The big picture
-
The fly
represents the quintessential Cronenberg film, showcasing his thematic resonance and meticulous craft. - In 2008
To fly
The opera combines elements of previous adaptations, offering a gruesome and vile stage interpretation. - The opera, a joint effort of Howard Shore, David Henry Hwang and David Cronenberg, portrays Seth Brundle's transformation in a 1950s setting.
David Cronenberg he is a man of many talents. He is a screenwriter, actor and even the author of a geopolitical horror novel. Listen, though, we all know where this man is in his prime. Cronenberg has spent the last half century as one of the most inventive and disgusting filmmakers on the planet, churning out one instant classic body horror film after the next. The 1960s saw him begin his career with the strange experimental ride that it is Stereo (Table 3B of a CAEE educational mosaic), a film that even the biggest Crone-heads will have a hard time wrapping their brains around. In the 1970s and 1980s, Cronenberg hit the ground running with body horror classics like Shivers, videodrome, scannersand of course The fly – his masterpiece. When the iconic filmmaker made his way into the 90s and 2000s, he proved that he was anything but a one-trick pony. The premieres of films like Crash, spider, A story of violencei Eastern promises saw him dip his toes into the pools of several other genres. He could be a dramatic storyteller, a psychological thriller craftsman, an action buff, and even throw together a gangster epic like it's no big deal.
Just when we all thought everyone's favorite barf bag master had shown all his cards, he got up and reinvented himself again. That was in 2008, just 22 years after Cronenberg's critically acclaimed remake. The fly was released Howard Shorethe composer behind the 1986 remake, i David Henry Hwang, a critically acclaimed playwright and writer, took Seth Brundle's tragedy, teleported its particles into outer space, and recast it as an opera. As he did 22 years earlier, Shore composed the music for this new version, with different compositions than the previous ones. Hwang, on the other hand, wrote the libretto. So the music and story were taken care of, but who the hell could bring the production to life? This would be the master himself: David Cronenberg, who strengthened his resume once again as a director of an opera. The fly (the opera) would receive mixed reviews, however it has enough interesting characteristics that no one disrespects its ambition.
The fly
In a daring exploration of science's potential to alter human life, a brilliant but eccentric scientist develops a technology for teleportation. When he decides to try the device on himself, a tragic mistake involving a common housefly has horrific consequences. The film chillingly portrays her transformation and the impact it has on her relationship and psyche.
- Publication date
- August 15, 1986
- Execution time
- 96 minutes
- Studies
- 20th century
'The Fly' is David Cronenberg's most successful film ever
The fly could be David Cronenberg's quintessential film. On its surface, it's a sickening sci-fi horror nightmare that roots its terror in the slow, unstoppable mutilation of one's own body. Beyond that, it has all of its filmmaker's clichéd resonance, pseudo-sexual metaphorical imagery and meticulous craftsmanship, all executed at the highest level he's ever achieved. Jeff GoldblumThe devastating performance of Seth Brundle, the inventor of a teleportation system who, in a gross oversight, mixes his molecules with those of an ordinary housefly and slowly turns into a human-sized hybrid. it's as repulsive as it is Oscar-worthy. Geena Davis Also not to be overlooked is Brundle's girlfriend Veronica Quaife, one who gives as real a portrayal of pain as you'll find in any genre monster movie. Cronenberg has plenty of classics to his name, but nothing better The fly.
As easy as it would be to give Cronenberg full credit for this masterpiece, he had decades of source material to work with. Most people think the 1958 original To fly was a quintessential work of atomic-age science fiction horror. While that film and its sequels were a boatload of mid-century monster fun, they weren't the first to tell the story of a man turned pesky bug either. This entire franchise originates with George Langelaanthe original 1957 short story of the same name, first published in playboy June issue of that year's magazine. While the short story, the adaptation of the first feature film, and the iconic remake take their own liberties with the story, each of them is deeply rooted in the same shared premise.
No David Cronenberg scene is more haunting and hopeless than this one
The master of body horror knows how to wreak havoc.
The 2008 opera “Fly” is a combination of everything that came before
Although there has been no shortage of musical adaptations of popular films, The fly It certainly seems like an odd choice for an operatic adaptation. David Cronenberg, however, disagrees. “The Fly already had many 'operatic' ingredients. But I didn't want to remake the film, or work with the projection or the video. I wanted to give life to a truly theatrical experience,” explained the prolific director via the guardian.
When Shore, Hwang and Cronenberg brought their 2008 opera to life, they had more material to draw from than any previous incarnation. In this, the opera seems to be pulling a little from each of them. On the one hand, the decision was made not to bring it to the present day or set it in the eighties, but to bring things to the source. The opera is set in the 1950s and is framed in flashback, but otherwise continues to tell the story of Seth Brundle (Daniel Okulitch) teleportation-based transformation in a large housefly. Thus, despite being set in the same decade as the story and the original film, the actual beats mostly follow what Cronenberg laid out. Brundle falls in love with Veronica Quaife (Ruxandra Donose), decomposes between his two devices, gains superhuman strength, slowly becomes more disgusting, a compound breaks a guy's arm in a bar, is discovered by Stathis Boran (David Curry, Gary Lehman), and eventually turns into the monstrous monstrosity that is Brundlefly.
so yes The To fly the opera actually goes all the way with what came before. This production is even more gruesome and vile than you might expect. There's blood, gore, sex and action in this stage performance. Even Brundlefly's suit, which is as bulbous, furry and generally nauseating as it should be, manages to ooze all kinds of nasty juice for the audience to see (but hopefully not smell). Still, Daniel Okulitch's performance shines with all the magic of the makeup and costumes (designed by David's sister, Denise Cronenberg). He's no Goldblum (who is, really?), but he delivers both the passion and the ultimate devastation that someone playing Brundle should feel.
Despite returning to a project that is so deeply embedded in the DNA of his career, Howard Shore's newest compositions are different from those he created for the '86 film. Although it still contains several lavish Shoreisms, the opera's music is far less grandiose than its cinematic counterpart. However, the conductor opts for a lower drone or worship chants to fill Brundle's soundscape. It's certainly an interesting change of pace, but it still doesn't match his original compositions. The fly it may not be his lord of the rings score, but it might be Shore's best horror score.
The fly he didn't last long on stage. It opened in 2008, only to quietly close its doors in 2009. It goes without saying, but the idea of bringing Brundlefly to the opera house is about as strange a creative decision as anyone has made this century. Still, Cronenberg, Shore and Hwang pulled off the impossible and brought this grotesque tale to life, in front of an audience, in real time. No matter what anyone thinks of the final product, this ambition is something to be celebrated.
The fly is available to rent on Prime Video in the US
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