Scanners Behind-the-Scenes Video Dissects the Exploding Head Scene

David Cronenberg's Scanners provided a milestone moment in the horror genre: the exploding head scene. It's so shocking and visceral that it it simply can't be forgotten. And if you've ever wondered how the effects team pulled it off, then ponder no more: a new behind-the-scenes video that's part of The Criterion Collection Blu-ray and DVD release that came out today explores the trials of making the head explosion authentic, and the blast of improvisation that made it work.

“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.”

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
• New cover by Connor Willumsen

Scanners is now available on DVD and in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. To order, visit:

• http://www.criterion.com/films/28043-scanners