Frankenstein (1994)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writers (WGA):

Mary Shelley (novel)
Steph Lady (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 November 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It's Alive.

Plot:

When Victor Frankenstein rejects the artificial man he just created, the monster escapes and later swears revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Doctor | Escape | Death | Ethics

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 10 nominations

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	The Creature
Kenneth Branagh	...	Victor Frankenstein
Tom Hulce	...	Henry Clerval
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Elizabeth
Aidan Quinn	...	Captain Robert Walton
Ian Holm	...	Baron Frankenstein
Richard Briers	...	Grandfather
John Cleese	...	Professor Waldman
Robert Hardy	...	Professor Krempe
Cherie Lunghi	...	Caroline Beaufort Frankenstein
Celia Imrie	...	Mrs. Moritz
Trevyn McDowell	...	Justine
Gerard Horan	...	Claude
Mark Hadfield	...	Felix
Joanna Roth	...	Marie

Also Known As:

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated R for horrific images.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

UK | Japan | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour | Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) | Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

Sean Connery was asked to play Prof Waldman

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Professor Waldman is administering cholera vaccinations, and they are struggling with the townsperson, the man is saying, "You're not sticking that in me," but his mouth remains tightly closed.

Quotes:

Krempe: [voiceover] You fool, Victor Frankenstein of Geneva, how could you know what you had unleashed? How was it pieced together? Bits of thieves? Bits of murderers? Evil stitched to evil stitched to evil. God help your loved ones.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Will & Grace: Yours, Mine or Ours (#1.16)" (1999)

Another Great Film from Kenneth Branagh

While many people seem to scorn this film, I found it wonderfully enjoyable. Like the great Orson Welles, He stars in, and directs, many of his movies. This one in particular shows some of his more excentric, if not marketable, passions in filmmaking that make movie buffs and connaisseurs alike enjoy this stylized and emotional film.

Yes, it is melodramatic. Yes, the acting is often over the top. But what many critics of this film fail to recognize is that this is precisly the point. By staying very true to the source material(until the Elizabeth thing) and the significant changes that WERE made are clear evidence of this. The book was melodramatic. What Kenneth Branagh does here is stay true to the spirit of the classic gothic novel. The great close-ups define the characters, and through them you can understand them. Do not mistake stylization for poor film-making, because this is a wonderfully made and presented film, that if understood captivates you from the first spoken words(a quote from Mary Shelly, setting up the stylization) to the last frame.

Know what you're getting into, a passionatly made film about what drives one to both excel and what drives one to madness, and the dangers of excess beyond reason. If you have read the book, regardless of whether you liked it or not,see this movie. You will love what they have retained, and will embrace what they've changed. this is not a film(not a movie, a film) for everyone. But for those who are willing to have an open mind, it is pure bliss!