Frankenstein

There have been so many versions of this story made that it would almost seem superflous to make another, yet this is the best version that I have seen because it is the most faithful to Mary Shelly's book. I saw the classic 1931 version where Karloff was the monster and he would have been proud of Quaid's performance. People who know Randy Quaid only for his role as "Cousin Eddie" in the Chevy Chase vacation films would be astounded by his fine work here. He does a remarkable job of making the monster both scary and pitiful as society treats him so badly. He screams at Frankentstein "Why did you make me like this". The scene where he murders Frankenstein's family is the most disturbing part of the film. This is a great film and with the exception of Karloff's version, it is the best Frankenstein that I have ever seen.

So there we lay on a cold, dismal day wondering what the hell to watch. Finally, we decided on another made for TV movie entitled, "Frankenstein" (1993). This 116-minute adaptation of Mary Shelley's most famous novel starred Randy Quaid as the misunderstood monster. Yes folks, that's Randy "Are you sh**ting me, Clark?" Quaid. Mr. Quaid actually does very well with the character and I am not ashamed to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Who Knew? The movie tells the somewhat overdone, yet classic, story of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his dubious research involving the attempt to create life on his own. I will say that it was not as annoying as Kenneth Branaugh's interpretation in the sense that it was not as overacted with all those annoying "We are so happy we will run around like idiots" scenes. Don't get me wrong, Branaugh's adaptation held its own brand of charm but its hectic nature was somewhat unbearable. One thing I would like to know is how come they always pick a butt-ugly woman to play Frankenstein's ill-fated fiancée', Elizabeth? I mean, Woah! The actress playing the role in this version was hideous. Maybe that shouldn't matter, but it was hard to pay attention to the movie when all we could think about was MAN that chick is FOUL! Surprisingly, this film contained a good bit of gore as, after all, it was made for television. And I will say the method they used for making the monster was original and kind of fascinating. Check it out if you are not yet too bored with the story line of "Doctor screws up playing God"!

There has been made several versions of Frankenstein, and this TV version works OK.It's not the best of the kind of course, but it's watchable.This is a little different kind of version.In this version Victor Frankenstein and the monster he created are the same.They feel the same pain and they have the same feelings.When one dies, dies the other too.Patrick Bergin plays dr. Victor Frankenstein and Randy Quaid the monster, which is a little surprise.But they both do good acting job.

This Version of Frankenstein is the best!

I won't even waste my time criticizing Branagh's Version. Branagh's Version stays with the book until it is time for the monster to kill Victor's wife,then Branagh throws in this ridiculous resurrection of Elizabeth scene which was totally horrible. Branagh ended his movie exactly as the book ended with the monster and his dead master floating away on a sheet of Ice burning up.

This Version of Frankenstein was made in 1993 for TNT. It was one of the first original movies made for that network, Gettysburg premiered that same year on that station.

This version stays pretty close to the basic plot of the book but it adds a twist. The Death of Elizabeth is exact to how she died in the book, the monster breaks her neck, the rest of the scene was different from the book.

The film adds some new twists to the story that make it all the more interesting. William is a teenager in this version not a child and has a somewhat different role.

This version remains pretty faithful to the basic plot of the book not the details of the book like Branagh attempts to stick to in his version but pathetically failed at towards the end.

John Cameron did a superb job with the music score for this film!

I give this film 4 stars. Excellent viewing for a rainy day!

With the awakening of classic monsters back onto film, such as "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "The Mummy," it's nice to see a "Frankenstein" film that manages to work nicely.

This was a made-for-cable production, and it was a good attempt. A lot more faithful to the novel than other carnations (but it still freely takes its liberties ), this movie presented some new ideas that were interesting to think about. But the major change was the film's biggest disappointment: The monster was no longer a resurrected assembly of corpses, but a being cloned from Dr. Frank himself. Therefore, they can feel each other's pain and emotions. "Two parts of a single man," as the good doctor states. The twist is more like a "Jekyll and Hyde" idea, rather than the usual father and son relationship. It was a fascinating concept, but not really a good idea for a Frankenstein film claiming it is faithful to the book.

Other than that, it is a top notch job. David Wickes directs with good timing and the suspense it well brought out. Bergin and Quaid are good in the leads as the doctor and the monster, and John Mills also brings in a powerful performance in a cameo as a blind man. This is worth a comparison to the much better "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," directed by Kenneth Branagh. Both have similar style and terror.

***1/2 out of *****