The makeup team took on a tough challenge in reimagining the appearance of the Creature, and succeeded in offering a memorable image without resorting to stereotypes. The costumes, most notably the dresses and waistcoats, really gave viewers a feel for the lates setting. And the set design gave viewers realistic depictions of the Arctic expanse, the isolated cave, and the mad science laboratory.
Many critics were wary of Branagh's direction of the movie, suggesting that there was not enough subtlety. And, of course, there are always other adaptations of the film to consider; James Whale's version, starring Boris Karloff in his career-defining role as the Creature, might always remain the classic version of the story.
As American horror cinema neared the end of its first great flowering, Universal tried to inject life into the formula by teaming classic monsters with their top comic twosome. Not as bad as its reputation suggests, this starts off with a bang torso in a jar! Quentin Crisp!
Exploding lab! Young Sting is pretty but anaemic as the quack, while Clancy Brown gives a smashing performance as the childlike male monster, whose misadventures in the outside world nicely counterpoint the Pygmalion-esque developments at Castle Frankenstein. Johnny Depp, in the first of many collaborations with the film-maker, is unrecognisable under scar makeup as a walking Swiss army knife, the result of an experiment by a disturbed but kindly scientist Vincent Price in his final role who died before he could give his creation arms.
The freakish boy takes suburbia by storm with his topiary and hairdressing skills, but — metaphor alert! Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind? You, my creator, would tear me to pieces and triumph; remember that, and tell me why I should pity man more than he pities me? Well, you could read Frankenstein , which is one of those classics that holds up remarkably well.
Most screen adaptations pick and choose what they want from the original material, more often drawing inspiration from the movie starring Boris Karloff than Mary Shelley. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! But a full two decades before director James Whale made the iconic horror film, Frankenstein was already a movie star — in fact, the story was one of the first committed to film.
One of the notable changes form the novel in the minute film is a happy ending for Frankenstein and his new wife, Elizabeth spoiler alert: in the book, the Creature kills Elizabeth on their wedding night, and Frankenstein himself later dies on the ice. Pretty bleak. There is an adaptation path to be traced between the publication of the novel and the creation of films like this classic and the version. According to this Film School Rejects article , — the first year Frankenstein was adapted to the stage — had five separate plays on the stage.
The Boris Karloff film actually drew inspiration from a stage play by Peggy Webling, rather than the novel itself. The movie does a slightly better job articulating the nuances of the Creature than most other adaptations, but still falls short of the mark. The two well-known actors alternated the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature every performance, creating a more literal thematic connection between the two characters. Two sides of the same coin. Two creatures eventually brought down by their guilt, hate, and anger.
While it was definitely a closer adaptation than most versions, its monster was something else altogether.
Randy Quaid gives a very interesting performance, but he just doesn't look like what the creature in question should strive for. With his thick brow, hairy face, and suit of animal pelts, he looks more like a caveman than someone who was once alive and walking about.
A decent adaptation, but a less-than-decent monster. Penny Dreadful's version of Frankenstein's Monster is an overlooked and near-perfect representation of the character, and Rory Kinnear should get an extra serving of applause for his portrayal.
This is the type of creature that should star in his own true-to-form adaptation of the novel. He matches more than a few descriptions from the book but also has a semi-realistic quality to his appearance. His greenish skin, scarred face, and hollow eyes definitely evoke images of the grave, as well as a being who's just reluctant to be alive. The Hammer Horror films are the bloodier reimaginings of classic monster characters, and one of their first was, of course, Frankenstein.
While obviously trying not to recreate Universal's movie, Hammer's monster seemed a bit too zombie-like compared to other versions. Normally, this would work in the creature's favor, but he lacks the depth and complexity of the novel.
The appearance is decent and gruesome, but the behavior suffers. Christopher Lee gives a threatening and practiced performance, but becomes more like a mindless goon towards the end.
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