Title: Frankenstein (1931)

Studio: Universal Home Video

Rating: ‘Not Rated’

Running Time: 71 Minutes, original uncut version

Format(s): Full Screen

Extras: Documentary: The Frankenstein Files

Trailers

Short Film: Boo!

Commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer

Promotional Materials/Photo Gallery

Directed By: James Whale

Starring: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Dwight Frye

Reviewed by: Joe O'Leary

Finally, the Universal Monsters make their way to DVD, and there is no better way to kick it off than with a remastered, restored version of James Whale's horror classic Frankenstein. Who would have ever predicted that a horror movie about a doctor reanimating dead human tissue would be such a box office smash for Universal? Even more amazing, who would have guessed that almost 70 years later Universal would be still be reaping the benefits of licensing out the likeness of the Frankenstein Monster, a creature who has become an instantly recognizable pop culture icon?

The movie is loosely based on the Mary Shelley novel, but has much more in common with the stage productions of the novel. The main core of the work remains in tact however: Dr. Frankenstein's (Colin Clive) obsession with reanimating dead tissue, and ultimately conquering death itself. Dr. Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) are grave robbers by night, plundering body parts of the dead for the doctor's experiments. Dr. Frankenstein eventually stitches together a body, and sends out Fritz to get a fresh brain. By mistake, Fritz brings back an abnormal criminal's brain, which gets put into the body and brought back to life by the good doctor. The monster (Boris Karloff) that results is a confused, and in many ways a child-like creature. After being teased and taunted by Fritz, the monster breaks free from Castle Frankenstein and wanders into the nearby woods. There the creature encounters a little girl playing by the lake. The girl is not frightened of the monster, and teaches him how to float flowers on the lake. This leads to tragedy, as the monster mistakenly throws the little girl in the lake, thinking that she will float too. When the little girl's body is found, a torch wielding mob forms looking for the monster, and this leads to the ultimate confrontation between the Creature and its Creator.

This is the best version of Frankenstein I've ever seen, visually and sound wise. The cleaned up print is wonderfully clear, and the movie itself is fully restored. A couple of scenes which were cut by censors have been edited back into the movie: a scene where Dr. Frankenstein declares, "Now I know what it feels like to be God!" and the scene where the monster actually throws the little girl into the water. The sound is obviously mono, but it's not muffled or filled with hisses and pops like so many movies of the time.

The extras on this disc are plentiful, and Universal should be commended. First up, there is an excellent, specially made for DVD documentary called "The Frankenstein Files" hosted by David Skal. The documentary is jam packed with interesting facts about Frankenstein in general, from the Mary Shelley novel, to the stage plays, to the movie. Insights into the making of the film and the players involved are given by a variety of film historians, as well as Karloff's daughter Sarah and special effects great Rick Baker.

The trailers are not cleaned up like the movie, but still enjoyable. (I'm a big fan of trailers!) Also included is a "short" called Boo! Basically, this is scenes from Frankenstein, the original Nosferatu, and some other horror movies spliced together with a narrator cracking bad jokes (pre MST3K even!). I have to admit, the narrator's "jokes" get real stale about two minutes into this, so I like to watch it with the mute button just to see the scenes from Nosferatu. It's a nice curiosity piece, and it's fun to see what kinds of things people were watching in the theaters back in the 30's.

The extras are rounded off by a Promotional Materials/Photo Gallery and a running commentary option by film historian Rudy Behlmer. The Promo Materials/Photo Gallery section is 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 can also watch the movie with a running commentary by Rudy Behlmer. His remarks are fascinating and well researched, covering everything from the actors, to the director , to the facts about the movie and the novel. This is one audio commentary worth listening to.

Universal has served up an incredible DVD with Frankenstein, filling it to the brim with everything you've ever wanted to know about this horror classic. Let's hope the trend continues with the rest of the Universal Monsters.