“A necessarily disturbing and equally profound inquiry into human desire, however self-destructive.” - Rob Humanick, Slant Magazine

“It's a landmark movie, the kind of film that carves out its own exclusive territory in the cultural forebrain and dares us to cross its border.” - Michael Atkinson, Spin

“It's about the human mind, about the way we grow enslaved by the particular things that turn us on, and forgive ourselves our trespasses.” - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

(Sold Out) Friday, February 16, 8:45 p.m. | David Cronenberg regularly uses the physical body as his cinematic subject, and in CRASHpresented here in its NC-17 versionhe delves into the surreal subculture of car crash fetishism. James Spader, Elias Koteas, and Holly Hunter star as members of an underground community of people who become sexually aroused by car accidents. As they grow more obsessed with their unique kink, the boundary between pleasure and pain dangerously blurs. Explicit and provocative, CRASH premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it elicited boos from the audience, and also received a rare Special Jury Prize (allegedly despite the vehement objections of jury president Francis Ford Coppola).


Awards & Nominations

Winner - Best Alternative Adult Feature Film, Adult Video News Awards
Winner - Special Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival
Nominee - Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival


Hot & HeavyLeave your inhibitions at the door and unclutch your pearls: the Film Center’s screens are sizzling with the 10 sexually liberated films of Hot & Heavy. A carnal exploration of desire, passion, and physical dexterity, Hot & Heavy encourages audiences to indulge in the erotic—not as forbidden fruit, but in a celebratory embrace of what turns us on in a safe space that respectfully recognizes the cinematic power of all things bodily bawdy. Content consideration: these films contain explicit sexual content (obviously). View full series.


The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu