Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

"Be warned."

1994 2h 3m EN

😐

6.4

MID

🥫

42%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.3

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 1,420🥫42%Rotten Tomatoes●49Metacritic★6.3IMDB · 63,458

DramaHorrorScience FictionRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Victor Frankenstein is a promising young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother during childbirth, becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. His experiments lead to the creation of a monster, which Frankenstein has put together with the remains of corpses. It's not long before Frankenstein regrets his actions.

“Be warned.”

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Cast

Robert De Niro
The Creature / Sharp Featured Man
Kenneth Branagh
Victor Frankenstein
Tom Hulce
Henry Clerval
Helena Bonham Carter
Elizabeth
Aidan Quinn
Cap. Robert Walton
Ian Holm
Baron Frankenstein
Richard Briers
Grandfather
John Cleese
Prof. Waldman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: Frank Darabont, Steph Lady
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

32 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Japan.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, shot by Roger Pratt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Patrick Doyle. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Andrew Marcus shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert De Niro and Kenneth Branagh and Tom Hulce carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Be warned.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0109836 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kenneth Branagh directs. Roger Pratt behind the camera. Patrick Doyle scores. Andrew Marcus cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Japan. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

132 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Japan.
3Directed by Kenneth Branagh, shot by Roger Pratt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Patrick Doyle. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Andrew Marcus shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Robert De Niro and Kenneth Branagh and Tom Hulce carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Be warned.".
8IMDB entry: tt0109836 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "experiment", "halloween", "remake", "gothic horror".

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Original score: Patrick Doyle
Editing: Andrew Marcus
Production design: Tim Harvey
Costume design: James Acheson
Makeup / hair: Daniel Parker
Sound: Robin O'Donoghue
Stunt coordinator: Simon Crane
Runtime: 123 min · 2h 3m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $45,000,000
Box office: $112,000,000
Return: 249% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
Rotten Tomatoes: 42% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 49/100
IMDB rating: 6.3/10 · 63,458 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 20 nominations total

Also by

Kenneth Branagh

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

DRDMovieMusings2017-04-02
★ 8/10
Excellent version of an enduring classic This is not a monster movie in any shallow slasher sense. It probes and contemplates some eternal questions humans have been pondering for thousands of years, set in a time when so many things we know today were yet unknown, adding to the mystery and horror of the situations that occurred. This movie has pathos, sumptuous sets, costumes and screenplay, some utterly disturbing scenes and ideas, and culminates in classic tragedy.
Wuchak2019-12-15
★ 7/10
Gothic mania with Kenneth Branagh, Robert DeNiro and Helena Bonham Carter Kenneth Branagh's 1994 version of the oft-filmed Frankenstein story was the most faithful to Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel up to that point, which explains its name. It features fine actors and looks great (sets, costumes, locations, etc). There are several quality scenes, like the creature's time spent with the peasant family where his unseen help is taken for a "good spirit of the woods." The first time I viewed the movie I was a little turned off by its manic style. People are introduced, scenes flash by, times shift and the soundtrack blares, which struck me as overdone. The characters seemed so melodramatic at times, emoting, yelling, running, confronting, fighting, dying: "Ahhhhhh!!" "NoooOOOOOoooooo!!!" I just wanted them to stop, take their meds, and chill for 5-10 minutes. I’ve since read Shelley’s book and watched the even more faithful version, Hallmark’s “Frankenstein” (2004) with Luke Goss playing the creature, which runs almost 3 hours. Seeing this version again I appreciated it more and was able to see how Branagh provides a nice balance between the hyper moments and more subdued sequences. If it sometimes seems too manic it’s because Branagh tried to cram the bulk of the novel into 2 hours. On the positive side, this makes it play better for those who prefer constant thrills, melodrama, etc. The 2004 version has almost another hour to play with and is more subdued and brooding. This one’s more of a “blockbuster.” Speaking of the 2004 rendition, the creature is more faithful to the book (with long black hair and white teeth), but he’s also too handsome in a dark gothic way, resembling Type O Negative’s Peter Steele. The creature in this version removes the hair and opts for a more gruesome depiction, which fits Victor’s description of the creature as “hideous.” In any case, De Niro does a fine job in the role. My favorite part is when the monster finds sanctuary with the rural family, unbeknownst to them. It helps the viewer get to know the creature and have compassion on his plight, but soon all sympathy is pretty much lost. On the other hand, he IS a 'monster’; and he has an interesting discussion with Victor in his remote glacial dwelling in the high country, which helps explain his actions. The locket-framing sequence is lame, but that was a weak point of the novel as well. While this version and the 2004 one are the most faithful to Shelley’s book, they each omit parts and change certain things. For instance, both omit Victor’s traveling to Scotland and, later, Ireland, which was a good call. This version alters a certain character’s death to a lynching while in the novel it was court-ordered hanging. Regardless, I enjoyed the surprise plot turn in the last act, which I’m not going to give away. And the tragic ending is well executed. "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" is similar to "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992) in that they both look awesome and were produced by Francis Ford Coppola. Any problems are due to translating convoluted 19th century gothic horror classics to modern cinema. The film runs 2 hours, 3 minutes, and was shot in England (Shepperton Studios) and the Swiss Alps. GRADE: B+
DocTerminus2022-02-04
★ 4/10
Kenneth Branagh made quite an artistic hit with his first film HENRY V. Next, he had great critical and financial success with his popcorn flick, DEAD AGAIN! The success of both of those films meant he could take on any project he wanted. He chose MARY SHELLY'S FRANKENSTEIN. He would return to direct and star as Victor Frankenstein. He would bring along many of his friends including Patrick Doyle to add another aggressive and bombastic score. Because of his newfound clout, he was able to bring in Oscar winning screenwriter Frank Darabont (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, CRASH). Maybe his greatest display of the young directors status was bringing in Robert DeNiro to portray the creature! The resulting film with all of this incredible talent is... silly. I didn't have any good memories of the film in theaters in 1994. Especially awkward was DeNiro's creature spinning toward the camera and yelling "Frankenstein!!!" which brought nothing but laughter from the crowd. I hoped my re-watch in 2022 would bring me a new perspective. While there were there things I noticed that I now appreciated, the flick is still silly. It must be said that Branagh's vision for the film is strong and clear. Darabont's script is very clever and multi-faceted. The music is excellent wall to wall support and some of the performances are noteworthy. Unfortunately, much of the subtlety in Darabont's script is lost in the big, loud film. Branagh's decision to showcase the birth of the creature as quasi-erotic is interesting, shirtless and sweating under firelight. His decision to have the brilliant doctor, when exposing his feelings of guilt, loses his ability to speech clearly and seems to mimic the creatures meter. We get it... who is actually the monster? Again, clear but over-the-top. Mostly missing are moments of circumspection and quiet. With its big budget and generally beautiful lighting and cinematography, it would seem this would be the type of bad movie that is fun to watch. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on that level either, as the film bounces between high art pretentiousness and lowest of gross out humor. I believe Branagh succeeded in getting his vision onto the screen and he has no reason to look down on his achievement. But as a big fan of his, I won't be with him with this monster.