Crash (1996 film)

The film premiered at the [[1996 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]], where it received the [[Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival)|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".{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |title='Secrets and Lies' Wins the Top Prize at Cannes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/21/movies/secrets-and-lies-wins-the-top-prize-at-cannes.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 21, 1996 |page=C-11 |access-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-date=July 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717220141/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/21/movies/secrets-and-lies-wins-the-top-prize-at-cannes.html |url-status=live }} It continued to receive various accolades, including six [[Genie Awards]].

The film premiered at the [[1996 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]], where it received the [[Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival)|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".{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |title='Secrets and Lies' Wins the Top Prize at Cannes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/21/movies/secrets-and-lies-wins-the-top-prize-at-cannes.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 21, 1996 |page=C-11 |access-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-date=July 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717220141/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/21/movies/secrets-and-lies-wins-the-top-prize-at-cannes.html |url-status=live }} 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.

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.

In 2019 it topped the [[British Film Institute]]’s list of the 90 best films of the 1990s.

{{cite web|title=90 Great Films of the 1990s|url= https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/90-great-films-1990s/}}

==Plot==

==Plot==

Of the adaptation, author J. G. Ballard reportedly said, "The movie is actually better than the book. It goes further than the book, and is much more powerful and dynamic. It's terrific."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2015/11/david-cronenberg-mulling-over-j-g-ballards-crash/|title=David Cronenberg mulling over J G Ballard's CRASH|magazine=Wired|access-date=August 18, 2020|last1=Sterling|first1=Bruce|archive-date=July 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721215328/https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2015/11/david-cronenberg-mulling-over-j-g-ballards-crash/|url-status=live}} He promoted Cronenberg's work in his native country.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/sep/23/jgballard |title=JG Ballard on A History of Violence {{!}} Film |website=The Guardian |date=September 23, 2005 |access-date=2011-04-16 |archive-date=2010-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131032222/http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/sep/23/jgballard |url-status=live }}

Of the adaptation, author J. G. Ballard reportedly said, "The movie is actually better than the book. It goes further than the book, and is much more powerful and dynamic. It's terrific."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2015/11/david-cronenberg-mulling-over-j-g-ballards-crash/|title=David Cronenberg mulling over J G Ballard's CRASH|magazine=Wired|access-date=August 18, 2020|last1=Sterling|first1=Bruce|archive-date=July 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721215328/https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2015/11/david-cronenberg-mulling-over-j-g-ballards-crash/|url-status=live}} He promoted Cronenberg's work in his native country.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/sep/23/jgballard |title=JG Ballard on A History of Violence {{!}} Film |website=The Guardian |date=September 23, 2005 |access-date=2011-04-16 |archive-date=2010-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131032222/http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/sep/23/jgballard |url-status=live }}

==Awards and nominations==

===Accolades===

The film was nominated for the [[Palme d'Or]] at the Cannes Film Festival. In the end, it won the [[Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival)|Special Jury Prize]].{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4682/year/1996.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Crash |access-date=September 15, 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com |archive-date=August 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805012125/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4682/year/1996.html |url-status=live }} Cannes jury president [[Francis Ford Coppola]] noted that "certain [jury] members did abstain very passionately" from endorsing Cronenberg's film, but added that it was important to give ''Crash'' an award, "even though in mining some truth of the human condition it offended [certain viewers]".{{Cite news|last=Macinnis|first=Craig|date=May 20, 1996|title=Cronenberg gets special Cannes prize|work=Ottawa Citizen}} However, other accounts have suggested it was Coppola himself who did not like the film, with producer Jeremy Thomas later saying, "It touched a nerve with him."{{Cite web|title=Beyond the bounds of depravity: an oral history of David Cronenberg's Crash|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/crash-david-cronenberg-jeremy-thomas|access-date=August 10, 2020|website=British Film Institute|date=September 5, 2019 |language=en|archive-date=July 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712150333/https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/interviews/crash-david-cronenberg-jeremy-thomas|url-status=live}} In a 2020 interview for the film's 4K restoration, Cronenberg said Coppola was the main dissent on the support for the film on the Cannes jury, adding that "he wouldn't hand me the award" and got someone else to do it.{{Cite news|last=Friend|first=David|date=August 12, 2020|title=Q-and-A: David Cronenberg reflects on 'Crash' and the future of COVID filmmaking|work=Yahoo/The Canadian Press|url=https://ca.news.yahoo.com/q-david-cronenberg-reflects-crash-193408727.html|url-status=live|archive-date=August 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820153347/https://ca.news.yahoo.com/q-david-cronenberg-reflects-crash-193408727.html}}

The film was nominated for the [[Palme d'Or]] at the Cannes Film Festival. In the end, it won the [[Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival)|Special Jury Prize]].{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4682/year/1996.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Crash |access-date=September 15, 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com |archive-date=August 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805012125/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4682/year/1996.html |url-status=live }} Cannes jury president [[Francis Ford Coppola]] noted that "certain [jury] members did abstain very passionately" from endorsing Cronenberg's film, but added that it was important to give ''Crash'' an award, "even though in mining some truth of the human condition it offended [certain viewers]".{{Cite news|last=Macinnis|first=Craig|date=May 20, 1996|title=Cronenberg gets special Cannes prize|work=Ottawa Citizen}} However, other accounts have suggested it was Coppola himself who did not like the film, with producer Jeremy Thomas later saying, "It touched a nerve with him."{{Cite web|title=Beyond the bounds of depravity: an oral history of David Cronenberg's Crash|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/crash-david-cronenberg-jeremy-thomas|access-date=August 10, 2020|website=British Film Institute|date=September 5, 2019 |language=en|archive-date=July 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712150333/https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/interviews/crash-david-cronenberg-jeremy-thomas|url-status=live}} In a 2020 interview for the film's 4K restoration, Cronenberg said Coppola was the main dissent on the support for the film on the Cannes jury, adding that "he wouldn't hand me the award" and got someone else to do it.{{Cite news|last=Friend|first=David|date=August 12, 2020|title=Q-and-A: David Cronenberg reflects on 'Crash' and the future of COVID filmmaking|work=Yahoo/The Canadian Press|url=https://ca.news.yahoo.com/q-david-cronenberg-reflects-crash-193408727.html|url-status=live|archive-date=August 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820153347/https://ca.news.yahoo.com/q-david-cronenberg-reflects-crash-193408727.html}}

The film was nominated for The Motion Picture Sound Editors Association's [[Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR for Foreign Language Feature Film|Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing for a Foreign Feature]].{{Cite web |last=Madigan |first=Nick |date=1998-01-22 |title=Sound editing noms unveiled |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/sound-editing-noms-unveiled-1117466966/ |access-date=2025-10-19 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} It also won the 1996 [[Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists|Cahiers du Cin''é''ma Award]] for Best Film and was number eight on their list of Best Films of the 1990s.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Eric C. |title=Cahiers du Cinema: Top Ten Lists 1951-2009 |url=http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/cahiers.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327102838/http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/cahiers.html |archive-date=2012-03-27 |access-date=2025-10-19 |website=alumnus.caltech.edu |language=en-US}}

The film was nominated for The Motion Picture Sound Editors Association's [[Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR for Foreign Language Feature Film|Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing for a Foreign Feature]].{{Cite web |last=Madigan |first=Nick |date=1998-01-22 |title=Sound editing noms unveiled |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/sound-editing-noms-unveiled-1117466966/ |access-date=2025-10-19 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} It also won the 1996 [[Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists|Cahiers du Cin''é''ma Award]] for Best Film and was number eight on their list of Best Films of the 1990s.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Eric C. |title=Cahiers du Cinema: Top Ten Lists 1951-2009 |url=http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/cahiers.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327102838/http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/cahiers.html |archive-date=2012-03-27 |access-date=2025-10-19 |website=alumnus.caltech.edu |language=en-US}}

In 2019 it topped the [[British Film Institute]]'s list of the 90 best films of the 1990s.

{{cite web |title=90 Great Films of the 1990s |url= https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/90-great-films-1990s/ |website=[[British Film Institute]] }}

== See also ==

== See also ==

* ''[[Titane (film)|Titane]]'' – the 2021 [[Palme d'Or]] winner similar in content

*''[[Titane (film)|Titane]]'' – the 2021 [[Palme d'Or]] winner similar in content

* [[Extreme cinema]]

* [[Extreme cinema]]

* [[List of cult films]]

* [[List of cult films]]