- Actors: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan
- Directors: James Whale
- Writers: Francis Edward Faragoh, Garrett Fort, John L. Balderston, John Russell, Mary Shelley
- Format: NTSC
- Language: English
- Number of tapes: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Mca (Universal)
- VHS Release Date: Aug 28 2001
- Run Time: 70 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00000JPHF
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#12,647 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
- #7 in Video > Classics > Horror > Frankenstein's Monster
- #7 in Video > Horror > Classic Horror & Monsters > Frankenstein's Monster
- #41 in Video > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Monsters & Mutants
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Product Details |
Product Description
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
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Horror Movie Masterpiece,
By
This review is from: Frankenstein (VHS Tape)
Frankenstein is the kind of horror movie that I remember watching on late Saturday nights growing up. These old-time horror movies relied on psychological terror and strong acting performances rather than blood and guts to captivate an audience. Frankenstein succeeds on both of these counts. Colin Clive stars as Dr. Henry Frankenstein and Dwight Frye stars as his hunch-backed assistant Fritz. Dr. Frankenstein has taken to robbing graves in his effort to create his own human being. In his search for a human brain, Fritz inadvertantly steals a brain from an evil person. Frankenstein is unaware of this as he transplants the brain into his human. What results is Boris Karloff's monster. However, Frankenstein's monster isn't the "killing machine" that we see in today's horror movies. Rather, the monster seems to be searching for his own identity (witness the scene with the little girl near the river). The people of the town perceive him to be evil when perhaps he is merely searching for acceptance. The acting in the movie is excellent. Colin Clive does a masterful job as Dr. Frankenstein, while Dwight Frye is excellent as Fritz. The scenework, such as the shots of Dr. Frankenstein's castle and the final scene at the windmill are captivating as well. I highly recommend this movie along with other classic horror movies of this time period. They will bring back memories of sitting around the TV on dark Saturday nights and jumping up from your seat at each scary scene.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frankenstein,
By
This review is from: Frankenstein (VHS Tape)
A classic. A truly scary movie and sad without the graphics andvideo manipulation of todays movies. Any real collector must have a copy of this movie.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gothic Classic!,
By
This review is from: Frankenstein (Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection) (DVD)
The film is based on the first half of Mary Shelley's gothic novel Frankenstein where Dr. Frankenstein reanimates life. The being that he creates becomes a product of its' environment while continuing to learn through trial and error. Unfortunately, its' errors become magnified by its' physical attributions, which causes unrest among those it comes in contact with through simple attempts at communication. Whale's horror creation was made over 70 years ago; however, one catch phrase, "It's alive!", that terrified audiences in the 30s, still produces chills in audiences today. Therefore, regardless of age, the film still provides a tremendous cinematic experience.
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