Del Toro's Frankenstein

[belrog999]

I'm looking forward to watching this. It has been his dream project for many years.
Steve

[Squidy53]

Me too. By all accounts it's a remarkable movie. It's part of a local film festival running here soon.

[bucketfoot-al]

[Tim Casey]

I got through it last night at a the Coolidge Corner, a GREAT theater in Brookline, Mass. It has its moments.

But it's slow, and the girl who plays Elizabeth is either an awful actress or was given an awful role. At any rate, her character is important but ill-defined.

Call me a curmudgeon, but I don't think anyone ever will top the 1931 film, nor do I think they should even try.

[Tim Casey]

I should add that, in its favor, the monster makeup is great - and designed by Mike Hill, who's sculpted many a kit.

Done like only a modeler can!

[DEADMAN]

I havent been to the Coolidge theater in a while, I saw Friends of Eddie Coyle and the Wild Bunch over there. I used to go to the Brattle as well

[belrog999]

I got through it last night at a the Coolidge Corner, a GREAT theater in Brookline, Mass. It has its moments.

But it's slow, and the girl who plays Elizabeth is either an awful actress or was given an awful role. At any rate, her character is important but ill-defined.

Call me a curmudgeon, but I don't think anyone ever will top the 1931 film, nor do I think they should even try.

I'm interested to see if it follows the novel. None has, so far.
Steve

[Tim Casey]

It kind of follows the novel, but only to a point. Then it takes some real left turns, drastically changing the story.

[Tiger2]

Loved it! Great to see a new vision and interpretation of this timeless tale. Amazing set design, costume, wonderful make-up and emotionally charged with the tragic consequences of playing with creation. Having 2 sons of my own, it certainly hit my heart strings. I don't think it was ever meant to go head to head with the Karloff version, after all Mike Hill is a massive fan of the old school originals, both Universal and Hammer, as I'm sure Del Toro is as well.

[derekc62]

I last read the novel about 45 years ago (!) and I think the film was pretty faithful to it, considering movie makers need to tell their own stories. (I'm definitely going to have to re-read the book)

Some stunning sets, animatronics, physical acting and a great creature design by Mike Hill that pays homage to Bernie Wrightson.

In fact, in the credits del Toro goes out of his way to name Mary (Shelly), Bernie, Boris and (James) Whale.

My few quibbles have to do with what I thought were some sub-par digital effects on the wildlife and an unnecessary sub-plot surrounding Christophe Waltz's character. Much as I enjoy Waltz - and I do - I think the movie would have worked just as well without him. And the story and run-time would have been much tighter.

[Squidy53]

A gorgeous and sumptuous adaptation. Done as Shelley intended, as Gothic Romanticism rather than Expressionistic Horror. Yes, it deviates from the novel but it's its own beast and I'm fine with that. I believe it is faithful where it counts (themes, underlying moral structure). And after all Whale's version is adored despite departing hugely from its source. It's a very good film; it may even be a great film.

[KelE]

The book is a big favourite. I re-read a few years ago.
Every movie version I can think of fails to balance the characters like the book. Victor is not the villain. The creature is not the villain. The story is about the need for compassionate relationships and the tragedy that results from the absence of it. That's the real message. It applies to both characters. Victor is responsible for his lack of compassion and the creature's lack of compassion leads to tragic outcome for both.
Another problem for adaptation is that the creature is eight-feet-tall and supposedly so ugly as to make you want to attack him. It is very hard to do that.

The Dan Curtis version had almost no makeup but the monster was very sad. Clever ending.

The Terror of Frankenstein had a lot of things that reminded me of the book, but the characters weren't passionate enough and they added a twist where the creature murders a family for no reason it would seem except to give Frankenstein a reason not to make a second creature.
The book makes it more of a moral conflict.
Another fatal mistake is when they make others sympathize with the creature (the Branagh version does that at the end).

Monsters in Motion has a sculpture of the creature for sale now.