FRANKENSTEIN and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN in theaters

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I'm not sure where this is specifically happening because it doesn't say, but #5 on this week's Entertainment Weekly's MUST LIST is the fact that 1931's Frankenstein and 1935's The Bride of Frankenstein will be playing as a double-bill in select theaters nationwide on October 24th.

I've never seen anything but the TV versions of both films, so it would be great to actually see the 35mm versions up on a big screen, the way they were intended to be seen.

[Gothick]

I have heard that the event will be occurring at various theatres all over the US.

I don't think they were using 35 mm film in the early 1930s, but I'm no expert.  I wouldn't be surprised if these will be projected from a digital source (aren't most theatres using a form of DVD now? I just read an article on the death of the film projector and it made me cry).  Universal just "restored" the films using computer technology and the "restoration" has been controversial since in some cases it seems that some images were actually altered from how the director intended them to appear.  The "restored" versions have been released on "Blu Ray." No idea if DVD releases will follow or accompany.  It's been a frantic autumn here so I see headlines and vague snatches of discussions but haven't had time to sit down and get the story clear in my mind.

G.

[verusselle]

Turner Classic Movies is sponsoring this event and is being promoted on this website.....

http://www.fathomevents.com/classics/event/tcmfrankensteins.aspx

The second link below is for a list of theaters across the country that will be participating.....

http://www.fathomevents.com/upcoming/alllocations.aspx?eventid=1105

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Thanks so much for the list, verusselle! I can't believe that one of the participating theaters is only about 20 minutes from my house. 

As to the films in 35mm, several sources say 35mm prints do exist, and supposedly 35mm film became the international standard in 1909. However, now that you bring it up, Gothick, I do suspect that what will most probably be shown in most theaters will be a digital transfer of the 35mm print. 

[Gerard]

My dad was around 15 years old when Frankenstein first appeared in theaters.  He said people who saw it were afraid to walk home alone at night after leaving the theater.

In 1978, when I and friends saw Halloween in our local theater, people were afraid to walk home at night after leaving the theater.  I slept with the lights on.

My, how the times have changed.

Gerard

[michael c]

the whole vampire thing has certainly been done to death in recent years...


but i don't think there has been a big-budget, star laden take on the frankenstein tale in many decades, has there? are we due for a revival? or is the premise just too inherently goofy for comtemporary audiences?

[Gerard]

I don't think there is, Michael C.  This is a genre that needs to be revisited, especially in light of everything medical, from stem-cell regeneration to everything beyond.  In my opinion, medical science is entering a new dark new world, and the ethics of it are being discarded.

Wes Craven made a film, called Chiller, about a man cryogenically frozen after he died only to be resurrected.  The problem was, the reanimated man had no "soul" and lacked any moral foundation (he became a mass-murderer).

Gerard

[retzev]

i don't think there has been a big-budget, star laden take on the frankenstein tale in many decades, has there?

I think the last one that might fit that description was that Kenneth Branagh film with Robert De Niro as the creature. 1994.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

For some reason, different versions of Frankenstein seem to show up on TV more often than in theaters. The most recent might be the competing 2004 versions: a mini-series with Alec Newman (the '04 DS pilot's Barnabas starring as Dr. Frankenstein), Donald Sutherland, and William Hurt, and a TV movie with Parker Posey, Vincent Perez, and Ivana Milicevic (the '04 DS pilot's Angelique). However, there is a new theatrical take: I, Frankenstein with Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy that's scheduled for release in September 2013.