The Fly (1986)
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The Fly is a 1986 science fiction film produced by Brooksfilms and Twentieth Century Fox Television, directed by David Cronenberg, and starring Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis and John Getz. It is a high budget remake of 1958 film of the same name, but with a substantially different plot. The soundtrack was composed by Howard Shore.
The Fly was a box office success upon its release and was critically-acclaimed in the press.
As with many of Cronenberg's films, The Fly deals with concepts of bodily disfigurement or metamorphosis and the darker aspects of human emotions and behavior. The film also deals with the dangers of the misuse of science to terrible consequences. An underlying aspect of the story is the doomed love affair between Goldblum and Davis and the rivalry between Goldblum and Getz that results from this.
Goldblum plays Seth Brundle, a brilliant but eccentric scientist. He meets Veronica (Davis), a reporter who ends up interviewing Brundle at a convention. Brundle takes Veronica back to his place and shows her his latest invention: a set of devices that allow teleportation. She is highly impressed and agrees to act as a witness and document his work. Although the device can transport inanimate objects perfectly, it cannot do this with living things, turning them inside out. Seth demonstrates this with an apple, and then a baboon. Seth and Veronica begin a relationship, which inspires Seth. He realises the machine is not faithfully recreating living objects but is rather 'interpreting' them, and sets about adjusting his machine.
He succeeds in teleporting a baboon with no apparent harm. Believing that Veronica is using him to further her career (and also drunk), he decides to teleport himself. Just as he's about to teleport, a fly gets into the pod with him. The computer, confused, splices together their DNA and Brundle gradually begins to transform into a hybrid (a "Brundlefly" as he calls it).
At first, Seth enjoys damn euphoria and heightened strength and endurance. As the metamorphosis progresses, he becomes violent and arrogant, and progressively less human in appearance. He also becomes incapable of eating solids and vomits digestive enzymes which dissolve food and even flesh. Eventually, he discovers that not only is his body mutating, his mind is becoming more insect-like, brutal and driven by appetites.
When he learns that Veronica is trying to have an abortion to rid herself of their possibly mutated child, he abducts her and traps her in a telepod, trying to restore his own humanity by fusing with her and their unborn child. Veronica's boss, Stathis Borans (Getz) goes to her rescue but is injured and almost killed by the almost fully-transformed "brundlefly".
Veronica escapes, and Brundlefly is fused with his own telepod door while trying to smash it open. As a final act of mercy, Veronica kills what used to be Seth Brundle,
The sequel is The Fly II.
Trivia
Like the relationship in the movie, Davis and Goldblum become involved with one another. This led to their three-year marriage in 1987.
Director David Cronenberg makes a cameo as the doctor in Veronica's dream who delivers the maggot child.
Quotes
Seth: "Don't be afraid."
Veronica: "No. Be afraid. Be very afraid."
(at Seth's place, Veronica finds him climbing the walls and also doing movements of what a fly does {such as licking himself with his arms})
Seth: "I seem to have been infected by a disease with a purpose."
Veronica: "What does the disease want?"
Seth: "It wants to turn me into something else. That's not so terrible, is it? Most people would give anything to be turned into something else."
Seth: "You have to leave now, and never come back here. Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I. Insects... don't have politics. They're very... brutal. No compassion, no compromise. We can't trust the insect. I'd like to become the first... insect politician. Y'all see, I'd like to, but... I'm afraid..."
Veronica:"I don't know what you're trying to say."
Seth: "I'm saying... I'm saying I - I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over... and the insect is awake."
Veronica: "No. no, Seth..."
Seth: "I'm saying... I'll hurt you if you stay."
External link
| Movies by David Cronenberg |
| Transfer | From the Drain | Stereo | Crimes of the Future | Shivers | Rabid | Fast Company | The Brood | Scanners | The Dead Zone | Videodrome | The Fly | Dead Ringers | Naked Lunch | M. Butterfly | Crash | eXistenZ | Spider |