David Cronenberg: Author or Filmmaker?

by Mark Browning

For more than thirty years, David Cronenberg has made independent films such as Scanners and A History of Violence which aim to disturb, surprise, and challenge audiences. He has also repeatedly drawn on literary fiction for inspiration, adapting themes from authors like William Burroughs, J. G. Ballard, and Patrick McGrath for the big screen; David Author or Filmmaker? is the first book to explore how underground and mainstream fiction have influenced—and can help illuminate—his labyrinthine films.


Film scholar Mark Browning examines Cronenberg’s literary aesthetic not only in relation to his films’ obvious source material, but by comparing his movies to the writings of Vladimir Nabokov, Angela Carter, and Bret Easton Ellis. This groundbreaking volume addresses Cronenberg’s narrative structures and his unique conception of auteurism, as well as his films’ shocking psychological frameworks, all in the broader context of film adaptation studies. David Cronenberg is an essential read for anyone interested in the symbiotic relationship between literature and filmmaking.

 


“ David Cronenberg is a work that attempts to illuminate and unravel the connection between the great Canadian auteur and his literary influences.”— Film Snob Weekly

 


 “ David Cronenberg is an essential read for anyone interested in the symbiotic relationship between literature and filmmaking.”— Video Canada


 



 


 

 

Genres: Film

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had been thinking that there needs to be a book about Cronenberg's literary adaptations. This books isn't quite it. Although Browning does discuss these adaptations, he takes a bit of a broader approach and explores Cronenberg's literary influences, which is part of the problem with the book. At times, the connections between the literary sources and Cronenberg's films is a bit of a stretch.

Overall, this is an interesting and well-researched book. Although I didn't always agree with Browning's interpretation of the films, I found his observations thought-provoking. Oddly, for such a well-researched book, he makes several small errors about details from the films.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. This is, I'm pretty sure, someone's thesis turned into a book, as it bears hallmarks such as the shoehorning in of as many secondary references as possible, regardless of their direct relevance, and strained readings to try to make everything fit the overarching thesis. There are some good observations, but also a great many very tenuous ones. Also, it's not particularly well written, or at any rate well edited. Another round of revision and rethinking was necessary.