David Croenenberg's The Fly: Collector's Edition DVD Set Review

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Title: David Cronenberg’s The Fly: Collector’s Edition

Region: One

Genre: Sci-Fi Horror

Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, and John Getz

Writers: Charles Edward Pogue and David Cronenberg

Based On The Story By: George Langelaan

Director: David Cronenberg

Feature length: 96 minutes

Extras: Feature Length Audio Commentary By Writer and Director David Cronenberg, All-New Documentary On The Making Of “The Fly,” Deleted Scenes With Storyboard And Script Comparison, Never-Before-Seen Alternate Ending, Rare Test Footage, “The Brundle Museum Of Natural History” Featurette, George Langelaan’s Original Short Story, Charles Edward Pogue’s Short Story, David Cronenberg’s Screenplay Rewrite, Interactive Articles From Cinefex and American Cinematographer, Promotional Featurettes, Still Photo Galleries, Original Teasers, Trailers, and TV Spots

Languages: English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, French Language Stereo Sound, and Spanish Language Monaural Sound

Subtitles: English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Single Size Two-Disc Amaray Keep Case

Chapter Stops: 36

Sound: DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Stereo Sound, and Monaural Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 1986/DVD Release: 2005

Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox

Home Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

I fondly remember 1986 as a great year for films. It might just be nostalgia because I was still a teenager back then and lets face it, age definitely plays a big role on how we view things, but even so I still think that 1986 in general was a good year to go to the movies. Now among the numerous memorable films from that year, Twentieth Century Fox released two of the most ambitious and popular sci-fi horror films of the mid 1980s. These were James Cameron’s “Aliens” and David Cronenberg’s remake of “The Fly.” While Fox has visited and revisited “Aliens” with detailed special editions on DVD, “The Fly” has only seen one DVD release and that was a double feature released in 2000. Now I can understand why “Aliens” would receive the treatment it has gotten on DVD and laserdisc before that because the film is a nearly nonstop roller coaster ride of action with what is ultimately an upbeat ending as long as you never find out what happens in “Alien 3.” “David Cronenberg’s The Fly” is a terrific sci-fi horror film that has had a profound impact on the genre to even have the line “Be afraid. Be very afraid, ” become as much a part of American pop culture as the line “I’ll be back” from “The Terminator” is. No one can predict what dialogue will resonate with a generation to transcend the very context of what the spoken word was even referring to when the film was made, but even Cronenberg makes note on his feature length audio commentary for this DVD release where me mentions how he has heard the words “Be afraid. Be very afraid” in so many programs as well as advertisements that not only has it taken on a life of it’s own, but he knows there are people out there that probably do not even associate those words with his remake of “The Fly.”

Just as “Aliens” has seen approximately two distinct DVD releases if you don’t count the two box sets it was packaged within, “The Fly” was released on DVD as a double feature with “The Fly II” and that double feature was released day and date with another DVD double feature contained the original film and it’s sequel “The Return Of The Fly.” Now I have no definitive explanation as to why it has taken so long for this “Collector’s Edition” of “The Fly” to be released, but I think on one level it is because in many ways the film is almost the opposite of “Aliens” with a more claustrophobic if not intimate setting, a small cast, and a far more downbeat story as well as an ending that pulls no punches. The inevitable tragedy of “The Fly” is what I think makes the film so difficult to watch. Well… That and the fly vomit scenes.

Jeff Goldblum is perfect as the brilliant Seth Brundle, a man whose physicality literally is changed and ultimately merged by and with technology. This is a theme that can be seen in many of David Cronenberg’s films like “Videodrome,” “Crash,” and “eXistenZ” to name just a few. Cronenberg as an auteur lends his body of work to deep discussion and while he will always have a strong genre film cult following for his body of work, Cronenberg is one of the few genre filmmakers to have transcended his horror and sci-fi roots to such an extent that I really think he is more associated now by some for his dramas like “Dead Ringers” and his most recent release “A History Of Violence” that I would not be surprised if there is an entire generation of film consumers out there that are completely unaware of his rich contributions to genre pictures. At the time “The Fly” was released Jeff Goldblum was romantically involved with Geena Davis and their real life romantic bonds really help to sell the relationship between their respective characters in the film as well as add more pathos to the fate of their characters. In the feature length audio commentary, David Cronenberg states that he has considered developing “The Fly” for the stage since it essentially is a relationship triangle of sorts with three characters and I have to admit that while the thought has never occurred to me when watching the film, I think Cronenberg is right and I also think it’s worth a shot. It certainly could not be any worse than any of the attempts to bring films to the stage that have failed. It could be done life “The Elephant Man” without makeup and using the Actor’s body language to suggest what the audiences’ imaginations could fill in perhaps more vividly than anything that could be reasonably constructed for the stage. In his feature length audio commentary found on disc one, David Cronenberg takes the subtext of the film to the most basic and frightening level sighting it is not necessarily a metaphor for any one disease but rather the mundane discovery that could occur to anyone when they notice a lump or a rash or anything else they never sighted before regardless if it is a malignancy or simply the natural course of aging. I also found it interesting that before coming aboard as the Director for “The Fly” Cronenberg was readying an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story that was retitled “Total Recall.” Can anyone imagine how different that film would have been if he had indeed made it? David Cronenberg with his soft spoken voice is one of a select few filmmakers whose feature length audio commentaries are among the best recorded because he simply and intelligently tells it like it is from his point of view and never attempts grandstand the listener’s attention with some mundane boasts or irrelevant rhetoric.

Presented in an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio, this DVD release of “David Cronenberg’s The Fly” is fantastic to behold with charged up English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack that almost became distorted through my home theater speakers to such a point that I had to lower the volume ten decibels lower than my usual DVD listening level because I was afraid it was going to blow my speakers or garner complaints from tenants who live across from or below me. An English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack as well as a French Language Stereo Soundtrack and a Spanish Language Monaural Soundtrack is encoded onto the layered DVD with English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles available as options. The interactive menus are very detailed complete with a fly buzzing around the usual legal warnings about this home video version only being licensed for private home video viewing and not for public presentation. The menus on the second disc are disturbing with a recreation of Seth Brundle’s bathroom sink and medicine cabinet from the film. The interactive menus also feature full motion scene selections and all are easy to navigate. Within the keep case there is an insert with some liner notes regarding the production design of the telepods from the film as well as a special features breakdown and scene selection index too. With so many home video distributors no longer including inserts for even their A-list DVD releases, it is really refreshing to see studios like Fox putting the extra care to make their Collector’s Edition DVD releases truly special and not just slipping in an advertisement for something else to tie-in to the product as many other DVD distributors do. Keep up the good work Fox and please don’t ever change!

The amount of extra value materials on disc two is truly exhaustive. I can imagine how many hundreds of dollars a Collector’s Edition like this would have cost film buffs back in the days of laserdisc and especially if it were an import from Japan. Under the heading “Documentaries” there is a brand new feature length retrospective look into the making of “David Cronenberg’s The Fly” entitled “Fear Of The Flesh” (136 minutes), which is broken up into the subheadings “Larva”, “Pupa”, and “Metamorphosis.” In addition to brand new interviews with cast and crew members, the documentary also features an enhanced mode version that gives the viewer the opportunity to look at select behind-the-scenes footage related to the topic of discussion and then return back to the documentary where they left off. This enhanced version has an approximately running time of 2 hours and 42 minutes. That is nearly twice as long as the feature film on disc one itself. The additional branched footage can also be viewed individually. Then there is a look at some of the props, which are being held by Bob Burns in the featurette entitled “The Brundle Museum Of Natural History” (11:52). The original 1986 electronic press kit featurette (6:59) as well as a profile of David Cronenberg circa 1986 (4:28) are also included on disc two.

In a feature that reminds me a lot of the glory days of laserdisc, viewers can actually read onscreen with their set top DVD players the original story that was published in Playboy Magazine back in 1957 by George Langelaan, Charles Edward Pogue’s original screenplay, and David Cronenberg’s rewrite. There are also three interactive article publications taken from the pages of Cinefex and American Cinematographer. Four deleted scenes that in some cases offer the opportunity to compare it with the storyboards and screenplay are also included. Fortunately eliminating them all was a wise decision, but it is nice to finally see on DVD the notorious “Monkey-Cat” scene (6:59), “Butterfly Baby” (2:28), an alternate ending and some pages from a brutal scene where Brundle kills a bag lady that was never shot.

Galleries of concept art, storyboards, set design, and visual effects as well as one-sheet art and lobby cards are also included. Finally viewers can tune into TV spots and trailers for “David Cronenberg’s The Fly”, “The Fly II”, the original version of “The Fly”, and “The Return Of The Fly.” A “Play All” feature is also included for this section.

In addition to “David Cronenberg’s The Fly”, a collector’s edition 2-disc set for the 1989 sequel “The Fly II” was also released. Both are now available at retailers on and offline courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

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