SmallBeans
patreon
240. Frame Rate: The Fly (Feat. David C Bell)
🕑 Added 2019-11-27 22:47:50 +0000 UTC
Michael and Abe are joined by the inscrutable David Bell to discuss the body-horror film, The Fly (1986). This patron-exclusive early access release comes out right in time for Thanksgiving in the U.S. While you're lapping up all that turkey skin, remember to visualize when Brundle-Fly's face skin slides off his fly face. Bon appetite!
SB Merch: https://smallbeans.bigcartel.com
Comments
Had to see the 1958 version to know, and yeah it's ok. Look, any studio movie from before, say, 1972 is going to be bad. Everything is going to be staged and lit like a community theater play, everyone is going to shout their lines in an accent that doesn't exist, the pacing is just about stand still, and the audience is given zero credit. Favorite moments: the French watchman (I guess everyone is meant to be French, but the only one who does ze fransh haccent) reactions, the guy saying how amazing it is to watch a baseball game from New York in Montreal at the exact same time (they're in the same time zone), and when he goes "oh hey kitty, what a surprise! I bet you'd like a saucer of cream! Good thing I have this saucer and little cup of cream on my desk, as all scientists do when working overnight in their lab," and of course "heeeelp meeee! heeeelp meeee!" A remake with a little more adherence to the original but with modern film making might be better than Cronenberg, but the man has to talk about The Flesh. He takes inspiration from other works, but makes them his own. His adaptation of Naked Lunch isn't faithful either, but uses certain elements.
Patrick Sullivan
I was scarred by this movie as a kid. One time, when I was about 5 and my brother was about 3, we left the TV on, while we were rewinding a movie, and the VCR had set the TV to a channel that was playing this movie. We were transfixed and horrified.
