Title: The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Studio: Universal Home Video

Rating: ‘Not Rated’

Running Time: 75 Minutes

Format(s): Full Screen

Extras: Documentary: She’s Alive! (Hosted by Joe Dante)

Trailers

Commentary by film historian Scott MacQueen

Promotional Materials/Photo Gallery

Directed By: James Whale

Starring: Elsa Lanchester, Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Ernest Thesiger

Reviewed by: Joe O'Leary

Lightning strikes twice as Universal releases James Whale’s masterpiece The Bride of Frankenstein on DVD. After Universal released Frankenstein on DVD packed with extras, I was worried that the subsequent Classic Monsters DVDs would be movie only. I needn’t have worried.

Bride opens with Frankenstein author Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester, who plays a dual role as the Bride) discussing her novel with her husband Lord Percy and Lord Byron. This scene sets the tone for the movie, in that director James Whale subtly (and not so subtly) filled the movie with his own sly observations on life, and religion specifically. By showing the audience right away that this movie is just a story, Whale gets away with many bits of dialogue that never would have made it past the censoring board of the time had the dialogue been straightforwardly presented. This infusion of ideas into a monster movie really makes this film seem ahead of its time, and still exciting and charming after 60 plus years.

After the opening, the film picks up where Frankenstein left off, at the burnt windmill where the monster supposedly perished. The mob of villagers begins to disperse, but the father of the little girl who was killed in Frankenstein (when the creature threw her in a lake) stays behind. He won’t be satisfied until he finds the monster’s body. Unfortunately, the monster (Boris Karloff) finds him first and sets off on an angry rampage through the woods, eventually hiding in an underground crypt.

Meanwhile, Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), having barely survived the first movie, is recuperating with his bride Elizabeth (the beautiful Valerie Hobson). He is paid a visit by the strange Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), who wants Henry to continue with his experiements. Henry is intrigued, but refuses. As fate would have it, Dr. Pretorius, while looking for fresh bodies in a crypt, has a run in with the Frankenstein monster (who can now talk!). Pretorius befriends the monster, and uses the creature to force Henry to create mate for the monster: the Bride of Frankenstein.

This is the best quality print I’ve seen of Bride. While not fully restored like Frankenstein, Bride shows little aging, and looks fantastic on DVD. The sound is mono, but clear with very little level of hiss. Again, I’ve never seen Bride in a better presentation!

The extras on this disc are great, and Universal should again be commended. First there is an excellent, specially made for DVD documentary called She’s Alive hosted by director Joe Dante (who should stick to directing). The documentary is jam packed with interesting facts about Bride, including insights into James Whale and his battle with censors, as well as his relationship with the actors. The wonderful movie score by Franz Waxman is also examined, which made me extremely happy since Waxman’s score is such an integral part of the mood and feel of this film.

The trailers are fun as usual, and the Promotional Materials/Photo Gallery section is (like on the Frankenstein disc) a slide show of the different movie posters and photos from the movie set to music and dialogue from the movie. I love this automatic slide show rather than the other kind, in which you must use the right arrow button on your remote to go to the next picture. With the automatic slide show, you can relax and watch the images go by, and if you want to pause a particular image for longer viewing, you can. You may also watch the movie with a running commentary by Scott MacQueen. This is the only extra which isn’t as good as on the Frankenstein disc. MacQueen seems rushed, and misses many chances to flesh out all the great things about the film as pointed out in the documentary. If you want to listen to a great audio commentary, check out Rudy Behlmer’s remarks on the Frankenstein disc.

Universal has brought to life another incredible DVD with The Bride of Frankenstein. It looks like the Universal Monsters are in good hands on DVD.