A horror film - may be, may be not “ With such a dramatic opening “The Fly” has a lot to live up to and what emerges is a sad story of considerable pathos despite the ridiculous plot.” The BBC reviewer who wrote this seems to be in two minds. The story follows a wife who sacrifices all for her husband so he could realise his dream. Yes, the film opens with the graphic murder of the husband (Andre Delambre) by his wife (Helene Delambre), but it seems to be more her loss than anything else. Ridiculous, I don’t think so, it depends on one’s perspective of the film, the genre says horror, and the name conjures up images of a human and fly jigsaw. But if you actually watch the film, it tells the story of Helene’s devotion to her husband right down to the T in marital vows. A love story in which a scientist tampers with matter manipulation to transport objects from one space to another, but with dire consequences as his wife dots around him fulfilling his every whim. A fly, yes, a fly, hitches a ride to remind him that unwrapping the mysteries of the universe without permission is a big no!
“If you watch this one expecting a sci-fi or horror spectacular, then you’ll be disappointed.” Brian Webster of Apollo Movie Guide has hit the nail on the head, yes, I was intrigued, as I waited for the story to unfold, but never horrified. Could it have been the dated effects or lack of bloodshed, partly yes? But if I had watched it in 1958 I might of been astounded by the visuals, and missed the true story, which was summed up by Andre’s brother Francois (Vincent Price) at the end when he was asked by his nephew Philippe why his father died, and he replies: “Your father was an adventurer searching for the truth of life and died trying to unlock it’s mysteries” or something to that effect. That to me was the crux of it, a scientist who would risk all working to get closer to god and unravel his mysteries with his devoted wife willing to sacrifice her own sanity and life by his side all the way. Don’t forget to add a sprinkling of fly head and leg with a splash of blood and wallah! The Fly, 1958 will explode onto your screens.
I like this, Orisakolade! Nicely argued, but hey - I like pictures - everyone likes pictures, so to complete this review, let's have a film poster, and some stills to enrich your/our understanding. (Always write reviews/assignments etc. with the idea that the audience ISN'T you, so needs the proper context, explanation and imagery to help them know what you know...) Also, you need to show me from WHERE your quotes come; I need the source, the author, the date etc. If you've got your quotes from the web, consider 'hyperlinking' the quote to the original source; to do this, highlight the entire quote in the blogging window, then go to the hyperlink icon above (earth+chain) - click - and in the http window that opens, copy/paste the web address of the page from which you took the quote; this means I can travel from your article to another - just as you're used to doing on the internet all the time.
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