Videodrome

Civic TV...

the one you take to bed with you.

Max, it's that time again:

time to slowly, painfully ease yourself back into consciousness.

No, I’m not a dream...

although I’ve been told I’m a vision of loveliness.

- - Who told you that?

I’m nothing less than your faithful Girl Friday, Bridey James...

here with your wake-up call of today, which is Wednesday the 23rd.

You got that?

Wednesday the 23rd.

And I have a message.

Remember your meeting this morning at 6:30...

with Shinji Kuraki of Ηiroshima Video.

This meeting is to take place...

at the Classic Ηotel, suite 17.

And needless to say, it's your first of the day.

Don't you know anyone who works 9:00 to 5:00?

Over and out, Commander.

Civic TV, the one you take to bed with you.

- Cindy, open the door, will ya? - Go away.

Come on. You know I love ya.

- Get outta here! - Will you open the door?

For fuck's sake, open the door!

- - I want you out of this place!

For fuck's sake, open the door!

You just gotta open the fucking door!

Well, I looked over the stills.

I am interested a little bit.

- How many shows you got? - Thirteen.

With a possibility of another six if the sales go well.

- You got cassettes? - Of course.

No, hold it. Uh, show me the last one.

- - Number 13.

But you won't understand anything. Everything is set up in the first two.

My audience ain't gonna see the first two shows. Show me the last one.

What do you think?

Can we get away with it? Do we wanna get away with it?

I think Oriental sex is a natural.

I think it'll get us an audience we've never had before.

I don't like it. It’s not tacky enough.

- Not tacky enough for what? - Tacky enough to turn me on.

Too much class. Bad for sex.

Maybe.

I don't know.

It’s soft.

Something too...

soft about it.

I’m lookin' for something that'll break through, you know? Something...

tough.

Hey, Harlan, uh - Huh?

Oh. Okay.

Here we go.

Now, it'll come through on that.

Now, we only got about 53 seconds, so keep your eyes open.

They've got an unscrambler scrambler, if you know what I mean.

It sensed that we were unscrambling...

and, uh, automatically changed its code on us.

What satellite is it coming from?

-Snooker, I think. - Country of origin?

Uh, let me see. Uh -

Assuming 53 seconds represents the period of delay...

I'd say somewhere, uh...

in Malaysia?

- - Okay, here we go.

This is it.

What is that wall behind her? What is that, clay?

- Yeah. Wet clay. -

I think it's electrified.

- -

- - That's it?

That's it.

- - Grotesque, as promised.

Okay. Can you hang a search on it next time it -

Already workin' on it.

I was pretty insulted when it just shrugged us off in less than a minute.

Well, patrón, interested?

Yeah. Harlan, can you do something about these labels?

I mean, uh, this is supposed to be a clandestine operation, you know?

Sí, patrón.

You always find yourself getting nervous...

even if you've been doing it all your life, don't you think?

Oh, yeah. Oh, for sure.

- Course, that's part of the excitement of it. - Mm-hmm.

Want a smoke?

No, thanks.

- Max, just relax. - Okay.

And now here it is: The Rena King Show.

And this afternoon, Rena's guests are Max Renn...

controversial president of Channel 83, radio personality Nicki Brand...

and media prophet Professor Brian O'Blivion.

Take it away, Rena.

- - Max Renn...

your television station offers its viewers...

everything from soft-core pornography...

to hard-core violence.

- Why? - Well, it's a matter of economics, Rena.

We're, uh, small.

In order to survive, we have to give people something they can't get anywhere else...

and, uh - and we do that.

But don't you feel such shows contribute...

to a social climate of violence and sexual malaise?

- And do you care? - Certainly, I care.

I care enough, in fact, to give my viewers a -

a harmless outlet for their fantasies and their frustrations.

As far as I’m concerned, that's a socially positive act.

What about it, Nicki? Is it socially positive?

Well, I think we live in over stimulated times.

We crave stimulation for its own sake.

We gorge ourselves on it.

We always want more, whether it's tactile, emotional or sexual...

and I think that's bad.

Then why did you wear that dress?

- Sorry? - That dress.

It’s very stimulating, and - and it's red.

You know what Freud would have said about that dress.

And he would've been right. I admit it.

I live in a highly excited state of overstimulation.

Listen, I'd really like to take you out to dinner tonight.

- Professor O'Blivion. - What do you think?

Do you think erotic TV shows and violent TV shows...

lead to desensitization...

to dehumanization?

The television screen has become the retina of the mind's eye.

- - Yes.

That's why I refuse to appear on television...

except on television.

Of course, O'Blivion is not the name I was born with.

That's my television name.

Soon all of us will have special names...

names designed to cause the cathode ray tube to resonate.

- Yes. - Yes, I am. Very interested.

Nicki, is Max Renn a menace to society?

I’m not sure.

He's certainly a menace to me.

- -

When does the plot, uh, start to unravel here?

I mean, who is this black guy? Is he a political prisoner?

- There's no plot. -

It just goes on like that for an hour.

- Goes on like what? - Like that.

- Torture, murder... -

mutilation.

- We never leave that room? - Nope.

- It’s a real sicko. - Brilliant.

- For perverts only. - It’s absolutely brilliant.

I mean, look, there's almost no production costs.

You can't take your eyes off it. It’s incredibly realistic.

Where do they get actors who can do this?

- Oh, help me. I think he wants it. - Come on.

It’s worth checking out.

Did you have any trouble locking onto it this time?

Not after I realized the Malaysia delay was a plant.

-It’s not coming from Malaysia? -You can't fool the Prince of Pirates for long.

Har - Harlan, where is it coming from?

Pittsburgh. That's in the U.S.A.

Pittsburgh?

- - Pittsburgh.

Get professional help.

But it's not me. It’s my sister.

It’s not your sister. It’s you, lover.

Can't you tell? Isn't that why you called me?

You want help. You need help.

You're going insane. I can hear you disintegrating while you talk to me.

- I’ve got your number, haven't I? -

I hate my sister.

I don't want to. It’s ripping me up inside.

But I do. I do.

- - Will you call our Distress Center?

Will you call the CRAM Distress Center?

They'll tell you where to get help, lover.

And you need it. You need it now.

I will. I will. Oh, thank you, Nicki.

We’ll return to Nicki Brand...

and the Emotional Rescue show in just a moment.

This is CRAM in Toronto, and we've got the weather for you.

- Got any porno? - You serious?

Yeah. Gets me in the mood.

What's this? "Videodrome. "

- Torture, murder. -

Sounds great.

Ain't exactly sex.

Says who?

- God, I can't believe it. - I'll turn it off.

No, no, no. It’s okay. I can take it.

- -

Can you get it any clearer?

It’s a pirate tape. They scramble it.

- - I like it.

- Yeah? - Yeah, it turns me on.

Take out your Swiss Army knife and cut me here...

just - just a little.

Looks like somebody's beat me to it.

I wonder how you get to be a contestant on this show.