When he acquires a different kind of show for his station, a sleazy cable-TV programmer begins to see his life and the future of media spin out of control in a terrifying new reality.
The almost-human son of "Brundlefly" searches for a cure to his mutated genes while being monitored by a nefarious corporation that wishes to continue his father's experiments.
Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), a brilliant but eccentric scientist attempts to woo investigative journalist Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) by offering her a scoop on his latest research in the field of matter transportation, which against all the expectations of the scientific establishment have proved successful. Up to a point. Brundle thinks he has ironed out the last problem when he successfully transports a living creature, but when he attempts to teleport himself a fly enters one of the transmission booths, and Brundle finds he is a changed man. This Science-Gone-Mad film is the source of the quotable quote "Be afraid. Be very afraid."Written by
Mark Thompson <mrt@oasis.icl.co.uk>
The Chris Walas, Inc. designers studied graphic books on disease as a starting point for their "Brundlefly" makeup/creature designs. The final "Brundlefly" creature is horribly deformed and asymmetrical. This reflects director David Cronenberg's idea that the creature shouldn't be a giant fly, but rather a literal fusion of a man and an insect that embodies elements of both. See more »
Goofs
When Veronica interviews Seth for the first time, she has to flip the tape because it reached the end. Later on, when she presents the tape to Stathis, it apparently starts from the beginning. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Seth Brundle:
What am I working on? Uhh... I'm working on something that will change the world, and human life as we know it.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The background for the opening titles consists of an optically distorted, swirling mass of colors, which gradually transform into the opening shot of the film. This is a representation of how biologists believe a fly's vision would appear to a human. See more »
Alternate Versions
A lenghty shot of Brundle using a fly tongue to suck from Stathis Borans's severed foot was filmed but deleted from the final cut. See more »
David Cronenberg's version of "The Fly" has little in common with Kurt Neumann's 1958 film of the same title, one of the cheaply made 'creature-features' of the 1950s Instead, it reveals many of the director's obsessions
Jeff Goldblum is Seth Brundle, a Mad Scientist who is working on 'teleporting', a means of transporting objects through space Geena Davis is Veronica Quaife, a magazine writer who becomes interested in his work, and in him They start an affair, but Seth believes Veronica is still seeing her former lover In a rage he tries to transport himself, and his genes become caught up with a fly that gets into the machine Slowly Seth takes on the features of an insect
As in other Cronenberg's films, sexuality is seen as a dangerous force that leads to disaster Seth cannot get his amazing machine to transport living creatures until he has experienced the delights of sex with Veronica, but then almost immediately his jealousy leads more like a fly he develops a raging libido; the more physically repulsive he is, the more he wants sex
Like many successful films of the 1980s, "The Fly" is a hybrid, fusing elements of both horror and science fiction Considering that the plot is from the latter genre, the elements of fear and disgust with the human body are traditional to horror Both genres, as this film will illustrate, benefited greatly from the increasing sophistication of contemporary special effects technique, and the make-up abilities The success of the film led to sequel in 1989, in which the son of Seth and Veronica begins to display familiar symptoms
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David Cronenberg's version of "The Fly" has little in common with Kurt Neumann's 1958 film of the same title, one of the cheaply made 'creature-features' of the 1950s Instead, it reveals many of the director's obsessions
Jeff Goldblum is Seth Brundle, a Mad Scientist who is working on 'teleporting', a means of transporting objects through space Geena Davis is Veronica Quaife, a magazine writer who becomes interested in his work, and in him They start an affair, but Seth believes Veronica is still seeing her former lover In a rage he tries to transport himself, and his genes become caught up with a fly that gets into the machine Slowly Seth takes on the features of an insect
As in other Cronenberg's films, sexuality is seen as a dangerous force that leads to disaster Seth cannot get his amazing machine to transport living creatures until he has experienced the delights of sex with Veronica, but then almost immediately his jealousy leads more like a fly he develops a raging libido; the more physically repulsive he is, the more he wants sex
Like many successful films of the 1980s, "The Fly" is a hybrid, fusing elements of both horror and science fiction Considering that the plot is from the latter genre, the elements of fear and disgust with the human body are traditional to horror Both genres, as this film will illustrate, benefited greatly from the increasing sophistication of contemporary special effects technique, and the make-up abilities The success of the film led to sequel in 1989, in which the son of Seth and Veronica begins to display familiar symptoms