Frankenstein Movie Review

April 15, 2022 by Essay Writer

Frankenstein Mary Shelly wrote a novel which was published in 1818, but her name as the author didn’t appear until 1823. The first ‘Frankenstein’ movie was created in 1931. The movie was based on Mary Shelly’s novel, but some things were changed to make the movie more eye-catching to the viewers. Characters were added and taken out, the tone of the movie is different from the novel, and the way the women were treated is different. Many things could be compared but these are a few of the main topics.

In the novel the main characters were Frankenstein’s monster, Victor Frankenstein, Elizabeth Lavenza, Robert Walton, Alphonse Frankenstein, Henry Clerval, William Frankenstein, Justine Moritz, Caroline Beaufort, Beaufort, Peasants, and M. Waldman. The novel had many main characters. The 1931 movie had a few different main characters. Fritz, Victor Mortiz, Little Maria, Bridesmaid #2, Waldman’s secretary, Screaming Maid, Bridesmaid, Medical Student, Little Girl #1, Ludwig, Villager #3, Herr Vogel, Little Girl #2, Villager #2, Mourner, Maid, Gravedigger, Mourner #2, Hans, Villager, Mourner at Gravesite.

If you compare the novel and the movie you can see that the movie had triple the amount of characters. With the movie the director needed more characters so they could keep the attention of the viewers. The tone of the novel is largely bleak and despairing. In the beginning it starts with optimism from the perspective of Captain Walton who is excited and hopeful about his Arctic voyage. The mood quickly darkens with the appearance of Victor, who is in a dangerous condition, and who makes it clear at the start of his story that ‘nothing can alter my destiny.’ The ending of the novel is tragic.

This framing cast a dark shadow over the potentially positive account of Victor’s happy childhood and intellectual pursuits. The conclusion of the novel contributes most strongly to the tone of futility. By the time he has finished recounting his story, Victor is hopeless and waiting only to die. The movie is more of a horror movie than an adaption of Mary Shelley novel. The first noticeable difference is the monster’s lack of speech in the movie. In the novel the monster teaches itself how to read and write. In the movie the monster only grunts and growls. Appearance of the monster is the second difference. In the novel the monster has long, black hair, white teeth, and is tall and muscular. In the movie the monster has short, black hair, a flat head, and bolts on the sides of his head. The reason for the monster’s behavior is the third difference. In the novel, it is suggested that the monster’s bad behavior is caused by his abandonment by his creator and neglect because of his appearance. In the movie, the monster’s bad behavior is blamed on Fritz’s mistake of fetching the brain of a criminal. An example of this is the scene in the novel where the monster rescues a little girl from drowning. In the movie the opposite happens; the monster causes the death by drowning the little girl. The last difference is the absence of the monster’s request for a mate in the movie. In the novel, the monster asks Frankenstein to create him a companion so he will no longer be lonely. The ending of the novel is very different from the movie. In the movie, Frankenstein lives with his fianc?© and the monster is hinted to be destroyed. In the novel, Frankenstein, Elizabeth, and the monster all die.

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