Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (film)
Frankenstein | |
---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Kenneth Branagh |
Produced by |
Francis Ford Coppola James V. Hart John Veitch |
Screenplay by |
Steph Lady Frank Darabont |
Based on |
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley |
Starring |
|
Music by | Patrick Doyle |
Cinematography | Roger Pratt |
Edited by | Andrew Marcus |
Production company | |
Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 123 minutes[1] |
Country |
United States Japan |
Language | English |
Budget | $45 million |
Box office | $112 million |
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a 1994 horror drama film directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Robert De Niro, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hulce, Helena Bonham Carter, Ian Holm, John Cleese, and Aidan Quinn. The picture was produced on a budget of $45 million and is considered the most faithful film adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, despite several differences and additions in plot from the novel.[2]
Cast
- Robert De Niro as The Creation, the product of an experiment with corpses and electricity.
- De Niro also portrays Professor Waldman's killer whose body was used for the creature.
- Kenneth Branagh as Victor Frankenstein, a scientist obsessed with conquering death.
- Rory Jennings as young Victor
- Tom Hulce as Henry Clerval, Dr. Frankenstein's best friend from medical school.
- Helena Bonham Carter as Elizabeth, Frankenstein's fiancée and adoptive sister.[3]
- Hannah Taylor Gordon as young Elizabeth
- Ian Holm as Baron Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein's father.
- John Cleese as Professor Waldman, Frankenstein's tutor and colleague who shares his interest in creating life. His brain is later used for the creature following his death.
- Aidan Quinn as Captain Robert Walton, the commander of the ship which picks up Frankenstein in the Arctic Circle.
- Richard Briers as Grandfather, an elderly blind man who is kind to the Creation.
- Robert Hardy as Professor Krempe, a university tutor of medical sciences who condemns Frankenstein's theories of life beyond death.
- Trevyn McDowell as Justine Moritz, a worker in the Frankenstein household who is close friends with Elizabeth.
- Christina Cuttall as young Justine
- Celia Imrie as Mrs. Moritz, the head servant in the household who often fights with Justine.
- Cherie Lunghi as Caroline Frankenstein, Victor's mother who dies during the birth of his younger brother, William.
- Ryan Smith as William Frankenstein, Victor's younger brother.
- Charles Wyn-Davies as young William
- Hugh Bonneville as Schiller
- Jenny Galloway as Vendor's wife
- Patrick Doyle (uncredited) as Ballroom orchestra conductor
- Alex Lowe as Crewman
- Stuart Hazeldine (uncredited) as Man in crowd scene
- Fay Ripley (deleted scenes) as Whore
Reception
Frank Darabont
Original screenwriter Frank Darabont later called the film "the best script I ever wrote and the worst movie I’ve ever seen." He elaborated:
There’s a weird doppleganger effect when I watch the movie. It’s kind of like the movie I wrote, but not at all like the movie I wrote. It has no patience for subtlety. It has no patience for the quiet moments. It has no patience period. It’s big and loud and blunt and rephrased by the director at every possible turn. Cumulatively, the effect was a totally different movie. I don’t know why Branagh needed to make this big, loud film…the material was subtle. Shelley’s book was way out there in a lot of ways, but it’s also very subtle. I don’t know why it had to be this operatic attempt at filmmaking. Shelley’s book is not operatic, it whispers at you a lot. The movie was a bad one. That was my Waterloo. That’s where I really got my ass kicked most as a screenwriter... [Branagh] really took the brunt of the blame for that film, which was appropriate. That movie was his vision entirely. If you love that movie you can throw all your roses at Ken Branagh’s feet. If you hated it, throw your spears there too, because that was his movie.[4]
Critical response
Critical reviews were mixed; the film currently holds a 39% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 41 reviews with the consensus: "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is ambitious and visually striking, but the overwrought tone and lack of scares make for a tonally inconsistent experience".[5]
Roger Ebert gave the film two and a half stars out of four, writing: "I admired the scenes with De Niro [as the Creature] so much I'm tempted to give Mary Shelley's Frankenstein a favorable verdict. But it's a near miss. The Creature is on target, but the rest of the film is so frantic, so manic, it doesn't pause to be sure its effects are registered."[6] Janet Maslin wrote, "Branagh is in over his head. He displays neither the technical finesse to handle a big, visually ambitious film nor the insight to develop a stirring new version of this story. Instead, this is a bland, no-fault Frankenstein for the '90s, short on villainy but loaded with the tragically misunderstood. Even the Creature (Robert De Niro), an aesthetically challenged loner with a father who rejected him, would make a dandy guest on any daytime television talk show."[7]
Conversely, James Berardinelli of Reelviews.net gave the film three out of four stars, writing: "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein may not be the definitive version of the 1818 novel, and the director likely attempted more than is practical for a two-hour film, but overambition is preferable to the alternative, especially if it results—as in this case—in something more substantial than Hollywood's typical, fitfully entertaining fluff."[8]
Box office
The film fared poorly upon its U.S. theatrical release, grossing only $22 million, but did well in global markets where it grossed $90 million.[9][10]
Accolades
Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards | Best Makeup | Daniel Parker, Paul Engelen, Carol Hemming | Nominated |
British Academy Film Awards | Best Production Design | Tim Harvey | Nominated |
Saturn Awards | Best Horror/Thriller Film | Nominated | |
Best Actor | Kenneth Branagh | Nominated | |
Best Actress | Helena Bonham Carter | Nominated | |
Best Make-up | Daniel Parker, Paul Engelen | Nominated | |
Best Music | Patrick Doyle | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Robert De Niro | Nominated | |
Best Writing | Steph Lady, Frank Darabont | Nominated |
Other media
The film had a pinball table made based on it, as well as a video game adaptation produced by Sony Imagesoft and released for the Super NES and Genesis, which follows a platform-style format. A Sega CD version was also produced by Sony Imagesoft that has a more adventure-based format that would sometimes switch to a fighting game.
See also
References
- ↑ "MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN (15)". Columbia TriStar Films. British Board of Film Classification. October 14, 1994. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
- ↑ Mathews, Jack (1994-10-31). "Sleep Tight, a Monstrous Season Approaches : Movies: Those perennial masters of the dark, Frankenstein's monster and Count Dracula, return in a pair of new films. As always, they keep changing with the times.". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
- ↑ Mitchell, Sean (1994-11-06). "Kissing the 19th Century Goodby With "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein' behind her, Helena Bonham Carter vows to get away from period movies. But she's done so well as the prim and proper English lady. (Except for the stripping thing.)". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
- ↑ Bauer, Erik (2016-04-22). "Frank Darabont on The Shawshank Redemption". Creativescreenwriting.com. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ Ebert, Roger (1994-11-04). "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Movie Review (1994) | Roger Ebert". Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ Maslin, Janet (1994-11-04). "Movie Review - - FILM REVIEW: FRANKENSTEIN; A Brain on Ice, a Dead Toad and Voila! - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ "Reelviews Movie Reviews". Reelviews.net. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)". Box Office Mojo. 1994-12-02. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ↑ Natale, Richard (1994-11-07). "Stargate Keeps Surprising Lead Over the Pack Movies: The sci-fi thriller holds onto the top box-office spot despite stiff competition from heavily hyped star vehicles `The War' and `Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (film) |
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at the Internet Movie Database
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at Box Office Mojo
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at Rotten Tomatoes