Crimes of the Future (2022)

After its cinema release last year, and a barebones DVD (in the UK) and Blu-ray (in the US) release, David Cronenberg's latest film gets a deserved special edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray release packed with extras.

In the near future, and in a world where diseases and physical pain no longer exist, human bodies are continuing to evolve. Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) is a man able to grow new organs inside his body, and he regularly has them removed by his surgeon partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux) in live performances. But Saul is not the only human with strange new abilities. A growing number of people are developing the ability to digest plastic and Wippet (Don McKellar) along with his assistant Timlin (Kristen Stewart) at the National Organ Registry believe Saul might help them to understand the next major step in human evolution. 

"Surgery is sex," says Kristen Stewart early on CRIMES OF THE FUTUR. It's a film that's like having all the elements that made each of Cronenberg's early pictures so unique and memorable all in one place. A film that, more than any other he's made, is all about his body horror obsessions - beauty contests for the insides of bodies, tumours as an art form, designer cancers, etc. Much of the dialogue involves the discussion of fascinating philosophies and science fiction concepts, and there are moments and scenes of utter genius in this, not least the most erotic scene in cinema of last year as Seydoux is caressed by the scalpels in Tenser's strange machine.

Second Sight have once again performed their usual excellent work in providing extras for CRIMES OF THE FUTURE. Author Caelum Vatnsdal provides the commentary track, starting off by echoing Cronenberg himself (from the director's commentary for EXISTENZ) by saying how the credit sequence of his later movies acts as a vestibule for the audience to prepare themselves for the strange new world they are about to see. He then goes in to talk knowledgeably about Cronenberg's work with particular reference to the film.

There is a stack of interviews, consisting of, in order, David Cronenberg (7 minutes), Viggo Mortensen (9 minutes), Léa Seydoux (7 minutes), Kristen Stewart (7 minutes), Don McKellar (27 minutes), producer Robert Lantos (10 minutes), DP Douglas Koch (17 minutes), and editor Christopher Donaldson (23 minutes).

New Flesh, Future Crimes is a new 23 minute documentary on the film and Cronenberg's work in general. There's also a Making Of (22 minutes), a look at production design, and a one minute piece in which the director confronts his own dead body. 

The limited edition set also comes with a 120 page book with a bunch of new essays, sic collectors' art cards and a rigid slipcase. A beautiful set from Second Sight that's going to be a must have for Cronenberg fans everywhere.

David Cronenberg's CRIMES OF THE FUTURE is out on 4K UHD and Blu-ray in both limited and standard editions on Monday 11th September 2023