AOB 1 - Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Analysis.

The frankenstein Franchise has changed quite a lot from the 1930s (James Whales Version) to the 1994 version (Mary Shelley), there could be many reasons for this...One major difference between Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein is the conception of the Monster. While in Frankenstein he was a murderous vengeful creature, the sequel presents a Monster the audience can sympathise with, bringing him much closer to Mary Shelley's original concept.

I think the more recent film definitely looks different to the older one, because of the vast increase in technology/techniques that were available within that era, compared to the 1930s version. Also with the 1930’s version it has had to be filmed in black and white, so with the more recent one being in colour, it adds alot more effect and also adds atmosphere to the film, as the audience can relate to colours, for example: red being scary/horror/anger. Also because more money has been spent on the film, it means that alot more effort has been put in the recent one to provide better entertainment to the audience.

I believe that the audiences of today wouldn’t find the new version of Frankenstein as scary as the audiences in the 1930’s would have with the old one, simply because it was all new to them, and because more films are watched by audiences nowadays, it takes the scary edge off the films, because every horror, has similar aspects.

The narrative has definitely changed; it’s as if the directors put more effort into pleasing the more recent audience because they would expect more from watching other horror films, so it would be harder to please them than it would the 1930s audience. Victor Frankenstein was also portrayed as a very nervous man in the 1930s film, whereas in the newer film, he is expressed as a hero and the audience get a better idea of his background, he also falls in love with his adopted sister, this wasn’t in the old film, but it adds a romantic edge to the film, appealing it to more than one type of audience, as people nowadays like to see romance within a film.

There were many stories within the news at the time of Shelley’s film, such as a man who had a battery operated heart fitted within his body, this would make audiences believe that it is possible to make life, if it’s possible to fit a battery operated heart.

In the newer film, the audience get a better idea of each characters personality, so it builds up an image in the audiences head, and help to establish different feelings towards each character, so when Frankenstein gets turned away by people just by the way he looks, we feel a bit sorry for him, the film features topics of how peoples appearances can affect the way they live their lives and how they fit into society.

I believe that the audience’s expectations have definitely changed through time, because there are more films available, from all different genres, this means that there are going to be comparisons between different films, and that’s what makes them more critical, compared to how people were in the 1930’s. I studied this film in my English lessons, and we had to read Mary Shelley’s book, personally I feel that the film played a very good part in explaining the story, so I enjoyed it alot more than reading the book.

Technology has definitely changed the whole style of the film, because more techniques have been worked out and used, better lighting, special effects and it can also be edited better through a computer. It’s easier to portray something because of the advanced technology, this helps the audience understand the film better, and not only that, it helps improve suspense and atmosphere. I believe that more people would watch the more recent film, more so than the 1930’s version, because of the new technology, also the films are advertised more so now, than they were in that day, which helps get an interest from the audience.