Frankenstein Podcast

The speaker did not enjoy the movie adaptation of Frankenstein, feeling that it lacked the depth and detail of the book. They discussed how the movie simplified the story, portrayed the characters differently, and focused on quick action rather than psychological exploration. They also mentioned the different endings and the lack of dialogue and depth for the monster character. The speaker noted the iconic imagery and themes in the movie, as well as the potential for a modern-day adaptation. They discussed various aspects of the movie, including the set design, tropes, and the introduction and credits. They also mentioned the character of Fritz and the possibility of him being another creation of Frankenstein. Overall, they gave the movie a rating of 7.5 out of 10. I don't know about you, but I did not like the movie very much. I also didn't really enjoy the movie. I feel like people often say that reading the book is so much better. I feel like after reading the book and watching the movie, we could see how detailed the book was and how different it really conveyed the story. A lot of pieces were missing. It felt like a completely different story. I definitely could see how the movie and the general public watching it can turn that into the view they have on Frankenstein now, how he's changed into this character who's cute and green with his tits and everything like that, instead of this creation that's from this scientist who really was doing all this work and left him alone and he learned to fend for himself. Instead, it's much more simplified, so I feel like that's what the movie kind of conveys, especially with his death at the end and the whole horror aspect of the movie. One thing I thought is that the book is very much psychological and the story in the book is pretty even between Frankenstein and the creature. The movie just gets rid of all the psychology in favor of just really quick action set pieces that don't really work at all. I think the movie definitely has a lot of entertainment value and not a lot of deep story value. It's very iconic. Yeah, of course, because we're still talking about it now. I feel like the movie also makes Victor slash Henry look a lot more innocent than he actually is. In the movie, he doesn't seem like this horrible guy, and after reading it, we really come to the conclusion that he's horrible and he's a narcissist, a misogynist, all the things that make him him. That's an interesting point because he does commit more active crimes in the movie than he does in the book. In the books, it's implied that he steals dead body parts, but in the movie, he steals the brain from the doctor's office and all that stuff. In the movie, he's kind of like a mad scientist, and in the book, he's kind of just a horrible person. He's a sad scientist. Yeah, right? He just likes to be by himself in the worst way possible. He's very self-destructive. Yeah. We can also talk about the different endings. Yeah, I mean, every character... I mentioned this in class, but all the characters that live die, all the characters that die live. I wasn't expecting to see the whole Fritz Igor, actually. Yeah, I don't know where he came from. The filmmakers for the movie must have just been like, we need a new character. Definitely interesting with value, and I kind of saw how the movie paints the whole fire bad, especially him dying with the fire and being afraid of the fire. I expected him to say fire bad at some point, though, but I don't know where that came from. Yeah, especially after they said it's alive and had that whole scene. The movie, I noticed, starts... It has a lot of really classic things for movies that we've seen, like the angry mobs with all their torches. Yeah, I didn't know that was the start. I don't know where the pitchfork thing came from, but they definitely all had torches. I also looked it up, and I saw that Dracula was made in the same year. Oh, really? So another iconic movie. Wow. Yeah, setting a lot of new themes. I also was kind of reflecting when I saw the movie, because it was made in 1931, I thought, what about if this movie was made now, and how different it would be with technology and how it would have made an impact. For example, let's say this monster was on the loose, and it's being broadcast on TV, and the news and the angry mob turns into a huge mass of people instead of just this one ready to kill him, even though he probably would have died either way. This thought process has reminded me of the Baz Luhrmann Shakespeare with Leonardo DiCaprio, Romeo and Juliet, that one. Yeah. But that is an interesting... Yeah. Also, I noticed in the movie, we talked about this a little, but he doesn't have as much dialogue. We don't really get to see into his brain, the monster. He's only alive for a few days in the movie, I think. Yeah, he just grunts and groans, and he's very beastly in the movie. And in the book, we could see how he developed as a character, how he fends for himself on his own, and saves the child instead of... He just tosses the child into the river. He's drowning, good job. Yeah, he doesn't have a lot of depth. No. I mean, the water has depth. But I definitely sympathize with him a lot in the book. I was rooting for him. I really wanted him, especially after seeing how horrible Victor is. But in the movie, I felt indifferent towards him. He was just a monster to me. He wasn't very... He never learned how to speak. He never learned how to speak. Emotional. Yeah. We never really learned what's going on inside his head. He doesn't even get to say fire bad. He doesn't even get to say any words. I know, iconic. And one thing I want to talk about is what was Fritz's problem, right? The monster did nothing to him, and he was just attacking him with that torch for no reason. Yeah, he was jealous. I guess. I mean, it supports the theory that Fritz is another one of Frankenstein's creations. Yeah, that would be very interesting, actually. I mean, maybe a new idea for a new movie to come out. I mean, that would require the movie to have any amount of depth to the story. Yeah. I also think that since the movie is in black and white, it definitely adds the horror aspect of it, even though that was just because it's 1931. It makes it more eerie when he's being chased and the fire burning him and stuff. It's like this mental picture for viewers to really see how they killed him and how they viewed him as a society and how he dies and how Victor gets to live. Yeah, and I thought that the clock tower or the windmill tower set, it was very good. Yeah. I think even though it was so big and it felt so wide, it also felt claustrophobic at the same time. Yeah. And they were on that big, winding staircase. Another trope that I noticed in the movie was the old scientists where they crank the lever and the thing rises up to the top of the room. Yeah, and there's the lightning and the thunder. Lots of imagery. And I feel like the movie really gets to bring the story to life. Even though it's not as accurate, viewers can feel this story. And if they were to read the book, it's like they could understand the story. So, I thought that was really interesting. Should we talk about the other characters? Like Elizabeth and new Victor. He was, I don't get him. Yeah, I didn't really understand either of them and I kind of saw that it was unnecessary. Yeah, he made a move on her in one scene. Yeah. Suddenly, he was Mr. Scared and like trying to help everybody for the rest of the movie. She was more of an active character in this one than he was. Yeah, I was going to say, Elizabeth is just like a sad character in the book because she's like, you know, disregarded. And in the movie, it's like she gets to actually have her moment. Well, it's almost more sad. Yeah. Because she tries harder in the movie. I know, for this horrible. But she lives at the end. Yeah, at least. After the girl in the other scene. Yeah, that poor girl. Also, one thing I wanted to bring up is that this dad just left his daughter in the front yard with her little cat, leaves. He comes back to find her drowned in the river. He had no evidence to support the fact that the creature did this. And yet, now the whole town is like, we know who it was. We know exactly who this was. Half the town didn't even know this creature existed. Also, people could argue, why doesn't she know how to swim? And why did he teach her how to swim? Why did she survive? It was in a different movie. Yeah, he was neglecting her. I also noticed, this is so interesting, but in the beginning when they give an introduction to the film, I thought that was interesting how they kind of introduced it. I feel like they don't really do that as much anymore. And also, they showed some of the credits. They were saying, oh, this is a movie showing life and death, and those are the main themes. And then in the credits, it said the monster, and it had a question mark. Do you notice that? And I actually started to watch The Bride of Frankenstein the first few minutes, and they did the same thing. Which is interesting, because we keep referring to it as the Boris Karloff Frankenstein, and the movie doesn't even tell you that he's playing him. And he's iconic. And they tried to keep it some sense of mystery, like he's a monster. He's not really a human. And that was really interesting. Talking about the opening, that guy was way too dramatic. It was like theater. The movie's not going to be this scary, bro. It wasn't scary. Then we were talking about the Great Depression, and adding different elements. They should have kept the original ending. It doesn't matter that everybody in the world is depressed. I know, that would have been crazy. Maybe that would have left a different impact on society, if he died. He literally went like a full triangle, broke his spine on that windmill, and he's just in bed with a head cold in the next scene. Yeah, it's like Willy Wonka. That's what I think of Uncle Joe. Anyways, I think we've got ten seconds left. Closing thoughts, rank it out of ten. 7.5. Oh, that's high. Yeah, because I think it's set, you know. I'll give it a 5. Okay. Pretty neutral. Signing off. Bye. You have so many things to talk about.