THE PLOT THUS FAR
The FRANKENSTEIN: THE REAL STORY collection from HISTORY examines how the tale of a brilliant but deranged scientist who builds a grotesque monster from the body parts of fresh corpses has its roots in reality. IN SEARCH OF THE REAL FRANSKENSTEIN looks at scientists throughout history who experimented with reviving animal and human corpses to find the secret force of life. FRANKENSTEIN explores the fact-or-fiction origins of the tale that became the first science fiction novel. IT’S ALIVE! THE TRUE STORY OF FRANKENSTEIN further traces the story through all its artistic renditions, from 19th-century stage adaptations to 1930s silent films to Mel Brooks’s satirical YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and Kenneth Branagh’s faithful horror interpretation. This spectacular set features interviews with actors including Gene Wilder and experts on Mary Shelley, the 19th-century novel, the horror genre, cinema makeup and much more.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Frankenstein: The Real Story” is an excellent documentary from The History Channel about the history of Frankenstein’s Monster. It borrows heavily on film clips from bigger productions, but there’s a nice amount of focus on the literary legacy. Outside of that, it’s about what you would expect. Gene Wilder got interviewed for this and it’s a constant reminder that the guy is aging like he ran over a gypsy’s kid. Too much of the later docs in the special features focus on the aesthetics rather than the history. But, that feels trivial when you consider that you’re getting three hours of content from History Channel. That’s pretty impressive for those guys.
The Blu-Ray comes with featurettes and bonus documentaries. The standard definition transfer is sharp for a documentary. The Dolby 2.0 audio track works for what it is. Still, people aren’t showing this film off in home theaters. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase to Frankenstein buffs.
RELEASE DATE: 01/14/2014