Frankenstein Movie Adaptations Compared
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ค. 2024
- Read the Book? Seen the Movies? This video analyses several of the main film adaptations to explore what they did. What they changed. What works; what doesn''t - and why.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:23 Captain Walton
03:44 Victor Frankenstein
04:40 Elizabeth
05:47 Boris Karloff
07:06 The Bride of Frankenstein
07:56 The Monster Talks
10:09 Ingolstadt
12:19 Kenneth Branagh
13:19 Justine Moritz
16:49 Ernest?
17:56 Make me a Bride
21:30 Curse of Frankenstein
22:46 Frankenstrein: The True Story
24:47 Young Frankenstein
27:39 Igor
29:02 The Frankenstein Castle
29:44 The Creation Sequence
31:15 Conclusions
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Very good overview. I enjoyed watching. The only thing I would disagree with is that, while a bit odd, the trial of Justine is a very important scene in the story. It solidifies our understanding of Victor's personality and flaws. He could save Justine. A girl he has known for years and loves like a sister, who he knows is completely innocent but he doesn't. He is at heart selfish and cowardly, and it's Justine's trial and execution which proves it.
True. But Victor faces the same dilemma when it comes to revealing WIlliam's killer, even before Justine is accused. I think the beat has more to do with revealing how malevalent and cunning the monster has beome in exacting his revenge. But again, WIlliam's death pretty much already tells us this. I do see your point, and as it's told in the first person we see Victor 'agonise' over the decision. But by the end of Justine's execution, the story has not moved forward. Likewise with the whole making of the mate sequence. A great sequence in and of itself (worthy of a standalone movie) - but it doesn't move the story forward significantly. I speak here in terms of adapting the book for film. PLOT and momentum in a movie (especially a thriller/horror) is more important than in a novel. I speak as one who has written (and adapted) both forms.
After reading the novel, Victor's cowardice in not exculpating Justine sticks in my memory much more strongly than his similar reaction to William's death. The difference is that William is already dead, and Victor can't change that, while his silence about Justine directly contributes to her death, so his cowardice is far worse. That's reason enough to justify the scene in the novel, though it's a good choice to cut from a movie adaptation.
@@philmoore I think that the reason Justine's trial sticks with me more than Victor's not speaking up when William is killed, is the further victim. Not speaking up at his brother's death protects himself but cause no imediate harm to anyone else, while not speaking up at the trial directly causes the death of an innocent. The first one can be forgivable the second can not.
The way the creature was portrayed in Penny Dreadful was great, in my opinion.
Agreed. My favorite portrayal
He was basically the only thing in Season 2 I liked
There’s an adaptation that aired/premiered on TNT back in the 90’s and it starred of all people Randy Quaid as the creature, which I thought was pretty good.
English Professor here. I agree. Very good version and very true to the novel.
There were a lot of very ambitious literary TV adaps during that time - this one had an unusual Corsican Brothers concept
I've taught this novel a number of times. Great analysis. I look forward to your other videos. Count me in as a new subscriber. 🙂📚
You couldn't have uploaded this at a better time. I recently picked the novel back up and watched the Brannah and Universal films, searching for the most accurate adaptation. I saw online that some people think Terror of Frankenstein is the most accurate.
The TNT TV movie from 1992 with Randy Quaid as the monster also includes the Captain Walton scenes.
I’ve generally sort of experience this scenario from young Frankenstein on a daily basis. I’m a tall black man. A lot of the time when I enter new Business for the first time. Coffee shop or restaurant or store. Every one in the Business... workers and customers discomfort immediately shows up on everybody’s faces body language. The moment I speak. Every one calms down and things go back to normal. I guess I don’t sound ghetto lol.
John William Polidori was actually among the group with Mary Shelly when they had the famous ghost story writing contest, which birthed the Frankenstein novel
Yes indeed. He wrote The Vampyr, which prececed Dracula in creating the Vampire mythology. I didn't mention it in the video, but that's where the name comes from.
I've always enjoyed Terror of Frankenstein. It wasn't showy but was very faithful to the novel.
This is the only movie I've found that really set out to be an almost exact, word-for-word replica of the novel
@@zmani4379I keep hearing that. I'm going to watch it today. As far as other adaptations that attempt to be a very faithful representation of the novel is the 2004 miniseries starring Alec Newman and Luke Goss, also featuring William Hurt and Donald Sutherland.
I have some of Marvels Franlenstein comics and I recall that the monster and creator were shipwrecked in the north. The monster speaks quite well in this series .
I have all 18 issues of Marvel's Frankenstein series. I wish it had lasted longer.
the Robert Deniro one has my two favorite Shelly quotes in the film and delivered with equal amounts of contempt and restraint.
“I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”
a monster created by society who wants nothing more than to be away from the evils that made him. a being who wants to die so he can finally know peace. a creature forced to live after his death. his one sin was wanting another like himself.
i hear theDevil screaming Milton's lines when I think ov theMonster. "Solitude, is sometimes best society." Milton's shortcomings are including 'sometimes'
to all you freaks and bastards. to all you unwanted cunts. don't carry the sins ov your fathers. you where not made strong enough to endure. flee you fools to the mountains. to the woods. from the furthest reaches ov man's damned hand. find a valley to pour your love in and stop seeking a fire worth dying for.
OH! OK.
I always thought the luke goss in hallmarks Frankenstein was most faithful to the description of the monster in the book
Frankenstein and the monster along with the bride of Frankenstein inspiration, are in films\books about Mary Shelly, poet Shelly, Lord Byron and Dr. Polidori wrote stories during rainy, lousy weather in Geneva. Those books are excellent.👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼❤❤❤
"FRANKENSTEIN BEYOND" IS A REALLY DIFFERENT TAKE ON IT. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
a very nice compare and contrast between many interpretations, as well as a nice summary of what it means to do adaptations. Glad this showed up on my feed. I think you were able to make this great vid because you're working on your own adaptation, so I know this isn't likely, but I'd love to watch similar videos from you about other universal monsters
Perhaps. I certainly intend doing analyses and comparisons of other films from a writer/filmmakers perspective. Frankenstein just happens to be close to my heart, so I started with this.
@@philmoore well in that case I gotta keep an eye on you and see what other stuff you do!
So glad you gave the Edison film a mention.
It's very cruel of you to give us a glimpse of your record collection, without a few closeups. For some of us, making a new acquaintance, the contents of their record and book collections are essential information.
Excellent and engaging video - thanks for this
I must admit that I always emphasized with the monster. Growing up with undiagnosed autism. I always wondered why every one around me could not understand me. I was either treated like a monster or a nothing. I was big for my age. I never felt I deserved love. Even growing up to be considered very attractive. Anyway seeing the bride as a kid.... when the bride rejected the monster I lost all hope of meeting any one my self. The logic being if even you soul mate dose not want you. Was a devastating example. Also with the guys of a happy ending. But not for the other. And since how we were just not in the business of happy endings for the other. That was a almost birth of a nation example of logic I never forgot. As kids people often look to movies for the answer to what life has in store for them.
I also really liked the monster character in Penny Dreadful. Definitely the most interesting of all portrayals.
There are a lot of pop culture icons that have traces of Frankenstein. That are very significant interpretations of the story. Astro boy ... The Incredible Hulk .... I robot .... Adam warlock ... looking for there place on the world. How the world relates to them. The father and abandoned son relationship. To friends and enemies made in passing. Even Pinocchio ... The golem Etc fit this
Which is why it has become such a classic story. It defines a story archetype that can be repurposed in lots of ways in any genre.
One of the best adaptations is the horror manga/graphic novel by Jung Ito. I'm very curious/hopefl to see the upcoming version by Guillermo Del Toro, as none of the extant fine versions really seem to quite nail it for me...
Very nice video - one of the best recent adaps is a 2015 Frankenstein from Candyman director Bernard Rose, which got surprisingly little PR - it seems less interested in genre and more in really engaging imaginatively w Shelley's novel - the whole film is from the Creature's pov, and we hear a voiceover narration of his thoughts, drawn from Shelley's erudite text, showing how advanced a being this Creature is, as his rapidly developing body struggles to catch up - Victor and Elizabeth are the scientist couple who created him
Another brilliant but more indirect treatment is Carol Churchill's play A Number, which shows a scientist trying to clone his dead child, with the earlier, "flawed" clone growing viciously resentful at having been so casually cast aside by his "father", who keeps making more in an effort to "get it right" - this seems to touch on something deep at the heart of sibling rivalry, and of course of parenting in general
There are so many adaptation and variations, all borrowing from the same archetype. My favourite most recent reimagining is Poor Things. A brilliant film.
@@philmoore Poor Things was exciting - I think like Number it's tapping into some larger conversation revolving around Shelley's work and its themes (I liked the way you tied Pygmalion into this)
- whereas the Rose film is a straight Frankenstein adap, which IMO deserves to take its place among Whale, Hammer, Branagh, etc as a prominent direct take on that novel
@@philmoore YES!
You forgot one, or never knew about it . The most modern film adaptation of Frankenstein is, THE SKIN I LIVE IN ,with Antonio Banderas . A fun film right on the cutting edge... For men it is a cutting edge triller ...
The was only so many films I could cover, so I focussed on the best known ones. After all there have been HUNDREDS in one form or another.
@@philmoore Hence, no mention of "I, Frankenstein". I'm only mentioning it because I thought it was sort of a fun concept.
@@Polyphemus47 Heres a thought. For all those who are dissapointed I did not cover a particular adaptation (most of whcih I have seen - sone of which I have not). Would you be interested in a PART 2, which looked at other adaptations?
16:37 My own dramatic instinct here is the opposite. This is the part where Victor moral ambiguity comes into focus as moral cowardice and selfishness. He is NOT a hero, but the real villain of the piece.
25:00 Mel Brooks, in a documentary made for the Branaugh film, captured the essence of this story very succinctly. He called it a story of "womb envy."
Luke Gross version was the most faithful and I think it's the best.
Thank you Phil, Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is my favorite book. I own the the illustrated version done by the great Bernie Wrightson, it is a perfect marriage imo. I am glad to have stumbled upon your video, I found it fascinating and captivating. I have yet to see a movie adaptation that I thinks perfectly encapsulates what I feel when reading the book. I do like Young Frankenstein and the 1931 version but I see them as great films and not true adaptations. May I ask what is your favorite adaptation?
I LOVE the Wrightson illustrations also. Very inspiring. I could hazard that my favourite interpration is my own - but that's currently in pre-production and won't be seen for a couple of years. And again, it takes certain liberties in what I feel is important and what is dropped from the book. I gather the Guillermo Del Torro adaptation does not follow the novel exactly - though I expect it will be a good film. As this video suggests, they're all different, and all good in their own way. I love the Universal films though just for their audacity and style. Despite the rough edges.
@@philmoore would love to see your adaptation, wish you all the best. I love Del Torro and I am curious to see what he does. I haven’t seen the Kenneth version since it came out, I remember being pretty faithful but felt that something was off, it might be that I didn’t like de Niro as the monster but after watching your video I think that making Victor a hero figure, as you pointed out, might have contributed to that feeling I had. Thanks again
The character of Clerval was in the "True Story" played by David McCallum. You didn't include the show "Penny Dreadful" with Harry Treadaway as Victor and Rory Kinnear as The Monster/Calaban/John Clare. It's an excellent reinterpretation of the novel with a "bride" of sorts played by Billie Piper. The whole show is amazing, except for the final two episodes.
I live in the Michael saracen made for TV movie. There is another Frankenstein movie begins with the abandonment of the monster and the monster systematically killing every one Frankenstein lives in front of him leading to the standoff at the end. I can’t remember if they blow each other up or or face-off with the monster satisfied that he’s ruined Victor’s life. I also wondered if the end of John carpenters the things ending with the two protagonist waiting for something to happen in the frozen north was inspired by the end of Frankenstein. I never read who goes there. So I don’t know if that’s part of the novel.
Carpenter's The Thing was a remake of an 1950s classic (The Thing from Another World). While very different, they both rely on the isolation of people stuck in an Arctic base. I don;t thihk this was a deliberate reference, though it's always good for a story's stakes to trap your characters in a place they can't escape from, or seek help, and have to deal with the problem alone. Classic Cabin In the Woods Horror scenario.
@@philmoore no it was actually more of a remake of the novel
The thing from outer space revamp the monster into a plant-based being
The campy movie horror express is also a adaptation of who goes there
There you go. I haven't read the original novel for the THING.
I I thought there was a TV movie version with Randy Quaid as a monster and maybe Patrick Bergen
You just sparked a memory here. But since I remember almost nothing about it, it must not have left much of an impression on me.
There is a real Castle Frankenstein ("rock of the Franks") in Germany. It's a ruin today. A 17th-century alchemist who lived there has been suggested as a possible inspiration for Shelley's eponymous character.
I'm Doctor Frankenstein to the tune of I'm Gonna Make You Mine by Lou Christie
Broke every rule in the book
Got called a ghoul and a crook
With every corpse I took
But look, and you'll find
I'm gonna stitch on some limbs, I'm gonna sew in a mind.
I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
I'll build my lab in a shack.
Hire a random hunchback.
Harvest the parts I lack, and combine
Into my brilliant design, into my brilliant design
I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Baby, I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Frankenstein, I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Baby, I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
I'll hook my custom made bod
To an electrical rod
And steal the power from God
A tripod will work fine.
To send a bolt through its brain, to send a bolt through its spine.
I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Baby, I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Frankenstein, I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Baby, I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Now he's a short tempered gruesome kind of individual
Howling night and day from his cage.
I have to keep me away from his inescapable rage.
Baby, I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Frankenstein, I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Baby, I;m Doctor Frankenstein.
I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Although I gave him his life
He's filled my days with such strife
Insists I make him a wife,
One more of his kind.
A chance my plans to improve, a chance my plans to refine,
I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Baby, I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Frankenstein, I;m Doctor Frankenstein.
Baby, I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
I'm Doctor Frankenstein.
Would you consider The smaller creations of Dr. Pretorius as homunculus
Would you say Colin Clive and James wheels interpretation in the movie is indicative The silent film German Expressionist carryover. An example would be Lauren Jamie’s performance in the Phantom of the opera.
Stylistically, Absolutely. And there also perhaps a touch of 'Doctor Caligari' to the Monster's reinterpretation. But remember it came from a stage adaptation to begin with. The story had already had over 100 years of other people messing with it.
Lon Chaney
The Frankenstein a true story has a spark of homoeroticism to me, where the young handsome man is no longer of use when he ages and is no longer beautiful.
Aside, the creature was played by Canadian Michael Sarrazin.
I brought that modern version of Frankenstein movie on Blu-ray But I really haven't got around in seeing it yet myself Man I really Hope it's Cool!😉☮️
Frankenstein follows under the same curse as King Kong but not as bad. And that’s a major components of every Frankenstein story is his creation. And King Kong it’s his discovery on the island and I guess the showman in the beauty. Spider-Man it’s the killing of uncle Ben. Superman... The planet exploding and him growing up and moving to the big city. Frankenstein breaks the cycle much faster than the others. Every filmmaker seems to want to do an homage to the original movie. And to a secondary degree the original novel. Most of the movies that try to market the novel. Adaptation always seem to still base things off off one of the zillion movies adaptations and hopes no one will notice. It reminds me of businesses that start off with a product Ken wants to catches on they use cheaper materials impulse nobody notices
As will my own version when it comes out. The fact is the movies, and certain story elements that they have invented, have become part of the mythology. Which is fine I think. The story has taken on a life of its own, beyond Mary Shelley's orignal work. Provided it is true to itself in some way. But as I say, many adaptations do miss the point, the deepr meanings possible, and are superficial as a result.
@@philmoore At least hammer made a cottage industry out of the villainy of Dr. Frankenstein somewhat illustrated in the movie The bride with sting. Note the monsters name was Victor lol. And the monster was the hero almost in a Beauty and the beast way
The Hallmark adaptation was very close to the sprit of the novel.
I'm curious, are you going to do a comparison for Dracula too or are you just sticking to Frankenstein?
Just Frankenstein for now. But I guess it depends how many people ask 🙂 Other standalone film analyses are also on the cards. Feel free to submit any suggestions for films you would like to see covered.
Have you scene the series penny dreadful interpretation of Frankenstein.
Yes. Quite liked it. Though of course it was throwing everything into a big meta melting pot.
That lynch mob scene in the Branagh film is terrible. Like everything in that movie it’s so over the top it becomes unintentionally funny, like a Frankenstein parody.
I voss hiss girlfriend! (Horse neighs)
I can't think of one movie that really followed the book. The Universal classics Frankenstein, Bride and Son r without doubt grand films. The genius in the Hammer Films was that they focused the story lines on the creator rather than the creation. The Cushing series r number one in entertainment. Many of the others. Frankenstein, The True Story, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Young Frankenstein etc. r wonderful broad stories from the novel. I like to think young people after seeing a Frankenstein film might stimulate their imagination and read the actually novel. They might even read other classic horror tales in literature. Stoker's Dracula, H.G. Wells The Invisible Man. If young people don't usually like to read but like horror films. Well, maybe we can entice them to read such books. Hey, as long as they r reading why not . I remember Classics illustrated. Classic novels in comic book formats when I was a kid it got me going, wanting to read other tales from Jules Verne to Lovecraft. And some people have the nerve to say Horror Films r no good for kids
Given that James whales was gay. If you look at The bride of Frankenstein through a gate coded lens. It’s the story of to men who set out to create life with out women
I’ve generally sort of experience this scenario from young Frankenstein on a daily basis. I’m a tall black man. A lot of the time when I enter new Business for the first time. Coffee shop or restaurant or store. Every one in the Business... workers and customers discomfort immediately shows up on everybody’s faces body language. The moment I speak. Every one calms down and things go back to normal. I guess I don’t sound ghetto lol.
Which speaks to the reactions the Monster gets in the original novel. It was based less on his physical appearance, and more on his size - he was 8-feet tall at a time that was VERY unusual. An inartiulate (at first) giant.
@@philmoore Willis O’Brien came up with the idea of having Frankenstein being put together with animal parts and human parts and some point he starts to grow exponentially. And into fighting King Kong. Because of him turning down an Oscar. Hollywood sort of blacklisted Willis O’Brien. So the story ends up getting picked up by toho studios. And Frankenstein conquers the world is born. A kiaju sized Frankenstein.