There’s a lot to be said for this version and its conflation of romantic comedy and horror conventions.
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As John J. Puccio pointed out in his review of "The Fly" DVD, remaking a classic is a risky business. But I have to say that when you remake a classic that was as campy as the original 1958 Vincent Price and David Hedison film, the risk is diminished enough to where you might even get Lloyds of London to insure the project.
People are expecting slightly goofy, slightly kitschy, and director David Cronenberg seemed to sense that. It gave him the freedom to explore a bit more. Rather than having the human fly kept under wraps until the shocker-ending as in the original, he and co-writer Charles Edward Pogue decided to revel in the transformative process. Like Spider-Man, once scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) has his DNA mixed with a tiny creature´s, the developing fly-man becomes gradually aware of changes that go beyond a head that looks like a Halloween mask. And I´m talking about that 1958 film, not this one--which offers a pus-and-blood head and body parts that could match any of the CGI and prosthetic aliens of its time, and still looks pretty darned convincing.
Cronenberg´s version also does more than explore the cautionary world of a scientist who goes a little too far, and whose judgment lapses when he decides to become a human guinea pig. "The Fly" remake is humanized more, with Goldblum leaving the lab more than Hedison ever could. And the relationship between Seth and a journalist (Geena Davis) offers some genuinely sexy moments, with more development than we got from the first version. All of that, plus the fact that fly DNA also makes Seth do things that supercede his humanity and conscious actions, makes the transformative process and the high-stakes game that the scientist plays much more emotionally resonant.
Davis and Goldblum were an item at the time, and it shows. They´ve got great chemistry, so much so that you don´t even mind the non-insectival first half of the film, you´re so focused on this relationship story.
But, of course, the real reason people see movies like this is to revel in those first hairs that appear on the scientist´s back, or the telltale behavioral traits that start to emerge—like a metabolism suddenly revved up beyond anything "speed" could do, or super strength, or super sexual staying power. Because Cronenberg explores both the positive and negative aspects of being a fly, it´s all the more complex and enjoyable to watch.
It reportedly took five hours to apply Goldblum´s make-up, but it looks so good that when Brundlefly barfs on his ex-girlfriend´s new beau, it´s as gross as can be. And it was good enough to earn Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis an Oscar for their work. It was also good enough to with the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for Best Make-Up, Best Actor (Goldblum), and Best Horror Film for 1987.
And yet, the plot is so simple you can say everything in a few sentences: a scientist working on teleportation takes a curious journalist to his warehouse district lab, which he uses as a bit of a come-on. She´s impressed by the demonstration, they see more and more of each other, and then when their relationship gets rocky and he does what most guys do under those circumstances--he gets tanked--Brundle climbs inside one of his telepods and decides, what the heck. But a fly gets into the telepod, and after their DNA becomes mixed, we watch this cautionary fable play itself out--with Brundle first developing positive characteristics, then more disturbing ones.
Simple? Yes. But convincing special effects, make-up, and performances by Goldblum and Davis make it work.
Video:
"The Fly" was transferred to Blu-ray using the AVD CODEC at 24mbps, so it looks as good as this film ever has. VERY good, in fact. The colors are natural-looking, and all the gross-and-gory detail comes to vivid life with strong black levels. "The Fly" is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen. Fox used a 50-gig dual-layered disc for this title, and we heard, recently, that most titles in the future will be 50gb, regardless of the amount of bonus features, because of the studio´s desire to "max out" the bit-rate on both the video and audio to get the best possible picture and sound.
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[release]22113[/release]