Fly Collection, The (DVD)

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The Fly Collection DVD (click for larger image)The Fly Starring Vincent Price, David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Herbert Marshall Directed by Kurt NeumannReturn of the Fly Starring Vincent Price, Brett Halsey, John Sutton, Danielle De Metz Directed by Edward BerndsCurse of the Fly Starring Brian Donlevy, George Baker, Mary Manson, Carole Gray Directed by Don SharpDistributed by MGM and Fox Home Entertainment


So what’s all the buzz about? Yeah I know, cheesy opening but who could resist?

Back in 1958 when the original The Fly landed in theatres across the country the landscape of Sci-Fi and Horror was about to change. You see this wasn’t the ordinary cheapo midnight movie that had permeated cinemas during that decade. The studio behind it, 20th Century Fox, went all out for this one. They gave it a budget, filmed it in color(!), and populated it with an amazing cast including the legendary Vincent Price in one of his finest and most memorable roles. More importantly, The Fly opened the door for other serious monster movies that we’ve grown to love such as Alien, and added an air of legitimacy to what was then considered to be schlock.I just have one small beef with this flick. In it our soon to be bugged out scientist sticks his pet cat, Dandolo, into his teleporter before he tries it himself. Thus blasting this poor innocent bastard into another dimension in which we can only hear the furball’s futile cries. Apparently no one gives a fuck about poor Dandolo. They’re all too concerned about finding the white headed fly. Where’s PETA when you need them? Hey DeLambre! You got what you deserved, you prick! In your ass, fly boy! FACED!

The Fly Collection DVD (click for larger image)The Fly was an immediate success, and just like today, a sequel was called for. In 1959 the schlockier flick Return of the Fly was unleashed upon audiences. This next chapter featured a huge bobble headed insect creature (watch the actor constantly have to adjust his mask while running so it doesn’t fall off his head) whose silly appearance still managed to scare up big box office. Finally in 1965 a third sequel appeared, but despite its namesake the film was essentially flyless. Ponder that if you will. A Fly movie with no Fly. Sure, the flick still had mutants-a-plenty but that key ingredient was sorely missed. Much more so than even Dandolo. Sorry but to use the fly metaphorically just didn’t cut the mustard.In any event, all three films are now available from MGM / Fox in one hell of a box set! The Fly Collection is without question the definitive package for fans, and sports not only the flicks but a whole disc of extras called The Fly Collection Disc of Horrors. Let’s take a peek at what we get shall we?

The Fly Collection DVD (click for larger image)Things kick off in grand style, and with a lot of class as the first supplement in this collection turns out to be an episode of A&E Network’s hit show Biography which details the life and career of Vincent Price. Folks, we’re off and running! But then — we hit a wall. From there we get an eleven minute featurette called Fly Trap: Catching a Classic which as you can imagine is a look back at the film from historians, celebrities, and all around aficionados. This feels like a missed opportunity of sorts. Come on, eleven minutes? There’s so much more ground that could have been covered. Even worse there’s still no mention of poor Dandolo. The little guy didn’t even merit an extra. What a world. Finally we get a one minute look at the films opening courtesy of Fox Movietone News, various picture galleries (none of which feature Dandolo), and of course the trailers for each film. On the movie discs themselves the only other solid extra you’ll find is a commentary on The Fly by star David Hedison, and film historian David Del Valle. To my surprise this was actually pretty good and it more than fills the void left by the way too short look-back featurette.All in all, this is a great little package that should satisfy fans (for the most part anyway), but definitely leaves us wanting a bit more. No matter how you slice it though, three movies plus one bonus disc makes this one Hell of a value for the price. Even with its flagrant lack of Dandolo coverage. Keep meowing my feline friend! We’ll see you on the other side with a tiny can of Pounce™.

Special Features

  • Audio commentary on The Fly by star David Hedison, and film historian David Del Valle
  • A&E Network’s Biography of Vincent Price
  • Fly Trap: Catching a Classic featurette
  • Fox Movietone News segment
  • Photo galleries
  • Trailers
  • Films:

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