Max Headroom

Like the TV show that followed it, the "Max Headroom" movie was a great grim look into a bleak, Blade-Runner-esque future ruled by corporations who keep the proletariat down by anesthetizing them with junk food and mind-numbing television pageantry. The parallels are frightening, or haven't you seen a Jerry Springer audience lately? The UK movie is, if anything, even grittier and more creepy than the eventual US pilot and TV series. It's out of print, but well worth searching out -- a dramatic, thought-provoking example of everything that's good about science fiction.

Reporter Edison Carter discovers that an advertising medium developed by the TV network he works for is killing viewers. The network attempts to 'dispose' of him and replace him with a computer generated version. And so the story goes...

This is a really good film, taking the bleak vision of Blade-Runner and injecting a little 20th century realism. Set in a world where TV networks rule and the population is made up of couch potatoes who rarely venture into the desolation outside their doors, Max Headroom is frighteningly plausible and potentially very downbeat.

However, the story has enough lighter moments to balance the overall darkness of the film and together with a likeable and talented cast, this is a thoroughly enjoyable film that - like its content - was maybe a bit too ahead of its time. 10/10.

I've been long overdue to watch this. One hears the name 'Max Headroom', and sees star Matt Frewer all over the place, long before knowing anything else about the character, or the associated film or TV programs. I assumed a cheeky cyber sci-fi comedy; what I didn't anticipate was how stunningly dark the underlying ideas are, however sardonically they're approached. True, in the broad strokes it's a familiar dystopia of wealth, power, and extreme corporate malfeasance without one shred of humanity; one recognizes glimmers in every aspect of the production of similar fare from all throughout the 80s, and the reality of how much Network 23 has in common with real-life organizations in 2022. For that matter, one also has to consider the equivalence between the development in-universe of the talking head, and how there's a certain oblique correspondence to present-day discussions of artificial intelligence in online spaces. This picture is unquestionably an original creation all its own, though, and even in a runtime of just under one hour, the result is reliably outstanding. '20 minutes into the future' is fantastic!

It may be "just" a TV movie, and a veritable prologue to introduce a character, yet in every regard the feature benefits from care and craftsmanship recalling major studio films instead of its actual kin. In various ways I'm reminded of John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, Ridley Scott, James Cameron, or other big name filmmakers: the digital additions, practical effects, production design and art direction, hair and makeup, costume design, and even Phil Meheux's vibrant cinematography. The original score of Midge Ure and Chris Cross, lending somber atmosphere, would feel right at home in the works of any of those mentioned, and sounds in turn like it could have been penned just as well by Carpenter, Howard Shore, Jerry Goldsmith, or any such composer. Directors Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, and screenwriter Steve Roberts, all demonstrate a spark of ingenuity that lets every component part of their contributions and the picture at large resonate with unexpectedly rich, imaginative spirit. It's at once both delightfully tongue-in-cheek and astoundingly grim, and always wonderfully smart and sharp with every idea to present.

One is quite accustomed to any film of such an abbreviated length, and made for TV movies too, coming across as very direct, and possibly rushed and forced. It would be very easy as a viewer to feel shortchanged by such a production, nevermind that Channel 4 ordered this simply as an origin for the title character. Yet the writing and direction is marvelously keen, the crew turned in work just as fine as any picture one could point to as a comparison, and the entire cast - even those in small supporting roles - bring their parts to life with such incredible, gratifying personality. It seems an impossible task, but 'Max Headroom' comes off as a complete, balanced, well-rounded feature, more than can be claimed by some Silver Screen blockbusters with the all the resources of Hollywood behind them. Even if every constituent element weren't so stupendously well done in and of itself, the film as whole is a rather impressive accomplishment given what it pulled off within its chosen medium. I don't think it's at all unreasonable to suggest that when all is said and done, frankly this is a must-see. Whether one goes on to watch the programs that followed from this introduction, or just takes in '20 minutes into the future' of its own accord, it's a tremendous, intelligent, witty, and highly entertaining genre piece that not only continues to hold up but is arguably more relevant than ever. However one must go about watching it, this is worth far more than sixty mere minutes of one's time!

I happened on the "Max Headroom: 20 minutes into the future" film on the cable channel Cinemax by accident in 1986 or so. The story, the setting, and the characters drew me in and I was blown away. It had the dreary, rainy, dark mood of "Blade Runner" and "Alien" with a touch of film noir where everyone smokes and the surrounding city is dirty and decaying. The cautionary tale of corporate control is dead on target even becoming more true than when this film came out.

There is an underground of people who don't exist - called 'Blanks' - and others who kidnap and kill people to sell their organs at the local tissue collection agencies.

Amongst this backdrop is Edison Carter - played by Matt Frewer - star reporter for Network 23. He uncovers evidence that his employer is killing viewers in an effort to generate more ad revenue. Instead of "killing the story" as happens today, the bosses decide to kill Edison. They have a problem in doing this however. Being that Edison is the star of the network, if he dies then people will know something is up. Enter teen genius Bryce Lynch - played by Paul Spurrier - who does his best thinking while taking a bath, downloads Edison's brain into a computer. He uses that to create a computer version of Edison in hopes of fooling the viewers.

All is not well when virtual Edison takes the name Max Headroom and escapes the control of Lynch and Network 23.

Helped by the lovely Theora Jones - played by Amanda Pays - and the leader of the Blanks, Blank Reg - played by William Morgan Sheppard - Max puts the screws on Network 23 and the whole corporate control culture.

Frewer is a hoot as Max. His zingers through out the movie help lighten the dark tones and Max is not just a computer clone of Edison. Max is how Edison wishes he could be.

Pays is lovely as Edison's and later Max's producer. She and Max have a good relationship.

Sheppard's Blank Reg is an aging punk rocker with a Mohawk to boot. He has it all figured out.

If you get a chance to see this movie then do it. You won't be sorry.

Gloomy future. Deserted streets. Media syndicates. Edison Carter is a hard-hitting reporter. One day he indirectly traces the existence of advertising, which has a dual impact on the subconscious of its consumers. On the one hand, they become addicted to watching it, on the other hand, like a drug, it is quite capable of killing some of those who happen to see it. The undesirable effect itself is not purposeful, but rather a specific by-product of a technical invention, but, as usual, ratings come first. The people standing behind the scenes are trying in vain to intimidate the reporter. Ultimately, a combination of circumstances will lead to the appearance of an alter ego - a computer version of himself with, at first glance, a strange call sign - Max Headroom. It is this digital form that will be destined to bring a little justice to the world. Where such a strange name came from can be understood in one of the scenes.

The action in this television film is presented primarily in the form of a vague, sometimes semi-documentary chronicle, with many screens, equipment, three-dimensional projections and faces in the frame. To some extent, this makes it similar to FMV quests, which became widespread with the onset of the nineties of the last century, both on the IBM PC and the 3DO console that appeared in 1993 in particular. The short running time, just under an hour, puts it on the same shelf as short films. Otherwise, it's difficult to say anything about the movie itself without obvious spoilers, so instead I'll focus on two other components.

First, in 1987-1988, an eponymous series was aired that lasted for two seasons and fourteen episodes, about an hour each. Secondly, the work, which is not particularly well known in our country, largely received cult status due to an incident on real television that occurred on November 22, 1987. An unidentified hacker managed to go on the evening live broadcast of the WGN-TV television channel, which was operating in Chicago, USA in those years. For about a minute and a half, the man hiding under the mask of Max Headroom was fooling around in a very unique way, at the same time essentially ridiculing both the TV channel itself and the media in general. The story that same evening was repeated on the consonant name WTTW. Today both the entry itself and the description in detail can be found in the same Wikipedia.