My mum sneaked into the cinema to watch the original 1958 movie. She has spent the last 62 years never missing an opportunity to complain about the resulting trauma and regret.
Two of my most prized VHS, years ago, were The Fly and the Cat and the Canary (1939 version). Both used to really creep me out as a child. I didn't even know about the other two sequels, so thanks for that. What I find interesting about this version, and the 1986 incarnation, is the sympathy you have for the 'monster' at the end. It's a strange feeling. This is amplified a million fold in the 1986 version. When I saw that for the first time, I had tears in my eyes. If you can get past the extreme body horror, it is an almost perfect Sci fi film. Incomparable to anything else, in my opinion.
Your "Help me" impression sent me into gales of laughter, as did many instances of your engrossing review. I think I've only seen the first picture, but the vividness of your reactions to the latter two, make me feel as though I've seen all! Thanks for the brilliant, scintillating diversion from this pandemic.
I think someone at one point suggested, off the record, that Andre had two sons. One by Helene, Philippe I always liked, and another by a previous marriage. Henri was by the previous marriage. I didn't like their slight rewriting of history. It fails to be a true sequel. It's more of a reworking. However, I did find Curse interesting. I liked the cast and the characters, it's just they slightly seemed to rework history. The most frightening scene to me was "HELP ME" from the first movie. I never forgot that final scene and I'm 66 now. Return was the first one I ever saw and It's still my favorite Phillippe (Brett Halsey is still with us I'm happy to say, great actor) was always my favorite character. Little or big he was cool. Missed him in Curse. But I did like Martin and Albert too. Brian Donlevy always gave a performance. .I have all three in my collection along with the 2 1980s reworkings. 😃
Thanks Mis s Weiselberry. A very enjoyable tour. Once gain, your review was charming, informed, insightful, humourous and playful. A delight after a long day! Many thanks!
Watched The Fly when I was a kid and enjoyed it. I remember enjoying the sequel as well, but I preferred the first one as a kid. Was unaware that there was a third film. That's cool to discover. Really fun review!
FUN FACT: Mel Brooks' production company Brooksfilms produced both "The Fly" (1986) and "The Fly II" (1989). Both films were distributed by 20th Century-Fox.
I enjoyed "Return of The Fly" as a child. My mom was raving about how much she liked "The Fly" as I viewed the TV screen that night. I didn't know there was a 3rd installment. I think I'll dip into the original, now that you and mom agree. More importantly, this video of yours is a textbook example of what a strong review looks like. I hope you become a CZcams sensation, Jerome. Also ... good catch on the Al Hedison ==> David Hedison pivot !
I definitely liked the first two more than the third. I must have seen them at about 7 or 8 on a Creature Double Feature on the local UHF station. I do think the b&w works better for the story overall. But color is huge for the iconic images you pointed out from the first one. Especially the 8D Flyvision shot. That's my favorite image from the trilogy. Another excellent, well thought out review, JW. I do hope that if you haven't reviewed Cat People and Curse of the Cat People yet, that you'll get around to them. I think they are both masterpieces.
Ms. Jerome: I think you chose an ideal trio of films! As usual I am very impressed by your incisive, lucid, and very eloquent movie reviews. I hope that if you are not already receiving some remuneration for your lively and passionate voice and efforts, that someday an organization like TCM will offer you a position. I think you deserve a chance with a recognized group of film critics. Hope to see you doing more stuff like this.
Been enjoying these videos a lot. Nice to see proper, well thought out reviews rather than just the all too common play by play of the films' events. Subscribed. (Edit: typos)
For me, Hedison’s sensitive portrayal of Delambre definitely takes The Fly to another level and is what makes the film so rewatchable . I haven’t seen the other films in the trilogy, but I think that’s just because they aren’t aired anywhere near as often as the original here in the UK. I will look them up now though, adding them to the growing list of films I’ve sought out after seeing them reviewed on your channel.
Your mentioning of the noise of the Fly's leg dragging preceding his appearance reminded me of 'Fiend Without a Face' where the creatures are (at first) seen but not heard. Donlevy played a similar 'driven scientist' in the first two Hammer Quatermass movies. There's also a sixties movie called 'The Projected Man's which is another 'matter transmission gone wrong'-tale.
Great review JW. As always great info and thoughts. I'm starting my videos series based on your 2 videos talking about your fav films for each year for the century. That was a great idea.
Thanks for the review. Had no idea there was a third film made. As a kid, the small fly yelling "help me" always bothered me, it's still an effective scene. Yes, it's a movie, still, how did the title character keep his human intellect? And on the reverse, how did the small fly know how to speak? I remember bloopers of Vincent Price cracking up. That always lightened the horror of the fly in the web scene. Thanks again Jerome.
I loved this review, particularly where you talk about how tragic and moving the original film is. I've seen THE FLY many times since I was a kid in the 1970's and I've always been moved to tears by those scenes with David Hedison and Patricia Owens.
Ms. Jerome, I have all 5 Fly movies recorded on the Fox Movie Channel and put them on DVD. The very first fly was a classic. If it wasn't for that Heeeeeelp Meeeeeeeee scene. The Fly would have been a failure. On Return of the Fly the Heeeeeeelp Meeeeee from phillipe sounded like a 4 year old child. Few of my own family members used to pick on me with that heeeeelp meeeeee squeal when I was a kid before I saw the movie. Curse of the Fly was a big let down. No Vincent Price, no fly and no Heeeeelp Meeeeee squeal. The Curse was barely shown on TV. Turner Classic Movies never showed "Curse of the Fly". But they mentioned it in The Fly Overview from TCM hosts. Thanks for reviewing my favorite scary film of all time.
Great review! The first film is superb and a very faithful adaptation of the short story (do check out Edward French's excellent narration of the story on YT). Return of the Fly was also decent. I wasn't as keen on Curse of the Fly, but I loved the strange slow-mo opening with the window shattering and Patricia escaping the asylum.
"Romey," God love you, you have made my Halloween. As a kid I grew up on Star Trek, and yet whenever it came to the transporter, I always thought "This is a bad idea, they should just use the shuttle craft instead." So I felt great vindication in the Fly movies. My personal belief is that a transporter kills you and then tries to create a copy of you from the atoms of your original body -- which is nice, I guess, but whenever it comes to a "disintegrator-integrator," my reaction is always "Let's please not gloss over the 'disintegrator' part." I agree, the first is my favorite, it's a genuine tragedy/mystery. One episode of the original Outer Limits coined the verb "electroported" and I'm sad that never caught on, as "teleported" is often ascribed to psychic or magical power. Thank you very much for honoring what I consider to be a worthy classic monster in its own right, and owl be seeing you.
They came up with the transporter because they couldn't afford to implement a shuttlecraft. The effect was done with the optical printer, and looks much better than the later effect in TNG.
@@4CardsMan There was a titular shuttle for the episode The Galileo Seven. If there had been any budgetary way to hang onto shuttles and I had the power, I'd've pushed for them.
Love your review of the first film - your review is so well-written and well spoken. You really pointed out its qualities, and describing it as also tragic, you really capture what it's like to see this movie. The only additional thought I had, it seemed, when I thought about it later, epic and almost with a biblical flavor. I think the reason it makes us care so much, it's not just the destruction of one man, we're witnessing the destruction of a family, and it seems to strike deep reverberations with this primal assault on something held very dear.
Curse of the Fly is by far the best film. The other two use the monster as a gimmick, they're claustrophobic, this one is expansive with London and Montreal locations and the monsters were very scary for their time and some time afterwards. I too saw it as a kid, I got as far as the hissing man behind the first door, he terrified me. It doesn't scare me now but I love it, it's so sci-fi!
This was terribly interesting overview for me. Thanks! I've long been a fan of the first film (I've done quite a bit of research into the career of its director, who, as you say, sadly passed away right as his biggest success was about to happen. Well, ROCKETSHIP X-M was also a hit of his, but was overshadowed by DESTINATION MOON, released very shortly after RXM). I'm glad to see you got the trilogy set. (That booklet, btw, features a lot of behind-the-scenes photos I provided: They were only supposed to use a few from the negatives I gave them, but i guess they just thought "let's print them all". Oh well.) I like your step by step walk through the 2 follow up films. I have my own issues with the use of the big fly head and showing it too much, but it does have good moments not credited to it as often as they deserved to be. CURSE OF THE FLY is such a different film altogether and full of creepy things, as you point out, but, to me, like you, the first film is just several notches above in its execution and care. Overall, it has a really sad nightmarish feel that is truly unique to the sf-horror field. Thanks for all of your detail! You brought up some things I never really noticed.
Your review of the first "FLY" film has spurred me to re-contact the director's son, to ask him a few things about that sadly ironic time when his dad died right at the point of his great success. I wish I'd thought to ask him about that years ago when I interviewed him about his dad's work on ROCKETSHIP X-M (another favorite of mine). As per usual, thanks much-o for your great overview commentary! (BTW, i assume you have the little booklet that came with the trilogy/you will find my name in the back as a contributor of some of the photos they printed. In fact, i loaned them a big bunch of photos and said they could pick a few to use. But...they used not just a few, but a whole bunch of them. So, I lost my own scoop. Well,...stuff like that happens all the time.)
You are smart, funny, literate and enthusiastic. I really enjoy your work. It saddens me Cronenberg's 'Fly' was beyond your limits. Check it again in 20 years, you'll dig it.
I recently bought the 5 movie Blu-ray set and just finished the trilogy of original movies. I completely agree with you about The Fly and Return of the Fly. I think the cheapskate, rushed production of Return of the Fly severely ruined what could have been an amazing sequel. Did you notice that Alan is asked to pick up a guinea pig but actually picks up a rat, but then once it’s in the machine they show a guinea pig?? That’s the kind of sloppiness you’d expect to see on a shoddily rushed production. Curse of the Fly was horrible. It’s what happens when filmmakers forget to watch the first two entries in a trilogy. It should be in all film school programs as a warning about how to effectively ruin a franchise. I love how, when talking about Curse of the Fly you chuckle and say “I’m working too hard in this!” Sadly, the filmmakers didn’t work hard enough!!
When I first found out there was a sequel to The Fly with Philippe, I thought how ridiculous, but like you I'm glad they didn't have the fly end up in the machine by accident and I really liked it. I didn't know there was a third one though so will have to check it out.
Jerome, you probably know this already, but Return Of The Fly ALSO got remade. It was redone in 1989 as The Fly II. It starred Eric Stoltz as Martin, son of the late Seth Brundle character. And like the 1959 sequel to the '58 original, it, too, got a happy ending with "Fly Jr." getting restored to human form
The Fly is one of my favorite 50s sci-fi movies. I really loved Vincent Price in this one, and the two main leads are adorable. The only scene I hate was the "Help Me!" moment. I have to fast forward that scene or cover my eyes and ears entirely. Return of the Fly on the other hand wasn't on my favorites list and that was bc of that hamster scene! 😳😩 The Fly (1986) is also on my favorites list but I do understand why you don't want to watch it. It is quite gruesome.
Great video yet again! Makes me want to go back and re-watch this trilogy. Been years. I prefer the classic FLY films to the '80's films, though I liked those as well.
Thanks, great review of the first one, which i love. i didn't know there were sequels, so thanks, i will check them out, and then your reviews of them. have you reviewed the incredible shrinking man? if not, i see it as right up there with the fly in quality and depth.
Thank you! I have not reviewed The Incredible Shrinking Man, but I'd like to talk about it sometime. Great movie, and I agree; I even thought about it a couple times while working on this video.
somewhat related... but also completely random... i don't know if you have already heard of it but there was actually a song written and recorded about the film Return of the Fly because the singer was such a huge fan of Vincent Price as well as being a fan of vintage horror movies in general. i can't say that i would actually recommend the song, or even call it an accomplished musical work to be honest, but then again, music is rather subjective. obviously subjectively comes into play in regard to an individuals taste in films as well. i thought you had mentioned researching some interesting (but perhaps little known) facts about the films and actors you had reviewed over the years on your channel. i have often found myself doing the same... can sometimes be quite the rabbit hole but can also be a lot of fun at the same time. internet movie data base is usually my starting point for researching films or actors, but in this case i actually stumbled upon the song quite by accident a while back in a documentary about Vincent Price that aired on halloween.
Oh, that's certainly related, and I think I did hear about the song while I was working on this review. There's not much to it, haha. I've been on many an IMDB-induced rabbit hole, sometimes while working on a video and other times when I'm just looking something up out of curiosity. It's the most fun when it leads you to a movie you never heard of before that you'd suddenly like to see.
Yeah, unlike a lot of people, I don't think the 80s Fly is "superior" to the 50's Fly, or vice versa, .. . they're just made in DIFFERENT ERAS, that's all. And whichever version one prefers probably just depends on which of those two eras one is more partial to. It's just a matter of GENERATIONAL BIAS in other words. And the 1958 Fly has some pretty cool elements of its own that the 80s one doesn't have and which distinguish it, like the very suspenseful unfolding MURDER MYSTERY element of why the woman killed her husband in this bizarr manner (of crushing his head and arm in the metal press), and, though not the all-out splatterfest that the 86 one is, does have some pretty good SHOCKS for its time. The "HELP ME!!!!!!!" scene holds its own with anything in the remake for sheer creepiness I think.
Most gentle hostess - like many who have responded I had the luck to see the film at the theater as a kid with a second feature (and that shows how old I am). The movie has many good scenes and I've enjoyed Herbert Marshall and Vincent Price sitting in the garden trying to convince one another that the hydraulic press incident could of been an accident and the had good reason to want it to be so!
While I like the Cronenberg version, I definitely prefer the original. I always forget that Vincent Price is in it, which I think is a testament to the quality of it. It's not just a Vincent Price movie, but a good movie on its own merits. I didn't know David Hedison was a stage name, so that was a cool little fact. And I'm glad you reminded me it was based on a story, I'll have to seek it out. I thought I had seen all three of these, but *Curse* didn't look familiar to me. The second one wasn't as memorable as the first in my mind, although that may be just because they don't show it as often as the first (although I did remember the adjusting of the fly mask as he stumbles around). Great review, and really funny as usual. "Welcome to the 1960s" really made me laugh.
The Fly was a wonderful movie. I really had so much sympathy for the characters. That last "help me" scene was most memorable and scared me more than the actual fly head reveal, even with the fly vision! The Return of the Fly was a bit convoluted to me was not that great but what really made me cringe was the guinea pig with human hands! AUGG! Never saw the third movie but I don't think I'll ever watch it. Never knew this was a trilogy or that Price and Marshall laughed so hard at my most scary scene! But I kinda laugh or at least smile at it now with that squeaky voice!!
You do a REALLY detailed, knowledgeable, and concise review! Really nice to hear. I used to love to watch these movies as a little kid on "Creature Feature".
Right before viewing this video I said to myself "let me nuke some popcorn, this is gonna be good". And I wasn't disappointed! Perfect subject matter for Halloween, I knew you'd come through! Of these films, for me it's not even close - the first film is my fave of the 3 and I've loved it for years since first seeing it as a kid. Then again, I've seen it many more times than the other 2 which are rarely aired. And, despite the remake with Goldblum being a bit more scientifically believable, I still value the original above that one. Does the 'unmasking' of the Fly rival that of Lon Chaney's Phantom? For me it does. Anyway, thanks a heap for these nicely detailed reviews and have yourself a happy Halloween! And don't eat too much candy!
Terrific reviews as always, Jerome! I agree with you that The Fly is a great horror film, one of the best. And I have the same DVD set. All the DVDs in my set have the correct labels, but when I put Return of the Fly in the player, what played was instead Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise! So I watched Return of the Fly online. Anyway, I like the fact that The Fly takes place in Montreal, my hometown. Happy Halloween!
I enjoyed The Fly very much and have seen it several times but not for many years now. I can't recall ever seeing the sequel though. One day hopefully.
I did not know there was a third. Strangely, I don't remember the second being in B+W. Love the first :) Al (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) Hedison :)
Inspired by your review, I saw "The Fly (1958)." Compared to today's CG, the special effects are a bit childish, but its quality is very high: the script and acting are excellent. After watching the movie, I always check if a fly's head is white before smacking it.
I saw the first movie from 1958 in the mid to late 60's and for me that is the only fly movie. You should also catch The original Invasion of the Body Snatchers from 1956, incredible movie.
the original version scared me as a kid too. It was well done, original king of 'jump scares'-sort to speak. good reviews J the Simpsons did a great parody of this, in TreeHouse of Horror VIII....it was a terrific version hehe
DeLuxe was the name of the lab that processed the film, which of course, was manufactured by Kodak. Kodak also made the chemicals and published specifications for its processing.
I will admit to having not seen these films before, my knowledge of 'The Fly' as a franchise limited to the 80s body horror addition (which I have only partially watched as I am a total wuss when it comes to horror and the line of gratuity, save a select few :s) but after this I might end up taking a look at these, especially the hammer horror one as I didn't know about it before. Also as a side note, It's nice to find out my having to keep readjusting my glasses isn't just a me thing :) I know you've done reviews for the Universal versions, and they are definitely iconic, but have you thought about looking at the hammer horror versions of Dracula, Frankenstein & The Mummy? They're definitely products of their time and eras but still can be worth a watch I think.
Oh, it's definitely not just you! It's one of the most annoying things about wearing glasses, I think. I actually had previously considered doing something on the Hammer trifecta for this month's special monster feature, but when the time came around, I was in the mood for something else. I've seen all three, though, and while I feel mostly indifferent toward the sequels, I think those big three are very enjoyable films. And any time Dracula (or Horror of Dracula) comes up, I have to mention how much I *love* the moment at the end when Peter Cushing makes that flying leap at the curtains. :D I still hope to get around to them someday; maybe next year!
@@Weiselberry It is, but I don't think I'd have the lasers, I like how they shape my face : ] It is a great one, Horror of Dracula, and you are correct the sequels are... different :S similar with the Frankenstein ones but the first ones are pretty great :) I will have to keep thinking of more Films/TV Series for you.
I did not see this at the theater but my Aunt merely described the story which still scared the heck out of me. After i did actually see the Fly, the song "Lightning Strikes me Again" by Lou Christy reminds me of this film.
Three fantastic reviews for three excellent films, or one excellent film, one very good film and another very decent one. I do enjoy all three with the first also being my favourite of the trilogy and for all the reasons you've pointed out, story, performances and how Delambre as a character is portrayed and written, he's someone you feel for, someone who's side you remain rooted by. I must admit the end scene has always stayed with me as I thought it was horrifying lol, the 80's remake is very grisly but I never felt it had as much heart, I always felt the original makes you feel unsettled because you feel empathy for Delambre where as the remake makes you feel unsettled because it's gross to look at lol. Happy post Halloween 🎃, that feels odd to say because this whole year has felt like Halloween but hopefully soon it'll be Happy post Covid :), stay safe. ~ Thank you Ms Weiselberry ~
You can't "transmit" matter without converting it into energy first. Assuming that you can digitize energy into bits and bytes, you would need a machine that would convert electrical impulses into energy. But then, how to convert energy into matter? If we had that answer, we wouldn't need a transport machine; we could supply all of the world's resources via electricity! But "The Fly" was a great story anyway. And I think Cronenberg's remake was exceptional, as was Carpenter's version of "The Thing".
I love "Curse Of The Fly" so much. It has such quotable lines. It can be campy and serious at the same time without even letting on that it is spoofing science fiction cliches. The father has a business ethic rather than mad scientist bent. HEY, this is our business! We can make this pay off BIG time and no one is going to stop us. It seems that business is God, not science or even money. My favorite serious but hilarious dialogue is... SON : "Will I be like you ?" FATHER: "Were SCIENTISTS ! WE have to do things we hate !".
I didn't realize there was a third movie based on these earlier films. Yes, the 1986 movie is probably one of the goriest movies ever! lol Jerome your book and movie reviews should always be seen, especially your monster movie reviews are perfect on this Hallowe'en. Happy Hallowe'en! (If that applies to you)
One of my favorite cautionary tales about how playing God and reckless reliance, abuse, and usage of science has a very dark side with very dark tragic consequences and problems - “The Fly”. Despite the gore of both, I enjoy both the original and the remake from 1986 and I also to an extent enjoy “Return of the Fly”. It’s also one of the few movies to actually make me cry. I felt so bad for André, Helene, and Philippe as well as Seth and Veronica. I also read the original short story by George Langelaan and it’s slightly more disturbing and even more somber.
I liked the first one and the second one, very different but both good. The second one had a film noir vibe to it, and was in black and white. Don't care for the third one. The first one precluded Star Trek in the transporter idea. Vincent Price does not play the villain in either.
No other insomniacs binging JW reviews? Just me? Wow I love Cronenberg but yeah.... he aint for everyone. To put it very delicately 😂 Ive had my fill of Cronenberg body horror anyway. Here we go I look forward to this!
I had the good luck to see the 1958 film as a kid at the theater and it was very good. The second feature (I am that old) might of been "Horrors of the Black Museum" an English production.
I haven't seen the sequels, but I remember the original being endlessly creepy. Very heavy for its time. Especially when the lady becomes a PETA activist & starts going off on people. Although, unfortunately for them, Quebecers don't sound like that. I do love both this and the '80s version, & find them to be nice complements to each other (unlike The Thing from Another World & The Thing, where I'm in the minority in disliking the remake). 🤣 @ your help me's. I'd watch a Jerome remake called 'The Owl.'
"cacophony of grotesqueries" was a excellent phrase.
I could listen to your voice all day Jerome, great work!
“One of those movies is better than the other.” You cracked me up! 😂😂
My mum sneaked into the cinema to watch the original 1958 movie. She has spent the last 62 years never missing an opportunity to complain about the resulting trauma and regret.
omg I have to keep stopping this video because she makes me smile so much my face hurts.
Great review and overview of the three 'Fly' films.
Two of my most prized VHS, years ago, were The Fly and the Cat and the Canary (1939 version). Both used to really creep me out as a child. I didn't even know about the other two sequels, so thanks for that. What I find interesting about this version, and the 1986 incarnation, is the sympathy you have for the 'monster' at the end. It's a strange feeling. This is amplified a million fold in the 1986 version. When I saw that for the first time, I had tears in my eyes. If you can get past the extreme body horror, it is an almost perfect Sci fi film. Incomparable to anything else, in my opinion.
I love your reviews. Very detailed explanations.
Thank you!
Your "Help me" impression sent me into gales of laughter, as did many instances of your engrossing review. I think I've only seen the first picture, but the vividness of your reactions to the latter two, make me feel as though I've seen all! Thanks for the brilliant, scintillating diversion from this pandemic.
I think someone at one point suggested, off the record, that Andre had two sons. One by Helene, Philippe I always liked, and another by a previous marriage. Henri was by the previous marriage. I didn't like their slight rewriting of history. It fails to be a true sequel. It's more of a reworking. However, I did find Curse interesting. I liked the cast and the characters, it's just they slightly seemed to rework history. The most frightening scene to me was "HELP ME" from the first movie. I never forgot that final scene and I'm 66 now. Return was the first one I ever saw and It's still my favorite Phillippe (Brett Halsey is still with us I'm happy to say, great actor) was always my favorite character. Little or big he was cool. Missed him in Curse. But I did like Martin and Albert too. Brian Donlevy always gave a performance. .I have all three in my collection along with the 2 1980s reworkings. 😃
Glad I discovered your channel you do very good work I enjoy watching
Thank you, and welcome aboard!
Thanks Mis
s Weiselberry. A very enjoyable tour. Once gain, your review was charming, informed, insightful, humourous and playful. A delight after a long day! Many thanks!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
Watched The Fly when I was a kid and enjoyed it. I remember enjoying the sequel as well, but I preferred the first one as a kid. Was unaware that there was a third film. That's cool to discover. Really fun review!
right there with ya re the sequel and its sequel.
FUN FACT: Mel Brooks' production company Brooksfilms produced both "The Fly" (1986) and "The Fly II" (1989). Both films were distributed by 20th Century-Fox.
I also really appreciated Patricia Owens' character for not being a trope saddled damsel in distress. She's intelligent and has agency throughout
"The Fly" (1958)
has now been released as
part of the Criterion Collection,
including commentary
from Al/David Hedison..
I enjoyed "Return of The Fly" as a child. My mom was raving about how much she liked "The Fly" as I viewed the TV screen that night. I didn't know there was a 3rd installment. I think I'll dip into the original, now that you and mom agree. More importantly, this video of yours is a textbook example of what a strong review looks like. I hope you become a CZcams sensation, Jerome. Also ... good catch on the Al Hedison ==> David Hedison pivot !
Whoa, I never knew it was a trilogy. Thanks for the cool review! 🙆♀️
same here.
I definitely liked the first two more than the third. I must have seen them at about 7 or 8 on a Creature Double Feature on the local UHF station. I do think the b&w works better for the story overall. But color is huge for the iconic images you pointed out from the first one. Especially the 8D Flyvision shot. That's my favorite image from the trilogy.
Another excellent, well thought out review, JW. I do hope that if you haven't reviewed Cat People and Curse of the Cat People yet, that you'll get around to them. I think they are both masterpieces.
Ms. Jerome: I think you chose an ideal trio of films! As usual I am very impressed by your incisive, lucid, and very eloquent movie reviews. I hope that if you are not already receiving some remuneration for your lively and passionate voice and efforts, that someday an organization like TCM will offer you a position. I think you deserve a chance with a recognized group of film critics. Hope to see you doing more stuff like this.
Aw, thank you!
I agree this woman is awesome at what she is doing
Great review of the trilogy. You are superb!
Been enjoying these videos a lot.
Nice to see proper, well thought out reviews rather than just the all too common play by play of the films' events.
Subscribed.
(Edit: typos)
Thank you!
For me, Hedison’s sensitive portrayal of Delambre definitely takes The Fly to another level and is what makes the film so rewatchable . I haven’t seen the other films in the trilogy, but I think that’s just because they aren’t aired anywhere near as often as the original here in the UK. I will look them up now though, adding them to the growing list of films I’ve sought out after seeing them reviewed on your channel.
All 3 movies are on home media.
love the reviews of the films. I may need to revisit them. as always, good to see you.
Thanks!
Your mentioning of the noise of the Fly's leg dragging preceding his appearance reminded me of 'Fiend Without a Face' where the creatures are (at first) seen but not heard. Donlevy played a similar 'driven scientist' in the first two Hammer Quatermass movies. There's also a sixties movie called 'The Projected Man's which is another 'matter transmission gone wrong'-tale.
poor Dandelo. 😿
typed before i heard "...just ask poor Dandelo, the family cat."
(1:59-2:01)
Great review JW. As always great info and thoughts. I'm starting my videos series based on your 2 videos talking about your fav films for each year for the century. That was a great idea.
Cool! I hope you have better luck than I did deciding on favorites. :D Thank you!
czcams.com/video/95Z4SFZqjEk/video.html. Here's mine. I did by decade so there will be 10
Thanks for the review. Had no idea there was a third film made. As a kid, the small fly yelling "help me" always bothered me, it's still an effective scene. Yes, it's a movie, still, how did the title character keep his human intellect? And on the reverse, how did the small fly know how to speak? I remember bloopers of Vincent Price cracking up. That always lightened the horror of the fly in the web scene. Thanks again Jerome.
🎶...repeat to yourself, "It's just a show"...🎶
I loved this review, particularly where you talk about how tragic and moving the original film is. I've seen THE FLY many times since I was a kid in the 1970's and I've always been moved to tears by those scenes with David Hedison and Patricia Owens.
Ms. Jerome, I have all 5 Fly movies recorded on the Fox Movie Channel and put them on DVD. The very first fly was a classic. If it wasn't for that Heeeeeelp Meeeeeeeee scene. The Fly would have been a failure. On Return of the Fly the Heeeeeeelp Meeeeee from phillipe sounded like a 4 year old child. Few of my own family members used to pick on me with that heeeeelp meeeeee squeal when I was a kid before I saw the movie. Curse of the Fly was a big let down. No Vincent Price, no fly and no Heeeeelp Meeeeee squeal. The Curse was barely shown on TV. Turner Classic Movies never showed "Curse of the Fly". But they mentioned it in The Fly Overview from TCM hosts. Thanks for reviewing my favorite scary film of all time.
Great review! The first film is superb and a very faithful adaptation of the short story (do check out Edward French's excellent narration of the story on YT). Return of the Fly was also decent. I wasn't as keen on Curse of the Fly, but I loved the strange slow-mo opening with the window shattering and Patricia escaping the asylum.
Great pick for Halloween. Thank you for sharing, happy Halloween!
"Romey," God love you, you have made my Halloween. As a kid I grew up on Star Trek, and yet whenever it came to the transporter, I always thought "This is a bad idea, they should just use the shuttle craft instead." So I felt great vindication in the Fly movies. My personal belief is that a transporter kills you and then tries to create a copy of you from the atoms of your original body -- which is nice, I guess, but whenever it comes to a "disintegrator-integrator," my reaction is always "Let's please not gloss over the 'disintegrator' part." I agree, the first is my favorite, it's a genuine tragedy/mystery. One episode of the original Outer Limits coined the verb "electroported" and I'm sad that never caught on, as "teleported" is often ascribed to psychic or magical power. Thank you very much for honoring what I consider to be a worthy classic monster in its own right, and owl be seeing you.
That's why Dr McCoy hated using the transporter. Of course Galaxy Quest had a slightly method.
They came up with the transporter because they couldn't afford to implement a shuttlecraft. The effect was done with the optical printer, and looks much better than the later effect in TNG.
@@4CardsMan There was a titular shuttle for the episode The Galileo Seven. If there had been any budgetary way to hang onto shuttles and I had the power, I'd've pushed for them.
Love your review of the first film - your review is so well-written and well spoken. You really pointed out its qualities, and describing it as also tragic, you really capture what it's like to see this movie.
The only additional thought I had, it seemed, when I thought about it later, epic and almost with a biblical flavor. I think the reason it makes us care so much, it's not just the destruction of one man, we're witnessing the destruction of a family, and it seems to strike deep reverberations with this primal assault on something held very dear.
Curse of the Fly is by far the best film. The other two use the monster as a gimmick, they're claustrophobic, this one is expansive with London and Montreal locations and the monsters were very scary for their time and some time afterwards. I too saw it as a kid, I got as far as the hissing man behind the first door, he terrified me. It doesn't scare me now but I love it, it's so sci-fi!
This was terribly interesting overview for me. Thanks! I've long been a fan of the first film (I've done quite a bit of research into the career of its director, who, as you say, sadly passed away right as his biggest success was about to happen. Well, ROCKETSHIP X-M was also a hit of his, but was overshadowed by DESTINATION MOON, released very shortly after RXM). I'm glad to see you got the trilogy set. (That booklet, btw, features a lot of behind-the-scenes photos I provided: They were only supposed to use a few from the negatives I gave them, but i guess they just thought "let's print them all". Oh well.) I like your step by step walk through the 2 follow up films. I have my own issues with the use of the big fly head and showing it too much, but it does have good moments not credited to it as often as they deserved to be. CURSE OF THE FLY is such a different film altogether and full of creepy things, as you point out, but, to me, like you, the first film is just several notches above in its execution and care. Overall, it has a really sad nightmarish feel that is truly unique to the sf-horror field. Thanks for all of your detail! You brought up some things I never really noticed.
Your review of the first "FLY" film has spurred me to re-contact the director's son, to ask him a few things about that sadly ironic time when his dad died right at the point of his great success. I wish I'd thought to ask him about that years ago when I interviewed him about his dad's work on ROCKETSHIP X-M (another favorite of mine). As per usual, thanks much-o for your great overview commentary! (BTW, i assume you have the little booklet that came with the trilogy/you will find my name in the back as a contributor of some of the photos they printed. In fact, i loaned them a big bunch of photos and said they could pick a few to use. But...they used not just a few, but a whole bunch of them. So, I lost my own scoop. Well,...stuff like that happens all the time.)
You are smart, funny, literate and enthusiastic. I really enjoy your work. It saddens me Cronenberg's 'Fly' was beyond your limits. Check it again in 20 years, you'll dig it.
I loved this review 💯 I got convinced to get that boxset
I recently bought the 5 movie Blu-ray set and just finished the trilogy of original movies. I completely agree with you about The Fly and Return of the Fly. I think the cheapskate, rushed production of Return of the Fly severely ruined what could have been an amazing sequel. Did you notice that Alan is asked to pick up a guinea pig but actually picks up a rat, but then once it’s in the machine they show a guinea pig?? That’s the kind of sloppiness you’d expect to see on a shoddily rushed production.
Curse of the Fly was horrible. It’s what happens when filmmakers forget to watch the first two entries in a trilogy. It should be in all film school programs as a warning about how to effectively ruin a franchise.
I love how, when talking about Curse of the Fly you chuckle and say “I’m working too hard in this!” Sadly, the filmmakers didn’t work hard enough!!
Enjoyable reviews; intelligently presented.
When I first found out there was a sequel to The Fly with Philippe, I thought how ridiculous, but like you I'm glad they didn't have the fly end up in the machine by accident and I really liked it. I didn't know there was a third one though so will have to check it out.
Happy Halloween, Jerome!
Thanks! Same to you! :)
Jerome, you probably know this already, but Return Of The Fly ALSO got remade. It was redone in 1989 as The Fly II. It starred Eric Stoltz as Martin, son of the late Seth Brundle character. And like the 1959 sequel to the '58 original, it, too, got a happy ending with "Fly Jr." getting restored to human form
The Fly is one of my favorite 50s sci-fi movies. I really loved Vincent Price in this one, and the two main leads are adorable. The only scene I hate was the "Help Me!" moment. I have to fast forward that scene or cover my eyes and ears entirely.
Return of the Fly on the other hand wasn't on my favorites list and that was bc of that hamster scene! 😳😩
The Fly (1986) is also on my favorites list but I do understand why you don't want to watch it. It is quite gruesome.
19:28 Ah, good to see George Baker, Tiberius from the famous BBC TV series “I, Claudius” (1976).
Great video yet again! Makes me want to go back and re-watch this trilogy. Been years. I prefer the classic FLY films to the '80's films, though I liked those as well.
Thanks, great review of the first one, which i love. i didn't know there were sequels, so thanks, i will check them out, and then your reviews of them. have you reviewed the incredible shrinking man? if not, i see it as right up there with the fly in quality and depth.
Thank you! I have not reviewed The Incredible Shrinking Man, but I'd like to talk about it sometime. Great movie, and I agree; I even thought about it a couple times while working on this video.
somewhat related...
but also completely random...
i don't know if you have already heard of it but there was actually a song written and recorded about the film Return of the Fly because the singer was such a huge fan of Vincent Price as well as being a fan of vintage horror movies in general.
i can't say that i would actually recommend the song, or even call it an accomplished musical work to be honest, but then again, music is rather subjective. obviously subjectively comes into play in regard to an individuals taste in films as well.
i thought you had mentioned researching some interesting (but perhaps little known) facts about the films and actors you had reviewed over the years on your channel.
i have often found myself doing the same... can sometimes be quite the rabbit hole but can also be a lot of fun at the same time.
internet movie data base is usually my starting point for researching films or actors, but in this case i actually stumbled upon the song quite by accident a while back in a documentary about Vincent Price that aired on halloween.
Oh, that's certainly related, and I think I did hear about the song while I was working on this review. There's not much to it, haha. I've been on many an IMDB-induced rabbit hole, sometimes while working on a video and other times when I'm just looking something up out of curiosity. It's the most fun when it leads you to a movie you never heard of before that you'd suddenly like to see.
Yeah, unlike a lot of people, I don't think the 80s Fly is "superior" to the 50's Fly, or vice versa, .. . they're just made in DIFFERENT ERAS, that's all. And whichever version one prefers probably just depends on which of those two eras one is more partial to. It's just a matter of GENERATIONAL BIAS in other words.
And the 1958 Fly has some pretty cool elements of its own that the 80s one doesn't have and which distinguish it, like the very suspenseful unfolding MURDER MYSTERY element of why the woman killed her husband in this bizarr manner (of crushing his head and arm in the metal press), and, though not the all-out splatterfest that the 86 one is, does have some pretty good SHOCKS for its time. The "HELP ME!!!!!!!" scene holds its own with anything in the remake for sheer creepiness I think.
It was a Guinea pig not a rat. Love your videos. Great research.
Most gentle hostess - like many who have responded I had the luck to see the film at the theater as a kid with a second feature (and that shows how old I am). The movie has many good scenes and I've enjoyed Herbert Marshall and Vincent Price sitting in the garden trying to convince one another that the hydraulic press incident could of been an accident and the had good reason to want it to be so!
While I like the Cronenberg version, I definitely prefer the original. I always forget that Vincent Price is in it, which I think is a testament to the quality of it. It's not just a Vincent Price movie, but a good movie on its own merits.
I didn't know David Hedison was a stage name, so that was a cool little fact. And I'm glad you reminded me it was based on a story, I'll have to seek it out.
I thought I had seen all three of these, but *Curse* didn't look familiar to me. The second one wasn't as memorable as the first in my mind, although that may be just because they don't show it as often as the first (although I did remember the adjusting of the fly mask as he stumbles around).
Great review, and really funny as usual. "Welcome to the 1960s" really made me laugh.
Happy Holloween and thanks👍!
The Fly was a wonderful movie. I really had so much sympathy for the characters. That last "help me" scene was most memorable and scared me more than the actual fly head reveal, even with the fly vision! The Return of the Fly was a bit convoluted to me was not that great but what really made me cringe was the guinea pig with human hands! AUGG! Never saw the third movie but I don't think I'll ever watch it. Never knew this was a trilogy or that Price and Marshall laughed so hard at my most scary scene! But I kinda laugh or at least smile at it now with that squeaky voice!!
I met David hedson at a convention and got his autograph. Cool film series.
He seemed like a really nice guy!
@@Weiselberry he signed the picture help me lol
You do a REALLY detailed, knowledgeable, and concise review! Really nice to hear. I used to love to watch these movies as a little kid on "Creature Feature".
Thank you!
Right before viewing this video I said to myself "let me nuke some popcorn, this is gonna be good". And I wasn't disappointed! Perfect subject matter for Halloween, I knew you'd come through! Of these films, for me it's not even close - the first film is my fave of the 3 and I've loved it for years since first seeing it as a kid. Then again, I've seen it many more times than the other 2 which are rarely aired. And, despite the remake with Goldblum being a bit more scientifically believable, I still value the original above that one. Does the 'unmasking' of the Fly rival that of Lon Chaney's Phantom? For me it does. Anyway, thanks a heap for these nicely detailed reviews and have yourself a happy Halloween! And don't eat too much candy!
Terrific reviews as always, Jerome! I agree with you that The Fly is a great horror film, one of the best. And I have the same DVD set. All the DVDs in my set have the correct labels, but when I put Return of the Fly in the player, what played was instead Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise! So I watched Return of the Fly online. Anyway, I like the fact that The Fly takes place in Montreal, my hometown. Happy Halloween!
The mouth wiggling around gave me the heebee jeebees , gives me the shivers...eww shivers. Love that part so iconic.
No noon nooo NOOOOOOO... The look on their faces 😂 ... classic.
I enjoyed The Fly very much and have seen it several times but not for many years now. I can't recall ever seeing the sequel though. One day hopefully.
The original classics are always the best
*cue in The Misfits song "Return of the Fly"*
I did not know there was a third.
Strangely, I don't remember the second being in B+W.
Love the first :)
Al (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) Hedison :)
Inspired by your review, I saw "The Fly (1958)." Compared to today's CG, the special effects are a bit childish, but its quality is very high: the script and acting are excellent. After watching the movie, I always check if a fly's head is white before smacking it.
I saw the first movie from 1958 in the mid to late 60's and for me that is the only fly movie. You should also catch The original Invasion of the Body Snatchers from 1956, incredible movie.
the original version scared me as a kid too. It was well done, original king of 'jump scares'-sort to speak. good reviews J
the Simpsons did a great parody of this, in TreeHouse of Horror VIII....it was a terrific version hehe
I re-watched David Cronenberg's The Fly last night with my partner. She grimaced the entire way through...
DeLuxe was the name of the lab that processed the film, which of course, was manufactured by Kodak. Kodak also made the chemicals and published specifications for its processing.
I will admit to having not seen these films before, my knowledge of 'The Fly' as a franchise limited to the 80s body horror addition (which I have only partially watched as I am a total wuss when it comes to horror and the line of gratuity, save a select few :s) but after this I might end up taking a look at these, especially the hammer horror one as I didn't know about it before.
Also as a side note, It's nice to find out my having to keep readjusting my glasses isn't just a me thing :)
I know you've done reviews for the Universal versions, and they are definitely iconic, but have you thought about looking at the hammer horror versions of Dracula, Frankenstein & The Mummy? They're definitely products of their time and eras but still can be worth a watch I think.
Oh, it's definitely not just you! It's one of the most annoying things about wearing glasses, I think.
I actually had previously considered doing something on the Hammer trifecta for this month's special monster feature, but when the time came around, I was in the mood for something else. I've seen all three, though, and while I feel mostly indifferent toward the sequels, I think those big three are very enjoyable films. And any time Dracula (or Horror of Dracula) comes up, I have to mention how much I *love* the moment at the end when Peter Cushing makes that flying leap at the curtains. :D I still hope to get around to them someday; maybe next year!
@@Weiselberry It is, but I don't think I'd have the lasers, I like how they shape my face : ]
It is a great one, Horror of Dracula, and you are correct the sequels are... different :S similar with the Frankenstein ones but the first ones are pretty great :)
I will have to keep thinking of more Films/TV Series for you.
I am so devastated that you can't stomach the TRUE (1986) version. But this is a great analysis of some old-school films I love :) JAWS ARE OVERRATED
I did not see this at the theater but my Aunt merely described the story which still scared the heck out of me. After i did actually see the Fly, the song "Lightning Strikes me Again" by Lou Christy reminds me of this film.
Yay! Another good one! Thank you!
Three fantastic reviews for three excellent films, or one excellent film, one very good film and another very decent one. I do enjoy all three with the first also being my favourite of the trilogy and for all the reasons you've pointed out, story, performances and how Delambre as a character is portrayed and written, he's someone you feel for, someone who's side you remain rooted by. I must admit the end scene has always stayed with me as I thought it was horrifying lol, the 80's remake is very grisly but I never felt it had as much heart, I always felt the original makes you feel unsettled because you feel empathy for Delambre where as the remake makes you feel unsettled because it's gross to look at lol. Happy post Halloween 🎃, that feels odd to say because this whole year has felt like Halloween but hopefully soon it'll be Happy post Covid :), stay safe. ~ Thank you Ms Weiselberry ~
Like most I was also unaware of the third film. I figure it couldn't be much worse than the second. As a completionist, I guess I need to watch it.
I alternate every Halloween with the Fly trilogy and The Creature trilogy.
You can't "transmit" matter without converting it into energy first. Assuming that you can digitize energy into bits and bytes, you would need a machine that would convert electrical impulses into energy. But then, how to convert energy into matter? If we had that answer, we wouldn't need a transport machine; we could supply all of the world's resources via electricity! But "The Fly" was a great story anyway. And I think Cronenberg's remake was exceptional, as was Carpenter's version of "The Thing".
I love "Curse Of The Fly" so much. It has such quotable lines. It can be campy and serious at the same time without even letting on that it is spoofing science fiction cliches. The father has a business ethic rather than mad scientist bent. HEY, this is our business! We can make this pay off BIG time and no one is going to stop us. It seems that business is God, not science or even money. My favorite serious but hilarious dialogue is... SON : "Will I be like you ?" FATHER: "Were SCIENTISTS ! WE have to do things we hate !".
Looking forward to watching and critiquing the movie
That last scene gave me a spider fear. 🕷🕸
I didn't realize there was a third movie based on these earlier films. Yes, the 1986 movie is probably one of the goriest movies ever! lol Jerome your book and movie reviews should always be seen, especially your monster movie reviews are perfect on this Hallowe'en. Happy Hallowe'en! (If that applies to you)
Thanks! Same to you! :)
@@Weiselberry You're welcome!😊 Thanks!
One of my favorite cautionary tales about how playing God and reckless reliance, abuse, and usage of science has a very dark side with very dark tragic consequences and problems - “The Fly”. Despite the gore of both, I enjoy both the original and the remake from 1986 and I also to an extent enjoy “Return of the Fly”. It’s also one of the few movies to actually make me cry. I felt so bad for André, Helene, and Philippe as well as Seth and Veronica. I also read the original short story by George Langelaan and it’s slightly more disturbing and even more somber.
The 1986 version was awesome.
great overview, these three films are disturbing to the core!
I liked the first one and the second one, very different but both good. The second one had a film noir vibe to it, and was in black and white. Don't care for the third one. The first one precluded Star Trek in the transporter idea. Vincent Price does not play the villain in either.
No other insomniacs binging JW reviews? Just me? Wow I love Cronenberg but yeah.... he aint for everyone. To put it very delicately 😂 Ive had my fill of Cronenberg body horror anyway. Here we go I look forward to this!
great video.
Anybody notice that George Baker looked a lot like Robert Shaw?
5:24 what is "mellow airity" I have never heard this word and can't find anything. Maybe I missed heard "Familiarity" ?
"...because otherwise the *familiarity* might..."
I won't watch the Fly movies anymore. They are too disturbing. And Kronenberg, forget it completely.
"The Fly" has its hero die twice.
I don’t remember the Fly ever being in color Hmm
1958 film: Best by far, period.
You are too gracious toward the follow-ups.
I had the good luck to see the 1958 film as a kid at the theater and it was very good. The second feature (I am that old) might of been "Horrors of the Black Museum" an English production.
Jerome would get fused with an owl - Return of the Owl!
Ewwww ...you said help me and gave me the heebee jeebees. Lol
oh yes, The Fly... the most traumatic movie of my childhood 😂
What's up with the 🦉 owls? Is that booboo from clash of the Titans? Or is it a Harry Potter thing?
No, I just collect them. Here's a video about it: czcams.com/video/8GoQv626k5E/video.html
I haven't seen the sequels, but I remember the original being endlessly creepy. Very heavy for its time. Especially when the lady becomes a PETA activist & starts going off on people. Although, unfortunately for them, Quebecers don't sound like that.
I do love both this and the '80s version, & find them to be nice complements to each other (unlike The Thing from Another World
& The Thing, where I'm in the minority in disliking the remake). 🤣 @ your help me's. I'd watch a Jerome remake called 'The Owl.'
Have you seen The Apartment from 1960?
Yes.
I think I found a new podcast.