The Fury

THE FURY

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

An ex-government agent (Kirk Douglas) enlists the help of a gifted psychic (Amy Irving) in the search for his equally gifted son (Andrew Stevens), who has been kidnapped by a sinister cartel for nefarious purposes.

Dismissed at the time of its release as a mishmash of themes and genres, Brian De Palma's dazzling thriller encompasses Middle Eastern terrorism, government conspiracies, psychic horror, and a series of Grand Guignol set-pieces, orchestrated with pulp grandeur by a director flexing his creative muscles. Highlighted by John Williams' magnificent score (a genuinely eerie composition, one of the best of his career), the film builds slowly and surely to an explosive climax which closes proceedings on a note of absolute screaming hysteria (celebrated and vilified in equal measure by fans and critics alike!). The supporting cast includes John Cassavetes, Charles Durning and Carrie Snodgress, all of whom add gravitas to the material. Look fast for Daryl Hannah in an early pre-stardom role.

Brian De Palma directs John Farris' novel like a wizard at a witches convention. Thrills, intrigue and paranormal with vivid violence. Kirk Douglas goes in search for his kidnapped son(Andrew Stevens), who has been snatched by the head of an institute for psychic research. The ruthless boss(John Cassavetes)and his administrative assistant(Charles Durning)are also cultivating the psychic powers of a young girl(Amy Irving). Both young people with their extraordinary mind power can be sold to the highest bidding terrorist organization.

My favorite two scenes happen to be two of the most violent scenes in the movie. The first is where the alluring Fiona Lewis playing Dr. Charles is elevated into the air by Stevens and is set to spinning until she bleeds to death. The second scene that gets to me is in the final moments when Cassavetes gets his just desert.

Douglas is showing his age in this role as the business tycoon, who himself was left for dead. He still proves to pack a punch and hold his own as the lead. Carrie Snodgrass is ho-hum in her role as Douglas' lover and friend of Irving. Her character's demise is also quite violent. Miss Irving is perfection in her young and charming way. Look for Gordon Jump(of WKRP fame)in a small role and yes that is Dennis Franz(of NYPD Blue) early on as the young cop with the brand new car.

Sometimes a little bit slow, but this is your part in earning the big bangs for your bucks. John Williams provides a very haunting score that keeps this thriller thrilling.

Peter Sandza (Kirk Douglas) is happily holidaying with his son Robin (Andrew Stevens), when he is betrayed by his lifelong friend Ben Childress (John Cassavetes). He is attacked by missionaries with machine guns, only to kill a few himself before apparently being blown up. Ben escapes with Robin, a boy Ben believes to have a powerful telekinetic and psychic ability. As Peter begins his frantic search, fellow psychic Gillian (Amy Irving) is admitted to the Paragon Clinic under the supervision of Dr. McKeever (Charles Durning), who may be linked with Robin's disappearance. As Gillian's power becomes stronger, she feels a connection with Robin, just as Peter comes close to discovering the whereabouts of his son.

Brian De Palma's career is somewhat of a mixed bag. Highly influence by Hitchcock, his films are packed with homages and winks to a wide range of classic movies. He was prolific with his quality output in the 70's and 80's (Blow Out, Carrie, Scarface, Dressed To Kill), but his late 80's through to the present have been littered with the dodgy and the dire (Casualties Of War, Mission To Mars, The Bonfire Of The Vanities, The Black Dahlia), albeit with a few decent films (Carlito's Way, The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible). 1978's The Fury, made just two years after the similarly-themed Carrie, lurks somewhere in between his very best and his worst.

Where Carrie announced the arrival of a potentially brilliant horror/thriller director, with its high tension, gore-drenched climax, and that jump ending that bred a thousand horror copycats, The Fury tackles the same supernatural themes, but just comes off as a bit silly. One half a badly staged action film, with an old Kirk Douglas outwitting a mass of secret agents, and one half a nicely plotted, but rather unspectacular supernatural horror. Although there are few glimpses, it certainly lacks De Palma's knowing cinematic style, best displayed in balls-out Hitchcock homage Dressed To Kill.

Although the film is sporadically entertaining, it's about twenty minutes too long, and seems to slow down to a snail's pace in the middle. It takes too long developing a story which is pretty straightforward, and characters that aren't particularly interesting. However when the climax comes, it's a lot of fun, and is just mad enough to save the film. I don't recall ever seeing a man exploding repeatedly from so many angles before, which is always a bonus. It literally happens about fifteen times. For a more defining telekinetic/exploding bodies film, seek out Scanners.

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"The Fury" was a decent movie. It started off rather fast paced and I was somewhat clueless as to what was going on, but as the movie went on I got into it. Peter Sandza (Kirk Douglas) was going through great lengths to find his kidnapped son, all the while his son, Robin (Andrew Stevens) was under the watchful eye of a government official interested in Robin's psychic abilities. A collision course is set between Robin and another young lady with psychic abilities as well. The movie has a bit of suspense and a bit of spookiness to it as well. The ending was a total surprise and very um... bloody. I liked the movie, I thought the story was unique enough and the suspense and action wasn't half bad.

Story involves two teenagers--Gillian (Amy Irving) and Robin (Andrew Stevens). They both have the power to make people bleed and see past events. Robin is kidnapped by a secret government agency and Gillian is going to the Paragon Institute to learn more about her "power". There's a LOT more going on but it's too confusing to get into.

When I saw this on video back in the 1980s I loved it. Seeing it now I hate it. The story is very confusing with way too many characters and plot holes galore. The dialogue is terrible (I kept playing back scenes on the DVD because I couldn't believe what I had just heard) and this moves VERY slowly (it runs two solid hours).

The acting doesn't help. Irving is too weepy and whiny (but she IS great in the final scene). Stevens has never been a good actor. Douglas walks through his role and John Cassavates (playing the bad guy) gives a one-note performance. The only good acting comes from Carrie Snodgrass, Charles Durning, Carol Eve Rossen and (especially) Fiona Lewis.

It has some good things--the direction from Brian DePalma is excellent (especially Irving's slow motion run from the Institute) and there's a good score by John Williams. Also it does have a few incredibly bloody deaths. These were considered extreme back in 1978 but they aren't anymore (and look incredibly fake). There's also a great final scene and I got a good laugh over the incredibly dated video games Snodgrass and Irving play at one point. Also Daryl Hannah's first film.

So it DOES have some good things but the slow pace, confusing story and lousy dialogue sinks it. I can only give it a 5.