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Reviews
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Hilarity Personified
To truly appreciate this film you HAVE to have seen FRANKENSTEIN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. Otherwise much is going to be lost on you. Brooks and his team obviously went to much trouble to document what they were spoofing. An example: when the monster meets the blind hermit (my favorite sequence) the way he grasps the cigar looks, on the surface, rather phony - just a way to setup the monster's thumb for the punchlione. But in the original BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN that is exactly how the monster picked up the cigar. Obviously people were attending! Combine the original Kenneth Strickfadden laboratory equipment, superb writing and an equally superb cast and you have something that will live as long as the classics that inspired it. Oh yes - to quell an urban legend - "Blucher" does not mean "glue" in German. According to Brooks, the name was just made up. German for glue is leim, kleber, klebstoff, leimen, warmleim and many more - but nothing like bleucher.
Blood & Donuts (1995)
A Wonderful ForayInto Fantasy
My first reaction to BLOOD & DONUTS was THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET. Not that BLOOD & DONUTS is a ripoff of BROTHER...but that both have the same "feel". BLOOD & DONUTS is an unusual film with unusual characters in unusual situations. It is a sincere film that does credit to its creators and participants. It is the most original vampire film I have yet to see. The focus here is not on the vampire or on vampirism but on the relationships that main character Boya forms and impacts. This film is as much a horror film as BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET is a Sci-Fi film. And therein lies it charm. Highly recommended, but if you are expecting spine-tingling chills look elsewhere.