Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
by Kenneth Branagh
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Aidan Quinn, Helena Bonham Carter, Kenneth Branagh, Robert De Niro, Tom HulceDirector: Kenneth Branagh
Brand: Sony
Producer: David Barron
Producer: David Parfitt
Producer: Francis Ford Coppola
Producer: Fred Fuchs
Writer: Frank Darabont
Writer: Mary Shelley
Writer: Steph Lady
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 123 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-07-28
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Movie Review: Romanticism's Angst, Shakespearian's Subtle Grasp.
Summary: 5 Stars
Among the most brilliant and sadly misunderstood
of cinematic masterworks over the past couple of
decades, actor/director Kenneth Branagh's towering
take on MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN is a superb
adaptation of one of the most elemental tales in
all of literature. Restoring the cautionary morality
play and creation myth to the author's original
themes of womb envy and parental responsibility,
Branagh -with screenwriters Steph Lady and THE
GREEN MILE's Frank Darabont (in his Hollywood
debut, I believe)- takes the prototopical
Science Fiction saga into deep dramatic waters.
In a task very akin to what director Peter
Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Phillipa Boyens faced
in adapting Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS, the
adaptors of FRANKENSTEIN faced the daunting
task of bringing a classic saga faithfully
to the screen, while shedding much of the
original book's highly archaic language.
Small wonder that most critics and audiences
were not -and STILL aren't- prepared to
deal with this film. Those raised on the
leering spookshow antics of the Universal
films, or the neo-Victorian terror of the
Hammer films, would be ill-prepared for
the stark, utterly grim tragedy spun by
Ms. Shelley's novel, which Branagh, cast
and crew capture at every dramatic
level. Filmgoers raised on decades of
righteously torch-bearing rioters would
be totally unprepared for the maddened
indignation and rank injustice of a
lynch mob hanging an innocent (Ask any
Civil Rights veteran about that!).
Most of all, filmgoers who have relegated
Boris Karloff's winning pathos to the
cardboard nostalgia of cliché and camp
were taken totally aback by the achingly
profound performance of Robert DeNiro as
the Creature. To take one of the most
famous roles in all of filmdom, render
it totally different from any recorded
performance, and capture the definitive
presentation of the author's intent, is
a feat of truly Heraclean proportions.
Branagh plays Victor Frankenstein straight
from the book, divesting the good Doctor
of the mad scientist stereotypes which
have plagued the character's film portrayals
over the decades (a point brought home with
satiric genius by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks
in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN). Branagh's doctor is
dangerously rational, coldly logical in
his self-centered pursuit, and makes
himself ripe for the fall through his
lack of ethical vision. He wants, but
never once considers the responsibilities
which his desires must take into account.
A study of one of today's most prevalent
attitudes, Branagh's Victor Frankenstein
is a magnificent study of the price paid
by those who value intelligence without
wisdom, and ambition without compassion...
or conscience.
This film boasts a stellar cast and crew
which includes Tom Hulce, composer Patrick
Doyle, Ian Holm and the incredible Helena
Bonham Carter (whose perky, sharp-eyed
Elizabeth breaks rank with the bouffant-
happy Elsa Lancaster in a manner as
brilliant as Branagh's departure from
the overripe gesturings of Colin Clive!).
Focused by the subtler grasp of a
Shakespearian's eye, this prime case of
Romanticism received a long-overdue uplift,
bringing the full scope of Ms. Shelley's
tale of "thrilling horror" to the big
screen as never before.
As unfortunate as the general audience's
misunderstanding of this film, Columbia
TriStar's DVD releases of this epic have
left much to be desired. First released
as a two-sided disc with both Widescreen
and Pan & Scan (Fullscreen?!!) editions,
the most recent DVD edition deletes the
original Widescreen release altogether;
leaving hapless viewers with the screen-
sliced Pan & Scan edition as the only
version available.
Worse, all DVD editions of Branagh's
FRANKENSTEIN come unadorned. Bad enough
that this monumental film carries no
commentary, but where is the extensive
A & E Documentary made at the time of
this film's release? More than a probing
look into the making of this film, IT'S
ALIVE: THE TRUE STORY OF FRANKENSTEIN is
an absorbing study of the entire legend.
Starting with a biographical study of
Mary Shelley herself, IT'S ALIVE is a
meticulous look into all the incarnations
of FRANKENSTEIN, from book and stage to
its various screen renditions, along
with intense discussion from an array
of authorities about the potency that
Shelley's tale holds for today's
world.
As an exhaustive study into the power of
one author's vision upon generations, IT'S
ALIVE is a classic presentation. That this
major work is currently out of print, and
has not been compiled with the Branagh
film as a special collection, is a damned
shame.
Branagh's FRANKENSTEIN poses one more sobering
lesson about the lack of vision among too many
of today's viewers; a point abundantly reflected
by the dismal reactions directed towards other
definitive film renditions of literary hallmarks
such as the recent PETER PAN and THE TIME MACHINE
(to say nothing of the shameful ballyhoo
directed towards George Lucas' current STAR
WARS films!!!).
It provides a sharp reminder of the vast gulf
which exists between what audiences request,
and how we react -too often- when we get
exactly what we ask for.
Summary of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Robert De Niro, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hulce, Helena Bonham Carter, Aidan Quinn, Ian Holm and John Cleese star in Branagh's acclaimed adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. True to the original, here is the story of a young doctor whose obsession with death leads him to create a life. But his "creature" crafted from the bodies of convicts and the brain of a brilliant scientist, is a hideous mockery of humanity. And when the creature realizes he will never be accepted by men, he seeks revenge on Dr. Frankenstein and his family. An inspired adaptation that's emotionally complex and truly terrifying.Let's be honest: this should be titled Wretched Excess' Frankenstein. Swooping, wild, bloody, and energetic, this is bad moviemaking from the best, which makes it all the more lovable. Kenneth Branagh plays Victor Frankenstein, a man so obsessed with conquering death that he decides to create life. What he gets, after a protoplasmic mud wrestle, is a Mean Streets monster (Robert De Niro) that isn't particularly happy to be back from the dead or thrilled about all the stitches. Helena Bonham Carter may, at several points in this film, actually be channeling Ramtha. The supporting cast couldn't be peopled with better performers (Tom Hulce, John Cleese, Ian Holm) but they all look like they're ringside at some Ultimate Fighting competition. A must for any midnight movie collector for the shock factor alone. A hoot. --Keith Simanton
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