The Fly (1986) DISGUSTING MOVIE REACTION! | FIRST TIME WATCHING!!
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- Опубликовано: 24 окт 2020
- To kick off Halloween week we watch the first of 5 horror movies you voted for us to react to, The Fly (1986).
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#TheFly (1986)
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It was insanely satisfying to hear how flippant you guys were at the beginning and then watch the horror unfold. I still find this one of the most legitimately horrifying movies I’ve ever seen. It’s lost none of its impact.
One of the moments that gets to me is when he said the baby was all that's left of his former self: "Please don't kill me..." I tear up every time, as well as the ending, even in RUclips reactions! This movie is THAT good!
I totally agree. This still holds up over all these years.
Whoever made the special effects deserved that Oscar
The makeup department did win the Oscar for this film that year
David Cronenburg, he's a legend.
The work of Chris Walas.
His name is Chris Walas, and he and his department did win the Oscar
They got it
As a female watching the maggot birth scene, that is brilliant..I think it is a real, base fear for women..something "not right " with the baby..that it might be deformed, a "monster" growing inside them..and targets perfectly what a woman in her situation would be consumed with anxiety about, even subconciously. So I think it really resonates with the female audience, at least.
With all the physical and mental stresses that occur during pregnancy, women can suffer nightmares during this time. I had a few myself.
Well, we can definitely relate to13:49 and the looks on those guys faces! 😂
Have you seen " The Brood" ?
Its directed by David Cronenberg, the same guy who made The Fly and it's the same type of body horror but specifically about birth and its horrifying.
Also the fact that a human pregnancy is technically a PARASITE. You can legitimately look it up and find out just how much a pregnancy relies on the pregnant person.
Yah, Mary Shelley came up with Frankenstein while pregnant. That scene is horrific.
Truly one of the most devastating films I’ve ever seen. Geena Davis is so good.
No CGI can compare to the top 80's practical effects. I wish they'd go back to practical.
Some modern movies have great practical effects, I especially love The Descent, Krampus and American Mary.
@@karolineCPH Guillermo Del Toro still uses a lot of Practical too. Yeah,lot of great practical on Krampus.
Completely agree.
The void
Practical was definitely the best
"The Fly is a metaphor..." I mean, you're not wrong XD
It IS in fact a metaphor... for old age, for terminal disease, for alzheimer's, for AIDS, for a lot of things... slowly watching your body fail you, slowly watching yourself falling apart, and being powerless to stop it. Knowing that you're losing your mind and being conscious as it is happening... it's deeply sad and incredibly effective
I was laughing at the two of you so hard in the beginning. How can a movie about a fly be scary?? This is how.
I remembered How gross this movie was, but I had forgotten just how emotional it feels.
Geena Davis did an amazing job in making us feel how terrifying and sad it all was.
Pretty sure it's because they were dating at the time they made this movie, so their chemistry and acting is perfect.
Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum were married for a few years.
@Common Sense Isn't Common Jeff Goldblum was first married to Geena. Later he married Director Renny Harlin (Finnish name Lauri Renny Harjola, commonly known as Renny, Director of Die Hard 2, NoES 4, Long Kiss Goodnight, Cutthroat Island, Cliffhanger) who used to date Laura Dern. Later, Dern co-starred with Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park and some years later, they started dating.
Fake news
They were "infused" together for awhile.
Would have loved to be a fly on the wall in that relationship
It was going great until Jeff totally changed himself into fly
Geena stayed "on to something!" Then she realized...
I love the assumption going in that this movie was a joke, and then the realization sets in. Yeah. See, this is why it pains me when people talk about horror as if it's just all about jumpscares and dudes in masks chopping up babysitters. Though I love some of those examples, much of that stuff is just laughable compared to this - the slow descent into madness, loss of humanity and doomed love. With stellar acting, it depicts a man both figuratively and literally falling apart before our eyes and, as a whole, says more to us than all the campground beheadings in a few dozen other movies combined that nearly all seem to follow the same basic template. A pretty easy recommendation for anyone who's unfamiliar with the genre and unsure about what it's really capable of.
Also the use of gore is there to help in the story. It is not just the focus. Some movies use the gore to capture the audience and the plot just goes around the gorish scenes.
The Fly is visceral in a way that many horror movies are not, in the sense that you feel a genuine sense of discomfort and disgust along with the scare element. It makes your skin crawl, and that makes it very effective as a genre piece.
The Fly made me cry in the end.
Jeff Goldblum turning into BrundleFly and seeing him like this.
My heart shattered.
That “I’ll hurt you if you stay” scene was basically Seth Brundle hanging onto the last shreds of his humanity... and losing.
Goldblum and Davis were together in real life at the time that's why their chemistry was so good
Watching a couple of fine clean-cut lads being utterly horrified and impressed is almost as good as watching the movie itself.
For those who remember, this is the creepiest, most disturbing line from the first film from 1958 : In the tiniest voice you can imagine, "Help me ...help me!"
the last scene where he points the gun at his head was the scene that stuck to me the most after 20 years
the music and that scene break me everytime...I sob in empathy for goldblums character
The last 15 minutes of this film is so sad
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.
I saw this film in the theaters when it came out. People screamed in my theater during the maggot birth scene. I almost fell out of my chair too.
everybody gangster until the computer says: "fusion in molecular level"
You guys should react to the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" from 1978, it's got a great cast including Jeff Goldblum, Donald Sutherland, Veronica Cartwright (from Alien).
11:44 If you're covering your eyes when Brundle starts peeling a fingernail, you're gonna be in deep shit watching this movie.
That shit still makes me cringe
Back then we had double venues in movie theaters. I got to see The fly and Aliens back to back. Most awesome 80's day!
The Fly is the realistic version of the Spider-Man origin story.
No, that's belong to Earth vs the Spider.
Well if you remember the 90's spider man cartoon, he did at one point turn into a spider.
Funny you mention that. Cannon Films almost did a *Spider-Man* movie in the '80s with Leslie Stevens writing and Tobe Hooper directing...and it would have been a direct riff on THIS. Peter Parker in that script would have become a half-man/half-spider mutant.
Cue Marvel screaming bloody murder and a brand-new script by Ted Newsom and John Brancato being written that helped form the basis for Sam Raimi's movie (with some interim rewrites by James Cameron along the way).
@@reidmason2551 I vaguely remember hearing something about it long ago.
***Potential spoilers*** One of my absolute favorites, from the acting, to the music, to the practical effects, and one of the few horror movies I can think of that focuses on fear and horror from the female perspective. This goes beyond fear of the creepy crawlies or gore, but touches on abandonment, fear of losing control, fear of the unknown, fear of infection (via pregnancy), and the true horror of someone you cared for and loved, literally disintegrating in front of you. Then, the shock of realizing he is still in there, and she's the only one who can release him? Talk about giving the screw an extra turn. That final fade-out of her crumpled and weeping in the mist-filled lab, just emotionally and psychologically destroyed, just haunts me. It's just so good.
Honestly this film is based on a very simple concept: Man turns into a fly. To be able to take such a laughable concept and make it into a heavy heart-breaking horror-tragedy is brilliant. The love story was a bit awkward and came out of nowhere admittedly (I guess it started as a one night stand), but it still served its purpose. And ya the music and acting elevated it to amazing emotional heights. Loved this movie, a must-see for any horror (and tragic love story) fan.
If you liked the practical effects in this one you're gonna LOVE the effects in The Thing 😁
The thing was and still is a masterpiece
This just proves that old special effects are more realistic than cgi efx 💯
There is a horror movie centered around spiders, it's called "Arachnophobia" from 1990. It still makes me itchy watching certain scenes...👀
Oh fuck that's a CLASSIC!!
Great movie
You: Were’s the gore? Is it in the sequel?
Me: LOL
One of the best horror Remakes, love it.
The Fly is one of my favourite horror movies of all time!! It's not just gore for gore's sake like Saw or Hostel, it's horrifying, thought-provoking, emotional and complex. The scene where he's talking to Veronica about the baby and begs her "Don't kill me" ugh it's just *chef's kiss*.
This is the only video of yours i ever found offensive.
My uncle suffered from a fly+transporter accident and this video did not represent the reality of his struggles to be accepted. I mean, eating at a restaurant is such a hassle.
@Dale Cooper Thank you very much sir!
Brilliant! 😂😂😂😂😂
@Dale Cooper one year later, he still wins
Fun fact!
The director of the film (David Cronenberg) has a cameo in the film.
Cronenberg plays the doctor who delivers Gena Davis’s maggot baby.
David Cronenberg is one of the great directors in cinema. Love to see you react to more of his films in the future.
Perhaps as you start to react to some science fiction films.
To say “Scream” is better than this is an absolute travesty.
how much hair loss did the distress cause
I know, what a bunch of idiots
" 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. You see, I'd like to, but, oh, I'm afraid, uh... I'm saying, I'm saying, I-I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man but he loved it. But now the dream is over and the insect is awake....I'm saying: 'I'll hurt you if you stay.'"
18:26 I LAUGH SO HARD HERE...! LMFAO
But the ending is really depressing. Geena crying because she had to kill his love makes me hit the rock bottom. :(
The reason this movie works so well is their chemistry. They were dating at the time of filming this so the emotions they put on screen are real, and it makes it one of the best movies ever made.
No one does weird gore/ "body horror" like David Cronenberg was able to do in his prime.
Kelly Pederson... absolutely!! I became a certified makeup and F/X artist in Hope's to one day work with Cronenberg and Tom Sorvino. Sadly will never happen, but could you imagine 🥰
You should see Julia Ducournau's "Titane", the Palme d'Or winner from last year. It does some genuinely unsettling things with body horror that feels like a continuation of what Cronenberg did with "Crash".
How is the fly the villain? The fly was just a fly. There was no villain. It was just a horrible tragedy.
They ment that the fly was the responsable of that horrible tragedy. Thats why you could hate it for to cause the disaster.
Fun fact: Mel Brooks was an uncredited producer for this film. The reason he was uncredited is because he didn't want people to think this was a comedy.
All these years and I didn't know that!
Still maybe the only horror movie that genuinely makes me feel a bit sick to my stomach. The entire climax of him finally peeling away into a disgusting fly creature, and then fusing with the telepod itself and directing her to just kill him and put him out of his pain and misery is just completely stomach-churning and horrific, and while a lot of that is because of the fantastic make-up and practical effects, it’s also largely because of the genuine emotional substance and connection you have to both of them as characters. Cronenberg’s the king of body horror, and this movie is maybe his best at delivering on that front.
Cronenberg is my kind of twisted. He makes a cameo. He's the gynecologist who delivers the maggot. He did this because Coppola or Scorsese joked that he looked more like a Beverly Hills gynecologist than a filmmaker.
this movie to me is a tragedy, I'm not saying it's a terrible movie...it's just so depressing to see that things get worst and worst and worst for the characters.
Story of my life
The music of this movie is hauntingly beautiful.
Well, it is the same guy who did Lord of the Rings.
Yes. I really love the music in this movie. .... PEACE to ALL
AGREE!
Howard Shore has done all of Cronenbergs movies.
edit: except one
Jeff Goldblum is actually a jazz pianist too. So him playing the piano to impress her,was real. And him and Geena Davis were married briefly,hence the chemistry they had.
Gena Davis acting here is phenomenal, Oscar worthy.
Fortunately she got an Oscar, or two?
8/10 ?!?
What drugs are you on?
I saw that film on the theatre as a kid.
I can't believe they let me in 😂
People was horrified but truly entertained and shocked after the movie ended. The silence was deafening.
Can you imagine a movie like this having an overwhelmingly positive reception?
That's the work of a one of a kind director.
I was truly converted to the Cronenberg Church of Body Horror since then.
You gotta watch more David Cronenberg movies!
“How horrifying can it be?” Oh you sweet innocent children.
The great thing about you two, is actually doing reviews. It's not just a reaction to say hey look at us watching a movie. And we know nothing about them. You guys are actually informative, you're educated, you're educating yourself about what movies and films are and educating viewers. You are a pair that I would watch to consider what films I should watch. You guys might be the new Siskel and Ebert.
You do get the authentic feel that they have indeed not seen these films yet and are not just saying it to pretend and fish for views.
This is NOT my favorite movie, but damn that was my favorite reaction from both of you. LMAO. The faces you both made were fucking amazing. Loving it! This movie is so gross, and emotional... weird. But yeah, it's worth watching/experiencing at least once.
Practical effects > CGI every time!
It sure does
No
Don’t get me wrong CGI has its place and can be better than practical effects but I 100% agree with you 99% of the time for me personally practical is better
I saw part of this as a kid and I think kind of blacked it out. Then watched it again last year. It was revolting to be sure, but I was traumatized by the grief. I mean their love story was upended by this horrible transfiguration. It was sooo sad. Made me a huge Geena Davis fan. Before that I liked her, of course, but seeing her in this just slayed me. Jeff Goldblum is always awesome.
This was so funny to watch because I just watched this movie 2 years ago for the first time. I ordered a pizza to be delivered when I started the movie, but by the time the food got here I was completely disgusted and didn’t touch a single slice. So satisfying watching others in complete horror!!!! Lol
Fun fact: David Cronenberg, the director of this film, made a cameo as the doctor who delivered the maggot baby in the dream sequence.
Cronenberg's work created the term "body horror," which are the practical, special effects that are displayed throughout various horror movies based off of his work. If you enjoyed "The Fly," you should watch more of his work such as "Shivers," "Rabid," "Videodrome," "Naked Lunch"- his whole filmography would be great to react to in chronological order to see the evolution of his film work. That would be so sick!
Glad you watched this. David Cronenberg is one the best directors alive today. He is famous for body horror, but has done so much more.
Watching Geena Davis cry breaks my heart in this movie
The goriest part of this movie is the arm wrestling. To this day I can't watch or participate in arm wrestling without thinking about that compound fracture.
One of the greatest Body Horror Sci-fi films ever made. David Cronenberg did a good job directing this film. I saw this on the WB network in 1998, and I was 8 years old. It scared the hell out of me! I didn't know what it was about, until I saw the commercial reading: The Fly, Starring Jeff Goldblum, will continue.
AIDS was a thing at the time, so the body horror in this movie hit hard.
This movie scarred me so much as a young child, and watching this reaction made me realize I still haven’t gotten over it! Great reaction though, fellas!
Also, it was great to see Shaun just as terrified as Tom in this vid! Usually he’s much more stalwart lol.
The two best scenes: When the computer says, "Fusion of Brundle and fly on molecular-genetic level," and when Seth explains to her about "insect politics." The first one is horrifying enough and you should understand it right away, but the second one is a bit more complex, and it's not something most people would foresee. His human mind is transforming into the primal state.
Watched a "making of" of the film where they interviewed the producers, writers, editors, ect.. You guys would find it interesting, I'm sure. They actually left a lot of scenes on the cutting room floor.
Brundle, in some scenes (post his merger with the fly) experiments with combining a baboon and a cat - which is obviously suffering and afraid and attacks him - only to see Goldblum's character beat it to death with a pipe.
He tries several more experiments, trying to find a way to learn enough about splicing to help save himself. All end horrifically... At the end of editing, they left it out, because they found in test audience's that people quickly stopped caring about the man trapped in that predicament because there was nothing redeeming about him.
Jeff Goldblum is pretty fly for a white guy.
Get out!
Ah-HA ah-HA!
This movie is actually really heartbreaking in my opinion.
Great video guys.!
I can see it in your faces how this movie affected you, just like it was intended. Bravo lads.
Tom: What would happen if me and you went through in the same machine?
Shaun: We're not friends, just acquaintances. We met each other through Craigslist...
Me: *Checks to see if this is my RUclips... or my PornHub...*
Thanks for another great reaction guys! Love these; especially the B&W replays! Can't wait for more!!
The type of movie this is called is "body horror."
And yes it can be insanely creepy, because you can visualize how yourself would probably do in the same situation. That's why it creeper you out so much.
This body horror remake is an instant masterpiece. I love the graphic violent make up effects even the music throughout the terror. David Cronenberg is a horror genius. Great reaction, gents.
Cronenberg's body horror is amazing and he often explores humanity in all of his films. This particular movie dives into the AIDS epidemic in America and asks questions of masculinity.
The ex boyfriend was controlling and aggressive due to the lack of self-esteem, the scene where he breaks down in the store.
Jeff's character starting with him being intelligent and loving scientist working in a dingy warehouse trying to succeed in revolutionary breakthroughs then after the introduction with the fly he dived into the animalistic side of him of a pure egocentric monster gaining physical confidence.
You guys are great. Love your reactions. This is one of Goldblum’s best performances in his long career.
First saw jeff and robert freddy kruger together were the thugs who killed charles Bronson wife in death wish 1974.
Note to self: Never eat while watching this movie
Btw that thumbnail is your best one yet!!😂😂
Sadly while hollywood churns out cheap cgi filled horror, we will never get anything as horrifying as this or the Thing again.
Today's Hollywood doesn't care of what we want. They care for money as usual. That's why the 1980s became the golden era of great movies. Including horror.
@@adampellett4917 Do you think they weren't doing it for the money in the 1980s?
Hey guys, Jeff has been making films for some time. Including the remake, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Independence Day, Thank
God It's Friday (70's), Earth Girls Are Easy (SciFi musiccal) with Gina Davis and Transylvania 6500 also with Davis. The guy is Prolific, at least in my book.
The Fly II. The most underrated and heart wrenching horror movie ever.
You will cry.
Gena Davis played his girlfriend/reporter. I thought she was fantastic. It was their scenes together that kept the humanity part going. When she runs over to embrace him, when he's falling apart and says he's scared, I think that really conveys that she does love this man. I thought you kind of skipped over her important contributions to the film. Another enjoyable and great reactions by you both.
Thank you for the best laugh I've had watching a reaction ever. Adding "catch him derry" had me in tears. Can you believe most of us that are in our mid 30's to early 50's saw this as kids and we loved it? You guys have a very good quality analysis at the end, I really like the depth of discussion. Thanks again for the reaction!
Bonus Movie Fact: There was a deleted scene in the film that actually got completely finalized (right down to having a score written for it) in which Brundle, pretty late in his transformation and apparently having his mental state severely impacted, ran through a "test run" with the two telepod "fusion" sequence with the baboon and a cat; horribly splicing them together in one body. He ends up killing what results and burning its body. Following that, he nearly commits suicide by jumping off a roof, and in the aftermath part of his skin breaks away to have a miniature fly limb growing out of his side (alluding to his fate at the end of the film). He ends up biting it off.
Although this scene was finalized, test audiences hated it as it appeared to be a senseless act of cruelty by Brundle and caused them to lose sympathy for his character, leading it to being cut from the final version.
1:50 "Why the fly ? why not the spider ?". Pretty grateful it was just a fly after watching that movie.
I was not expecting this to be this fucking amazing! These practical effects are even better than the thing for me. The humanity and tragedy of it just made it that more horrific to witness :o
The thing was so awesome
I wish they still used practical effects as effectively as they did in such films. The thing was amazing, as was the reanimator and of course the fly
The trick they pulled off so well with this movie at the foundation is that the only frame of reference people had for this before going into the cinema was the original 50's movie, which in typical old school monster movie fashion took the easy out and swapped body parts. When the writers and Cronenberg dreamed up the genetic twist to it, the movie not only took a ery scientific approach to the practicality of the tragedy, not only did it become perfectly aligned to the practical body horror style which suffused some of Cronenberg's earlier works (Videodrome and Scanners), but the choice of taking the audience through an emotional rollercoaster instead of resting of the effects virtually relegated them to a secondary position. It has to be said though the final concept of brundlefly was a great example of pre-production concept design.. I'd love to know how many different iterations they went through before landing on that. The acting too was awesome for this material.. Jeff sold the transformation SO well, and the triangle of him, Davis and Getz was simple but brilliant.
When I tell people how horribly sad this film is, people think I'm kidding. It's absolutely gut-wrenching to watch Seth raise the gun to his head. I cry every time, out of pity and then out of relief.
Yes, it is a really sad and tragic film. Seth pointing the gun to his head. So sad. Gina Davis crying at the end is heartbreaking.
It is a devastating scene. Gina/Veronica sobbing makes my eyes burn. .... PEACE to ALL.
Tom is absolutely working through a phobia over there. Poor guy! I found this movie to be truly horrific in that the gore actually evokes true revulsion for me. I don't know why I've such a sensitivity to it but it's disgusting.
HAH! You said it, not me. "She f- - - - ed a fly". (hilarious)
a fly-man lol 'cause how else could she get pregnant? 😨
I have watched a few reactions to "The Fly" but you guys nailed it. You embraced the tragedy of the story. When he pleads to be killed at the end, that's Brundle's humanity in the midst of all the carnage. I saw it in the cinema twice. For me, it is an absolute masterpiece and Cronenberg's finest movie. By the way, The Fly II was directed by Chris Walas who did the effects for both movies. The sequel is nowhere near as bad as many made it out to be. You must watch it!
This is a remake of an older film which was horrifying in it's own right in it's own time. The last part of the movie where it shows the tiny fly caught in a web with a tiny human head saying 'help me' was terrifying when I saw it as a child. My mind didn't know how to process it. Look how far we've come.
What the fuck ? That sound so fuck up. Is it the original The Fly or the sequel?
@@thuhuong8838 the original. The other half of the experiment was a human body with a giant fly head. For 1958, it was scary as hell.
There was/is a deleted scene where the scientist still in him wants to test the fusion idea, and takes a cat and the remaining baboon and splices them together. The monkey/cat is a mess, with the two torsos combined and fighting each other and Goldblum until he takes a metal pipe and kills it. The scene was horrifically gory, but it make the test audience hate Brundle and not cry at the end of the movie for him. So they kept it out as that wasn't their intent, to make him a villain instead of the situation being the villain. The sequel isn't bad, but it's more of a traditional "monster movie" vs. the tone of this one. Still good thou, and not to spoil anything, it has the most heartbreaking scene I've seen in a movie.
This film... not the best date-night movie experience I ever had. She was not pleased.
The most horrifying part of this film for me was the birth scene, but maybe that is because I am a woman.
I think that birth scene made me less willing to get a woman pregnant i saw this film maybe too young.. the idea of a woman giving birth to a maggot, or in xtro nope nope.. i couldnt do that
I'm sure Alien had that similar effect on women who were pregnant or were planning to have kids because of the chestburster scene.
BTW, the doctor who delivers the maggot baby is...David Cronenberg!
The doctor with the glasses during her "birthing nightmare" is writer/director David Cronenberg
This was directed by David Cronenberg. Any sci-fi/ horror movie with that name attached should ring a bell in your head. The dude was the king of 'Body Horror' back in the days of practical effects.
The director, David Cronenberg, essentially invented the "body horror" genre. There has always been an intellectual element to his films, rather than simply a desire to disgust. You should react to an earlier film of his, "Videodrome", which has all of the hallmarks of his best work and themes you'd enjoy discussing.
This is a surprisingly lovely, nuanced reaction, I love it. It feels so genuine.
"don't hug it"
"She fucked a fly" 😭😭😭😭
How could she!!!
Cronenberg never does anything half assed.
This movie is another prove that practical effects are a great tool for horror movies... We need more movies with practical effects
Great reaction guys and overall an excellent movie! This movie is what turned jeff goldblum into a hollywood star and got him roles in big blockbusters like jurassic park and independence day and no matter how many times I've seen the fly, it hits me in the feels everytime and goldblum made the character likeable and his fate in the movie is so heartbreaking!
Jeff Goldblum has been in over 70 movies throughout his career...not very prolific??! 😲
I think the guys were speaking from their perception. I can't think of more than five or six films Jeff has done. Would it be fair to say he has done quite a few 'art house' or off-beat films? He seems like a guy who might do 'interesting' roles and pop up every few years to do the big hits which pay the bills?
Some of those jurassic park and some detective TV series.
Dear Tom and Shaun:
First, a bit about me, so that the two of you may have some context. I am a writer who lives in Ohio. Just over a decade ago, I suffered an accident, which left me with a regressive spinal injury of which I was unaware for some years, given that the doctor I saw following the accident was negligent; he should have ordered a spinal MRI but failed to do so. Because the accident was work-related, it was a decade before I was able to have surgery. In the months following surgery, I learned there was permanent damage, which has left me disabled.
Now, why the hell am I telling you this? The answer: Given my condition, I can rarely leave my house, doing so only when necessary. As such, I have to find ways to fill the hours. As I said, I write, but even that has become limited, given that I am unable to sit for very long without the pain becoming severe. Still, I remain an utter biblio- and cinephile, as well as a writer.
I now find myself avidly watching Cinema Rules, which I discovered recently. It is always nice to find fellow human beings with interests similar to one's own. And the two of you are not only fun to watch as you watch films, but your conversation is insightful, intelligent, and very entertaining.
All right. Now that we've gotten the C.V. out of the way... on to my comments in regard to your video of David Cronenberg's THE FLY.
Though clearly a remake, it was the screenplay written by Charles Edward Pogue (he also wrote PSYCHO III) that piqued Cronenberg's interest. Although he was not completely keen on Pogue's take on the story, Cronenberg felt there were some good elements in it with which he could work, and he wrote a revision in which he introduced elements that both interested him as an artist and deepened the story. As it is, Cronenberg rarely directs films he has not himself written. THE DEAD ZONE, (written by Jeff Boam from Stephen King's novel) and M. BUTTERFLY (written by David Henry Hwang from his play) are the exceptions. This makes sense given both Cronenberg's singular vision and the fact that, when younger, he initially thought he would be a novelist.
Although the film was considered by a number of critics to be a metaphor for AIDS when it was released in 1986, Cronenberg has said that metaphorically the film is about aging. In addition to Chris Walas's stunning makeup effects (of which you two understandably spoke at length), and Howard Shore's memorable score (like the story, the scale veers toward the operatic), the true stroke of brilliance was in the casting. At the time the film was made, Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis were dating (they later married, then divorced). I don't think it would be impudent of me to say that it's the chemistry of these two actors that gave the story the depth and empathy it deserved and so memorably achieved.
At one point during your video, one of you (I think it may have been you, Tom) wondered aloud as to how the film might have been received by audiences when it was first released. Given that I saw the film the day it opened, I will share with you my experience.
By the time he made THE FLY, Cronenberg had a number of films under his belt (SHIVERS; RABID; THE BROOD; SCANNERS; VIDEODROME; THE DEAD ZONE), and given the subject matter of most of them, he had incurred a reputation for being a director of "body horror" or, in some circles, "venereal horror." Because of this, whenever people saw Cronenberg's name attached to a film, the immediate response was that it was going to exist solely in the horror or science-fiction genre. Given Twentieth Century Fox's marketing campaign for THE FLY, this was no doubt what most people were expecting when they went to see the film. And although they certainly got their share of shivers and Grand Guignol effects, they got a great deal more besides -- much, I think, to their pleasure (as judging from the word of mouth I heard upon leaving the cinema).
At the time THE FLY was released, I was a teenager. Everyone who knew me understood my utter love of films, given that it had started when I was a young child. Given my age, there were some films I would not have been permitted to see by myself, which meant that I would have to talk my mother into taking me to the cinema. Now, my mother is a great person who has a wonderful and eclectic taste in films, so more often than not it wasn't difficult to convince her of the films we went to see. In fact, there were only a few which were verboten, and I was told I would be able to see only when I was older.
So: the opening night of THE FLY in Summer 1986. The cinema was packed, and before the film began, excited murmurs ran in waves throughout the audience. There was also a bit of drama before the lights went down and the screen lit up, because someone nearer the front rows got choked on a Milk Dud (thankfully, he survived). As the Twentieth Century Fox logo came up, Howard Shore's score struck up, and Cronenberg's name appeared in the credits, the audience's attention and anticipation became for the most part collective: we knew we were going to be in for something special. And, as anyone who has seen the film knows, we were.
If there was a major surprise for us, it was that the film turned out to be such a devastating -- even beautiful -- love story. Considering the audience response (yes, there were cries and tears existing among the more expected gasps and screams), many in it hadn't expected this. Especially in the final moments of the film, when Brundle lifts the barrel of the gun and places it at his head, wordlessly asking Veronica to kill him. To this day I remember my mother weeping and wiping away tears. And when the film was over and we were leaving the cinema, tears were still streaming down her cheeks. She nabbed some napkins and began to wipe her eyes. As she did so, we were passing the lobby, in which stood a large crowd waiting to see the next screening. As we moved by these people, heading for the exit, my mother said, "That is the best love story I have seen in a long time!" I remember some of those waiting to see the next show looking from my mother to cinema we had just left, on whose digital marquee was printed "THE FLY." They looked from the marquee to my mother, back to the marquee, and then back to my mother. Clearly, they were thoroughly confused. After all, how could a "horror" film by a director known for "body horror" be capable of making such a heart-wrenching love story?
For those of us who have seen the film, we know the answer to that question.
Again, thank you so much for sharing your channel and videos. They are giving me great pleasure during this challenging time in my life. I'm grateful.
P.S. -- You've also asked those of us who watch your channel to recommend other films for the two of you to watch. I'm not sure of the length of your list, but to it I will add some films that I recommend highly. Although I'm not speaking from a place of conceit, I've seen too many films to count, and have gone back and watched and studied many of them numerous times. So, the following list includes those films that I would not hesitate to encourage as "must-sees." I offer them as suggestions while keeping in mind that, when it comes art (as with most everything in life), one cannot extricate from the equation what he or she prefers aesthetically. These are films that have stood the test of time with me... and a lot of them with others, too. Although I am not fond of categorization, not all of these films would be considered as belonging solely to the "horror" genre. In spite of this, all of them deal with horrifying elements. Because the two of you have watched Bergman and De Sica films, I'll add to the list some films that might also be of interest to you. Some of these films you may have already seen; some you may have not. Many of them are great; some not so, but still worth a watch.
(The first in the list is my number-one film in the genre.. Although it is far more than that. In fact, it is also one of the greatest satires in the history of cinema. Given Shaun's predilection for "fun in horror," I think he will find it especially enjoyable. It is also the first film I'd recommend for the two of you to watch.)
Having said all this (sorry for the length of the post, by the way; once I get talking about films, I tend to go on, ha-ha), cheers to you both!
DAWN OF THE DEAD (George A. Romero; 1978)
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Jonathan Demme; 1991)
CARRIE (Brian DePalma; 1976)
THE ENTITY (Sidney J. Furie; 1983)
THE TENANT (Roman Polanski; 1976)
THE VANISHING (George Sluizer; 1988)
DON'T LOOK NOW (Nicolas Roeg; 1973)
CRIES AND WHISPER (Ingmar Bergman; 1973)
FREAKS (Tod Browning; 1932)
THE FUNHOUSE (Tobe Hooper; 1981)
BURNT OFFERINGS (Dan Curtis; 1976)
FATAL ATTRACTION (Adrian Lyne; 1987)
PEEPING TOM (Michael Powell; 1960)
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (George A. Romero; 1968)
KLUTE (Alan J. Pakula; 1971)
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (Darren Aronofsky; 2000)
MAGIC (Richard Attenborough; 1978)
ERASERHEAD (David Lynch; 1977)
THE HOWLING (Joe Dante; 1981)
These, I think, will suffice for now. If you've any questions, please do let me know.
Warm regards,
John
Great list though "The Dead Zone" should be in it because the ending of that film is even more surprising and emotionally devastating than that of "The Fly."
I saw that arm wrestling scene when I was a kid and have never arm wrestled anyone since
Always nice to see the younger audience understand and appreciate the value of practical effects over CG. Great reaction guys. Another good Goldblum film you must see is Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). You won't be disappointed.