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Be Warned… It’s Alive!

Kenneth Branagh leads an all-star cast including Robert De Niro, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Hulce, Ian Holm, John Cleese and Aidan Quinn in his definitive cinematic version of Mary Shelley’s classic tale of gothic terror.

At the turn of the 19th century, visionary scientist Victor Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh) embarks on an obsessive quest to conquer the mysteries of human mortality. But his hubristic bid to create life out of death goes hideously wrong, and succeeds only in begetting a deformed monster (Robert De Niro).

Horrified by what he has wrought, the scientist attempts to destroy his creation, but fails. Rejected by his creator and shunned by the world of man, the tormented creature swears vengeance against Frankenstein and his family. As the monster begins to enact his murderous revenge, Victor must face a terrible reckoning with the tragic consequences of attempting to play God.

Mary Shelley's seminal novel is one of the most adapted books of all time, and this retelling faithfully goes back to the original source, lushly transforming the story's twin themes of love and death into a darkly operatic gothic romance.

Unlike many versions of Shelley's novel, Branagh's adaptation understands that Frankenstein's misbegotten creation is as pitiable as he is monstrous, and never loses sight of the human tragedy lying at the core of its horrific tale. Filled with sweeping, atmospheric visuals and powerfully emotional performances from an award-winning ensemble of acting talent, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein stands as a landmark interpretation of this enduring masterpiece.

BONUS FEATURES

• New 4K restoration from the original camera negatives by Sony Pictures Entertainment
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by film historians Michael Brooke and Johnny Mains
• Brand new interview with composer Patrick Doyle
• Brand new interview with costumer designer James Acheson
• Brand new interview with make-up designer Daniel Parker
• Mary Shelley and The Creation of a Monster, a brand new documentary featurette on the origins and evolution of the Frankenstein story, featuring Gothic specialists David Pirie, Jonathan Rigby and Stephen Volk
• Dissecting Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a brand new featurette with David Pirie, Jonathan Rigby and Stephen Volk on the differences between the novel and Kenneth Branagh’s screen adaptation
• Frankenstein: A Liberal Adaptation from Mrs. Shelley’s Famous Story for Edison Production (1910): The first screen adaptation of Shelley’s story in a 2K restoration by the Library of Congress, with music by Donald Sosin
• Original trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laz Marquez
• First Pressing Only: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Jon Towlson and Amy C. Chambers

Didn't Coppola originally want to do this in the same vein as Dracula but let it go after he finished that film?

That's interesting to hear, since I've always felt that Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was somehow even more histrionically pitched than Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula had been! Though Dracula was all heightened and heady eroticism whilst Frankenstein was all shirtless screaming and incendiary nightgowns from what I remember.

Though my memories of it come from watching the film in a classroom when studying the book for my A levels, and the whole class bursting into laughter at many points, particularly the wrongly accused maid getting thrown off what seemed to be the highest tower in the land at her hanging to seemingly homage The Omen!

(I wonder if Arrow may do The Bride at some point? [-o< )

hearthesilence wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 5:53 pm Didn't Coppola originally want to do this in the same vein as Dracula but let it go after he finished that film?

Coppola wanted to take it back from Branagh, who he felt deviated far too much from Frank Darabont's screenplay. Darabont still insists it's his best script. There was a tie-in book about the production that is unusually candid about the severe degree of creative differences that Branagh had with his collaborators. It's been some time since I've viewed it, but I believe Darabont relied more on the revised version by Shelley than the original 1818 text.

colinr0380 wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 6:09 pm

(I wonder if Arrow may do The Bride at some point? [-o< )

If this was on their radar, I really hope that Stephen Frears' Mary Reilly is on the docket as well. Astounding cinematography in that one, and I'd love to give it a fresh reappraisal.

I fully expected Arrow to be more interested in Roger Corman's weirdo Frankenstein movie instead!

domino harvey wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:16 pm I fully expected Arrow to be more interested in Roger Corman's weirdo Frankenstein movie instead!

I've long hoped to see Corman's original cut of that, assuming it even exists anymore. Brian Aldiss' original novel is wonderful.

Was about to say in terms of extras that might actually be a great option.

Darn it, that shows that it was wrong to go looking for a trailer before posting! Wasn't Frankenstein Unbound touted as the first to (kinda) adapt the Arctic-set ending for the screen? (Though I feel it was more an unacknowledged influence on Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness)

I should say that I might pick up Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein just for the extras. Nice to see Stephen Volk in there, who famously wrote Gothic for Ken Russell.

Bernard Rose also directed a very Arrow-friendly adaptation

swo17 wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:27 pm Bernard Rose also directed a very Arrow-friendly adaptation

That's right! I love the very odd films he's been churning out over the last 15 years or so.

Re the extras, my big take away is that someone has managed to get David Pirie to contribute. Unless I’ve missed something, quite easy really, I think this his first.

DarkImbecile wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 5:23 pm
[*]Brand new audio commentary by film historians Michael Brooke and Johnny Mains

Is this the first time you didn't go solo, Michael?


Edit: I looked it up on this site and see there was also The Deadly Affair and The Snorkel

domino harvey wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:16 pm I fully expected Arrow to be more interested in Roger Corman's weirdo Frankenstein movie instead!

Isn't that with Fox?

I really wish there was a movie rights internet database somewhere. I seem to be one of the least knowledgeable on the forum about who has (or is rumoured to have) which rights to what, where, and for how long

To answer my own question, Frankenstein Unbound is Fox in the US and Warner Brothers in the UK.

Maltic wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 10:28 pm

DarkImbecile wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 5:23 pm
[*]Brand new audio commentary by film historians Michael Brooke and Johnny Mains

Is this the first time you didn't go solo, Michael?


Edit: I looked it up on this site and see there was also The Deadly Affair and The Snorkel

...and Nightmare Alley, which might finally get released more than three years after Johnny and I recorded it. It would be ironic if it came out at the same time as Frankenstein, and it's not completely beyond the bounds of possibility that it might.

So in fact 40% of my commentaries to date have been joint efforts, and I'd honestly be perfectly happy if it was consistently 50% going forward - I typically record two a year, so one solo and one joint makes perfect sense.

How did you come to do the commentary for this film? Are you a great fan of it?

Has it been established why Arrow doesn’t do 4K/blu-ray combo packs in cases where we know they have the rights to both? Synapse doesn’t do them either. I think many enjoy having both options.

Mr Sausage wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:49 pm How did you come to do the commentary for this film? Are you a great fan of it?

Johnny and I are both massive fans of the novel, and while we'd never even vaguely considered doing a commentary for this particular film before the offer was made (we both know the project producer, and Johnny had dropped a heavy hint that we'd be up for something), our immediate reaction was "why not?"

And in many ways it was the easiest commentary commission I've ever tackled - out of all the commentaries we've done to date, this was the closest to Johnny's area of professional expertise (he's compiled, edited and introduced several anthologies of 19th and early 20th century ghost stories and horror fiction), and it turned out that there was loads to talk about generally. It's certainly one of the happiest recording experiences that I've had, and I hope that that comes across in the final version.

The survival of the 1910 Frankenstein is quite fascinating. I recall reading about the guy who owned the print and he was quite the character.

Fun fact: The 1910 version of Frankenstein was one of only three films from cinema's first 15 years eligible for our forum's first "all-time" list, along with La Sortie des usines Lumière and Panoramic View of the Morecambe Sea Front. It did not make the cut for our next round