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Amazon.com Essential Video
"It's alive! Alive!" shouts Colin Clive's triumphant Dr. Frankenstein as electricity buzzes over the hulking body of a revived corpse. "In the name of God now I know what it's like to be God!" For years unheard, this line has been restored, along with the legendary scene of the childlike monster tossing a little girl into a lake, in James Whale's Frankenstein, one of the most famous and influential horror movies ever made. Coming off the tremendous success of Dracula, Universal assigned sophomore director Whale to helm an adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous novel with Bela Lugosi as the monster. When Lugosi declined the role, Whale cast the largely unknown character actor Boris Karloff and together with makeup designer Jack Pierce they created the most memorable monster in movie history: a towering, lumbering creature with sunken eyes, a flat head, and a jagged scar running down his forehead. Whale and Karloff made this mute, misunderstood brute, who has the brain of a madman (the most obvious of the many liberties taken with Shelley's story), the most pitiable freak of nature to stumble across the screen. Clive's Dr. Frankenstein is intense and twitchy and Dwight Frye set the standard for mad-scientist sidekicks as the wild-eyed hunchback assistant. Whale's later films, notably the spooky spoof The Old Dark House and the deliriously stylized sequel The Bride of Frankenstein, display a surer cinematic hand than seen here and add a subversive twist of black comedy, but given the restraints of early sound films, Whale breaks the film free from static stillness and adorns it with striking design and expressionist flourishes. --Sean Axmaker
Chronique amazon.fr
Un classique. Le film de James Whale (L'Homme invisible) n'est absolument pas fidèle au célèbre roman de Mary Shelley. Peu importe, le film trouve sa propre raison d'être et demeure l'une des oeuvres les plus poétiques du cinéma fantastique. Boris Karloff est excellent dans le rôle de la célèbre créature. À noter que le réalisateur donnera avec La Fiancée de Frankenstein une suite mémorable à ce film. D'ailleurs, on ne peut en dire autant de la totalité des films inspirés par le mythe de Frankenstein (plus de 25), certains n'entretenant avec celui-ci qu'une vague ressemblance. --Erich Vogel
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FRANKENSTEIN AHEAD OF ITS TIME.,
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This review is from: Frankenstein (VHS Tape)
This movie classic was the best for its time.. Just imagine what it must of been like being at Radio City Music Hall when this film first came to the big screen.Boris Korloff, was the greatest movie monster of all time. James Whale was a genius.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautifully crafted Universal classic,
By
This review is from: Frankenstein (Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection) (DVD)
Say what you will, but the classic Universal Monsters had style, grace and class. Often considered outrageously lurid and shocking in their own time, they now function as models of restraint compared to their contemporary successors. Heck, even Frankenstein's monster has the good manners to wear a suit whilst conducting his murderous rampage throughout the countryside!
Having grown up watching Universal's Dracula (1931), I came pretty late to the party when developing a similar affinity for this film. I'd always preferred "Dracula"'s stately, mannered, gothic atmosphere, so it took me many years -- and the perspective of adulthood -- to appreciate this film's more aggressive, darkly humourous tone. While less flamboyant (read: camp) than its somewhat more comedic sequel, the 1931 Universal "Frankenstein" adapts Mary Shelley's original 1818 novel as a straight up, tightly wound little horror film, infused with a gleefully grotesque sense of wit. Karloff's portrayal of the monster is an accomplished pantomime; a combination of pathos, innocence and rage that favourably compares to some of the greatest silent film performances from films like Sunrise and The Passion of Joan of Arc. The film itself is an intriguing stylistic amalgam of theatrical histrionics, shadowy German Expressionism and technical showmanship that, in these DVD restorations, is truly wondrous to behold. As of this writing, Universal have released no fewer than three separate DVD editions of "Frankenstein." The original 1999 edition, which I personally own, is still widely available on Amazon. The newer Legacy Collection and 75th Anniversary editions contain similarly excellent film transfers and many of the same special features, with the addition of sequels in the former release and additional documentary material in the latter. Whichever version you choose is, therefore, entirely a matter of pricing, convenience and desired extras. Given its importance to the development of early horror cinema, any horror fan worth their salt should see Universal's "Frankenstein" at least once during their lifetime. Any serious collector should consider adding it to their library, if they haven't done so already. In any event, spending a candlelit evening with such an entertaining classic is a no-lose proposition.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally!,
This review is from: Frankenstein (75th Anniversary Edition) (DVD)
Believe it or not I had never seen the original 1931 Frankenstein until now. Except for some clips on television over the years all I really knew was the origins of the story, the basic premise and what people have said of it.
An interesting experience. In all candor I find it a bit creaky and awkward. Much of the acting is stiff and unconvincing. But Boris Karloff is definitely, unquestionably the reason this film works. From when we're first introduced to him to the very last frame of him I felt nothing but sympathy for his monster. Without uttering a word Karloff outclasses everyone in the film, no question. I'm glad I finally got to see it and now have it in my dvd library.
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