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National Theatre Live: Frankenstein

  • 2011
  • 2h 10m
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
4.5K
YOUR RATING
Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch in National Theatre Live: Frankenstein (2011)
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Play trailer1:01
1 Video
24 Photos
Psychological DramaTragedyDramaHorrorSci-Fi

Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein's bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, th... Read allChildlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein's bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the Creature determines to track down his creator.Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein's bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the Creature determines to track down his creator.

  • Directors
    • Danny Boyle
    • Tim Van Someren
  • Writers
    • Nick Dear
    • Mary Shelley
  • Stars
    • Jonny Lee Miller
    • Benedict Cumberbatch
    • Andreea Paduraru
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.5/10
    4.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Danny Boyle
      • Tim Van Someren
    • Writers
      • Nick Dear
      • Mary Shelley
    • Stars
      • Jonny Lee Miller
      • Benedict Cumberbatch
      • Andreea Paduraru
    • 15User reviews
    • 36Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:01
    Trailer

    Photos24

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    Top cast21

    Edit
    Jonny Lee Miller
    Jonny Lee Miller
    • The Creature…
    Benedict Cumberbatch
    Benedict Cumberbatch
    • The Creature…
    Andreea Paduraru
    Andreea Paduraru
    • Female Creature
    Ella Smith
    • Gretel, a prostitute…
    John Killoran
    • Gustav, a beggar…
    Steven Elliot
    Steven Elliot
    • Klaus, a beggar
    Lizzie Winkler
    • Agatha de Lacey
    Karl Johnson
    Karl Johnson
    • De Lacey, her father-in Law
    Daniel Millar
    Daniel Millar
    • Felix de Lacey, his son
    Naomie Harris
    Naomie Harris
    • Elizabeth Lavenza, Victor's fiancée
    Haydon Downing
    • William Frankenstein, Victor's brother
    • (as Hayden Downing)
    Jared Richard
    • William Frankenstein, Victor's brother
    George Harris
    George Harris
    • M. Frankenstein, father of Victor & William
    Daniel Ings
    Daniel Ings
    • Servant of the Frankenstein household
    Martin Chamberlain
    • Servant of the Frankenstein household
    Mark Armstrong
    • Rab, a crofter
    John Stahl
    John Stahl
    • Ewan, his uncle
    Josie Daxter
    • Ensemble
    • Directors
      • Danny Boyle
      • Tim Van Someren
    • Writers
      • Nick Dear
      • Mary Shelley
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews15

    8.54.5K
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    Featured reviews

    8Educhico

    -

    In the face of progress, there is always fear of the unknown. In that fear, we show our inherent instincts, putting into question the words that the blind man quotes. The creature is born pure, learning from humans everything but retaining, in the end, only hatred. The creature seems to prove that progress contradicts our nature in some capacity. A look at modernity from the eyes of an innocent creature, supposedly not a human. Yet, we contradictory recognise more humanity in him then in the people that don't see him as such.

    Victor is one of them. He was able to create a creature who learns the value of being human sooner then him. Frankenstein seeks in the dead what he can't recognise in the living. For he doesn't know how to relate to others, and can't seem to find the value on his wife to be. "She is the perfect wife...", says Victor, not in face of the woman already at his side, but of the "perfect" woman he later creates. Silent, with no purpose but to serve his own.

    He asks the creature how if feels to be in love "That's how it feels...?". And so, Victor achieves what, for him, was the unachievable. He finds love, but not by or for himself. And because he doesn't know love, he can't allow his creation to have it. Progress seemed the only answer, and in the end, it is the only thing Frankenstein has. But at what cost?
    8Warren_Scott-55087

    WHO'S REALLY THE MONSTER HERE?

    A VERY INTERESTING LOOK FROM DANNY BOYLE'S EYES OF THE TORTURED, MISUNDERSTOOD, " MONSTER". BRAVO!
    10thehuntfamily-26-446497

    Frankenstein

    My only wish with seeing this on the big screen is " I wish I had seen it live"..

    My daughter took me to see it at the Luna cinema in Leederville on Sunday and the viewing was Jonny lee miller as Frankenstein and Benedict Cumberbatch as Victor.

    I was moved, by Jonny's performance as he takes you past the monster and you see a man in search of love and acceptance. I was at loss for words, you cannot fault the mans performance..Had I got to know Frankenstein, I would have taken him in and befriended him? maybe.

    Benedict Cumberbatch was very good as Victor also, a mad genius, a tortured soul with no one recognizing his brilliance and what he could do, or believed he was as good as God. He found the secret to life itself. He made man.

    You feel sorry for him, yet angry as well, He disregards friends and family in his desperate pursuit of his monster, and will do anything and all to destroy it, not taking into account that his monster has become educated and only wants to be accepted in main society.. something we all crave, inside us there is a bit of victor/Frankenstein. If there is one thing to do this weekend check out your local cinema and see if they are screening this gem, it will blow you away.
    10kirstycallaly

    Absolutely phenomenal

    I just saw National Theatre Live premiere on YouTube. Johnny Lee Millar as Victor Frankenstein and Benedict Cumberbatch as The Creature and they were outstanding. The whole cast were flawless and the performances were spellbinding. There was humour and sadness from all the cast. Bravo. 10/10
    10margotmaesmm

    Intense, must-see work of art

    An intense, must-see thrilling performance from both Cumberbatch and Miller. The dialogues filled with static chemistry, a beautiful and perfect mix between beauty and horror, a destabilized yet animated stage that shows all facets of life and death. A hypnotizing and cutting-edge play, a real work of art that is absolutely not to be missed.

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    Related interests

    Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
    Psychological Drama
    Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams in Manchester by the Sea (2016)
    Tragedy
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    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Danny Boyle asked Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller to shave their heads in order portray the Monster (both actors switched between Frankenstein and his Monster with every show). Cumberbatch couldn't agree to it, as he was committed to War Horse (2011) and couldn't shave his hair. Miller on the other hand did agree, and therefore needed a wig when it was his turn to play Frankenstein.
    • Quotes

      The Creature: I should be Adam. God was proud of Adam. But Satan's the one I sympathise with. For I was cast out, like Satan, though I did no wrong. And when I see others content, I feel the bile rise in my throat, and it tastes like Satan's bile!

    • Alternate versions
      Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternated playing the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the creature on stage, so a performance of each version was filmed. When the play was screened in cinemas, screenings alternated between versions. When the play was made available on YouTube via National Theatre At Home in 2020, the performance with Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature was released on April 30th, followed by the performance with Jonny Lee Miller as the creature on May 1st.
    • Connections
      Featured in Frankenstein: A Modern Myth (2012)

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    FAQ13

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 17, 2011 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official sites
      • arabuloku.com
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Teatro Nacional en vivo: Frankenstein
    • Production companies
      • NT Live
      • National Theatre
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $417,783
    • Gross worldwide
      • $620,167
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 10m(130 min)
    • Color
      • Color

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