Finally: The Fly (1986) and The Fly II (1989) Special Editions are coming in Fall of 2005! (1 Viewer)

[Greg K]

Eh? The Pogue version was ostensibly set in the present (circa 1984). Geoff and Barbara Powell were just "50s sitcom stereotypes", according to Cronenber, so he changed them completely.

 

[TheBat]

Its been a long time since I read the early draft for the fly. I did have the fly 2 script.. not sure if I still have it or not.

JACOB

 

[Greg K]

Yeah, I have a draft of the Fly II script.

 

[Haden]

The two famous deleted scenes I'm most anxious to see on the DVD are:

- Brundle discovering a small fly leg growing out the side of his waist and breaking it off. I remember Joe Bob Briggs talking about this scene when The Fly was shown on TNT's Monstervision one time. He said it was cut because it was very gory. But I think it ties in with the scene that's still in the film where Brundle is walking on the wall and ceiling when Geena Davis shows up and points out the recent wound on the side of his stomach (after tearing off the fly leg).

- Also deemed too gory for the movie: Brundle's experiment of combining a baboon with a cat in the telepod, which then turns into into a bizarre cat-like ape creature.

These are legendary scenes that I've been dying to see for years! I really hope they are on the DVD.

 

[Greg K]

"- Brundle discovering a small fly leg growing out the side of his waist and breaking it off. I remember Joe Bob Briggs talking about this scene when The Fly was shown on TNT's Monstervision one time. He said it was cut because it was very gory. But I think it ties in with the scene that's still in the film where Brundle is walking on the wall and ceiling when Geena Davis shows up and points out the recent wound on the side of his stomach (after tearing off the fly leg)."

I'd have liked to see the TNT stuff you mention.

Allow me to explain:


When Brundle is with Tawny, and then when Ronnie confronts him about the hairs, he's holding his left side as though it aches. Later on, when he's first seen wall-crawling, he shows off a bulge in that spot ("Oh, look at this. What's this? I don't know.")

After Ronnie tells Stathis she's pregnant, we go to the most legendary deleted sequence: the monkey-cat scene. Brundle tries to find a cure by merging the surviving baboon with a cat. The resulting two-headed monkey-cat creature attacks him, and he is forced to beat it to death with a steel pipe. The scene with the insect leg is really a part of the monkey-cat scene. The distraught Brundle climbs out onto his roof and screams "NO!" as if fighting off the insect urges within. Then, he feels a pain in the bulge on his side. He falls off of the roof and slides down the wall, crashing onto a steel awning. The bulge splits open to reveal a small insect leg. "No, I won't..." Brundle insists as he bends over in a non-human way and amputates the leg with his teeth. He spits it out, and it lands in a mud puddle, where it twitches for a second. We then cut to the beginning of Ronnie's nightmare birth.

The split open bulge can be glimpsed later on in the final cut, and another bulge can be seen on Brundle's left side (it splits open to reveal another fly leg during the final transformation).


It's unclear whether or not the leg amputation scene was in the rough cut. Cinefex # 28 indicates that it was, but the writer of that article told me that the shot of Brundle biting off the leg was underlit and VERY dark, due to DP Mark Irwin unexpectedly having to leave the set and an assistant taking over. Thus, *if* the leg amputation sequence still exists, the footage will have to be restored/digitally brightened somehow.

The monkey-cat scene WAS in the rough cut for sure, but the preview audience took it as Brundle being cruel to animals. I'm pretty sure that will be intact for inclusion on the DVD.

 

[TheBat]

I also want to the see the extended ending with the dream that ronie has.

JACOB

 

[Greg K]

The exact nature of the ending is a bit confusing.

In the draft of the script I have, Ronnie and Stathis are together in bed. She is pregnant with *HIS* child (having presumably aborted Brundle's), then dreams about a baby with butterfly wings being born from a cocoon and flying away.

In a Starlog interview with Geena Davis, however, she describes the scene as her in bed alone, having the dream, then the camera panning down to reveal that she's still very much pregnant with *Brundle's* child.

A Fangoria interview with Croneneberg gives a slight indication that he filmed "multiple" endings, or maybe versions of the one ending.

It may be posssible that there are *two* alternate endings. We'll see (hopefully).

 

[TheBat]

in the script.. I assumed it was still brundle's baby that she was pregnant with.

JACOB

 

[Greg K]

In my script, Stathis clearly states that it's his baby. Perhaps the script was revised later on and this bit was eliminated.

 

[TheBat]

maybe.

what is the date on the script? I have november 1, 1985.

JACOB

 

[Greg K]

That sounds right. I got mine from Script City.

 

[Greg K]

Has anyone heard any rumors/updates regarding this release???

We're nearing 2004...surely some news will be coming soon!

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

great news. Are Goldblum and Davis still on speaking terms after their divorce?
I sure would like a commentary by them.

Fly 2, in my opinion, is pretty bad.

 

[Greg K]

In case anyone missed it, here are the relevant bits from Monday's chat with Peter Staddon...

Jacob said he'd ask about the Fly SE, but it would seem he was beaten to it!


Hi Peter! Easy question... Can you confirm if or when we might
be getting the following Special Editions in 2004: The Fly:SE (1986),
Predator:SE, True Lies:SE, and Romancing the Stone:SE?

Predator SE - yes just in time for Alien Vs Predator,
The Fly should make it into 2004 but no promises. True Lies is dependent
on getting a number of very busy people together to work on it. I
don't know if a sitting Governor has done a commentary track before,
and Jim Cameron has a truly crazy schedule. I'd love to bring it
out in 2004 but I'm not too hopeful.


Hi Peter. Thanks for coming tonight. Great news about the
special edition of Cronenberg's "The Fly". Any plans on revisiting Fort
Apache The Bronx, Home Alone, Commando, or History Of The World with new
anamorphic transfers? And what about the status of High Anxiety and
Eating Raoul? Thanks for your time.

Where to start? The Fly should be out in late 2004.
History of the World and High Anxiety are ready to go pending the
resolution of some issues at the studio, Fort Apache isn't being worked
on. Home Alone could be an SE sometime down the road but we aren't working
on it at this point. Commando and Eating Raoul are not being worked on
either at this stage.

 

[Matt Butler]

How is the Fly Double feature disc? Is it worth picking up on the cheap?

 

[Greg K]

The Fly/Fly II double feature disc (as well as the Fly/Return of the Fly disc) has great transfers for the films, and solid sound (I don't know how the SE could improve on the audio/video quality!). Each disc has trailers for the Fly films, as well as other double feature discs.

For a no-frills release, the double feature disc has placated me in place of the (upcoming) SE. I recommend it as a cheapie placeholder, or if you want The Fly II on DVD.

 

[Greg K]

Well, now that it seems the Fly SE is confirmed, what actually appears on the SE is the next concern. Some thoughts on what we can hope for...

Audio commentary by Cronenberg, Chris Walas, etc. Maybe even the cast.

The infamous deleted scenes (as well as a series of other, shorter outtakes, like Veronica's "What are you going to do, read it (Brundle's computer) Naked Lunch?" dialogue).

Although the monkey-cat and other deleted scenes are likely still intact, the lesser-known insect-leg amputation coda to the monkey-cat scene is also a concern. Y'see word has it DP Mark Irwin had to quit the film unexpectedly for personal reasons, with a week to go. He had to leave the set while the a shot of the leg amputation was being readied, and an assistant cameraman had to take over. The resulting shot was underlit and almost unreadable.

The big question is, does the footage still exist, and can it be restored for the DVD (and the sequence completed)?

Documentaries on the making of the film, deleted scenes, etc. would be great (Suggest "The Life and Times of Brundlefly" as a title).

Special attention (documentaries, extensive photo galleries) should be devoted to the Oscar-winning makeup-creature effects. Early/rare makeup test photos/footage would be great. Each makeup stage/effect should be discussed/shown in detail, from concept to creation. The creation of the Telepods should also be a concern.

Trailers/tv spots.



Any other suggestions?

 

[Greg K]

When do y'all think we'll be getting some info on this release? Mid-year?

 

[Greg K]

The question must be raised, with the "new" Fly remake supposedly coming at the end of the year, will the SE be merely a quicky attempt to promote the new film? I like my SEs with the works, and I hope this case is no different.

Now, we just need to have the release actually announced. Soon, I hope.

 

[TheBat]

looks like the new remake will be released next year.. still in the writing stage.

JACOB