Stereo (1969 film)

''Stereo'' is a 1969 Canadian science fiction film directed, written, produced, shot and edited by David Cronenberg in his feature film debut. Starring Ronald Mlodzik, who would go on to appear in later Cronenberg films '' Crimes of the Future'', '' Shivers'', and ''Rabid'', the film was Cronenberg's first feature-length effort, following his two short films, ''Transfer'' (1966) and '' From the Drain'' (1967). The plot follows several young volunteers who participate in a parapsychological experiment.

Plot

The film purports to be part of a "mosaic" of educational resources by the Canadian Academy of Erotic Enquiry. It documents an experiment by the unseen Dr. Luther Stringfellow. A young man (Ronald Mlodzik) in a black cloak is seen arriving at the Academy, where he joins a group of young volunteers who are being endowed with telepathic abilities which they are encouraged to develop through sexual exploration. It is hoped that telepathic groups, bonded in polymorphous sexual relationships, will form a socially stabilising replacement for the "obsolescent family unit". One girl develops a secondary personality in order to cope with her new state of consciousness, which gradually ousts her original personality. As the volunteers' abilities develop, the experimenters find themselves increasingly unable to control the progress of the experiment. They decide to separate the telepaths, which results in two suicides. The final sequence shows the young woman who developed an extra personality wearing the black cloak.

Cast

Production

Cronenberg used a Arriflex 35 that he gained from a deferred rental from Janet Good at the Canadian Motion Picture Equipment Rental Company. The film was shot in black and white and without synchronized sound due to the noise of the Arriflex 35.

''Stereo'' was shot at the University of Toronto Scarborough from August to 6 November 1968, with a budget of $8,500 (). Canada Council donated $3,500 to the film's budget under the writer category as it did not establish a cinema category until the next year.

The film was shot at the Andrews Building of the University of Toronto's Scarborough College.

Release

The film premiered at the National Arts Centre on 23 June 1969. He paid for two screenings of the film before a businessman paid $10,000 for the film's distribution rights. The businessman showed the film at the Museum of Modern Art.

Reception

Jacob Siskind, writing in the ''Montreal Gazette'', stated that the film "is at once promising and disappointing". Martin Malina, writing in the ''Montreal Star'', stated that it was "fresh, unconventional and, I suspect, thoroughly uncommercial".

Home video

The film has been included as a special feature in multiple releases of other Cronenberg films, including in standard definition on Blue Underground's Blu-ray release of ''Fast Company'', in high definition on Criterion release of ''Scanners'' and also in high definition on a bonus disc in Arrow Video's UK Blu-ray release of ''Videodrome''. The bonus disc from ''Videodrome'' was later released on its own as David Cronenberg's Early Works together with the director's first two short films and his sophomore feature '' Crimes of the Future''.

References

Works cited

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External links

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{{David Cronenberg

1969 films
English-language Canadian films
Canadian avant-garde and experimental films
1960s science fiction films
Canadian science fiction films
Mad scientist films
Canadian independent films
Canadian black-and-white films
Canadian mockumentary films
Films directed by David Cronenberg
Canadian body horror films
1969 directorial debut films
1960s English-language films
1960s Canadian films