The Fly: Collector's Edition

Jeff Goldblum is superb in this shocking but thoughtful 1986 remake of the classic 1958 science fiction film about a scientist who enters his own experimental transporter machine along with (unknown to him) a fly, resulting in a genetic scramble that finds Goldblum's nerdy but lovable character essentially fused with the insect's DNA. Geena Davis co-stars as his journalist girlfriend, who witnesses her lover's slow but horrifying evolution from man to monster—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Co-written and directed by David Cronenberg (A History of Violence), this update of The Fly has been described as an allegory of the awful processes of a slow death, and this being a Cronenberg film the gross-out level is reasonably high (although the idea is that disease corrupts both the body and the mind and can make a loved one unrecognizable on every level). Boasting a sharp digital transfer, DVD extras include a director's audio commentary, a two-hour-plus “making-of” documentary, deleted scenes and extended scenes (including an alternative ending), featurettes, the original short story, the original screenplay and Cronenberg's re-write, photo galleries, and more. Highly recommended. [Note: The Fly II: Collector's Edition is also newly available.] (T. Keogh)