The Fury (1978)

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers:

John Farris (novel)
John Farris (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 March 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

An experience in terror and suspense.

Plot:

A government agent is determined to come to his son's rescue, when a sinister official kidnaps him to harbor his extremely powerful psychic abilities.

Plot Keywords:

Psychic | Experiment | Derelict | Shopping Mall | Telekinesis

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Peter Sandza
John Cassavetes	...	Ben Childress
Carrie Snodgress	...	Hester
Charles Durning	...	Dr. Jim McKeever
Amy Irving	...	Gillian Bellaver
Fiona Lewis	...	Dr. Susan Charles
Andrew Stevens	...	Robin Sandza
Carol Eve Rossen	...	Dr. Ellen Lindstrom (as Carol Rossen)
Rutanya Alda	...	Kristen
Joyce Easton	...	Katharine Bellaver
William Finley	...	Raymond Dunwoodie
Jane Lambert	...	Vivian Nuckells
Sam Laws	...	Blackfish
J. Patrick McNamara	...	Robertson
Alice Nunn	...	Mrs. Callahan

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | Argentina:18 (re-rating) (1978) (cut) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:13 (re-rating) (1985) (uncut) | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Brazil:16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Astor Street, Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Frank Yablans Presentations

Trivia:

For her role as a psychic with telepathic powers, Amy Irving attended a biofeedback clinic to learn about different levels of consciousness. After personally experiencing psychic changes, she had a better sense of how her character could transmit and receive messages.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Woman gets run down by a current model Ford. She crashes through the windshield, which is made of plain glass. Since 1966, all cars made in the United States have safety glass in the windshield.

Quotes:

Peter Sandza: Ask Childress if all this was worth his arm.
Bob: What? Did you do something to his arm Peter?
Peter Sandza: I killed it. With a machine gun.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bargaining: Part 1 (#6.1)" (2001)

A terrific exercise in the supernatural, delivered with guts and gore from Brian De Palma!

Before "Scanners" there was this wonderful little gore fest from Brian De Palma, who all-ready had done such great Hitchcock-like thrillers as "Sisters" and "Obsession" and of course "Carrie", which in many ways is related to this one, another tale of telekinesis with deadly results. It is also worth noting that David Cronenberg's above-mentioned "Scanners" seem to owe a great deal to this movie.

"The Fury" balances brilliantly between weird and unexpected comedy (like the whole scene where Douglas carjacks two off-duty cops, one played by Dennis Franz!) and imaginative horror that will turn off anyone who hates blood. Great acting from everyone; worth noting the star-making performances of Amy Irving and Andrew Stevens, Douglas who has a field-day, Cassavetes who looks great as the sinister bad-guy and Carrie Snodgress who will touch your heart with her performance as the caring nurse Hester.

The last scene is quite a kick, truly one of the most memorable finales ever shown on screen, and it could very well leave you cheering well into the end credits!