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The Fly (1986)
Director: David Cronenberg
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
'What am I working on? I'm working on something that will change the world and human life as we know it!' So Seth Brundle (Goldblum) promises in the opening line of Cronenberg's inspired remake. Sure, he wants to get science reporter Davis into bed, but he means it too. Not that Cronenberg evinces any interest in teleportation - Brundle's hokey invention. Nor does he hang his scientist for Frankensteinian hubris. Rather, this is a film about fusion. That of man and insect, of course; but also the emotional and physical fusion between man and woman - liberating and painful as that may be. The playful, quirky chemistry between Goldblum and Davis in the first half of the movie ensures that this gothic horror is heartbreaking as well as stomach-churning (the special effects by Chris Walas are still staggering, 16 years on).Author: TCh
User reviews of this film
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- Alex said...
- Posted on May 05 2009 03:47 It's not a metaphor for AIDS, Andy S, but rather for age. At least, if you take what Cronenberg has said about the film since. Thankfully most of us don't (usually) lose our fingernails, ears, and eventually metamorphose into a hideous human fly. There's the scene when Goldblum loses his first fingernail, and he says 'What's happening to me, am I dying?' It's one of the most chilling moments of the film. The film deals very directly with the finite nature of our existence and it's this, as much as the gore, that makes it difficult to watch.
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- Andy S said...
- Posted on Nov 13 2008 18:13 I remember seeing this when I was very small...and it still holds up well. Goldblum is mesmorising as the scientist dude, and Davis actually looks quite hot back then. Read an interesting thing about it being a metaphor for AIDS...interesting....
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Cast & crew
Director: David Cronenberg
Producer: Stuart Cornfeld
Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel, Les Carlson, George Chuvalo, David Cronenberg full cast
Genre(s): Horror
Duration: 100 mins
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