According to Canadian media reports, film costume designer Denise Cronenberg died on May 22 at Joseph Brent Hospital in Ottawa, Canada, at the age of 81.
For the vast majority of fans, Denise Cronenberg's name sounds very strange, but the mention of his brother, Canadian ghost director David Cronenberg, is like thunder. Denise Cronenberg's main contribution to the screen is rooted in her brother's work.
Denise Cronenberg (left) with filmmaker Aaron Woodley (center) and younger brother David Konenberg
In 1986, when David Cronenberg was directing the horror film The Fly, Denise, then a popular costume designer, crossed over to help. Originally, she had no experience in film costume design, but after this attempt, she was out of control, and then she took over almost all of her brother's costume work, including the classic business card "Naked Lunch" and "Butterfly King" (M. Butterfly), Crash, eXistenZ, Spider, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, A Dangerous Method, Cosmopolis, and Maps to the Stars), etc.
And Denise, who has gained fame in the circle, occasionally partners with other directors, such as "The Incredible Hulk" with French director Louis Letryl, and designed costumes for Zach Schneider's "Dawn of the Dead" and Paul Anderson's "Resident Evil: Afterlife" and other films.
Denise occasionally designs costumes for other films, such as Resident Evil 4.
In many collaborations with her younger brother David, perhaps the biggest challenge for Denise was 1988's Dead Ringers. The film tells the bizarre encounter of a pair of twin brothers with very different personalities when they jointly run a gynecological clinic, and is played by the famous British actor Jeremy Irons. The big red surgical burqa designed for him by Denise has added a lot of cult temperament on the basis of reality, which has long been recorded in film history.
Jeremy Irons wears a red surgical gown in Sin Buckle
"We were thinking about using a 100 percent realistic surgical coat, but we found that the effect of shooting it would be very boring." David Cronenberg once said, "If you make a TV series, you can do that, but the situation of this movie is different." The twins saw their work as a gynecologist as a religious mission, so they also had to wear a psychic, metaphysical element in their clothing. I talked to Denise about this idea, and she immediately understood what effect I wanted. ”
Denise Cronenberg was born on October 1, 1938, to an intellectual family in Toronto, five years older than her younger brother David. The two brothers have been close to each other since they were young ladies and brothers, often performing fairy tale dramas such as "Little Red Riding Hood" in front of a large number of relatives and friends in the living room, and the sister would use various ready-made fabrics to decorate her brother, and the younger brother was responsible for making props. Denise loved to make clothes since she was a child, and when she grew up, she chose to design clothes as a profession, perhaps also influenced by her family. Her grandparents and grandfather were some of Toronto's most popular seamstresses.
"When we make movies, we like to use acquaintances, because that saves a lot of explanation, and we are already familiar with each other's temperament and work rhythm, and we don't need to understand it from scratch while shooting." Director Cronenberg once explained, "But if it's a family member, the feeling is even deeper." I've always liked to be nepotistic in the crew, because being a director is like this, and it's good to have one more ally on your side. ”
Aside from six nominations for the Genie Awards, Canada's homegrown film awards, Denise Cronenberg was not favored by an award as important as the Oscars. After her death, David Cronenberg also complained about her sister in an interview with the Canadian media. "In my opinion, she did not get the recognition and affirmation that the outside world deserves before she died, and I dare say that she herself must have thought the same way." We Canadians are like that, not very good at self-promotion, and she's a good example. But privately, you are very proud of your achievements, so in fact, you still hope to get the recognition of the outside world, but you will not reach out and beg for these. So, from that point of view, I think she died with regrets. ”