Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Crash Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 2, 2020

David Cronenberg's "Crash" (1996) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include archival audio commentary by the director; filmed version of a press conference held at the Cannes Film Festival; vintage trailers; archival press kit footage; and more. Also included with the release is an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film critic Jessica Kiang, as well as technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A couple of years ago, the British tabloid Daily Mirror published a very unusual article about a German woman who confessed that she was a looner. What is a looner? According to the article, it is a person that enjoys sex with balloons. I don’t know precisely how someone can have an intercourse with a balloon, or a few of them, but the article has a quote from the woman in which she clarifies that it is “a hell of a lot of bouncy fun”. So, my amateur interpretation is that as the bouncing occurs there is something about the feeling that the balloons can pop at any time that is enough to give the woman the same physical pleasure she would experience while having a traditional intercourse. One more thing. Apparently, the woman began experimenting with balloons after she met her husband. I am unsure if at any moment she considered herself a cheater, but the pleasurable relationship with her favorite balloons grew so strong that eventually she introduced them to her husband and he joined the fun as well. The full article can be accessed here.

I mention the Daily Mirror article because I think that it validates the existence of the people you will see in David Cronenberg’s film Crash. Just like the German woman from the article, they have a fetish that involves bouncing, but of a different and much more dangerous kind. They watch car crashes that arouse them and for the real thing participate in them while risking their lives. To experience the ultimate thrills, the most skilled amongst them also stage elaborate crash-events like the ones in which Hollywood stars James Dean and Jayne Mansfield lost their lives.

The events in the film are seen mostly through the eyes of TV director James Ballard (James Spader), who accidentally discovers the crashers after he nearly dies in a freak car accident. While recovering in the hospital, Ballard has an encounter with the leader of the crashers, Vaughan (Elias Koteas), who secretly researches patients like him and collects material for future crash-projects, and then begins a relationship with Hellen Remington (Holly Hunter), who is already a crash-addict. At first, Ballard is only a curious voyeur who uses his discovery to spice up his intimate relationship with his wife, Catherine (Deborah Kara Unger), but after witnessing a few of Vaughan’s group events becomes a crasher as well. Soon after, his fetish overpowers him and his life slowly begins to spiral out of control.

The only way I can at least partially rationalize what takes place in the film is to conclude that the people risking their lives in the crashes have a dangerous fetish but are actually hopeless junkies -- they are addicted to pain, sex, and the act of destroying cars. Do such people exist in the real world? I don’t know, but if there are looners then it is probably fair to assume that there are crashers as well.

The original material comes from a novel written by J. G. Ballard that apparently has long, extremely detailed and often very graphic descriptions of the various experiences the crashers have while enjoying their fix. I have not read the novel because its subject matter does not interest me, but my guess is that it is like a medical report. Cronenberg’s film shows the crashers in a lot of prolonged and quite detailed sexual acts as well, but rather predictably, it does not arouse. In fact, unless your mind is on the same wavelength with the minds of its characters, I think that you will find the majority of the sexual acts downright repulsive.

Aside from the crashes and sex the film does not have much else to offer, which is why after it premiered at Cannes it became a huge target for a lot of mainstream critics. I don’t find its explicit visuals problematic at all, but I do agree that the relationships that are supposed to provide it with a structure are seriously underdeveloped. Most of the time it just feels like Cronenberg’s camera is observing people that are in a very bizarre state of trance. Catherine’s transformation, in particular, looks entirely random, though she is one of the more interesting characters in the film.

Some of the special effects are outstanding. The deep scars on Rosanna Arquette’s character, a veteran crasher who has intentionally mutilated her body, look completely real.

*If the darkly strange world in which the main characters of Cronenberg's film exist as well as the things they do to their bodies appeal to you, track down and see Marina de Van’s thriller In My Skin.

Crash Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Crash arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The release is sourced from a new 4K restoration that was supervised by director of photography Peter Suschitzky. I think that the makeover is great, especially when compared to the standard definition presentation that New Line Cinema's DVD release offers. (Warner Archive has a more recent DVD release, but I have not seen it. The old snapper is the only release of this film that I have in my library). For example, in darker footage, which is the bulk of the film, there is substantially more detail and clarity is vastly superior. Rather predictably, depth is better as well. However, this is the one and only area where I think that some darker footage probably looks even more impressive in native 4K. Why? Because I see that some of the thicker blacks begin to crush a bit, and because I think that in native 4K the superior color balance will preserve some native nuances that struggle in 1080p. Grain is very nicely exposed and evenly distributed throughout the entire film. The color scheme is also very, very convincing, though given Mr. Suschitzky's involvement with the restoration this was guaranteed from the get-go. There are no stability issues. Finally, the entire film looks spotless. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Crash Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I think that the upgrade in the audio department is pretty substantial. I did some quick tests with New Line Cinema's DVD release and it is not just the superior dynamic range of the lossless track that makes a huge difference. Separation actually sounds quite a bit better, and not only during the crashes, but also in places where the music has an important role to play. Clarity, sharpness, and stability are outstanding. There are no encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Crash Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - two vintage trailers for Crash.
  
  1. U.S. trailer - in English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080i).
  2. International trailer - in English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080i).

• Press Kit Footage - presented here is an archival press kit for Crash that was prepared by New Line Cinema. Included in it are clips from interviews with cast and crew members and writer J.G. Ballard, as well as raw footage from the shooting of the film. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080i).

• Cannes Press Conference - presented here is a filmed version of the press conference that was held at the 1996 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, where after much criticism Crash won the Special Jury Prize. David Cronenberg, producers Jeremy Thomas and Robert Lantos, James Spader, Deborah Kara Unger, Elias Koteas, Holly Hunter, and J.G. Ballard are in attendance. In English, not subtitled. (38 min, 1080i).

• Ballard and Cronenberg - presented here is footage from a filmed lecture featuring David Cronenberg and J. G. Ballard that was held at the British Film Institute in 1996. The bulk of the material addresses the novel that inspired Crash, the film's tone and atmosphere, and its reception. In English, not subtitled. (102 min, 1080i).

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by David Cronenberg in 1997. It appeared on Criterion's LD release of Crash.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film critic Jessica Kiang, as well as technical credits.

Crash Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I would be lying if I wrote that I understand precisely what turns on the people in David Cronenberg's Crash. I can see how it happens, but I can't fully rationalize the attraction and what they perceive to be pleasure. During a press conference that was held at the Cannes Film Festival, Cronenberg mentions that in a way Crash is a meditation on mortality. It is an unusual description, but perhaps partially correct because most of the time it looks like Cronenberg's camera is in fact observing people that are in a very bizarre state of trance. My problem with this film is that the relationships that are supposed to give it its structure are underdeveloped, which is why it often seems like the graphic violence and explicit sex are in it simply to test the viewer's limits. It is an amusing film, but deeply flawed and at times intolerably frustrating. Criterion's Blu-ray release is sourced from a wonderful new 4K restoration that was supervised by cinematographer Peter Suschitzky. Buy with confidence if you are a fan of Crash, but consider a rental first if you have not seen it before.