Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The birth of Frankenstein’s monster is a singular moment in cinematic history.  Director James Whale imbues the scene with all the sound and fury worthy of Victor’s scandalously sacrilegious ambition, capped off by one of the most quotable bits of dialogue ever uttered: “It’s alive!”  It’s a tough act for Kenneth Branagh, director and star of 1994’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, to follow.  But stripping down to the waist and leaping about the laboratory with Flashdance- style vigor is most decidedly not an improvement.  It’s the first of many misguided decisions in this follow-up to Coppola’s equally baroque – but much more visually interesting – Bram Stoker’s Dracula; a classic monster resurrection that bottomed out with Wolf with same year.

Like Coppola’s film, putting Shelley’s name above the title suggests a certain amount of respect for literary accuracy.  But the script diverges from the novel in broadly romantic strokes, admirably retaining the bookend structure and giving The Monster (played by Robert DeNiro) the intelligence and vocabulary denied Karloff in his career defining role.   And Branagh directs the proceedings like a man possessed, pushing his cast (and himself) to ludicrously theatrical performances, whipping his camera about in a misguided post-modern frenzy.

 

Whether it’s his stagey tendencies or lack of faith in the material, the film sinks or swims with Branagh’s hammy showmanship.  Characters inexplicably express every emotion aloud, narrating their actions in Shakespearean fashion and never missing a chance to scream when a whisper would do.  Ironically, it’s DeNiro who gives the madness an even keel, underplaying his role in fine fashion…even if his accent was left behind on the operating table.  And John Cleese is surprisingly good in a serious role that finds him vanishing far too soon.  Mary Shelley’s novel is endlessly adaptable as horror, adventure or morality play.  Branagh’s film somehow misses the target on all three. 

 

Arrow Video presents a fully-restored 4K Ultra-HD + Blu-ray package that provides a nice touch-up to what was never a particularly sharp looking film up until now.  The mid-90s cinematography really benefits from the HDR encoding, bumping up the blacks and color scheme quite well.  The entirely new slate of extras include an audio commentary, interviews, and two stellar featurettes on the evolution of the Frankenstein story and Branagh’s approach to the material. 

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