Scanners (1981)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg (written by)

Release Date:

14 January 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

There are 4 billion people on earth. 237 are Scanners. They have the most terrifying powers ever created... and they are winning.

Plot:

A scientist sends a man with extraordinary psychic powers to hunt others like him.

Plot Keywords:

Psychic Power | Psychic | Doctor | Driveby Shooting | Tied To Bed

Awards:

3 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Jennifer O'Neill	...	Kim Obrist
Stephen Lack	...	Cameron Vale
Patrick McGoohan	...	Dr. Paul Ruth
Lawrence Dane	...	Braedon Keller
Michael Ironside	...	Darryl Revok
Robert A. Silverman	...	Benjamin Pierce (as Robert Silverman)
Lee Broker	...	Security One
Mavor Moore	...	Trevellyan
Adam Ludwig	...	Arno Crostic
Murray Cruchley	...	Programmer 1 (as Lee Murray)
Fred Doederlein	...	Dieter Tautz
Géza Kovács	...	Killer in Record Store (as Geza Kovacs)
Sonny Forbes	...	Killer in Attic (as Sony Forbes)
Jérôme Tiberghien	...	Killer in Attic (as Jerome Tiberghien)
Denis Lacroix	...	Killer in Barn
Elizabeth Mudry	...	Killer in Barn
Victor Désy	...	Dr. Gatineau (as Victor Desy)
Louis Del Grande	...	First Scanner
Anthony Sherwood	...	Scanner in Attic (as Tony Sherwood)
Ken Umland	...	Scanner in Attic
Anne Anglin	...	Scanner in Attic
Jock Brandis	...	Scanner in Attic
Jack Messinger	...	Scanner at Door
Victor Knight	...	Dr. Frane
Karen Fullerton	...	Pregnant Girl
Margaret Gadbois	...	Woman in Mall
Terrance P. Coady	...	Security 1 Car Passenger (as Terry Coady)
Steve Michaels	...	Security 1 Car Driver
Malcolm Nelthorpe	...	Ray, Security 2 Car Driver
Nicholas Kilbertus	...	Security 2 Car Partner
Don Buchsbaum	...	Large Man in Mall
Roland Nincheri	...	Large Man in Mall
Kimberly McKeever	...	Hallucinating Guard
Robert Boyd	...	Hallucinating Guard
Graham Batchelor	...	Yoga Technician
Dean Hagopian	...	CONSEC Programmer 2
Alex Stevens	...	CONSEC Programmer 3
Neil Affleck	...	Medical Student in Mall
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sam Stone	...	Security Guard (uncredited)

Directed by
David Cronenberg

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Cronenberg		written by

Produced by
Pierre David	....	executive producer
Claude Héroux	....	producer (as Claude Heroux)
Victor Solnicki	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Howard Shore

Cinematography by
Mark Irwin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ronald Sanders

Art Direction by
Carol Spier

Costume Design by
Delphine White

Makeup Department
Stephan Dupuis	....	special makeup
Brigitte McCaughry	....	makeup artist
Constant Natale	....	hair stylist
Tom Schwartz	....	special makeup
Dick Smith	....	special makeup effects consultant
Chris Walas	....	special makeup

Production Management
Don Buchsbaum	....	production manager
Jean Savard	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jim Kaufman	....	first assistant director
Anne Murphy	....	third assistant director
Michael Williams	....	second assistant director (as Mike Williams)

Art Department
Alfred	....	set designer
Peter Borowski	....	sculptor
Jean Bourret	....	property master
Peter Bray	....	set dresser
Serge Bureau	....	assistant set dresser
Michel Comte	....	assistant propsman
Tom Coulter	....	sculptor
Peter Dowker	....	sculptor
Melanie Johnson	....	assistant set dresser
Barbara Jones	....	assistant art director
Michael Joy	....	draughtsman
Claude Simard	....	construction supervisor
Ernie Tomlinson	....	assistant propsman

Sound Department
Charles Bowers	....	sound editor
Peter Burgess	....	sound editing supervisor
Terry Burke	....	assistant sound editor
Don Cohen	....	sound
Paul Coombe	....	sound re-recordist
Gary Daprato	....	assistant sound editor
Mike Hoogenboom	....	sound re-recordist
Peter Jermyn	....	sound editor
Bruce Nyznik	....	sound editor
Gabor Vadnay	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Don Berry	....	special effects assistant
Louis Craig	....	special effects assistant
Jacques Godbout	....	special effects assistant
Dennis Pike	....	micro effects
Gary Zeller	....	special effects

Stunts
Alex Stevens	....	stunt coordinator
Céline Fournier	....	stunt woman (uncredited)
Gary Hymes	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jock Brandis	....	gaffer
François Dupéré	....	key grip (as Francois Dupere)
Denis Fugere	....	still photographer
Maris H. Jansons	....	grip (as Maris Jansons)
Claude Langlois	....	best boy
Robin Miller	....	first assistant camera
Michel Périard	....	grip (as Michel Periard)
Lynn Rotin	....	apprentice assistant camera
Arshad Shaw	....	electrician
Gregory Villeneuve	....	second assistant camera

Casting Department
Ginette D'Amico	....	casting assistant
Muriel Fournier	....	casting assistant
Daniel Hausmann	....	casting: Montreal

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Fabienne April	....	assistant dresser
Renée April	....	dresser
Blanche-Danielle Boileau	....	costume assistant (as Blanche Boileau)

Editorial Department
Robert Boyd	....	assistant editor
Chris Hutton	....	assistant editor
Thomas Metzger	....	color timer
Bill Wiggins	....	post-production coordinator

Transportation Department
Armand Thomas	....	driver: action vehicles
Charles Toupin	....	driver captain

Other crew
Neil Bibby	....	production assistant
Victor Blazevic	....	production assistant
France Boudreau	....	continuity
Robert Boyd	....	assistant: Mr. Cronenberg
Christine Burt	....	location manager
Pierre David	....	presenter
Patrick Ferrerro	....	production assistant
Kay Gray	....	unit publicist
Nerses Kolanian	....	production assistant
Guy Landry	....	production assistant
Glendon Light	....	production assistant
Marilyn Majerczyk	....	production assistant
Serge Major	....	production accountant
Kim Obrist	....	assistant: Mr. Heroux
Danièle Rohrbach	....	production coordinator (as Daniele Rohrbach)
Nick Rose	....	production assistant
Victor Solnicki	....	presenter
Claire Veillet	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)
• Filmplan
• Victor Solnicki Productions

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (1981) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Ciné Paris Distribution (1981) (France) (theatrical)
• Transcontinental Film (1982) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Video (1982) (USA) (VHS)
• Astral Video (????) (Canada) (VHS)
• Atlantic Film (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Future Film (1997) (Finland) (VHS)
• Future Film (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Nelson Entertainment (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Reserva Especial (Brazil) (VHS)
• Transvídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Van Blad (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Vídeo Network (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Intrigue

Other Companies

• Canadian Casting Associates  casting: Toronto
• Film House, Toronto  mixing facilities
• Film Opticals  opticals
• Negbec Films  negative cutting
• Paratel  publicity

Also Known As:

Telepathy 2000
Kontrolori (Serbia) [sr]
Scanners (France) [fr]
Scanners - I nyhta tou tromou (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Scanners - Ihre Gedanken können töten (West Germany) [de]
Scanners - Sua Mente Pode Destruir (Brazil) [pt]
Scanners - dödande tanke (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Scanners - tappava ajatus (Finland) [fi]
Scanners 1 - Sua Mente Pode Destruir (Brazil) (video title) [pt]
Scanners: Su solo pensamiento podía matar (Spain) [es]
Telekinesis (Mexico) [es]

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | Finland:K-18 (original rating) (1981) | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Brazil:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Iceland:(Banned) | Norway:16 (cut) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)

Trivia:

The crash scene in the record store prominently features a float hanging from the ceiling for the RSO (Robert Stigwood Organization) record label, who paid for this placement. By the time the film was released, RSO had gone out of business.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the very beginning of the final fight between Revok and Cameron, Cameron hits Revok in the head with a statue. When the camera cuts to Revok's face before the statue makes contact, there is already blood on Revok's face where the statue is about to hit.

Quotes:

Woman in Mall: [to her companion, as Cameron Vale approaches, staring at them] Don't look now but I think we're being
[sarcastically]
Woman in Mall: picked up.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Horror of Party Beach (#9.17)" (1997)

Another Cronenberg Classic Worth Seeing

After a renegade scanner named Revok (a mutant human with advanced mental powers) causes another man's head to explode, he is hunted by a second scanner hired by a semi-secret scientific organization. Meanwhile, other scanners are picked off one by one, and the hunter is left with great moral and existential questions -- where did he come from, what is his purpose and is there a right or wrong side in this human/mutant battle?

Director David Cronenberg can seemingly do no wrong. As I watch one film after another of his, I wait to find one that is the pock mark on the perfect career. Some of his films (such as "Rabid" or perhaps "Stereo") may be of less quality than others, but I have yet to find one that is outright bad. "Scanners", for the record, ranks among his best and has become a cultural staple.

You know you're a culturally important film when you're referenced by "Wayne's World". But seriously, this film is a science fiction story that -- like many science fiction stories -- holds some greater cultural and moral issues worth investigating.

The issue of racism is here. Like the recent "X-Men" movies, and many other films, the idea of someone who is different in a superficial way (scanners look like ordinary humans) and is rejected raises the point that we as a society need to accept those who are not like us. Racism stinks, whether it appear in its purest form (skin color) or through religion or other means. And that's what makes this film so clever: the main character is a hero, but yet he is the outcast -- in some ways we see him as being more human than those who would have him killed.

This also happens to be a film that focuses on one of Cronenberg's strong points: his love of science. Or perhaps science gone wrong, if you will. Does any other director really tackle this as effectively as Cronenberg? I don't think so. (Imagine what would happen if he started making a series of Philip K. Dick novels into films.)

I suppose I didn't really get into the film itself so much, but the beauty of the film is that what you take away from it if you view it critically is so much more than the plot or effects or lighting. Yes, you have a great cast (isn't Michael Ironside creepy?) and a head explodes. Yes, you have gun fights and mind control. Even a little bit of romance (but only just a pinch, nothing like a Goldblum-Davis connection in this one).

If you can't tell, I want you to see this movie. If you're the type of person I am, you'll find this movie so smooth and refreshing on your mental palette that the film ends before you've even realized it began -- the sign of a really great film (or a really short one, which this isn't). Give it a chance, you'll like it.