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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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TriStar Pictures

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United States of America

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English

Robert De Niro

Kenneth Branagh

Tom Hulce

Helena Bonham Carter

Aidan Quinn

Ian Holm

Richard Briers

John Cleese

Robert Hardy

Cherie Lunghi

Celia Imrie

Trevyn McDowell

Mark Hadfield

Gerard Horan

Joanna Roth

Alfred Bell

Sasha Hanau

Joseph England

Richard Clifford

George Asprey

Hugh Bonneville

Ryan J-W Smith

Charles Wyn-Davies

Rory Jennings

Christina Cuttall

Hannah Taylor-Gordon

Susan Field

Jimmy Yuill

Chris Barnes

Shaun Prendergast

Tommy Wright

David Kennedy

Paul Gregory

Chris Hollis

Robin Lloyd

Alex Lowe

Graham Loughridge

Simon Cox

Robert Hines

Lonnie James

Jenny Galloway

Peter Jonfield

Edward Jewesbury

Siobhan Redmond

Francine Morgan

Sue Long

Michael Gould

Angus Wright

Max Gold

Abigail Reynolds

Theresa Fresson

Mark Inman

Dudi Appleton

Meriel Schofield

Jim Carter

Mary Shelley

James Acheson

Desmond Crowe

John Veitch

Roger Pratt

John Fenner

Andrew Marcus

Francis Ford Coppola

James V. Hart

Patrick Doyle

Priscilla John

Frank Darabont

Steph Lady

Daniel Parker

Paul Engelen

David Parfitt

Robin O'Donoghue

Carol Hemming

Martin Childs

Campbell Askew

Dominic Lester

Colin Miller

Fred Fuchs

Jeff Kleeman

Tim Harvey

David Appleby

Sallie Hard

Allan Moss

Betty Glasow

Ben Howarth

Neil Lamont

Paolo Mantini

Christopher Newman

Bruce Bigg

Simon Moseley

Peter Francis

Steven Lawrence

Ken Pattenden

Michael Redding

Mark Coulier

Bernard Bellew

Doug Bishop

Brian Bishop

Gavin Gordon

Jonathan McKinstry

Deborah Lanser

Sean McCabe

Nick Penn

John Bateman

Jenny Lee Wright

Mark Sale

Tom Meadows

Pauline Griffith

Ivan Sharrock

Robert Gavin

Tracey Eddon

Ricky Butt

Graeme Crowther

William Trent

Roger Lanser

Gerard McCann

Michael Trent

Graham Sutton

Robert Palmer

John Payne

Richard Pointing

Simon Crane

Simon Hume

Chuck Finch

Maggie Rodford

Mike Dowson

Lawrence Ashmore

Roy Prendergast

Sarah Franzl

Billy Merrell

Stuart Hopps

Barbra Flinder

Julia Wilson Dickson

Annie Penn

Richard Hooper

Chris Lyons

Kate Robinson

David Snell

Jeremy Woodhead

Excellent version of an enduring classic

This is not a monster movie in any shallow slasher sense. It probes and contemplates some eternal questions humans have been pondering for thousands of years, set in a time when so many things we know today were yet unknown, adding to the mystery and horror of the situations that occurred. This movie has pathos, sumptuous sets, costumes and screenplay, some utterly disturbing scenes and ideas, and culminates in classic tragedy.

***Gothic mania with Kenneth Branagh, Robert DeNiro and Helena Bonham Carter***

Kenneth Branagh's 1994 version of the oft-filmed Frankenstein story was the most faithful to Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel up to that point, which explains its name. It features fine actors and looks great (sets, costumes, locations, etc). There are several quality scenes, like the creature's time spent with the peasant family where his unseen help is taken for a "good spirit of the woods."

The first time I viewed the movie I was a little turned off by its manic style. People are introduced, scenes flash by, times shift and the soundtrack blares, which struck me as overdone. The characters seemed so melodramatic at times, emoting, yelling, running, confronting, fighting, dying: "Ahhhhhh!!" "NoooOOOOOoooooo!!!" I just wanted them to stop, take their meds, and chill for 5-10 minutes. I’ve since read Shelley’s book and watched the even more faithful version, Hallmark’s “Frankenstein” (2004) with Luke Goss playing the creature, which runs almost 3 hours.

Seeing this version again I appreciated it more and was able to see how Branagh provides a nice balance between the hyper moments and more subdued sequences. If it sometimes seems too manic it’s because Branagh tried to cram the bulk of the novel into 2 hours. On the positive side, this makes it play better for those who prefer constant thrills, melodrama, etc. The 2004 version has almost another hour to play with and is more subdued and brooding. This one’s more of a “blockbuster.”

Speaking of the 2004 rendition, the creature is more faithful to the book (with long black hair and white teeth), but he’s also too handsome in a dark gothic way, resembling Type O Negative’s Peter Steele. The creature in this version removes the hair and opts for a more gruesome depiction, which fits Victor’s description of the creature as “hideous.” In any case, De Niro does a fine job in the role. 

My favorite part is when the monster finds sanctuary with the rural family, unbeknownst to them. It helps the viewer get to know the creature and have compassion on his plight, but soon all sympathy is pretty much lost. On the other hand, he IS a 'monster’; and he has an interesting discussion with Victor in his remote glacial dwelling in the high country, which helps explain his actions. The locket-framing sequence is lame, but that was a weak point of the novel as well.

While this version and the 2004 one are the most faithful to Shelley’s book, they each omit parts and change certain things. For instance, both omit Victor’s traveling to Scotland and, later, Ireland, which was a good call. This version alters a certain character’s death to a lynching while in the novel it was court-ordered hanging. Regardless, I enjoyed the surprise plot turn in the last act, which I’m not going to give away. And the tragic ending is well executed. 

"Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" is similar to "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992) in that they both look awesome and were produced by Francis Ford Coppola. Any problems are due to translating convoluted 19th century gothic horror classics to modern cinema. 

The film runs 2 hours, 3 minutes, and was shot in England (Shepperton Studios) and the Swiss Alps.

GRADE: B+

Kenneth Branagh made quite an artistic hit with his first film **HENRY V**. Next, he had great critical and financial success with his popcorn flick,** DEAD AGAIN**!  The success of both of those films meant he could take on any project he wanted.  He chose **MARY SHELLY'S FRANKENSTEIN**.  He would return to direct and star as Victor Frankenstein.  He would bring along many of his friends including Patrick Doyle to add another aggressive and bombastic score. Because of his newfound clout, he was able to bring in Oscar winning screenwriter Frank Darabont (**THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION**, **CRASH**).  Maybe his greatest display of the young directors status was bringing in Robert DeNiro to portray the creature!  The resulting film with all of this incredible talent is...

_silly._

I didn't have any good memories of the film in theaters in 1994.  Especially awkward was DeNiro's creature spinning toward the camera and yelling _"Frankenstein!!!"_ which brought nothing but laughter from the crowd.  I hoped my re-watch in 2022 would bring me a new perspective.  While there were there things I noticed that I now appreciated, the flick is still silly. 

It must be said that Branagh's vision for the film is strong and clear.  Darabont's script is very clever and multi-faceted.  The music is excellent wall to wall support and some of the performances are noteworthy.  Unfortunately, much of the subtlety in Darabont's script is lost in the big, loud film.  Branagh's decision to showcase the birth of the creature as quasi-erotic is interesting, shirtless and sweating under firelight.  His decision to have the brilliant doctor, when exposing his feelings of guilt, loses his ability to speech clearly and seems to mimic the creatures meter.  We get it... who is actually the monster? Again, clear but over-the-top. Mostly missing are moments of circumspection and quiet.

With its big budget and generally beautiful lighting and cinematography, it would seem this would be the type of bad movie that is fun to watch.  Unfortunately, it doesn't work on that level either, as the film bounces between high art pretentiousness and lowest of gross out humor.

I believe Branagh succeeded in getting his vision onto the screen and he has no reason to look down on his achievement. But as a big fan of his, I won't be with him with this monster.

CinemaSerf

This could have been a far better interpretation of the wonderful story of the man-monster but it lacks potency. Frequently a problem when one of the stars is also the director; the focus becomes a bit blurred and in this - despite the super performance of Robert de Niro in the title role - the result is a rather meandering story devoid of the usual swathe of emotions "Frankenstein" usually evokes. Aiden Quinn is "Walton" an explorer obsessed with reaching the North Pole. When his ship collides with an iceberg, they are stranded only to encounter "Victor" (Kenneth Branagh) who proceeds to regale them with his story of how he, as a brilliant student attempted to cheat death by creating a creature restored from death. The scientist succeeds, but rejects his abhorrent creation to the elements expecting it to perish. It doesn't and is soon on it's own path of revenge on it's creator and on those whom he loves. To it's credit, it has none of the bolt-through-the-neck stuff; it is closer to the original story and has little of the James Whale to it; but it also lacks soul and "humanity". On paper, a great cast should have added depth to the story, but somehow there is just too much going on, the story is allowed to meander and the empathy and pity normally felt for the monster just saps away leaving us with quite an hollow shell of a recollection. The imagery is great, though - from the costumes and make-up through to the menacing lighting; all contributing well to the aesthetic of this tale of late 18th century science and morality. It's worth a watch, but this is still story that cinema needs to do more justice to.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) Original Trailer [FHD]

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Kenneth Branagh "Mary Shelly's Frankenstein" 1994- Bobbie Wygant Archive

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