‘Frankenstein:The True Story’ (1973)
After 33 years in obscurity, an important adaptation is finally released on DVD.
‘Frankenstein: The True Story‘ (1973) was Originally broadcast over 2 nights back in 1973. ‘Frankenstein: TTS‘ starred James Mason, Michael Sarrazin, David McCallum, Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud, Leonard Whiting, Jane Seymour and Agnes Moorehead, was directed by Jack Smight and written by Christopher Isherwood, the writer of ‘Cabaret‘ (1972). This filmisation is widely acknowledged to be the most faithful of adaptations, outshining even Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 ‘Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein‘. In fact, the Branagh version borrowed many themes from the 1973 Isherwood version without improving upon any of it.
Writer Isherwood, while being faithful to the source material was also comprehensive in his effort to do justice to the Frankenstein legacy by drawing heavily from not only the Shelley novel, but also elements of James Whale’s 1931 follow-up to ‘Frankenstein‘, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein‘ (1935). The film is daring in its presentation of Michael Sarrazin as the Creature, who evolves from a beautiful young man to an ugly homunculus as a result of his slow necrotization. Equally ambitious is Isherwood’s Pygmalion treatment of James Whale’s ‘Bride of Frankenstein‘, as Jane Seymour’s Prima evolves from a childlike tabula rasa to a full-blown debutante before her untimely demise. [Read more →]
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