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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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"The
Fly"/"The Fly 2"
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Reviewed
by: |
Sondra
Rosenberg |
| Genre: |
Sci-fi/Horror
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| Video: |
Anamorphic
Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Audio: |
5.1
Surround |
| Language: |
English
and French Dolby Surround |
| Subtitle: |
English
and Spanish |
| Length: |
The
Fly: 95 min., The Fly 2: 105 min. |
| Rating: |
R
(both) |
| Release
Date: |
September
4th, 2000 |
| Studio: |
20th
Century Fox |
| Commentary:
|
None |
| Documentaries:
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None |
| Featurettes:
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None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Original
theatrical trailers for both films, also for the original "The
Fly" with Vincent Price (1958), "Return of the Fly" (1959),
"Fantastic Voyage," and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
The Fly:
Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz The Fly 2: Eric Stoltz,
Daphne Zuniga, Lee Richardson, Harley Cross and John Getz |
| Screenplay
by: |
The Fly:
Charles Edward Pogue and David Cronenberg, The Fly 2: Mick Garris,
Jim & Ken Wheat, and Frank Darabont |
| Produced
by: |
The Fly: Stuart Cornfeld,
The Fly 2: Steven-Charles Jaffe |
| Directed
By: |
The Fly: David Cronenberg,
The Fly 2: Chris Walas |
| Music: |
Howard Shore, The Fly
2: Christopher Young |
| The
Review: |
Seth Brundle
(Jeff Goldblum) is a brilliant physicist working on devising
a method of teleportation that will completely redefine notions
of transport, reassess the limits of the human body and change
the world as we know it. Veronica "Ronnie" Quaife (Geena Davis)
is a reporter anxious to capitalize on his invention while it
is still in its beginning stages - i.e. Brundle is as yet only
able to teleport inanimate objects. After convincing her to
hold off on publication until this barrier is crossed, until
Brundle is able to teleport himself across fifteen feet of space,
Ronnie sets out to document his process. Their working relationship
soon develops into a romance, which aids in Brundle's understanding
of the flesh, thus furthering his scientific endeavors. After
a bit of reprogramming, Brundle successfully teleports a baboon.
On that same night however, he is overcome with the suspicion
that Ronnie is still involved with her ex-boyfriend/boss Stathis
Borans (John Getz) and teleports himself in a jealous rage,
only a fly finds its way into the telepod before the sequence
is activated. Despite this blunder, the procedure seemed to
prove successful. But soon changes in Brundle begin to surface...
He finds himself bestowed with immense physical strength, heightened
aggression, strange hair growth on his back and an enormous
appetite for sex, all emblematic of exaggerated masculinity.
He imagines that having undergone teleportation he has somehow
been purified in the process; Ronnie, however, realizes that
there is something more sinister at play here. She decides to
take clippings of his new hair to a lab and discovers that the
hairs are not human, but in fact they are those of an insect!
As it turns out, when Brundle went through, the system could
not distinguish between a human subject and a fly, so the two
bodies were fused at the genetic level, creating... Brundlefly.
David Cronenberg's remake of the 1958 camp classic "The Fly"
is one of his most fully realized and developped filmic efforts.
His reworking of the subject matter is an eerily perfect synthesis
of his interests in the transformation of the body through modern
technology (a theme explored in nearly all of his earlier films
including "Shivers," "Rabid" and cult-favorite "Videodrome"),
sexual emancipation via disease, a philosophical view of the
flesh as independant and rebellious, as well as an early fascination
with insects. This is also Cronenberg's treatise on the tragedy
of ageing and death, and the way these life processes shape
our ability to love. What is perhaps most extraordinary about
this film are the terrifying special effects used to transform
Brundle into his inner insect. A trademark of Cronenberg, these
effects were created by Chris Walas Inc., the same people responsible
for the creatures in Naked Lunch. When Brundle finally emerges
as a full-bodied fly in the final scene of the film, the result
is nothing short of spellbinding. At the end of Cronenberg's
masterpiece, Ronnie is carrying the unborn child of Brundlefly.
The Fly 2, featured on the flip side of the disk, takes off
from this premice, as an actress far inferior to Geena Davis
gives birth to a mass of wriggling larva in an unapolagetically
ripped-off scene from the first film. Inside of this wriggling
mass is Eric Stoltz, who possesses the latent DNA of his insectillian
father. The entire sequel is a mess, wholly derivative and nothing
more than a lame excuse to cash in on the success of "The Fly."
Even the special effects, again made by Chris Walas, who is
also directing here for the first time and who apparently learned
nothing about doing so from working with Cronenberg, are gloopy
and disgusting, revealing nothing about the beauty of the grotesque
or even being remotely cool. Think of this film as kind of a
tedious, near 2-hour extra feature to its original. |
| Image
and Sound |
Clearly
more work went into the transfer of The Fly than The Fly 2,
though both films display very nice images. There are few blemishes,
and though the grain is slightly visible in part, it does not
interfere in any significant way. Color reproduction is excellent,
with rich hues and deep blacks. The image is crisp throughout,
with the exception of a few scenes which exhibit slight softness.
Shadows are well-defined too, and there is a high level of detail.
The audio is very clean as well, with no signs of distortion.
The forward soundstage dominates while the rears offer more
general support, but the dialogue is balanced and for a 1986
film, the soundfield is excellent. Howard Shore, composer for
all of Cronenberg's films, provides a moving score which the
DVD really brings to life. Christopher Young provided the music
for the latter film. |
| The
Extras |
This DVD
deserves so much more than Fox put into it! All we get here
are 6 trailers, which despite being positively delightful -
check out Vincent Price introducing the 1958 film! - are just
not enough. Where is the director's commentary? The featurette
on the making of Brundlefly? Deleted scenes? Totally disappointing.
|
| Commentary |
None |
| Final
Words: |
The Fly
is one of the most interesting horror movies of the 1980s, if
not of all time. It can be watched on many different levels,
which lends its appeal to a wide array of audiences. Cronenberg's
most commercially successful film, and also one of his best,
The Fly is testament to what the horror genre can be - visceral
and intellectual, deeply psychological (note the scene when
Brundle picks off his fingernails), and emotionally challenging.
Long live the new flesh! |
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