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| Boris
Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive):
Look! It's moving. It's alive. IT'S ALIVE!!
A scientist succeeds in bringing a
creature to life out of dead tissue.
 Of
all the monsters, ghouls and goblins ever to appear on the movie
screen, not one has rivalled the status of Bors Karloff as Frankenstein's
creature. And while this iconic status may have diminished the film's
impact through overfamiliarity, it remians one of the most memorable
performances in movie history, and definitely the most successful
piece of character make-up ever to appear on a movie screen. Some
of the film's other elements don't work as well today as others.
But when compared to Frankenstein's peers, this picture stands
head and shoulder above the rest, belying its own age upon each
consecutive viewing. |
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The eight movies that were selected
as Universal's 'Classic Monster Collection' were released on Region
1 DVD some years ago, but have since gone out of print and have
been put on moratorium by Universal, awaiting a re-release.
These same eight titles were recently released on DVD for Region
2 and 4, available both separately and as part of an eight-disc
box set. The R2/4 release of Dracula doesn't include the
Spanish version of the film, but otherwise there are no major differences
with the original Region 1 versions.
The fullscreen image is framed
at its original aspect ratio of approx. 1.33:1. Image quality is surprisingly good for a film this old,
with strong, deep blacks and fairly little noticeable damage to the source print.
The mono sound mix is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. Fidelity is
as limited as one would expect from a movie over seventy years old,
with distoryion as soon as anyone raises his voice. Dialogues remain
intelligible however, with acceptable ovverall quality.
The comprehensive 50-minute documentary The Frankenstein Files
does an extraordinary job of presenting every last bit of detail about the film's history, from the
novel's origins through the theatrical adaptations all the way to this first as well as its later
screen incarnations. Illustrated by numerous film clips, illustrations and costume and make-up designs
and bolstered by a wide and varied group of speakers, this is nothing short of definitive in the way it
examines a classic film. Film historian Rudy Behlmer's expert audio commentary offers further detail about
on-screen details, from cast biographies for even the smallest bit players to extensive comparisons to
the source novel and play. The usual animated image gallery with poster designs and production
stills can also be found on-board, as can the theatrical trailer.
The animated main menu screen features a montage of various
stills of the creature fading in and out.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
December 22, 2002
Click
here for IMDB info on Frankenstein.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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