Frankenstein (robert de niro, 1994)

[xwolverine2]

has anyone here seen Frankenstein with robert de niro?

i have a question...
is this movie considered a Greek Tragedy?

i mean it has like all these people and main characters dying and a love story.
and Victor and the creature had flaws to their charcters that ended up being their downfall.....(except the elizabeth chick)
so is it considered a greek tragedy?
yes its for homeworkt:

i never knew robert de niro played frankenstein how freakin wierd casting is that!

 

[ToddIsDead]

It's not a Greek tragedy, considering that the the story wasn't written in Greece, doesn't take place in Greece, and generally has nothing to do with Greece. And, it's been way too long since I've read the book or watched this particular version of the movie to really answer your question. Just to point it out though, this movie is crap compared to the book, James Whales' Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, and the Curse of Frankenstein.

 

[Joker]

Here's my impression of this movie...

Hi, I'm "Mary Shelly's Frankenstien!" Oh, look, the book on which I was based. *Proceeds to violently anal rape the book until it's dead, then takes a giant crap in it's dead mouth, then has sex with that* C'ya next time!

 

[블라스]

Young Frankenstein > All those movies

 

[xwolverine2]

but it was the most faithful.... why is that so bad?

and yeah... i find young frankenstein to own all those movies...lol

 

[ToddIsDead]

Young Frankenstein > All those movies

D'oh!! I can't believe I left out Young Frankenstein!!

 

[Joker]

It was NOT faithful at all. Have you ever read the book? There's none of that crap with him making the bride for the monster, they stole that from Bride Of Frankenstein. It was horribly unfaithful, and a crappy movie to boot. Frankenstein and Bride Of Frankenstein may have been unfaithful to the book, but they at least got the point, and were great movies in every sense as well.

 

[ToddIsDead]

but it was the most faithful.... why is that so bad?

and yeah... i find young frankenstein to own all those movies...lol

It really wasn't all that faithful, and it's completely out of its league cinematically when compared to some of the other adaptations that have been made in the last 100 years.

 

[xwolverine2]

well...... most faithful at the time. i dont know about now though.

so your saying the frankenstein story is in no way like a greek tragedy???

does it REALLY have to take place in greece?..lol

 

[ToddIsDead]

well...... most faithful at the time. i dont know about now though.

so your saying the frankenstein story is in no way like a greek tragedy???

does it REALLY have to take place in greece?..lol

For it to be a GREEK tragedy, yes. And Tragedy, when referring to fiction, is usually referring to a play of some sort. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Julius Caesar: tragedies.

 

[Joker]

Tragedy can still reffer to cinema...and even at the time it wasnt the most faithful Frankenstien adaptation.

 

[xwolverine2]

A Greek tragedy is a form of drama characterized by seriousness and dignity, usually involving a conflict between a character and a flaw in the character or some higher power, such as the law the gods, fate, or society.

^
mentions nothing of greece in particular

 

[The Shape]

^
mentions nothing of greece in particular

Yeah, I don't know what these guys are talking about.

It doesn't need to have anything to do with Greece to be considered a Greek tragedy. Stories are called Greek tragedies because they follow the guidelines of the tragedies that originated and were popularized in Greece long ago.

You can also just drop the "Greek" and call it a "tragedy" to ake things easier.

 

[Leto Atrides]

It was NOT faithful at all. Have you ever read the book? There's none of that crap with him making the bride for the monster, they stole that from Bride Of Frankenstein. It was horribly unfaithful, and a crappy movie to boot. Frankenstein and Bride Of Frankenstein may have been unfaithful to the book, but they at least got the point, and were great movies in every sense as well.

Frankenstein had promised the creature a mate, but he never actually made it. It's not like they made it up.

Besides which, IMO Shelly's book is a pretensious piece. She tries so hard to insert things she thinks is meaningful that it doesn't make any sense. Creature learns French in 6 months. He then teaches himself to read in less than that time using Paradise Lost. Which is in extremely complicated archaic poetic English. He then speaks to Frankenstein in German . The book is just a much less engaging version of the sort of thinking her husband was actually good at. Its a great story, and could have been a much better novel, but Shelly screws up the delivery so much.

Long story short, the way I see it there's a reason they don't faithfully make a movie of it.

 

[Leto Atrides]

Yeah, I don't know what these guys are talking about.

It doesn't need to have anything to do with Greece to be considered a Greek tragedy. Stories are called Greek tragedies because they follow the guidelines of the tragedies that originated and were popularized in Greece long ago.

You can also just drop the "Greek" and call it a "tragedy" to ake things easier.

"Greek-style" tragedy basically.

 

[zer00]

Frankenstein had promised the creature a mate, but he never actually made it. It's not like they made it up.

Besides which, IMO Shelly's book is a pretensious piece. She tries so hard to insert things she thinks is meaningful that it doesn't make any sense. Creature learns French in 6 months. He then teaches himself to read in less than that time using Paradise Lost. Which is in extremely complicated archaic poetic English. He then speaks to Frankenstein in German . The book is just a much less engaging version of the sort of thinking her husband was actually good at. Its a great story, and could have been a much better novel, but Shelly screws up the delivery so much.

Long story short, the way I see it there's a reason they don't faithfully make a movie of it.

Just...don't post anymore

 

[Duende Verde]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_tragedy#Greek_tragedy

 

[DACrowe]

Okay.

I am of the mind the book is very dry, a tad bit dull and too preachy. For that reason above all else I tend to think the best interpretation was James Whale's two movies (he only did TWO the crap sequels were not his making) in Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935)....

With that said I would argue that Branaugh's film was actually quite accurate towards the book in the sense of plotting. With the exception of Elizabeth being brought back from the dead, the storyline was very faithful as was character interpretations (save for the modernizing of Elizabeth, but hey for someone "so important" to the novel, she had no depth or development or arc whatsoever, like every other supporting part in the novel.....that's going back to my first point)...

Now whether it is a good film or not is a different story. Quite frankly I think it is melodramatic, too over the top and knows not the meaning of the word subtelty. There are certain scenes that are still very stirring, such as any scene Robert DeNiro is onscreen. The man can play ANYTHING. He is not Boris Karloff, but quite frankly his is probably closer to what Shelly wrote, again go back to my point about preferring Whales' films though.

Anyway, he is great, the cinematgoraphy beautiful and certain scenes iconic, even if the plot point is wretched (I loved the red cloak climbing the staircase as he goes to raise Elizabeth back from the dead, though I thought the whole tangent was pointless and disgusting). I also think Patrick Doyle wrote some of the most gorgeous and haunting music ever written for cinema for this film.

But the overall direction is mediocre, despite good performances all around (save for Branagh himself who works well in his early Shakespere adaptations but between this and his rather Erroyl Flynn-droole Hamlet, hbe peetered out).


Oh...as for the question at hand

No it is not a Greek tragedy, for it is not a play written in the era between 323 B.C. to the birth of Christ.

But hey, it does have themes of Greek tragedy. Frankenstein was obviously all huburis and had to learn the costly lesson and the monster's tale is a sad one that is tragic. What he does to Elizabeth is evil but after the cottage scene and him crying over his father's body on the boat and death....he is still endearing. This movie would be unwatchable if not for the charismatic Robert DeNiro in my opinion. And yes, the characters all exude the bare simplistic traits of Greek tragedy.

But if you REALLY want to make a horror tale into a Greek tragedy, than The Wolfman would be the way to go then.

 

[DACrowe]

P.S. It is a tragedy that goes over the basic guidelines for Greek tragedy, but it ain't Sophcles let's just say that.

For the record I must say it was interesting to see Zoetrope try and rekindle more money after the big hit Bram Stoker's Dracula. Both were exercises in the director's egos and beautiful filmmaking with shotty scripts. However, while I feel that Branagh for all his bundling of themes remained closer to his novel (again not my favorite though) while Coppola literally bent his over the table and savaged it in more ways than one. However, in all honesty Coppola made a very entertaining movie that I begrudgingly admit is good while Branagh who worked much harder as shown on the screenplay made something that was mediocre at best.

Ironic ain't it?

 

[Man-Thing]

Frankenstein 1931>The book, or any other adaptation.

KARLOFF IS AWESOME, AND IS FRANKENSTEIN (yeah, I just called the monster Frankenstein).

 

[Leto Atrides]

Just...don't post anymore

Why, because I don't like a book you do, or...? Its not like I just said "It sucks" or something, I explained what I don't like about it.

 

[Bad Superman]

Mary Shelley titled the novel as Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus.

From Wikipedia:

"Modern Prometheus"
The Modern Prometheus is the novel's subtitle (though some modern publishings of the work now drop the subtitle, mentioning it only in an introduction). Prometheus, in some versions of Greek mythology, was the Titan who created mankind, and Victor's work by creating man by new means obviously reflects that creative work. Prometheus was also the bringer of fire who took fire from heaven and gave it to man. Zeus then punished Prometheus by fixing him to a rock where each day a predatory bird came to devour his liver.

Prometheus was also a myth told in Latin but was a very different story. In this version Prometheus makes man from clay and water, again a very relevant theme to Frankenstein as Victor rebels against the laws of nature and as a result is punished by his creation.

Prometheus' relation to the novel can be interpreted in a number of ways. For Mary Shelley on a personal level, Prometheus was not a hero but a devil, whom she blamed for bringing fire to man and thereby seducing the human race to the vice of eating meat (fire brought cooking which brought hunting and killing)[8]. For Romance era artists in general, Prometheus' gift to man compared with the two great utopian promises of the 18th century: the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution, containing both great promise and potentially unknown horrors.

Byron was particularly attached to the play Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, and Percy Shelley would soon write Prometheus Unbound.

-----------------------------------------

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is the most faithful adaptation I've seen for Shelley's novel.

 

[ultimatefan]

My main problem is it´s pretty much a "Frankenstein" of a movie in itself. It tries to be a serious drama, a horror movie and even an adventure all at once and it doesn´t particularly succeed on any level. It doesn´t have any of the terrific sense of mood and atmosphere that Whale put in his version. The creature make-up doesn´t convey that sense of a walking dead thing the way the original one does. It´s cool that it actually puts scientific discussions of that particular period, but ultimately it feels like Brannagh doing a big ego massage - oh yeah, Dr. Frankenstein is supposed to be a buffed up guy who walks around shirtless all the time...

 

[ultimatefan]

Mary Shelley titled the novel as Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus.

From Wikipedia:

"Modern Prometheus"
The Modern Prometheus is the novel's subtitle (though some modern publishings of the work now drop the subtitle, mentioning it only in an introduction). Prometheus, in some versions of Greek mythology, was the Titan who created mankind, and Victor's work by creating man by new means obviously reflects that creative work. Prometheus was also the bringer of fire who took fire from heaven and gave it to man. Zeus then punished Prometheus by fixing him to a rock where each day a predatory bird came to devour his liver.

Prometheus was also a myth told in Latin but was a very different story. In this version Prometheus makes man from clay and water, again a very relevant theme to Frankenstein as Victor rebels against the laws of nature and as a result is punished by his creation.

Prometheus' relation to the novel can be interpreted in a number of ways. For Mary Shelley on a personal level, Prometheus was not a hero but a devil, whom she blamed for bringing fire to man and thereby seducing the human race to the vice of eating meat (fire brought cooking which brought hunting and killing)[8]. For Romance era artists in general, Prometheus' gift to man compared with the two great utopian promises of the 18th century: the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution, containing both great promise and potentially unknown horrors.

Byron was particularly attached to the play Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, and Percy Shelley would soon write Prometheus Unbound.

-----------------------------------------

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is the most faithful adaptation I've seen for Shelley's novel.

The novel remains relevant, if it´s not particularly well-written, because of the themes it brings up, it was kind of the birth of science fiction, and things like genetic engineering made its themes more topical than ever.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

^^
Not to mention that Shelly was like 18 or 19 when she actually wrote Frankenstein.