Frankenstein (1984)

this was the only Frankestein movie i had ever seen and it was awesome. yeah some parts were a little cheesy, like the part when Frankestien hugs the little boy (Henry) so hard he dies. i thought i was going to die of laughter!! not that the kid dies just the way he dies....no matter how you put that it still sounds bad. oh well it's one of those you have to see it to get it sort of things. The cast is good. The movie stars Carrie Fisher, Robert Powell, and David Warner.the acting was good , and i loved everyone's costume!!! the make up was good too, Frankenstein did a very believable performance. and Carrie fisher, who plays Elizabeth, was very good too. she was very charming and i loved like all of her dresses...pretty cool. this was a very good movie considering that it was a TV movie and the budget they probably had.

This British version of Frankenstein suffers from a low budget, and it shows its lack of funding at times, but is actually not a bad movie. It does have the atmosphere of a TV movie, so it is somewhat hard to compare it to other film versions of the Frankenstein story. The makeup on the monster is rather hideous, but looks like something a novice could apply. For a low budget film, it does have great sets and period costumes. Carrie Fisher has less of a role than she is billed for but is still quite pretty and charming in this film (she does a good British accent for a native Californian). All in all, this version of Frankenstein is not nearly the classic the 1931 version was, but is entertaining and worth watching.

Robert Powell is convincing as Victor Frankenstein,bringing out all the subteties that are needed to make the role sympathetic. Carrie Fisher is charming and pretty as Elizabeth, Victor's bride, and David Warner evokes sympathy as the creature. its also nice to see Sir John Gielgud as the blind man, he gives a wonderfully understated performance. What the film lack is the novel's great ending. victor destroys the lab killing himself and the creature in this film. the novel of course has him track the creature through the north pole, perishing in the attempt. The lack of budget is, I am sure what prevented them from filming the novels ending. For a small budget however, it was a well done film.

This is one of the many of British television's attempts at bringing Mary Shelley's horror classic to life. While it suffers from cheap production values and a pretty traditional version of the story with no real twists, the mostly Shakespearean cast is excellent (which isn't surprising.... After all, who knows how to tackle the classics better than the British?). Robert Powell makes a thoughtful Dr. Frankenstein, while David Warner makes a sympathetic monster who, in an interested change, is disfigured due to fire-burns rather than the normal stitches and decaying flesh. Carrie Fisher, who got top billing, appears in nothing short but a series of cameos.**1/2 out of ****