PS: Ernest Borgnine is still alive?

Honestly, I kept thinking, "but wait, he's dead! Isn't he?" I anticipate a bunch of parts for him from casting directors who had the same reaction, who'd been thinking, "Boy, Borgnine would be perfect here."

Yes the car sex one. What was the point of that?

Yes the car sex one. What was the point of that?

People like to get their freak on in ways that other people don't? James Spader is a freak who likes to get his freak on?

What's the bar you're setting for a movie to have "a point"?

Yes the car sex one. What was the point of that?

Ballard's book is one of the most respected and influential in the entire genre. His intro to the French edition is (I think) one of the key philosophical texts of the last fifty years. It's an essential media critique.

As for the movie, it does a good job of relaying the story and themes of the book, but doesn't have the same impact since the book is written in a radical style (specifically, in the manner of what Ballard would call the hidden literature of medical and scientific texts).

Ballard's value, I think, is the way he exposes narratives and environments that we choose to elide over because they're not part of the media driven story we're participating in. In Crash he's particularly interested in how we've elided over, or folded in, the amount of death inherent to freeway travel. If that many people died because of war or disaster it would be a central cultural focus, but because we've institutionalized it then it becomes invisible. But it still exists and then we fetishize that death and damage.

But he's also interested in the ignored landscapes of access roads and loading docks and airport hospital wings which stand empty but ready to receive hundreds of victims at a time. This world that our eyes pass over without ever taking in.

Whereas Cronenberg's primary interest is how our perception of reality becomes our reality. In the early movies, this would literally manifest itself in physical form, but he seems to have become far more interested in how our personal mental perception becomes a reality, either through hallucination or a shared belief system (almost always non-religious, though), or both.

I'd put Crash in the shared belief system category.

I was a little disappointed by Crash. IIRC, the reason for my disappointment was it wasn't as weird as the book. I think maybe I'll see it again.

ION, anyone seen Your Highness?

From what I've heard, it's basically a bunch of dick-jokes. And it's very funny, apparently.

From what I've heard, it's basically a bunch of dick-jokes. And it's very funny, apparently.

That's basically how DH felt - [link]

That's basically how DH felt - [link]

Cool. I just saw The Dark Crystal last night. Maybe I'll watch Labyrinth and then catch Your Highness after that.

There's something familiar about the Cowboys & Aliens trailer...

I'm so glad I asked about Crash. Maybe I'll check out the novel. I wonder why filmmakers feel the need to tackle 'unfilmable' books.