Young Frankenstein [Blu-ray] - Dark Publications

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Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 10/07/2008 Run time: 246 minutes Rating: R

Amazon.com essential video
If you were to argue that Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein ranks among the top-ten funniest movies of all time, nobody could reasonably dispute the claim. Spoofing classic horror in the way that Brooks's previous film Blazing Saddles sent up classic Westerns, the movie is both a loving tribute and a raucous, irreverent parody of Universal's classic horror films Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Filming in glorious black and white, Brooks re-created the Frankenstein laboratory using the same equipment from the original Frankenstein (courtesy of designer Kenneth Strickfaden), and this loving attention to physical and stylistic detail creates a solid foundation for nonstop comedy. The story, of course, involves Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) and his effort to resume experiments in re-animation pioneered by his late father. (He's got some help, since dad left behind a book titled How I Did It.) Assisting him is the hapless hunchback Igor (Marty Feldman) and the buxom but none-too-bright maiden Inga (Teri Garr), and when Frankenstein succeeds in creating his monster (Peter Boyle), the stage is set for an outrageous revision of the Frankenstein legend. With comedy highlights too numerous to mention, Brooks guides his brilliant cast (also including Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, and Gene Hackman in a classic cameo role) through scene after scene of inspired hilarity. Indeed, Young Frankenstein is a charmed film, nothing less than a comedy classic, representing the finest work from everyone involved. Not one joke has lost its payoff, and none of the countless gags have lost their zany appeal. From a career that includes some of the best comedies ever made, this is the film for which Mel Brooks will be most fondly remembered. Befitting a classic, the Special Edition DVD includes audio commentary by Mel Brooks, a "making of" documentary, interviews with the cast, hilarious bloopers and outtakes, and the original theatrical trailers. No video library should be without a copy of Young Frankenstein. And just remember--that's Fronkensteen. --Jeff Shannon

Beyond Young Frankenstein

High Anxiety

Spaceballs

Blazing Saddles

Stills from Young Frankenstein (Click for larger image)

Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A worthy occasion to plug a brilliant film. August 31, 2008
18 out of 32 found this review helpful

The announcement that Young Frankenstein would be released in Blu-Ray triggered mixed feelings. On the one hand, this is a movie that should be widely available in every format. It's that good. On the other hand, the release of high definition films has spawned yet another generation of empty-headers obsessed with picture quality and "awesome sound," who couldn't tell a good movie from a used diaper. And so, the Internet is littered with glowing "reviews" about the spectacular cleanliness of the images on garbage releases like Jumper, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Signs, The 6th Day, Ice Age, and The Rock. It distorts the entire rating system on Amazon by giving four or five stars to trashy movies that happen to look shiny and clean, without "artifacts" -- or, it turns out, merit. These same reviewers give high marks to some great films on Blu-Ray, but for all the wrong reasons -- yet another distortion of the ratings system. (Of course, one could treat movie releases as mere "products," and spend time commenting on how well the hinges work, or how well the packaging is made, or how true the "blacks" happen to be. But, why dumb down our culture any further with such dedication to fluff and superficialities? Sure, the studios who are making a mint off of Blu-Ray transfers of lousy films want you to care about such things, but I'll take a VHS of Young Frankenstein on a black and white Philco over a "glorious" version of Con Air. So would every other thinking person.)

And so, to get to the point, this is Mel Brooks' shining moment, a film that is a brilliantly funny homage to the classic horror films of the thirties. Some might complain about the corn content, but it works, and the performances by a stellar cast -- topped by Gene Wilder -- are phenomenal. For more, I defer to Count Orlok '22's spot on review above. If you don't own this film, buy it. In any format.

5 out of 5 stars

Resurrected in Hi-def August 4, 2008
10 out of 17 found this review helpful

WARNING: This film may lead to incontinence due to hysterical laughter!

Mel Brooks' 1974 film, Young Frankenstein is arguably the funniest film ever made. Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, who had previously collaborated on The Producers and Blazing Saddles, wrote the script together. This film is a superbly crafted parody of the Universal Frankenstein films.

The story begins with young Doctor Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced Fronkensteen) discovering that he has inherited his great-grandfather's Transylvanian mansion. Upon his arrival Dr. Frankenstein meets Igor (pronounced Eye-Gore), an eccentric servant with a hunched back. He is also introduced to the vivacious vixen, Inga who just wants "to have a roll in ze hay." Before long Frederick discovers the secret library of his infamous grandfather, Victor von Frankenstein and becomes totally obsessed with creating a "monster" of his own. Naturally this doesn't go over well with the local peasantry. After the monster goes on a rampage of terror (or more accurately a rampage of hilarity), the villagers form an angry mob and set out to destroy it. But don't worry, all's well that ends well in the world of Mel Brooks.

The gags in the film are hilarious (I won't ruin them for any of you yet to see the film). The satire is heightened by the brilliance of the set design, and by the black and white cinematography, which perfectly captures the look of classic horror films. The cast is terrific especially Gene Wilder as the infirm Dr. Frankenstein, Marty Feldman as the zany hunchback Igor, Teri Garr as the delightfully ditzy assistant Inga, Madeline Kahn as Dr. Frankenstein's obnoxious and vain fiancee, Kenneth Mars as the one-armed Inspector Kemp, Cloris Leachman as the mysterious Frau Blucher whose name incites terror in the hearts of all horses, and Peter Boyle as the mumbling monster. Also look for a memorable cameo appearance by Gene Hackman.

As often as Young Frankenstein is referred to as being "the greatest comedy ever", it's odd that it never received any awards for its talented cast and crew. They certainly deserved them. There are few works of comedic genius out there today, for which I am grateful to Mel Brooks for giving us this loony masterpiece to watch again and again.

The DVD features some great supplemental material including cast interviews, an audio commentary with Mel Brooks reminiscing about the making of the film, production stills, trailers and TV spots, a wonderful documentary, new featurettes, a set-top game, seventeen deleted/extended scenes and an outrageously funny blooper reel (watch the documentary before the blooper reel for maximum effect).

And remember next time a reanimated corpse is on the loose that "A riot is an ugly thing... und I think it is just about time that we have one!"

5 out of 5 stars

This is the Edition we've been waiting for! October 6, 2008
8 out of 12 found this review helpful

This baby comes with ALL of the older special features that came with the laserdisc and DVD versions as well as several brand new 1080i documentaries that bring us up to date. An isolated score track, a commentary track as well as the original soundtrack and a new hopped-up DTS Master HD track. The picture and the sound are PERFECT! This is as good as this baby will ever look. Buy with confidence! Yes, I did make a yummy sound!

3 out of 5 stars

Whole Grain October 23, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

If you're a fan of classic horror, this is a good one to have. In an apparent attempt to replicate the technique of the original Universal horrors, this film is INCREDIBLY grainy. I saw the film first run on a big screen and I don't remember it being THIS grainy. It's like the whole thing is infested by billions of swarming gnats. I'm all for the director's intent, but geez. Also, this being Mel Brooks, the humor is (of course) quite ham fisted.

2 out of 5 stars

Blu Ray Edition a MAJOR Disappointment! October 13, 2008
Though the film itself is a 5-star comedy masterpiece, I'm going to have to give this Blu Ray edition only two stars. The problem is the level of graininess. I'm well aware that grain is a feature of the medium itself. I'm also aware that a Blu Ray player will reveal more of this grain on our home theaters than what we're used to. But natural grain is not what I'm talking about here. On this disc, some error in the transfer exaggerated the grain to the point it became something akin to noise.

This is not a minor complaint. What it means is that the details of the original image have been lost behind all this conspicuous graininess, the true picture buried beneath a stippled haze. Sharpness and depth are replaced with clusters of dots. For example, as fans of this movie who saw it in theaters might recall, there are a few scenes in which the cinematography abruptly changes from the smooth B&W to a grainier cobble, instances in which the camera zooms in for a close-up. In the original theatrical presentation, the reason the grain changed is because the zoom wasn't executed during the initial filming, but was instead achieved in the editing. An image was magnified by some process, and the film grain in the original picture becomes more apparent as it, too, becomes larger. But in this Blu Ray edition, the film is suffused with so much graininess, the effect of the shift in style was completely lost. The grain is now a literal interference, eclipsing the subtleties in the shades and textures. Gone are the smooth gradations in tones between the rich contrast, the details in the shadows and in the backgrounds. The close-ups are passable, because the size of the overall image offsets the relative size of the squiggling flecks. However, scenes shot from further away were like monochrome impressions in pointillism. Black and gray particles wriggled in the lighter areas in such bold relief that it completely undermined the picture beneath it.

Now, I'm not asking for a picture IMPROVED over the original. I'm asking for an image that's an accurate reproduction of what I saw in the theater. Do NOT believe what you might be reading elsewhere, in some reviews by critics who are under the impression the graininess was an intentional effect to simulate the visual style of old movies. I assure you, it was not. Here's what I think happened. The technicians transferring the film to the Blu Ray format optimized the image via whatever software they use, and utilized the sharpen-image feature similar to that found in common photo software. Anyone who's worked with this kind of program is aware that you can apply this option only so far. When overused, the edges of the images become unnaturally hard. If you apply it to, say, a grainy photograph, the grain of which in the original is barely noticeable, all of the details are enhanced to the point that the grain itself becomes a bespeckled layer. It becomes too pronounced, sitting in front of the picture instead of comprising it. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN was ruined by the overzealous application of an image-sharpening tool. And while I can't support this next accusation with any cited proofs, I don't believe this transfer used the original negative as a reference, but was instead an upconverted copy of the same digital material used in the SD DVD. The sharpening made it look a bit different, and the player and HDTV you're using to view it will further account for a difference, but it won't be anywhere near the beautiful B&W image you'll likely be expecting. In comparing it with the SD DVD, the picture quality is clearly DIFFERENT, but definitely NOT improved. "Blu Ray" here was reduced to a gimmick to repackage the film and sell it again at a higher price. This is just simply inexcusable. All this film really needed was a simple 24-frames-per-second transfer from the original print to the Blu Ray format. On an HDTV, the clarity would take care of itself.

I hope this review serves to inform others on the verge of making the same mistake I made. The special features will be worth it for some fans who are hardcore collectors, but for me, those are always an afterthought, and not enough to overlook the transfer quality. Addressing just the transfer itself, nothing I've written is an exaggeration. Take note that among the reviews here, mine seems to be the first one written by a person who's actually seen this edition.

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