Review of Young Frankenstein (1974) by Philip S — 12 Oct 2011

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of the most well known literary works of all time. And much like Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, it's also one of the most adapted and re-adapted works for the big and small screen. The resultant effect is that the legacy has lost a certain amount of its bang. Thankfully though, there are still some adaptations of the horror classic that help keep at least a certain amount of kick. Among that rare few is a spoof of the classic that is itself a classic. That classic comes from comedy genius, Mel Brooks. It's Young Frankenstein.

Young Frankenstein wasn't Brooks' first or last spoof. But next to its predecessor, Blazing Saddles, it's one of his best. That it's even been turned into a major Broaway play shows its importance in the history of the entertainment industry in general. That's right. For those who didn't already know, it's also a Broadway play. While it goes all out spoofing the original, it also makes an attempt to pay tribute to it, too. It tried to pay homage to the original by being filmed in black and white, and even trying to maintain the same feel of the original.

Speaking of the original, it's kind of funny to think that not only is Young Frankenstein a spoof of the original, but also a sequel of sorts. Gene Wilder's Dr. Victor Frankenstein--that's Frahn-ken-shteen!--is the grandson of the original doctor Frankenstein. He basically re-creates what his grandfather did, just with much more hilarious results. Those results are thanks to great chemistry between the cast. Peter Boyle is great as the monster. And Marty Feldman is a laugh riot as Igor. Just as Young Frankenstein pays a certain amount of homage to the original movie, some of the scenes in the movie between Feldman and Wilder indirectly (or directly) pay homage to classic comedy in general, with their banter. The interaction between Wilder and Boyle is a little less funny. Probably the funniest moment between them comes when Victor takes the monster up on stage and has him sing and dance to 'Putting on The Ritz'.

Young Frankenstein is a classic horror spoof that still pays homage to the original film. And those who don't yet have this classic in their libraries would be well advised to go out and pick up the blu-ray release. The blu-ray re-issue of this movie is one of the rare times when it's worth buying even for those who already own the standard def edition. That is, unless a person isn't overly interested in bonus features. But for those who are, it's worth the purchase. Either way, Young Frankenstein is a movie that every horror movie fan should at least watch, if not own. It's a great movie both for Halloween, and any time of the year.