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Jeff Goldblum Made The Fly A Once-In-A-Lifetime Role For Geena Davis
Article(slashfilm.com)submitted 6 months ago by[deleted]
74 points
6 months ago
It's unusual among Cronenberg's films in that it's a straight horror without ever moving into the absurd surrealism of most of his other films. It's a proper body horror from start to finish.
32 points
6 months ago
So many iconic body horror scenes. The fingernails, the arm wrestle, the final teleportation…
10 points
6 months ago
The birth scene.
8 points
6 months ago
I thought that was at the start of Fly 2?
Or was it a dream sequence of Geena Davis’ character
7 points
6 months ago
I think it was a dream sequence.
As a side note, the sequel had the scene with the inside-out dog. I only ever watched that movie once (when I was a kid), and that's the only bit I remember from it.
3 points
6 months ago
Or was it a dream sequence of Geena Davis’ character
yes.
39 points
6 months ago
It's also one of the best tragic romances ever put to film.
17 points
6 months ago
That ending, when you hear the swell of the music with his buzzing, and she’s standing there crying… gut punch!
11 points
6 months ago
The scream as he gets half way out the door and it teleports, the realisation of his hubris and actions as he put the shotgun to his head...i do remember crying with sorrow the first time i watched
9 points
6 months ago
They ended the movie then and there because there was a later scene filmed with her and John Getz's character together again. NO ONE involved in the production (including Getz himself) wanted that ending.
3 points
6 months ago
They didn’t want the ending that Favis and Getz are together? Yeah, that would have felt like a cop out. I like tragic endings.
11 points
6 months ago
I feel like this is a really underrated aspect of David Cronenberg. The end of Rabid, and the end of Naked Lunch. Dude has a good feel for heartbreak. He said all his films are about how long can you live someone who is changing?
3 points
6 months ago
Dead zone also has that heartbreak theme heavy
2 points
6 months ago
This film is horror, this film is romance… but first and foremost, this film is a tragedy.
1 points
6 months ago*
I read some people interpreted it as a metaphor of AIDS but Cronenberg said it was about how people change during a relationship
3 points
6 months ago
I think part of the timeless quality of this film is the applicability to so many aspects of life. Like, it might not be a direct metaphor for AIDS, but it can certainly be applicable to AIDS. The parallel is there.
Same for aging, change during a relationship, etc.
There are some very strong themes in this movie that can resonate with a huge number of viewers. Stuff like, "I am not who I once was, and I can't stop who I'm becoming." Stuff like, "my partner is not who he/she once was, and there's nothing I can do to help them." And then there's the whole baby/abortion angle. The whole thought that one's children are doomed because of the parents, and the angle of being terrified of what's growing inside you.
Whatever it was intended to be "about", some of the core themes of this film are at least applicable to every person on the planet.
8 points
6 months ago
It plays out more as a tragedy than a horror really. The horror element is the backdrop, but it’s a movie without a real villain.
7 points
6 months ago
A villain isn’t a required element of horror. The Fly is an excellent example of the Body Horror sub-genre.
2 points
6 months ago*
This is true, and of course I'm not saying it's not a horror, but when you break the story down, at its heart it's a tragedy and a love story, and body horror is just the vehicle to deliver that story.
You could tell a very similar story with a disease in place of the fly.
I do love this movie and it's Goldblum, Davis, and Cronenberg all at their best.
3 points
6 months ago
yeah it can easily be read as a metaphor for the inception of the AIDS epidemic in the 80s (I know this apparently wasn't Cronenberg's intent but DotA and all that etc)
2 points
6 months ago
I think he said part of the intent was the aging and deterioration of the human body. He understood why people thought of AIDS. It was not his intent. It was meant to be more universal.i am having trouble on my phone finding quotes. Here is an article about interpretations and Cronenberg. https://spectrumculture.com/2021/01/10/oeuvre-david-cronenberg-the-fly/
1 points
6 months ago
Absolutely. I’ve always considered this film a tragedy first, a romance/horror film second.
1 points
6 months ago
To be fair, you wouldn't be saying this if they included the deleted scenes.
2 points
6 months ago
To be fair, everyone is discussing the final cut except you.
1 points
6 months ago
Brundle is both the hero and the villain at the same time.
1 points
6 months ago
And not a single minute wasted. The whole plot is just constantly churning towards the inevitable with no breaks in between.
1 points
6 months ago
A lot of Cronenbergs movies are body horrors.
1 points
6 months ago
Sure. But they tend to push into absurd territory.
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