Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Fly Blu-ray Movie Review

David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986) is being released with new and exclusive extras as part of Scream Factory's five-movie box set, The Fly Collection.

Peter from our original review team covered the Fox BD-50 of The Fly over a dozen years ago. To read his synopsis and analysis of the film/disc, please click here.

The Fly Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

In 2005 Fox created a then-new HD master for its two-disc Collector's Edition of The Fly. Fox reused the same DI print for its US and BD editions the next couple of years. Fifteen years on the old 2K scan has been retained again. Shout does give the feature a new bitrate using the same MPEG-4 AVC encode. (Recall that Fox employed a lot of MPEG-2 encodes for both older and newer titles during the first phase of Blu-ray.) The initial Fox editions boasted a mean video bitrate of 26447 kbps while this Shout BD-50 averages 33909 kbps. The Fly appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and still looks pretty decent. Source defects and edge enhancement that were present on early video editions are gone. The image is clear but has a soft and flat look, especially in Seth's loft/lab were much of the action is set. Black levels are not as deep or well-defined as other '80s films that have received more decent 2K or 4K scans. Primary hues stand out most when Seth takes Veronica shopping and to the coffeehouse. Cinematographer Mark Irwin incorporates neon lights in the art museum and in the barroom. Overall, the image is dominated by dark blue, gray, and brown.

Screenshot #s 1-15, 17, 19, 21, 23, & 25 = Scream Factory 2019 BD-50
Screenshot #s 16, 18, 20, 22, & 24 = Fox UK 2008 BD-50

The Fly Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream supplies a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround remix (1887 kbps, 24-bit) and the original stereo, rendered here as a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track (1998 kbps, 24-bit). Because Shout added an uncompressed stereo mix and two commentary tracks, the bitrates have been split up. Fox's own DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (24-bit) averages a whopping 4067 kbps. The Shout's lossless 5.1 doesn't suffer too much a loss to my ears, however. A nice aural ambience opens the film after the credits when patrons' chatter is heard on all five speakers. There's also good ambience in and around Seth's apartment. The opening and closing of his teleportation pods are pretty loud and distinct. Dialogue is sometimes flat but its still crisp and intelligible. Insect sounds and movements deliver some thumping bass. Howard Shore's brass and string-laden score is well-mixed across all channels.

Shout provides optional subtitles only in the form of English SDH. (The Fox disc has an array of subs in many different languages.)

The Fly Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Fox produced a smörgåsbord of extras on its 2005 CE set and subsequent BDs across the globe. Shout has licensed pretty much all of them and added a new commentary plus five recent interviews. I especially appreciated that the Fox Region B UK edition provided lots of subtitling options for its bonus materials (alas, the Region A did not). Shout hasn't made any subs for the English-friendly extras, either. The galleries haven't been upconverted to HD so the images are relatively small. Shout surprised me in that they did port over Fox's trivia track. Please refer to Peter's original review for more info on each older extra.

• NEW Audio Commentary by Author/Film Historian William Beard - the author of The Artist as Monster: The Cinema of David Cronenberg, Beard delivers an audio essay that's both theoretical and thematic in its analysis of The Fly. He addresses the filmmaker's use of body horror in the movie and critiques the characters and their roles in the narrative.

• Audio Commentary by Director David Cronenberg

• NEW The Meshuggener Scientist – An Interview with Executive Producer Mel Brooks (13:26, 1080p) - the legendary 93-year-old comedic filmmaker is recorded in his home office for this recent interview. He talks about his love for films featuring Frankenstein and other monsters, his admiration for Cronenberg and David Lynch, how The Fly came together as a BrooksFilm production, and his thoughts on Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis.

• NEW Beauty and the Beast – An Interview with Producer Stuart Cornfeld (22:49, 1080p) - Cornfeld exams the concepts behind The Fly films dating back to 1958, the screenplay for The Fly (1986), and working with Cronenberg as well as the actors.

• NEW A Tragic Opera – An Interview with Composer Howard Shore (9:16, 1080p) - Shore recalls attending the Met Opera in New York ca. 1986 and how operatic elements inspired his score to The Fly. He also discusses cues he composed for specific scenes and the characters. Finally, he speaks about his long collaboration with Cronenberg (fifteen films and counting).

• NEW David's Eyes – An Interview with Cinematographer Mark Irwin (25:24, 1080p) - Irvin delivers a terrific overview of his early filmmaking career in Canada, how he first became aware of Cronenberg, the circumstances that lead him to shoot The Fly, that movie's aesthetic style and choices, and why he hasn't worked with Cronenberg since.

• NEW Interview with Casting Director Deirdre Bowen (14:37, 1080p) - Bowen explains what's it's like to work with Cronenberg (then and now) and the casting process for the Canadian auteur's films, including The Fly.

• Fear of the Flesh: The Making of THE FLY

• The Brundle Museum of Natural History with Chris Walas and Bob Burns

• Deleted Scenes with Storyboard and Script Versions

• Extended Scenes

• Alternate Ending

• Test Footage (Main Titles, Lighting and Makeup Effects)

• Vintage Featurette/Profile on David Cronenberg

• One Sheet and Lobby Cards

• Publicity Gallery

• Behind-the-Scenes Gallery

• Conceptual Art Gallery

• Visual Effects Gallery

• Theatrical Trailers

• TV Spots

• George Langelaan's Short Story

• Charles Edward Pouge's Original Screenplay

• David Cronenberg's Screenplay Rewrite

• Magazine Articles with Photos and Video

• Trivia Track (1:35:38)

The Fly Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Fly (1986) remains an excellent insect sci-fi/horror thriller that showcases great chemistry between Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis (who were dating at the time) as well as splendid creature effects by Chris Walas and his f/x team. The old HD transfer hasn't been upgraded on this Shout Select disc but the original stereo mix along with a new audio commentary and five interviews (totaling eighty-five minutes) have been added to go along with Fox's old bells and whistles. This is the most complete set of The Fly to date and while I'd expect Fox to give it a 4K restoration at some point in the distant future, this is a VERY SOLID package.