The immediate subject matter of Crash is the strange lure of the auto collision, provoking as it does the human fascination with death and the tendency to eroticize danger. Most motorists will slow down to stare at the scene of a collision; they may feel their pulses quickening and become exquisitely aware of the fragility of their own bodies.

The characters of Crash carry this awareness a step further, cherishing and nurturing it. For them, a car collision is a sexual turn-on, and a jolting life-force they come to crave.

Television commercial producer James Ballard (James Spader) and his wife Catherine (Deborah Kara Unger) have constructed a baroque marital sex life that is emotionally detached and relies heavily on their shared knowledge of each other's adulterous affairs. When Ballard is in a near-fatal car accident with Dr. Helen Remington (Holly Hunter), he reawakens to the possibilities of his own body, and is drawn into an exploration of the links between danger, sex and death.

The Ballards and Dr. Remington become involved with Vaughan (Elias Koteas), a renegade scientist obsessed with the erotic power of the crash, as witnessed by his head-to-toe scars. Vaughan introduces them to a strange crash-survivor subculture, a de facto cult of which he is the high priest. In addition to watching test collision films, Vaughan and his cohorts stage re-enactments of famous collisions, the cars charging each other like gasoline-fueled matadors. Among Vaughan's acolytes is Gabrielle (Rosanna Arquette), who sports the physical momentos of her accidents (scars, leg braces, a full--body support suite) like fetish gear. In various cars on various highways, Dr. Remington and the Ballards are steered toward a sexuality that gains potency and meaning from its head-on confrontation with mortality-and the knowledge that mortality must ultimately win.

Crash had its world premier at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, where it sparked considerable debate and ultimately received a Special Jury Prize "For Originality, For Daring, and For Audacity." Since then Crash has continued to be the subject of acclaim and controversy. It won five awards at the 1996 Genie Awards in Canada, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for David Cronenberg. Other Genie Awards went to Peter Suschitzky for Best Cinematography; Ron Sanders for Best Editing; and the team of Tom Bjelic, David Evans, Wayne Griffin, Johan Laing, Andy Malcom, Dale Sheldrake and John Smith for Best Sound Editing. In addition, Crash also picked up the Genie's Golden Reel Award as the highest grossing Canadian film of the year.

Fine Line Features is proud to present Crash , written, produced and directed by David Cronenberg, based on J.G. Ballard's novel. Crash stars James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, Deborah Kara Unger and Rosanna Arquette. Executive produced by Jeremy Thomas for RPC and Robert Lantos for Alliance Communications Corporation.