. The extras include a new interview, but this commentary is the supplemental highlight as the filmmaker offers up some fun thoughts and observations on the film. Consider both the Blu-ray and the commentary to be must-haves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>if you want to watch Movies or Tv Shows go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/dizi.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dizi.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a> <\/span> for forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/shivers-commentary\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=shivers-commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#25 Things We Learned from David Cronenberg&#8217;s &#8216;Shivers&#8217; Commentary&#8221; If you want to watch Movies or TV series visit the Dizi.BuradaBiliyorum.Com Welcome to\u00a0Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits David Cronenberg\u2019s first (true) feature film via the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/shivers-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[22447,31691,71345],"class_list":["post-72535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-commentary-commentary","tag-david-cronenberg","tag-shivers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}