- Actors: Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane, Michael Ironside
- Directors: David Cronenberg
- Classification: 18
- Studio: Arrow
- VHS Release Date: 24 Jan 2000
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004R6BA
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 17,616 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
David Cronenberg's 1981 horror film Scanners is a darkly paranoid story of a homeless man (Stephen Lack) mistakenly believed to be insane, when in fact he can't turn off the sound of other people's thoughts in his telepathic mind. Helped by a doctor (Patrick McGoohan) and enlisted in a programme of "scanners"--telepaths who also can will heads to explode--he becomes involved in a battle against nefarious forces. A number of critics consider this to be Cronenberg's first great film, and indeed it has a serious vision of destiny that rivals some of the important German expressionist works from the silent cinema. Lack is very good as the odd hero, and McGoohan is effectively eccentric and chilly as the scientist who saves him from the street, only to thrust him into a terrible struggle. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
I have watched this film at least 50 times and I never tire of seeing it. It's proof that Cronenberg was, even nearly 20 years ago, a visionary with a strong stomach. The exploding head, the ruptured veins, nosebleeds and spontaneous combustion should have produced a film whose violence is completely tasteless, but it didn't. Instead, the director uses strong photography, an interesting notion for a plot (Cronenberge studied as a biochemist, and many of his films deal with the concepts of disease and infection) and a gripping soundtrack by his long-time collaborator Howard Shore, to build a film which is truly enjoyable. Despite the uniformly wooden acting and appallingly weak dialogue, the 'kinda' happy ending and a rather obvious 'right versus wrong' storyline, the overall effect is still gripping and - somehow - great fun. Great.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Scanners are humans who can interact with another nervous system, in the film principally human beings. They can read thoughts and remotely effect the person they are scanning.
I watched this film when it was released and the impact for me then as it is now is the sub-theme of the ability to scan as being a curse. I remember that the attraction at the time was the special effects but the study of the burden of being a scanner within the film lifts it above pulp horror/sci-fi. The opening scene where the main character is tormented by unconsciously reading what two strangers are thinking about him and the troubled artist who keeps himself sane by putting the voices into his art are some of the most memorable scenes in the film. Michael Ironside is excellent as the villian. Patrick McGoohan (Danger man and the Prisoner) is on top class form. The film is really well crafted in that there really aren't any superfluous scenes. A good tight well-scripted film. It could possibly have been made a bit longer but any extra scene would have just been padding. Excellent.
I watched this film when it was released and the impact for me then as it is now is the sub-theme of the ability to scan as being a curse. I remember that the attraction at the time was the special effects but the study of the burden of being a scanner within the film lifts it above pulp horror/sci-fi. The opening scene where the main character is tormented by unconsciously reading what two strangers are thinking about him and the troubled artist who keeps himself sane by putting the voices into his art are some of the most memorable scenes in the film. Michael Ironside is excellent as the villian. Patrick McGoohan (Danger man and the Prisoner) is on top class form. The film is really well crafted in that there really aren't any superfluous scenes. A good tight well-scripted film. It could possibly have been made a bit longer but any extra scene would have just been padding. Excellent.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Stuff Scorsese,Coppola can eat his pies...man i love messiah Cronenberg.The Fly is one,if not my favourite movie of all time,Dead Ringers is a glacial ice box cool masterpiece of a movie and Crash in my opinion is the best novel to film translation ever.Cronenberg the man is a genius,i could watch,read him talk all day long.Scanners for me is the classic 80s vhs,i cannot believe a reviewer slates the video artwork...i love it.The exploding head scene i find as iconic as the music of Jaws,Gone With The Wind,E.T.... whatever.There is an indeniable cerebral substance to Cronenbergs horror,a true horror if you will,of the body,mind,dysfunctional fusions,diseases,technology.Scanners is about people with telepathic powers,isolated from the norm,feared by the government.Obviously there is a team of bad Scanners.I cannot really tell the story properly but its great stuff,my mind just gets overloaded when it comes to Cronenberg,i cannot heap enough praise on the mans amazing body of work.Oh,i forgot to namecheck Videodrome...classic.Anyway Stephen Lack is oddly great in this as is Micheal Ironside,the film also introduced to me the wonderful Patrick Mcgoohan who delivers an offbeat deeply charismatic performance.Loved the soundtrack as well.I suggest buy ALL of Cronenbergs movies.NOW.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
very talk about film
i remember this film as a teenager everyone was talking about it and how good it is. ill buy it myself soon. its cheap.
Published 2 months ago by tango
Tacky poster on the box, good film
This is a well-crafted and absorbing film - a lot better than the tacky poster on the box would suggest - and it has some interesting ideas on how telepathy might work. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. P. H. Turner
Laxatives please!
I do like a drop of Cronenburg, even when it's a little flat. This fairly early work is pretty rough at the edges, includes some outrageous gurning, some somewhat schlocky acting,... Read more
Published 18 months ago by sft
I bought this film because I remember it scaring the hell out of me..
..unfortunately it just hasn't dated at all. It's awful and once you've seen on ehead explode, there's not much more to see.
Published on 30 Dec 2009 by Mr. Rob Bassett
Scanners
What a brill film, this was and still is one of my faves.....hand on my head is about to explode.
Published on 31 Aug 2009 by Ma Weaver
Blow Your Mind
Scanners was notorious at its time of release for the exploding head sequence. A scene the late great Kenny Everett spoofed on his television show. Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2008 by G. R. Donaldson
Dark Imagination
This is a superb film. Directed by Canadian director David Cronenburg in 1981, it is the story of Cameron Vale, a "scanner" - a man with telepathic powers - and his efforts to... Read more
Published on 24 Sep 2008 by Mike Cormack
What if Abel could win over Cain?
We have only one choice in this world : to escape into a virtual reality or to accept paranormal human capabilities. Cronenberg takes the second road. Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2005 by Jacques COULARDEAU
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