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As we all know, the plot of The Fly concerns an experiment to transmit matter from one place to another, A Fly manages to get into the transporter at the same time as the scientist, unfortunately fusing them together.
The difference between the '58 version and the '86 version, is what happens after the transportation.
In the '58 version, the head of the fly is transported onto the body of the man and the man's head onto the fly's body, this was reference in a Halloween episode of The Simpsons where Homer buys two matter transmitters and Bart, on purpose, grabs a fly and enters the machine thinking he'll become the human fly, a kind of simpsons superhero. But with the film, the odd thing is that even thoughthe head of the scientist is on the body of the fly, why is the head of the fly able to communicate, type and show emotion:? The David Cronenberg version loses the whole transporting of body parts in favour of gene splicing, which seems for scientifically accurate. But with the later version, we are taken on a journey with the scientist as we watch him gradually change from human to fly, and the inevitable outcome to the story. A lot like the John Carpenter remake of The Thing, The Fly '86 includes large amounts of gore in some pretty impressive scenes..
THE CASTS:
1958 VERSION
VINCENT PRICE
well what can you say about Vincent Price, the man is a screen legend and brings a bit of class to the original. He plays the brother of the scientist and even though named as the main star, he's more of a supporting actor, but with his camp voice he's still pretty bloody good.
DAVID HEDISON
David Hedison is very good as the scientist, unfortunate to fuse with the fly. His character is a sort of renegade scientist, conducting his own research. He doesn't see his family for days and even weeks sometimes as he's always down in his lab. When he does transform into the fly, he is still able to get the viewer to feel some sort of empathy for him. I was trying to work out where i'd seen Hedison before, and then it hit me, he was the lead, Captain Crane, in the Irwin Allen series, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea.
PATRICIA OWENS
Owens plays the wife of David Hedison's Scientist and is pretty much the main star as she gets the most screen time. She's actually really good in the role and give the character different kinds of emotions from horror and fear, to love and compassion.
1986 VERSION
JEFF GOLDBLUM
Jeff Goldblum is truly outstanding as Seth Brundle. His transformation from scientist to fly is incredible. Ive never seen Goldblum in a main starring role like this. Where the film is all about him, Independence Day and :The Lost World were ensemble casts. He seems to play the neurotic scientist to perfection these days.
GEENA DAVIS
Ive always liked Geena Davis and she's really good in this as Veronica, a journalist. At first she's after that big story but finds her self attracted to Seth at first and the first 35-40 minutes of the film are more a romantic drama than sci-fi horror. But she shows Veronica to be sympathetic and generally interested in the well being of Seth during his transformation. Its as shame that she hasn't had a better career since the disaster of Cutthroat Island, the only film of note was The Long Kiss Goodnight, sure she made the two Stuart Little films but with two failed TV shows and a few minor films, she's sorely missed from mainstream feature films.
JOHN GETZ
John Getz plays Veronica's Editor and former boyfriend and he becomes insanely jealous of her relationship and in a bizarre u-turn goes from being the sort of villain to the sort of hero of the film. Trust Cronenberg to throw a spanner in the works. He's really good but has this really bad Greg Evigan beard that kind of anoyed me. I always thought it was Ron Silver who played him but alas i was confusing him with his role in The Entity.
VISUAL F/X:
THE FLY 1958:
If you think that the film was made in 1958 on a budget which was probably an 10th of what some of todays films are made on, the F/X are absolutely stunning. The Fly's head is well made with it's big eyes and little fly like appendages. It's Sequel, The Return of The Fly, went a different root and made the Fly's head massive, more in keeping with the monster movies of the 50s and 60s.
THE FLY 1986:
The Visual F/X of the remake are truly remarkable, from the mess of the monkey at the start to the forged Brundlefly and Transpod at the end, they're gruesome and outlandish, but the Cronenberg is able to make us feel sorry for this monstrous creature at the end as we've followed him on his mutating journey. Chris Walas's creation of the fly is brilliant and the moment it turns from Goldblum into this animatronic monstrosity is a sight to be hold. In fact it reminded me of the Transformation sequences from An American Werewolf in London and The Howling.
THE DIRECTION:
1958 VERSION
The direction of the original is good, it has that 50s look but it's shot in colour which is rather odd for a sci-fi film from that era. The direction by Kurt Neuman is great, he's able to give the film a strange sort of atmosphere. The special F/X are spot on for the 50s too, with an understated mask for the head of the fly, which was changed to a bigger head for the Return of The Fly. The use of colour is good too, they're all vivid and really stand out. It's easy to see why it's classed as one of the all time greatest sci-fi films.
1986 VERSION
Probably Cronenberg's most accessible film pre History of Violence, here he continues his passion for body horror, and transmutation. Unlike his previous film VideoDrome, here the metamorphosis is easier to follow as it fit a straight linear plot and does not veer into existentialism. Cronenberg uses the Toronto locations well and is able to make the film look like it was filmed in New York, even though it is never mentioned where the film is set as far as I'm aware. Unlike the original we see the full transformation of Seth as he changes into the fly and he captures this well. He'd obviously done his homework and in the end he pulled off an at times terrifying science fiction horror opus.
FINAL VERDICTS:
THE FLY 1958
The original was ahead of it's time for it's inclusion of matter transmission, but the film is slightly flawed, saying this, it's still a brilliantly acted and directed slice of classic sci-fi horror and a must see for fans of classic B movies.
THE FLY 1986
With it's impressive acting and astonishing visual F/X, The Fly 1986, is a masterpiece of sci-fi/horror cinema that should be ranked with such luminaries as The Thing and Alien.
1958 VERSION
FILM: 7/10
1986 VERSION
FILM: 10/10
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