Videodrome

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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 Hiroshima Video.

This meeting is to take place...

at the Classic Hotel, 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 f***'s sake, open the door!

I want you out of this place!

For f***'s sake, open the door!

You just gotta open

the f***ing 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, patrn, interested?

Yeah. Harlan, can you do something

about these labels?

I mean, uh, this is supposed to be

a clandestine operation, you know?

S, patrn.

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 overstimulated 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.

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