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By
WAYNE KLEIN
David Cronenberg has the
ability to make everyone squirm in their seat.
Whether it is his early work ("They Came from
Within," "Rabid," "Scanners") or his later work
("Crash," no not the recently released "Crash,"
"Naked Lunch") he has an ability to touch a nerve
in people related to their fears. I dare say he's
the most original filmmaker working right now with
films that use the horror genre to speak to our
most basic question—what makes us human? What
separates us from technology and where/when do we
intersect? These themes are nowhere more apparent
than in Cronenberg's most commercially successful
film "The Fly." A remake of a 1950's science
fiction/horror B movie classic with David Hedison
(then known as "Al" and most famous for "Voyage to
the Bottom of the Sea" and his turn as Felix
Lighter in "Live and Let Die") and Vincent Price,
the remake introduces much more contemporary fears
as well such as our fear of having children that
might be handicapped or deformed and, as usual,
Cronenberg's obsession with sex and how it defines
who we are.
A brilliant if occasionally repulsive film (a
characteristic of all of Cronenberg's films), "The
Fly" manages reinvent the subject matter and go
beyond just being a cautionary remake of the
original film. Produced by Mel Brooks, "The Fly
was so successful in theaters for Fox that the
studio demanded a sequel. Cronenberg's film
resonates as more than just a horror film because
of the emotion at the core of the story and the
realistic characters created for the film.
Goldblum brings pathos to Brundle that is
comparable to what Karloff brought to
Frankenstein's monster. Ultimately
Jeff Goldblum plays an eccentric but brilliant
scientist who has come up with a way to teleport
objects through space. Unfortunately, when he
tries the experiment unmonitored .He doesn't
realize that a fly is in the teleportation chamber
and needless to say Brundle suddenly develops a
deep appreciation for the life of a common
housefly and fondness for sugar. The computer
confused as to what to do with the molecules of
both creatures elects to combine them. At first
Goldblum appears normal but has extra strength,
heightened senses and sexual appetites but, later,
he begins to change at first exhibiting odd thick
hairs growing out of his back. The newspaper
reporter he has become involved with (Geena Davis)
soon realizes that something went dramatically
wrong during the experiment and tries to convince
him to undo what has happened. Goldblum feels
differently—he doesn't feel as if it's harmed him
and becomes increasingly paranoid and psychotic in
her reaction to her suggestion that he see a
doctor and collaborate with someone to undo what
has happened to him.
A transfer that would look good to the multiple
eyes of a fly, this transfer features sharp image
quality and rich, robust colors managing to
capture the essence of the film's original
theatrical exhibition. Presented in anamorphic
widescreen, this "Special Edition" finally does
justice to the film. Personally supervised for
transfer by Cronenberg, "The Fly" has never looked
this good on home video before. Its previous
incarnation as a flipper with the original film
and the sequel looked very good but lacked
anything resembling worthwhile extras. The 5.1
Dolby Digital Surround mix buzzes around the
audience capturing the intense score and
positioning the sound effects, music and dialogue
all around the viewer. You'll want to reach for a
flyswatter. Howard Shore ("Lord of the Rings")
provides a melodic and unusual score that skitters
from unsettling to beautifully within a few
seconds.
Unlike the previous edition, this film comes
packed with a fine retrospective documentary,
which covers the gestation of the film, and how
Cronenberg became involved as well as some of the
changes he made to the original thoughtful and
powerful script. We also get the original
theatrical trailer, deleted scenes and test
footage that Cronenberg had shot to try and figure
out how he was going to present the material.
There is alternate ending for the film for the
film as well. The original story by George Langdon
is included as is Pogue's original screenplay and
Cronenberg's extensive rewrite. There is also a
featurette entitled "The Brundle Museum of Natural
History' which I wasn't able to watch. There are
also comparisons between storyboards and script,
which I wasn't able to watch. Interactive articles
on the film and still photo galleries round out
the extras.
A rich, thoughtful commentary from Cronenberg
covers everything from his approach to the
material to his thoughts on the themes that
dominate the film. Although it's a solo commentary
track, Cronenberg does a great job of keeping the
audience entertained by mixing trivia with
production background. Cronenberg for example
discusses the difficulty in casting both Jeff
Goldblum and Geena Davis in the film. Both were
already involved and Davis had a tendency to mimic
Goldblum's cadence when the performed scenes
together so Cronenberg had to remind her to do it
"Geena's way." He also discusses the changes to
Charles Edward Pogue's original script. Cronenberg
mentions that it was the only script written by an
outside writer that came close to approximately
what he would have wanted to do to the story.
Cronenberg's changes included eliminating a wife
for Brundle and developing the seduction and
relationship between Veronica and Brundle.
A terrific horror film that's not for everyone,
Cronenberg manages to reinvent "The Fly" by going
for the human element in the terrific script. A
well written and emotionally played film with
strong performances, "The Fly" will make you wish
that there was a bigger flyswatter available after
Jeff Goldblum makes his final transformation. |
