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Fly, The / Return Of The Fly [1958]


RRP: £14.99
Our Price: £5.18 (subject to change)

Entomological Thrillers
Review date: 2008-04-16 Rating: 8 out of 10

The Fly (1958) is a great 1950s sci-fi/horror movie about a scientist's experiments with the transfer of solid matter from one place to another that go horribly wrong when he tries to transport himself and an unexpected passenger goes along for the ride. Horror legend Vincent Price plays a good guy in this one for a change and the excellent colour cinemascope photography makes this a visually rewarding viewing experience.

Return Of The Fly is a pretty good sequel to The Fly (1958). The action begins a few years later with Phillipe, the original scientist's son, all grown up and wanting to continue his father's experiments (silly boy). You just know the consequences of doing this will be tragic! Strangely enough this film was shot in black and white whereas the original made a year earlier was shot in colour but, like its predecessor, it was filmed in cinemascope and is still a visual treat. By the way, Phillipe is played by a young Brett Halsey who went on to star in Mario Bava's Four Times That Night and Lucio Fulci's Touch Of Death.

Language Options:

The Fly & Return Of The Fly - English Language with optional Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish and English for the hearing impaired subtitles.

Each disc also includes an original theatrical trailer.


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Reviews


"Help Me"
Review date: 2007-12-05 Rating: 6 out of 10

These two films are both frequently over-looked by people who only remember the David Cronenberg version from the 1980's.

Firstly let me say right from the start that I enjoyed both these films, regardless of any reservations I may have about them. They are good quality horror films of the 1950's. Overall I rate the first film slightly higher than the second one, because its in colour and mainly because the first film has a much better ending than the second, which is a little too Hollywood for my liking.

For their time both films are actually pretty scary. In fact the 2nd film has one classic scene where regardless of the fact that you know what is going to happen, when it does it still makes you jump. By todays standards the special effects are primitive, but I was quite surprised how effective they were considering we are talking about films over 40 years old.

The acting and direction is generally of a decent standard and the only area where the films sometimes let themselves down relate to parts of the plot which don't quite follow logically.

So overall whilst these two films are certainly not masterpieces, they are much better than expected, and in a few key scenes quite haunting. You won't forget the phrase "Help Me" for a long time.





Two classic films staring the great Vincent Price.
Review date: 2002-05-18 Rating: 10 out of 10

The Fly (1958) is a truly great film. The film itself uses implication to show the horror of the monster rather than graphic detail (indeed it is only shown clearly in one scene). Although the story is based upon a simple idea it works very well and the quality of the acting is superb. Not wanting to give too much away there is one memorable scene where the monster tries to write a message for help on a blackboard while its 'fly arm' battles to stop it.
In my opinion it is the acting and direction rather than the plot which makes this film great. Vincent Price plays a concerned brother in law very well indeed and you can feel the sadness of the character as events beyond his control threaten those he loves. Patricia Owens plays an unfortunate wife who does what she has to do even at the risk of facing imprisonment.
This film is in full colour with a variety of subtitles and comes with an original theatrical trailer. Watch the trailer first - it sets the atmosphere without giving away any of the plot of the film. Simply great.

The Return of the Fly (1959) was obviously a lower buget film than the original, but it is still a great film. The main clue to the lower buget is that the film was shot in black and white unlike the original which was in technicolour. The film features much more of the monster and more Vincent Price (yay!). Set about 15 years or so after the first film the film begins with a saddening funeral.
This is much more of a monster flic than the first Fly film and focuses much more on action rather than upon the fight of a monster to retain his humanity. Although the quality of acting is still excellent and the characters are still interesting and complex one can easily see the original as the superior of the two films. Although there are some nice touches (such as the monster having to drag a useless limb behind it)the plot lacks the emotion of the first. The low buget can be seen on the man-headed fly which looks far inferior to the similar creature on the first film. Despite these flaws this is still a great film and in its own way a worthy enough sequel to the Fly.
The Return of the Fly is presented in black and white, with loads of subtitle options and the original trailer. The trailer is quite good but is a bit of a spoiler (although it seems to quote most things out of the film's context)and is worth looking at.

To conclude I would say that these a a great buy for any horror / monster film enthusiast.

E-K-L

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Patricia Owens
Kathleen Freeman
Herbert Marshall
David Hedison
Vincent Price

Creators:
David Hedison (Primary Contributor)
Patricia Owens (Primary Contributor)
Edward Bernds (Writer)
Kurt Neumann (Producer)
Bernard Glasser (Producer)
Robert L. Lippert (Producer)
George Langelaan (Writer)
James Clavell (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
EAN: 5039036007665
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Black & White, Colour, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2001-10-22
Number of discs: 2
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 166 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1959-07
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Original Language)

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