Fantastic!

best movie i've ever seen.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Mary Shelley's horror perennial has attracted numerous talents to it over the years: this one is no exception, but the end result is largely unsatisfying and oddly forgettable! Robert Powell and David Warner (as creator and creature respectively) complement each other quite well, especially in their thoughtful (as opposed to physical) final confrontation. The latter's burnt look (while not fitted with bolts in the sides of his neck a' la the classic monster make-up, he is still brought to life via electrical charges) seems to be derived from Christopher Lee's messy visage in THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957), while also looking forward to Robert De Niro's in MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN (1994). Carrie Fisher feels out-of-place here as Elizabeth, John Gielgud is wasted as the blind hermit, and Edward Judd turns up in yet another unrecognizable character role as a procurer of Frankenstein's specimens. The essence of the tale is there, to be sure (in spite of the low-key approach)…though, at a mere 73 minutes, it comes off as rushed – with the film's visuals also proving unappetizingly drab!

this was the only Frankestein movie i had ever seen and it was awesome. yeah some parts were a little cheesy, like the part when Frankestien hugs the little boy (Henry) so hard he dies. i thought i was going to die of laughter!! not that the kid dies just the way he dies....no matter how you put that it still sounds bad. oh well it's one of those you have to see it to get it sort of things. The cast is good. The movie stars Carrie Fisher, Robert Powell, and David Warner.the acting was good , and i loved everyone's costume!!! the make up was good too, Frankenstein did a very believable performance. and Carrie fisher, who plays Elizabeth, was very good too. she was very charming and i loved like all of her dresses...pretty cool. this was a very good movie considering that it was a TV movie and the budget they probably had.

The box it came in was very obviously designed to confuse us lesser mortals who were so very aware of the existence of the Kenneth Brannagh/mr Bobby version, and were so eager to lay our hands upon it that we ended up with this superior tv version of the old promethean chestnut. Okay, so it plays around with the ideas in the novel,and has some nice atmospheric sets and moody lighting, although it has suffered inasmuch as it was recorded on video tape rather than film, but it is one of the few versions to give the creature more than a stumbling thug role and some half decent lines. Also, its apparently based upon the stage play, which ran for years and in itself, wasn't half bad. Here we have top brit also rans Robert Powell and David Warner goofing around in some rather nice locations and finally succoming to each other, there are lots of nice hints as to the alter-ego frankenstein/creature link and we have Johnny Geilgud teaching the creature about god. Carrie Fisher doesn't have too much to do, but then this was a tv production after all. What is so nice about this moovie is that it is aware of its restrictions and stays firmly with the story, in an age of special effects based super-blockbusters its nice to harken back to the time when films were shot on the directors lunch money and were actually concerned with plot development and had characters who demand respect.

This is one of the many of British television's attempts at bringing Mary Shelley's horror classic to life. While it suffers from cheap production values and a pretty traditional version of the story with no real twists, the mostly Shakespearean cast is excellent (which isn't surprising.... After all, who knows how to tackle the classics better than the British?). Robert Powell makes a thoughtful Dr. Frankenstein, while David Warner makes a sympathetic monster who, in an interested change, is disfigured due to fire-burns rather than the normal stitches and decaying flesh. Carrie Fisher, who got top billing, appears in nothing short but a series of cameos.**1/2 out of ****