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The 1965 movie David Cronenberg called “the most influential film of my life”
David Cronenberg has named Roman Polanski's 1965 psychological horror film "Repulsion" as the most influential picture of his life, crediting it with shaping his own approach to body horror and psychological disturbance on screen. The Canadian director, celebrated for films such as "Videodrome", "The Fly" and "Crash", has long cited European art-house cinema as a formative influence, and this acknowledgement underlines how directly Polanski's early work fed into the visual and thematic language Cronenberg later made his own.
"Repulsion" stars Catherine Deneuve as a young woman whose mental state disintegrates while alone in her sister's London flat, blending unsettling imagery with claustrophobic tension. Cronenberg has pointed to the film's unflinching depiction of psychological and bodily breakdown as a direct forerunner of the visceral, transformation-driven horror that defines his own filmography.
In short
- Cronenberg cites Polanski's "Repulsion" as his most influential film.
- The 1965 film stars Catherine Deneuve as a woman's sanity unravels.
- Its psychological, bodily horror shaped Cronenberg's own directing style.
Explained simply
David Cronenberg is a Canadian film director known for creating films that explore horror through unsettling depictions of the human body and psychological disturbance. His celebrated works, including "Videodrome", "The Fly" and "Crash", have established him as one of cinema's most distinctive voices, particularly in how he portrays physical transformation and mental unease.
Roman Polanski's 1965 film "Repulsion" is a psychological horror picture featuring Catherine Deneuve as a young woman whose mental state deteriorates whilst alone in her sister's London flat. The film uses striking visual techniques and claustrophobic tension to depict her psychological and physical breakdown in visceral, disturbing detail.
Cronenberg's identification of "Repulsion" as his most influential film reveals a direct connection between Polanski's early European art-house cinema and the distinctive style that defines Cronenberg's own work. His characteristic approach to depicting psychological collapse merged with bodily horror appears to have its roots in how Polanski handled these themes decades earlier.