Scanners (Criterion) (Blu-Ray)

With Scanners, David Cronenberg plunges us into one of his most terrifying and thrilling sci-fi worlds. After a man with extraordinary—and frighteningly destructive—telepathic abilities is nabbed by agents from a mysterious rogue corporation, he discovers he is far from the only possessor of such strange powers, and that some of the other “scanners” have their minds set on world domination, while others are trying to stop them. A trademark Cronenberg combination of the visceral and the cerebral, this phenomenally gruesome and provocative film about the expanses and limits of the human brain was the Canadian director’s breakout hit in the United States.

Canada
1981
103 minutes
Color
1.78:1
English
Spine #712

Disc Features

DIRECTOR-APPROVED EDITION:

New, restored 2K digital film transfer, supervised by director David Cronenberg, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
The “Scanners” Way, a new documentary on the film’s special effects
New interview with actor Michael Ironside
The Ephemerol Diaries, a 2012 interview with actor and artist Stephen Lack
Excerpt from a 1981 interview with Cronenberg on the CBC’s The Bob McLean Show
Stereo (1969), Cronenberg’s first feature film
Trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Kim Newman