Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)

When the brilliant but unorthodox scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein rejects the artificial man that he has created, the Creature escapes and later swears revenge.

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writers:

Mary Shelley (novel), Steph Lady (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Kenneth Branagh, Helena Bonham Carter

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Creature / Sharp Featured Man
Kenneth Branagh	...	Victor
Tom Hulce	...	Henry
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Elizabeth
Aidan Quinn	...	Walton
Ian Holm	...	Victor's Father
Richard Briers	...	Grandfather
John Cleese	...	Professor Waldman
Robert Hardy	...	Professor Krempe
Cherie Lunghi	...	Victor's Mother
Celia Imrie	...	Mrs. Moritz
Trevyn McDowell	...	Justine
Gerard Horan	...	Claude
Mark Hadfield	...	Felix
Joanna Roth	...	Marie

Storyline

In 1794, in the Arctic Sea, Captain Robert Walton is a man obsessed to reach the North Pole, pushing his crew to exhaustion. When his ship hits an iceberg, it is stranded in the ice. Out of the blue, Captain Walton and his men overhear a dreadful cry and they see a stranger coming to the ship. He introduces himself as Victor Frankenstein and he tells the Captain the story of his life since he was a little boy in Geneva. Victor is a barilliant student, and in love with his stepsister Elizabeth, an orphan that was raised by his father Baron Victor von Frankenstein. In 1793, Victor moves to Ingolstadt to study at the university, and he promises to get married to Elizabeth. At the university, Victor befriends Henry Clerval, who becomes his best friend. Victor gets close to Professor Waldman and decides to create life to cheat death, but Waldman advises him that he should not try this experiment, since the result would be an abomination. When Waldman dies, Victor steals his notes and tries...

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Plot Keywords:

experiment | birth defect | chained | monster | fleeing a city | 

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Taglines:

Be warned.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horrific images

Details

Country:

USA Japan UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frankenstein de Mary Shelley

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,212,889, 6 November 1994, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$22,006,296

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$112,006,296

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Japan Satellite Broadcasting (JBS), IndieProd Company Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) Dolby SR Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Francis Ford Coppola claims that Mary Shelley's name was included in the title because he has a tradition of putting the author's names in the titles of his movies that are adapted from novels, such as "Mario Puzo's The Godfather (1972)", "Bram Stoker's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)" and "John Grisham's The Rainmaker (1997)". Others have claimed, however, that Shelley's name was included in the title to avoid legal action from Universal Studios, who claimed to own the rights to the simple title Frankenstein (1931).

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Goofs

When Professor Waldman is administering cholera vaccinations, and they are struggling with the townsperson, the man is saying, "You're not sticking that in me," but his mouth remains tightly closed.

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Quotes

Victor Frankenstein: I haven't got time to argue!
Elizabeth: Oh, isn't it convenient? Or doesn't it fit in with your plans? Don't you ever think of anything or anyone than yourself?

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Alternate Versions

There is a workprint circulating which contains gore which was cut to earn an "R" rating, as well as other scenes, including the Fay Ripley scene and the re-animated dog scene.

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Connections

Version of Frankenstein (2004)

User Reviews

a distinguished dramatic frankenstein

as i watched the trailer of the movie on TV, i thought it'll be another horror movie with the same old clichés, full of blood and disgusting scenes...However,when i saw the movie i was moved by the dramatic melancholic and tragic way in which branagh directed it...it wasn't at all such a trivial horror movie..on the contrary..it was another philosophical deep way of reviving Shelley's novel..it was another masterpiece of branagh's...he adopted the novel in such a delicate dramatic romantic way..and dipped into the moral that Shelley meant by her story..Branagh made of Victor Frankenstein another Odesseus whose vanity and arrogance makes him think that he could imitate God and defy Him..he made him a tragic hero haunted by the death of his mother which has created in him the urging desire of fighting death and creating an alternative life...Branagh's choice of the actors was more than perfect, De Niro made a sympathetic touching creature despite his violence and thick hands ,the creature in this movie managed to escape being another scary pale dead monster walking the earth as it was in the old Frankenstein movies,the genius De Niro made us feel and believe that this creature bears great equal amounts of love and rage and that if he cannot satisfy one ,he'll indulge the other (as he says to frankenstein), Helena Bonham Carter was splendid as Elizabeth,she was like the refreshing breeze in the movie which could decrease the intensity of the bloody scenes, Tom Hulce in the role of Henry was in his friendship to Victor as intimate as the friendship of Horatio to Hamlet, Ian Holm as the baron Frankenstein was very good ,but his part was too small that he couldn't show all his talents, Richard Briers was great in the role of the tender grandfather, and of course Kenneth Branagh himself as Frankenstein was perfect,he could make us pity for Frankenstein rather than hating him. Generally the movie despite its several bloody scenes,makes an intense powerful drama..and makes you saturated with a strange sense of melancholy after seeing it...Branagh's Frankenstein is really a must-see :)))