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United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital Stereo ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Academically gifted but arrogant and amoral, Victor Frankenstein will stop at nothing, not even patricide, to achieve his goal of recreating human life. When his handiwork turns out to have homicidal tendencies he is happy to use this to his own ends rather than realize he has gone too far. ...The Horror of Frankenstein ( Horror of Frankenstein )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Top Print and a very informative commentary track add to the enjoyment of this disc.
A short interview with Veronica Carlson is fascinating as are her superb paintings.
In all a very good DVD.
A short interview with Veronica Carlson is fascinating as are her superb paintings.
In all a very good DVD.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Tomorrow we shall initiate a new series of experiments. Something harmless, like splitting the atom, perhaps?"
Dispensing with Peter Cushing's services and intended to revitalize the series with a younger generation of stars as the studio headed into the uncertain 70s, The Horror of Frankenstein instead found itself on the wrong half of a double-bill with the inferior Scars of Dracula and much detested by many Hammer purists for its tone. Which is a great shame, because this is one of Hammer's best and most delightful latter films as long as you're not expecting the traditional horror film of the title - there may be one of the highest body counts in a Hammer film, but it's not frightening. Instead, despite a wonderfully crude moment with a reanimated hand and the odd joke at the expense of Kate O'Mara's cleavage ("You've put on weight in a couple of places"), rather than pure camp or gothic chiller, this is an elegant comedy of murders with much dry wit. If anything, the influence here is more Kind Hearts and Coronets as the presence of Dennis Price as a grave robber who leaves all the digging to his devoted wife attests. Ralph Bates' young Frankenstein is a sociopath with good table manners but no great purpose: creating life from various assorted body parts isn't a quest to free man from the shadow of mortality, it's just something he wants to do, and if that means killing a tortoise, his father or his best friend then he'll do it without his heart skipping a beat. As the sleeve notes to Anchor Bay's Region 1 DVD note, it's easy to see him as a forerunner of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman.
Although he was uncomfortable in the role, Jimmy Sangster's direction is above average for the studio at this period (their once-top director Terence Fisher's drinking having led by this time to a significant drop in the quality of his work), and the film looks better than a lot of the later Hammers. Despite the traditional 19th Century setting, it's very much of its time, even offering digs at the British welfare state (which makes finding bodies so much harder these days, what with people living longer) and the permissive generation (Victor sees no reason to get married when he can have sex with the hired help whenever he wants and merely sees Veronica Carlson's smitten heroine as a potential housekeeper). It's also quite anarchic in its own way, breaking with the expectations of the Hammer formula. The forces of good are completely powerless, retribution is not handed out and evil goes unpunished at the movie's back-to-the-drawing-board end. Well, more or less...
Dispensing with Peter Cushing's services and intended to revitalize the series with a younger generation of stars as the studio headed into the uncertain 70s, The Horror of Frankenstein instead found itself on the wrong half of a double-bill with the inferior Scars of Dracula and much detested by many Hammer purists for its tone. Which is a great shame, because this is one of Hammer's best and most delightful latter films as long as you're not expecting the traditional horror film of the title - there may be one of the highest body counts in a Hammer film, but it's not frightening. Instead, despite a wonderfully crude moment with a reanimated hand and the odd joke at the expense of Kate O'Mara's cleavage ("You've put on weight in a couple of places"), rather than pure camp or gothic chiller, this is an elegant comedy of murders with much dry wit. If anything, the influence here is more Kind Hearts and Coronets as the presence of Dennis Price as a grave robber who leaves all the digging to his devoted wife attests. Ralph Bates' young Frankenstein is a sociopath with good table manners but no great purpose: creating life from various assorted body parts isn't a quest to free man from the shadow of mortality, it's just something he wants to do, and if that means killing a tortoise, his father or his best friend then he'll do it without his heart skipping a beat. As the sleeve notes to Anchor Bay's Region 1 DVD note, it's easy to see him as a forerunner of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman.
Although he was uncomfortable in the role, Jimmy Sangster's direction is above average for the studio at this period (their once-top director Terence Fisher's drinking having led by this time to a significant drop in the quality of his work), and the film looks better than a lot of the later Hammers. Despite the traditional 19th Century setting, it's very much of its time, even offering digs at the British welfare state (which makes finding bodies so much harder these days, what with people living longer) and the permissive generation (Victor sees no reason to get married when he can have sex with the hired help whenever he wants and merely sees Veronica Carlson's smitten heroine as a potential housekeeper). It's also quite anarchic in its own way, breaking with the expectations of the Hammer formula. The forces of good are completely powerless, retribution is not handed out and evil goes unpunished at the movie's back-to-the-drawing-board end. Well, more or less...
Format:DVD
not quite sure what to make of this film it is well made well acted and well filmed but is not the traditional hammer film.It is a mixture of horror and comedy a severed arm giving a two finger salute is an example of this.theres plenty of bulging boobs and a good number of deaths which should keep the traditional hammer fan happy.the reason it was not well recieved i think it was ten years or so ahead of its time, if it had been released about the time of american werewolf it would have been thought more of.the acting cast range from ralph bates and kate omara to david prowse the overall quality of acting is probably better than most of hammers frankenstein movies but it has lost two things one being atmosphere the other peter cushing.It is a good film just not for the purist,it is a irreverent retelling of the original frankenstein and certainly worth the small price tag.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Different approach divides Hammer Horror followers but it's not...
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The Horror Of Frankenstein is out of Hammer Studios and directed by Jimmy Sangster. Read more
The Horror Of Frankenstein is out of Hammer Studios and directed by Jimmy Sangster. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Spike Owen
'Amateur Anatomy!? - It's Smut!!'
Harshly disregarded by critics and fans alike, time has been kind to Jimmy Sangster's tar-black comedy re-jig of the original Hammer breakthrough Frankenstein film. Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2008 by Paul Ess.
The standard Frankenstein ingredients ... plus a bit of humour
This Hammer film is known for its rather humorous take on Frankenstein - but I wouldn't say it was a comedy; far from it, it's just that it has a few lighthearted moments that you... Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2008 by LXIX
Not one of Hammers best
This 1970 nth sequel from Hammer is a poor relation to their original classic with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2007 by S J Buck
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