But even so, the statement holds true, for me -- and perhaps there is relevance in being so pompous with shouting it aloud, because this score is almost never brought up.

I speak of Howard Shore's score to 'The Fly'. Quite possibly, this is --the-- most effective/affective score [as written for a film] that I've ever witnessed. It is stultifying in its greatness; it makes my mind turn to flab trying to understand how it came to be. It is intelligent and multi-layered, yet it is emotionally excruciating in its climactic moments. Rarely can a single piece of music spin so many emotions, so many associations with surrounding ideas... Shore's musical expression with the film's last two minutes shatters me, literaly; desperation, affection, sacrifice, glory, acceptance, tragedy... These are trite words to describe an experience that is absolutely spiritual. Shore holds me in awe with every viewing of the film.

Cronenberg's beast, of course, happens to be one of my very favorite films. It, like Shore's score, is a masterpiece that will stand the test of time. Surely it is not perfect, but it's as close to perfection as I'll ever witness in the medium -- I've never seen such a well conceived film in the realm of operatic tragedy... I just haven't. Every technical aspect of the film is worthy of the highest praise (and I mean near every... from the phenomenal special effects to the haunting cinematography, of course boiling over with Jeff Goldblum's performance, which easily ranks as one of my most intimately cherished).

I recently watched THE FLY on DVD, and I concur with most of your statements. The final moments of the film where Brundle Fly pulls the shotgun to his head is the most memorizing part. I would agree that this is one of the finest musical accompaniments to a movie scene. It's that rare instance where the music fulfills a form of expression that no visual cue could ever achieve alone.

Of course, I still need to listen to the music by itself. THE FLY ranks up there with the likes of THE THING and ALIENS in terms of 80's special effects pioneers (more so, THE THING). In my opinion, they could beat out any "horror" film of today... especially in the musical department.

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Originally posted by Thor:
NP: ROCK SOLID THEMES: SELECTED ELECTRONIC MOVIE ANTHEMS (various)

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His performance is mind-boggling good. Rivaled by few others.

You are right on. We resonate together.

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ROCK SOLID THEMES: SELECTED ELECTRONIC MOVIE ANTHEMS

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Originally posted by tjguitar:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>ROCK SOLID THEMES: SELECTED ELECTRONIC MOVIE ANTHEMS<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

What is this? I could probably create a similar compilation from Mark Ayres and/or Ed Starink tracks.

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Probably not. This is far more sophisticated material:
http://www.celluloidtunes.net/non-website/rock_solid_small.jpg

Also, thank you for the wonderous praise upon Cronenberg's film. For a long time, he has been my favorite and most admired director and The Fly ranks up with Videodrome, Naked Lunch, Dead Ringers, and A History of Violence as his masterpieces. Goldblum's performance is rivaled by none; one of my favorites of his many.

You're right, though; if anyone tells me that 'The Fly' is one of their favorite films, I almost immediately categorize them as having great taste (as long as their elaborated response doesn't go "'cause when he snaps that guys' arm!"). It's just a work of art.

Certainly, it it my favorite of Cronenberg's. We have, of course, chatted about "warm" filmmaking, and I think it is undebatable that 'The Fly' is Shore's warmest. Of course, it's still a dark, lonesome film, but it's ability to become so profoundly moving by the end is due to it's Humanity. Cronenberg can get so damn cerebral, working with so many interweaving abstract ideas, that I am often overwhelmed -- I might be a bright fellow, but a lot of stuff is seemingly beyond me. 'The Fly' is intelligent, for sure, but it's also got a heart, and the accessible/familiar emotions, on top of such astonishing technical virtue, makes it overpowering.

As I stated above, and often describe the film, 'The Fly' is a tragedy above all else. Those who look at me funny or give me **** for claiming to cry when watching it -- those who have seen it, anyway -- are borderline idiotic, I must say. And it's operatic, in that it IS framed within an hour and a half. One thing that I find strange is the fact that the film IS so short; it's not as if the film seemed bound to such a hasty running time. Because of this length, though, Cronenberg is forced to cram as much as he can into a small little box. Hence, the film becomes, at least in structure, grossly theatrical because it is pretty much split up into five acts, without putting huge emphasis on the moments left to the imagination; the transitions between the acts are glaring and immediate, as if the curtain has come down only to come up again; while some might see this as deterring, a more nuanced tact with such material wouldn't have allowed the film to become so (hauntingly) melodramatic. It's arrangement is so traditionally operatic -- shamelessly so -- that it is able to focus all of its energies on every actual moment within the film, opposed to placing more of an emphasis on narrative and refined plot structure. Again -- this could be seen in two ways, I think -- good or bad -- but I take the former stance.

What track is this scene on the soundtrack album?

What do you think are the best tracks on the album?

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Originally posted by sjd:
[B]
What track is this scene on the soundtrack album?

What do you think are the best tracks on the album?

[B]

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The particular cue I'm referring to exists in track 2 of the album, titled "Plasma Pool". The crescendo towards the end (near the 1:30 mark) is the moment.

It's tough for me to name which cues are my favorite on the album being that they all have strong thematic suits. For pure delight you certainly can't go wrong with "Main Title", "Plasma Pool", "The Jump", and "The Finale". Cues such as "The Last Visit" and "The Ultimate Family" create some amazing dramatic foil in the score. I truly believe it's a score you can't go wrong with.

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Originally posted by Camillu:
Are you allergic to nudity? (if it's necessary of course)

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Looks to me like that didn't answer my question. Hmmmm.

The movie is serious, but frankly I'm on the uncommon side regarding the film's graphic nature: I don't think it's that bad. Often people, like Joan for example, are repulsed by some of he film's content and think it's one of the more illustrated examples of a kind of savage gore within the whole medium of film. For me, "nothing" in the film is personally repelling. There are a few scenes inparticular that are indeed gross, but I don't find them unneccessary within the context -- at least not overly so. Cronenberg's intent, to me, was simple -- to convey the unrelentless disposition of the insect. This sentiment is expressed, verbally, by Goldblum's character earlier in the film, in the midst of his horrific transformation; this, also, is one of the most haunting, memorable scenes in the film. I don't entirely negate the argument that liberties were taken in the few particular scenes of gore, for this was almost exclusively marketed as a horror film and I'm sure there was some pressure to comply with horror standards, but I find overall an admirable restraint by Cronenberg, especially when compared to the horror genre on the whole.

OK -- on to the subject of sexuality. Obviously, this theme -- in various aspects -- runs in and out of Cronenberg's films. Of those I've seen from his catalogue, however, 'The Fly' is possibly his least exploitive -- though there are a few scenes of sex (only one which could not be classified as a more appropriate "love making"), there is very little full-on nudity. Again, there is little
extraneous material related to the subject, given the film's ideas and story.

I'm trying to restrain myself from going on a rant -- all I can finish with is that I find it completely absurd that someone like yourself would miss the opurtunity to view a film -- a work of art -- like 'The Fly' because it features some sexual content. How old are you, might I ask? Just curious. I was raised Christian and read Christian literature/philosophy because I find it fascinating and unique, but I find exposing myself to all aspects of Life neccessary to draw individual conclusions. How can you know good without knowing evil? Love without hate? Just my take -- I work with a friend, for example, who finds confronting those elements of Life unneeded.

NeoVoyager, IMO, Cronenberg's role as an auteur is to identify sexuality in films. MOst certainly his films can be overtly sexual (i.e. Crash) but it's often a common theme that connects his visions. So, it plays the ultimate role in the context of a film. Even when I was younger and to this day, I've never understood the frowning upon of nudity. Certainly, some "filmmakers" might use it to exploit mysogynistic or even fetishistic ways (Cronenberg does, but in a thematic mold). A film like Crash or A History of Violence uses the idea of sexuality and the human form as guiding points for the characters' journeys; even Naked Lunch has a firm anti-sex stance from its protagonists point-of-view (surrealistically evident in the sex scene between Bill and Joan Frost as well as the conversations and dealings with the homosexual tones of Burroughs' work). I've always viewed the female body as a work of "otherworldly" art (even as it exists in a simple, gratuitous slasher film) and sex is an everyday, necessary item for proper humans.

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I'm trying to restrain myself from going on a rant...

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I think you did a very good job of that... one of the more rude people I've confronted on this topic went so far as to call me unrepeatable names and recommend that I, and all Christians like me, be tied up in straightjackets and forced to watch an endless barrage of porn films.

Anyway, I'll address the easiest question first:

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As another example, The DaVinci Code; as much as I detested the film I was absolutely gassed at the idea that many Christians took offense to the idea of Jesus marrying Magdalene and forging offspring. What's so offenseive about the believed Savior of a religion excersising his own laws in regards to male and female sexuality?

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I understand you there. As I see it, there wouldn't have necessarily been anything wrong or sinful about Jesus choosing to marry and have children. However, since the Bible does not even make the faintest allusion that he did so, Christians (especially Catholics) saw Dan Brown's hypotheses as blasphemous... rightfully so.

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I'm trying to restrain myself from going on a rant -- all I can finish with is that I find it completely absurd that someone like yourself would miss the opurtunity to view a film -- a work of art -- like 'The Fly' because it features some sexual content. How old are you, might I ask? Just curious. I was raised Christian and read Christian literature/philosophy because I find it fascinating and unique, but I find exposing myself to all aspects of Life neccessary to draw individual conclusions. How can you know good without knowing evil? Love without hate? Just my take -- I work with a friend, for example, who finds confronting those elements of Life unneeded.

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As I said, it's difficult to explain my position to a non-Christian, so I'll try to stay as practical as I can. Despite the risk of making you completely disregard my opinion because of it (you truly shouldn't, though), I suppose I'll answer your question about my age... I'm 17 (and male, if you didn't know). As such, I am preparing for a relationship with a young woman with intent of marriage in the near future (I also don't believe in casual dating). I certainly don't want images of other women in the nude burned into my mind that I have to cope with. I'm sure any man knows how well the memory of such things reside in the mind. Without getting too explicit... would you take home a prostitute to enjoy along with your wife? "Oh, honey... I just thought it was a good idea... so I can expose myself to all the other aspects of life and be a well-rounded individual, y'know?" I thought not.

Jesus said, "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." Especially in this über-sexually based society, can any man watching a film with nudity and sexuality honestly say that he sees it as nothing but art, and his lusts are not aroused in the slightest? Ergo, to view such a film is equivalent to adultery, according to Jesus, and no adulterer will enter the kingdom of God.

The argument you make is the very same argument everyone made regarding the very dubiously "PG-13" rated Titanic back in '97... "It's just art, you meany Christian bigots! No sexual intent here!" Simply put...... pure lies.

Now to Nuts_Score........

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Even when I was younger and to this day, I've never understood the frowning upon of nudity.

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There is absolutely nothing wrong with nudity. No logical person would ever say there is. If sin had never been introduced to mankind, then (theoretically) we would all still be living in a perfect world and living in the nude. However, as soon as sin was introduced, the first humans sought to cover themselves for shame, and God has mandated modest clothing ever since. Nudity ceased to be an innocent thing, and instead became inseparably tied to sexuality. And sexuality is an institution intended by God solely for marriage, as is the enjoyment of the human form of one's spouse.

As I don't feel like spending my entire evening typing here, I'll wrap it up..... rather bluntly, I guess.

On a lighter note...
NP: Pan's Labyrinth 4/5
I just purchased this score last night due to the opinions stated on this message board, and finally SoundtrackNet's new, highly positive review. It's pretty impressive so far! On my best of '06 list already.

Don't have time to respond now at length, but thanks again for responding.

STILL -- you need to see 'The Fly'. Regarding your sentiments about not being able to refuse lust seeing a naked woman, I can say, in this case, I am absolutely capable of doing such a thing. Why?

Because I am in absolutely no way attracted to Geena Davis.