Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Auteurs #26: David Cronenberg




One of the most controversial yet revered filmmakers of the horror genre, David Cronenberg is considered to be the godfather of the body-horror films as he would redefine horror by exploring ideas of sexuality, body transformation, and all sorts of things. While he would deviate from the genre in some of his more recent films, he still manages to infuse his own troubling idea about violence and sex in his films as he continues to redefine himself as a storyteller and filmmaker. With another film in the works coming in 2014 that would explore the world of film culture in Maps to the Stars. David Cronenberg is a name that always peak the interest of film buffs no matter what kind of films he makes.

Born in Toronto, Ontario in Canada on March 15, 1943, Cronenberg was the son of writer/editor Milton Cronenberg and musician Esther Sumberg in a Jewish, middle-class family. Cronenberg would later gain a sister in Denise as she would later become one of his key collaborators in his film career due to her work in costume design. While attending Harbord Collegiate Institute, Cronenberg’s fascination with science that included botany and lepidopterology gave him the chance to attend the University of Toronto in 1963 at the Honour Science program. Though he would switch programs for Honors English Language and Literature which increased his interest in writing as he had been writing as a child. It was there that Cronenberg became fascinated with the world of film as he would start making his first student films by this time.

The rest can be read in two parts at Cinema Axis in the following links: Part 1: 1966-1988 & Part 2: 1991-2014

© thevoid99 2013

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