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8. The Fly (1986, David Cronenberg)

"Now, you tell me. Am I different somehow? Is it live or is it Memorex?"



My dad suggested I watch this during a period in my life in which I was obsessed with Jeff Goldblum. I watched it three or four times before we sent the rental back. And not only because Goldblum is so dreamy, since he only really looks any good for half of the movie. Plus, he has a funny haircut. What gripped me was the realism with which such a fantastic situation was depicted. As a viewer, I could genuinely feel the desperation of a man losing his humanity and fearing for the future (or lack thereof) that he faces as a consequence. Jeff Goldblum, for me, is pitch-perfect in portraying this, and all the other various emotions that Seth Brundle feels in the course of the film. Brundle runs the emotional gamut, experiencing loneliness, love, pure happiness, frustration, jealousy, fear, and desperation, always while trying to maintain his signature flippant wit.

"What does the disease want?"
"It wants to... turn me into something else. That's not too terrible is it? Most people would give anything to be turned into something else."
"Turned into what?"
"Whaddaya think? A fly? Am I becoming a hundred-and-eighty-five-pound fly? No, I'm becoming something that never existed before. I'm becoming... Brundlefly. Don't you think that's worth a Nobel Prize or two?"


Goldblum does all this authentically while at the same time tackling the unique challenge of how to portray the behavior of a man being genetically spliced with a fly and does so beautifully.



"The baby might be all that's left of the real me. Please don't kill me."



I was recently watching this with a friend of mine who had never seen it before and seconds before the credits started rolling, he said, "I wish it would end right now." And though the movie ends rather abruptly, so much so that I never really have time to have a proper cry, I feel like I would enjoy the film less if they tried to tie up all the loose ends in a neat bow. I think in some situations it's better not to know everything and this is one of those situations for me.

"I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over... and the insect is awake."
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My 'to see' list has grown again... great list Sarah... I added you to the MoFo Members Top 100 Lists...
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oh Sarah, you made me think of The Fly! I have never been able to watch that again after the first time cos of the gross noises which really freaked me out. I don't deny it's a good film but for me - unwatchable



oh Sarah, you made me think of The Fly! I have never been able to watch that again after the first time cos of the gross noises which really freaked me out. I don't deny it's a good film but for me - unwatchable
Same here, seen it probably at the age of 8-10.
Never dared to see it again,



It did have a lasting impression... I was honestly expecting a superhero film.

That Cronenberg should get back to such films, I don't have any issues with the kind of movies he is making now.. But the sci-fi/horror/thriller genre needs him badly.



OMG Sarah you have to finish it I just found this thread it is like a novel that has had the last few pages torn out
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Great pick with, Sarah. I adore The Fly and think it's probably the best out of Cronenberg's 'body horror' years. It's visceral and really takes you on an uncomfortable journey with this increasingly grotesque and decaying character. I remember that the very first scene I ever saw of the film was the arm wrestling scene, and I think I must have been around 11 or 12 or something. After that I watched it and was disturbed yet emotionally involved with Goldblum's Brundlefly. If there is any proof that practical effects and make up are some of the most powerful tools in cinema, this film is it.

The film is seen an an analogy for AIDS, much like Carpenter's The Thing and given the year it was released, that's understandable, but I agree with Cronenberg that the film has more going for it than that.

Great job, Sarah.

I saw The Fly in theatres about a year or two ago - wasn't too impressed by it by for some reason.
I wish I could go and watch it in the cinema.



10. Bullets Over Broadway (1994, Woody Allen)

"Let's say there was a burning building and you could rush in and you could save only one thing: either the last known copy of Shakespeare's plays or some anonymous human being. What would you do?"



I'm currently in the editing lab in the basement of the School of Cinematic Arts building about to finish capturing the footage from my shoot this weekend, something I've been doing for nearly 6 hours... So I'm having a hard time thinking of what to say. I love Woody Allen. That's something. The fall of my Freshman year of high school I was obsessed with two major Jews: Bob Dylan and Woody Allen. It was hard to pick a favorite amongst his movies though. I've seen a little more than 30 of his films and so many of them are good. Though granted, some not so much. But of all the ones I've seen, there are none that I wouldn't watch again. Bullets Over Broadway is just such a fun movie. And it's one of the few times that Woody had someone else play his character for him and John Cusack takes on the task beautifully. Overall, the cast is vast in its greatness. Dianne Wiest, of course, who won her second Academy award for a Woody movie and Chazz Palminteri are both especially wonderful. But some of the other brilliant performers include Jennifer Tilly, Jim Broadbent, Rob Reiner, Tracey Ullman, Mary Louise Parker, and Jack Warden.



"Don't speak!"



This movie lives and dies on its dialogue. Not to say that it isn't a pretty movie, and I love the 20s costumes and set design, being especially since I'm drawn to that style anyway, but it's the script and performances that are the real centerpieces of this film and in that department, it's just hilarious. Woody seems to be saying with this movie that the better artist is the one that understands his audience better and plays into their desires.

"I studied playrighting with every teacher, I read every book..."
"Let me tell you somethin' about teachers. I hate teachers. Those blue-haired bitches used to whack us with rulers. Forget teachers."


UM... I GUESS THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS IN HERE...
Hit man Cheech (Palminteri) understands better than anyone in the movie that people love drama, melodrama even, and revises David's (Cusack) play with that in mind, making it a more commercial success with every draft. This idea is mirrored in the film itself, which is ultimately just as much about entertainment as it is about what it means to be an artist. The first and second to last lines of the movie are opposites. David starts the film emphatically stating that he is an artist and ends it just as sure that he is not. But Woody decides to play into a typical audience's desires and instead ends the movie on a wedding proposal rather than this dichotomy, which mirror's the story brilliantly.

"You stand on the brink of greatness. The world will open to you like an oyster. No... not like an oyster. The world will open to you like a magnificent vagina."



I don't care for Woody Allen but I enjoyed reading your review. Didn't know you were into editing though, Sarah. You must give me some tips. I don't see myself watching this film anytime soon because, for me, the worst thing about Woody Allen is his scripts. I just don't find them engaging and I doubt I ever will. That said, he is pretty good at casting excellent actors for his films.