Crash (1996 film)

For the 2004 film by Paul Haggis, see Crash (2004 film).

Crash
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Cronenberg
Screenplay byDavid Cronenberg
Based onCrash
by J. G. Ballard
Produced byDavid Cronenberg
Starring
CinematographyPeter Suschitzky
Edited byRonald Sanders
Music byHoward Shore
Production
companies
Distributed byAlliance Communications
Release dates
  • May 17, 1996 (1996-05-17) (Cannes)
  • October 4, 1996 (1996-10-04) (Canada)
Running time
100 minutes[2]
Country
LanguageEnglish
Box office$23.2 million[4]

Crash is a 1996 Canadian erotic thriller film[5] written, produced and directed by David Cronenberg, based on J. G. Ballard's 1973 novel of the same name. Starring James Spader, Deborah Kara Unger, Elias Koteas, Holly Hunter and Rosanna Arquette, it follows a film producer who, after surviving a car crash, becomes involved with a group of symphorophiliacs who are aroused by car crashes and tries to rekindle his sexual relationship with his wife.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury Prize, a unique award that is distinct from the Jury Prize as it is not given annually, but only at the request of the official jury (for example, the previous year, both a Jury Prize and a Special Jury Prize were awarded). When then-jury president Francis Ford Coppola announced the award "for originality, for daring and for audacity", he stated that it had been a controversial choice and that certain jury members "did abstain very passionately".[6] It continued to receive various accolades, including six Genie Awards.

The film's initial release was met with intense controversy and opened to highly divergent reactions from critics; some praised the film for its daring premise and originality, others aimed criticism for having such a strange premise filled with graphic violence. It has since developed a cult following and is now considered to be one of Cronenberg's best films.

  1. ^ a b "Crash (1996)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  2. ^ "Crash (18)". British Board of Film Classification. March 18, 1997. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  3. ^ Dick, Leslie (June 1997). "Crash". Sight & Sound. p. 48.
  4. ^ "Crash (1996)". JPBox-Office. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  5. ^ Crash (1996) - David Cronenberg | Synopsis, Movie Info, Moods, Themes and Related. AllMovie. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  6. ^ Maslin, Janet (May 21, 1996). "'Secrets and Lies' Wins the Top Prize at Cannes". The New York Times. p. C-11. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.