Kenneth Branagh's Adaptation of Frankenstein for the Cinema
The story of 'Frankenstein' has been set in the Georgian period. The
story line can be cut briefly to a crazed scientist (Victor
Frankenstein) thinking he can 'play God'. He tries to bring a creation
to life and once succeeding he realises the terrible mistake he has
made and sets about trying to correct it - by murdering it. The
Monster sets out for revenge killing family members one by one, ending
with them both dying in ice covered mountains. Kenneth Branagh has
re-told this story from Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein. Branagh
has been very careful when creating this movie, and because of it, the
movie has said to be a movie that virtually matches the original
novel, creating the same types of atmospheres and adrenaline rush to
both the viewer and reader. Kenneth Branagh has directed a wide range
of movies, featuring Love's Labour's Lost (2000), Hamlet (1996), A
Midwinter's Tale (1996) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Branagh has
also made a name for himself acting, in movies like Harry Potter and
the Chamber of Secrets, How to Kill Your Neighbour's Dog, Rabbit-Proof
Fence, Galapagos, Chicken Run/The Road to El Dorado's and Love's
Labour's Lost. Branagh also played as Victor Frankenstein himself.
I think the movie has a predominant theme of life and death. This also
feels as though it has a Gothic horror theme to it, being dark and
drab through a large proportion of the movie, signifying death.
Alternatively the bright lights, dancing and happiness throughout a
smaller minority of the film may represent life, but looking at the
proportions death plays a larger part o...
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...cave, the
Monster clearly expressing his anger and revenge upon Victor.
I think when Shelley wrote the novel, the film was centred was more
around the interaction between people, for example Elizabeth and
Victor and Victor and Frankenstein. I think the re-make plays more
upon the reactions to the audience, although there is a lot of
interaction Branagh has focused more on making the storyline clear to
the audience, and building up fear within the viewer. Today, there is
a massive debate on the use of cloning and whether it is right or
wrong, and I think this is an example of what people might think would
happen if cloning became legal. Also their maybe fear among people
that, like the Monster, they are going to become better in everyway,
stronger, more intelligent and this is something humans dread -
competition.
For my final project of the novel unit, I chose the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley and first published in 1818. Frankenstein is a tale about an ambitious young scientist who in his practice oversteps the boundaries of acceptable science and creates a monster which destroys everything Victor Frankenstein loved and held dear.
Anyone who has had the chance to read Mary Shelly’s original Frankenstein and watch the movie Young Frankenstein is aware that there is quite a difference when it comes to the two of them. For one it is easy to point out that Young Frankenstein is set out to be a comedy while the original version of Frankenstein is made to be serious. Young Frankenstein is a 1977 film that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein’s grandson. The film adaptation is essentially a parody of the classic tale along with other versions of Frankenstein. It pointed out from the start of the movie that it would run directly parallel with the original tale when Fredrick Frankenstein was mentioned to be the grandson of the infamous Victor
Comparing the Novel and Film Adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. “Horror and science fiction tend to present radically opposite interpretations of what may look like comparable situations.” (Kawin, 1981.) Bruce Kawin helps the reader to understand how a story in the genre of science fiction could be adapted, or bastardized if you like, into a horror. This is similar to the film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Frankenstein is a horror movie that tells the story of Dr. Henry Frankenstein’s experiment. In search for the fame and glory of playing to be god, he reaches a point where he is able to revive dead people. In this version of Frankenstein’s monster we see a selfish and careless scientist that created a creature with his intelligence. The way the character is shown reflects how ambitious someone can be to reach to be known in the world. This movie makes the people who are watching to feel empathy on the poor creature. This poor creature that did not want to live in a life where everyone is going to hate him for having a horrible aspect and not following rules that he has no idea about.
The 1818 edition to Frankenstein tells us that the Shelly’s ‘Chief concern’ in writing the novel had been limited to ‘avoiding the enervating effects of the novels of the present day and to the exhibition of the amiableness of the domestic affection, and the excellence of the universal virtue’. In the further edition of Frankenstein published in 1831, Shelly brings her own personal faults with the present day and is subtle to interpreting her personal views on life to society’s in her novel, which could be from her family’s influences. These opinions to the novel can be depicted in many ways, Shelly does use the monster to represent the grotesque society she grew up in. The monster represents Social Ostracisation through self destruction after tasting love and passion through the Delacey family, to have it then be taken away. Victor Frankenstein also represents this through the lack of his own love and passion due to the death of ...
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is impressive, entertaining, and fascinating so is it no surprise there have been so many films and artworks influenced by her novel. Many of which have put their own spin to the horror novel, especially the character of the creature that remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction. However, there have been critics whom argue modern versions and variations have lost the horror and passion that is an essential to the creature. The start of the Creature is bound to one book. However, public impression of the Creature has changed severely since the publication of the original novel, leading to diverse styles and plot lines in its diverse film adaptations. People’s impression of the Creature have become so twisted and turned by time and decades of false film posters and article titles that most use the name “Frankenstein” to refer to the Creature itself, rather than the scientist who created him! It’s a shame! An understanding of literary history is a necessity to comprehend the truth of the Creature’s tragic history and how decades of film adaptations changed him into the hulking beast most people know him as today.
Life is a gift – and that is the key philosophy of the novel. If you give life to somebody as a parent or produce a life like Victor Frankenstein you have to know earlier what to do with it and be able to take full responsibility for giving the best to your creation. The creature was Victor’s toy and Victor was the doll of his parents. Everything occurred in a chain reaction. One good deed makes another good deed and vice versa – one evil generates
Paradoxically, the creation does not result in progress but manages to destroy more than what it was made from, in turn, causing more conflict and damage. Whale’s cynical view towards the war was especially exposed in “Bride of Frankenstein” which was made three years after Hitler came into authority. The technology used within this film was beyond its time as was the gender reversal and concept of re-animation after death. This could symbolize the people’s resistance to evolve and improve. The community and people who make it such are also part of the symbolic battlefield that is Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory. It is in this community of regression that the re-born creature is thrust into and immediately rejected. Similarly the returning wounded soldier is not taken in by the community; rather he is shunned and unwelcomed as if he has been de-humanized by the war. The people of the community do not see the soldier as “re-born”, they see him more as an abnormality that was supposed to die in the war. Although many in the community claimed they would rather see dead heroes happy in their afterlife they were often rejected when they returned home. This war that was referred to as “the war to end all wars” produced more hardship for populations. It was at this time that the re-birth from death of the creature undermined the meaning of death and obligation of those who had sacrificed all for their country. In the film “J’accuse” by Abel Gance the town folk flee from the “reborn” soldiers. They are not at all excited or grateful to see their deceased war heroes one last time. The villagers know that they have not shown appreciation for the soldiers sacrifices. They have been living petty civilian lives, taking advantage of soldiers’ bu...
James Whale's Frankenstein is a VERY loose adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. The spirit of the film is preserved in its most basic sense, but the vast majority of the story has been entirely left out, which is unfortunate. The monster, for example, who possesses tremendous intellect in the novel and who goes on an epic quest seeking acceptance into the world in which he was created, has been reduced to little more than a lumbering klutz whose communication is limited to unearthly shrieks and grunts. Boris Karloff was understandably branded with the performance after the film was released, because it was undeniably a spectacular performance, but the monster's character was severely diminished from the novel.
Frankenstein, the doctor, aims to create a man in his own image. His personal ambitions drove him mad and into isolation. He leaves school in pursuit of better facilities and free rein to test, create and revision life. He becomes obsessed with the idea of reanimation of flesh and is ultimately successful. However, the project is beyond the boundaries of what is thought possible and acceptable, and the actions taken to create the monster are unethical. In the opening scenes Frankenstein and his assistant, Fritz, are seen wandering through the graveyard taking bodies, and stealing experimental parts for their creature. In comparison to the novel, the opening scenes of the film display a different perspective which changes the imagery of the actions taking place and the audience’s connection with the c...
Hollywood has played a big part is our lives. Growing up we’ve seen numerous movies, some that scared us others that touch us, and those images stayed with us forever. So what happens when Hollywood takes a classic piece of literature such as Frankenstein and turns into a monster movie. It transforms the story so much that now some 50 years later, people think of Frankenstein as the monster instead of the monster’s creator. It became a classic monster movie and all the high values of the original were forever lost.
“In the beginning GOD created the Heavens and the Earth”; thus, their power is limitless even in scenery. Mary Shelley’s 1816 gothic science fiction novel, Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus, introduces us to a young intellectually inquisitive man, Victor Frankenstein, who walks a thin line between scientific exploration and blasphemous conduct while attempting to bring glory to his name by creating a new species as if it were human. The setting in this novel highlights much significance: the unnatural occurrences of man have caused them to seek refuge in nature’s pure beauty implying the restorative powers of nature in the face of unnatural events.
Frankenstein is a fictional story written by Mary Shelly. It was later adapted into a movie version directed by James Whales. There are more differences than similarities between the book and the movie. This is because, the movie is mainly based on the 1920’s play, other than the original Mary Shelly’s book Frankenstein. A text has to be altered in one way or the other while making a movie due to a number of obvious factors. A lot of details from the book were missing in the movie, but the changes made by Whales were effective as they made the movie interesting, and successful.
Most Americans have some idea of who Frankenstein is, as a result of the many Frankenstein movies. Contrary to popular belief Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a scientist, not a monster. The "monster" is not the inarticulate, rage-driven criminal depicted in the 1994 film version of the novel. Shelley’s original Frankenstein was misrepresented by this Kenneth branagh film, most likely to send a different message to the movie audience than Shelley’s novel shows to its readers. The conflicting messages of technologies deserve being dependent on its creator (address by Shelley) and poetic justice, or triumph over evil (showed by the movie) is best represented by the scene immediately preceding Frankenstein’s monster’s death.
Mary Shelley’s text, Frankenstein is a text, which is highly regarded in today’s society for its outstanding literary worth. However, the text as it was seen during the time of Shelley and its appearance and appeal today, most certainly differ. The most significant difference is that over a hundred years ago, the text was seen as a popular text, our modern day Simpsons, if you like. Conversely, today it appeals to the cannon of high culture. Its gradual change over time has been based on a number of deciding factors.