Frankenstein

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 a great film. It is very scary. Doctor Frankenstein creates a monster out of dead body parts. Best on the best horror book ever. This is one of the best horror movies ever. This has great story line. It also has great story line. This movie also has great acting. This movie has great special effects. If you do not get scared of this movie then know movie will scary you. Robert Pwell is a great actor. For get Jesuse of Nazareth this is his best film. David Warner is a great actor. Titanic is great film. This is better. Carrie Fisher is a great actress. Star wars is a great film. This is better. This is not as good as Frankenstein (1931) but it is close to being has good. This a great remake.

Mary Shelley's horror perennial has attracted numerous talents to it over the years: this one is no exception, but the end result is largely unsatisfying and oddly forgettable! Robert Powell and David Warner (as creator and creature respectively) complement each other quite well, especially in their thoughtful (as opposed to physical) final confrontation. The latter's burnt look (while not fitted with bolts in the sides of his neck a' la the classic monster make-up, he is still brought to life via electrical charges) seems to be derived from Christopher Lee's messy visage in THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957), while also looking forward to Robert De Niro's in MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN (1994). Carrie Fisher feels out-of-place here as Elizabeth, John Gielgud is wasted as the blind hermit, and Edward Judd turns up in yet another unrecognizable character role as a procurer of Frankenstein's specimens. The essence of the tale is there, to be sure (in spite of the low-key approach)…though, at a mere 73 minutes, it comes off as rushed – with the film's visuals also proving unappetizingly drab!

Frankenstein (1984)

** (out of 4)

Elizabeth (Carrie Fisher) becomes worried that her fiancé Victor Frankenstein (Robert Powell) is spending too much time with his experiments. It turns out he's creating a human (David Warner) out of body parts and trying to bring it back to life.

This made-for-television British film isn't exactly the best version of the story that you're going to see but it does feature a nice cast as well as a couple good scenes that make it tolerable. At the same time, there's no question that there's not enough here to make it worth watching unless you're like me and want to see every version of the story out there.

There are some major issues with the film with the biggest being the fact that the direction is rather lackluster and there's just no style or energy to the picture. The movie is about as laid back as you can get and it doesn't help that it moves at a very slow pace. Even at just 73-minutes the movie drags in spots and there's no question that it needed a lot more life.

I thought Powell was rather bland as Frankenstein and Fisher is even worse as Elizabeth. She doesn't even try for an accent and she just wasn't right for the part. John Gielgud appears briefly as the blind hermit but this scene just doesn't have much of an impact. Warner was good as the monster and he's certainly one of the highlights of the picture.

I did find the ending to be good and there's a great sequence where the monster confronts his maker and asks questions about why he's the way he is. This scene was beautifully done and one wishes the rest of the picture had the magic of this scene.

This British film from the 1980s is far from being the best Frankenstein adaptation. It's low-budget is obvious, the monster's character development is rushed, and the ending is anticlimatic. But the film's strengths come from the competent performances from the cast and the solid script.

To be fair, I saw this film on YouTube for free, so the quality might not be what it truly is. Although the makeup is pretty bad and nowhere near James Whale's level of talent, David Warner does a great job of playing the Frankenstein Monster. He conveys horror and pathos as the character should. Robert Powell is a solid Victor Frankenstein that conveys the madness and tragedy of the character, but nowhere near the level of Colin Clive or Peter Cushing. Carrie Fisher doesn't have as much screen-time as I originally thought despite being top billed, but she delivers a great performance as Elizabeth when she's onscreen. She's instantly unforgettable and absolutely beautiful; her smile alone melts your heart. Her natural British accent puts Keanu Reeves to shame. And her singing is off the charts. Elizabeth is supposed to be angelic and no one has pulled that off as well as Carrie in my opinion.

The filming locations are another highlight of this television movie. Looking at every single location makes me feel content. This makes me want to visit the United Kingdom. The outfits and hairstyles are spot on from the 19th century as well.

Is this film a major classic? No. But is it fun? Yes! It's also just over an hour and is free to watch on YouTube. It has a surprisingly moving plot and is better than half of the Frankenstein movies. Rip Carrie Fisher, you are surely missed.