This is the Edition we've been waiting for! | Young Frankenstein [Blu-ray]

Resurrected in Hi-def | Young Frankenstein [Blu-ray] | Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle

DVDs:


	• Young Frankenstein [Blu-ray] Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle 20th Century Fox, 2008 average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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A worthy occasion to plug a brilliant film.

The announcement that Young Frankenstein would be released in Blu-Ray triggered mixed feelings. On the one hand, this is a movie that should be widely available in every format. It's that good. On the other hand, the release of high definition films has spawned yet another generation of empty-headers obsessed with picture quality and "awesome sound," who couldn't tell a good movie from a used diaper. And so, the Internet is littered with glowing "reviews" about the spectacular cleanliness of the images on garbage releases like Jumper, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Signs, The 6th Day, Ice Age, and The Rock. It distorts the entire rating system on Amazon by giving four or five stars to trashy movies that happen to look shiny and clean, without "artifacts" -- or, it turns out, merit. These same reviewers give high marks to some great films on Blu-Ray, but for all the wrong reasons -- yet another distortion of the ratings system. (Of course, one could treat movie releases as mere "products," and spend time commenting on how well the hinges work, or how well the packaging is made, or how true the "blacks" happen to be. But, why dumb down our culture any further with such dedication to fluff and superficialities? Sure, the studios who are making a mint off of Blu-Ray transfers of lousy films want you to care about such things, but I'll take a VHS of Young Frankenstein on a black and white Philco over a "glorious" version of Con Air. So would every other thinking person.)

And so, to get to the point, this is Mel Brooks' shining moment, a film that is a brilliantly funny homage to the classic horror films of the thirties. Some might complain about the corn content, but it works, and the performances by a stellar cast -- topped by Gene Wilder -- are phenomenal. For more, I defer to Count Orlok '22's spot on review above. If you don't own this film, buy it. In any format.

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This is the Edition we've been waiting for!

This baby comes with ALL of the older special features that came with the laserdisc and DVD versions as well as several brand new 1080i documentaries that bring us up to date. An isolated score track, a commentary track as well as the original soundtrack and a new hopped-up DTS Master HD track. The picture and the sound are PERFECT! This is as good as this baby will ever look. Buy with confidence! Yes, I did make a yummy sound!

Resurrected in Hi-def

WARNING: This film may lead to incontinence due to hysterical laughter!

Mel Brooks' 1974 film, Young Frankenstein is arguably the funniest film ever made. Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, who had previously collaborated on The Producers and Blazing Saddles, wrote the script together. This film is a superbly crafted parody of the Universal Frankenstein films.

The story begins with young Doctor Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced Fronkensteen) discovering that he has inherited his great-grandfather's Transylvanian mansion. Upon his arrival Dr. Frankenstein meets Igor (pronounced Eye-Gore), an eccentric servant with a hunched back. He is also introduced to the vivacious vixen, Inga who just wants "to have a roll in ze hay." Before long Frederick discovers the secret library of his infamous grandfather, Victor von Frankenstein and becomes totally obsessed with creating a "monster" of his own. Naturally this doesn't go over well with the local peasantry. After the monster goes on a rampage of terror (or more accurately a rampage of hilarity), the villagers form an angry mob and set out to destroy it. But don't worry, all's well that ends well in the world of Mel Brooks.

The gags in the film are hilarious (I won't ruin them for any of you yet to see the film). The satire is heightened by the brilliance of the set design, and by the black and white cinematography, which perfectly captures the look of classic horror films. The cast is terrific especially Gene Wilder as the infirm Dr. Frankenstein, Marty Feldman as the zany hunchback Igor, Teri Garr as the delightfully ditzy assistant Inga, Madeline Kahn as Dr. Frankenstein's obnoxious and vain fiancée, Kenneth Mars as the one-armed Inspector Kemp, Cloris Leachman as the mysterious Frau Blucher whose name incites terror in the hearts of all horses, and Peter Boyle as the mumbling monster. Also look for a memorable cameo appearance by Gene Hackman.

As often as Young Frankenstein is referred to as being "the greatest comedy ever", it's odd that it never received any awards for its talented cast and crew. They certainly deserved them. There are few works of comedic genius out there today, for which I am grateful to Mel Brooks for giving us this loony masterpiece to watch again and again.

The DVD features some great supplemental material including cast interviews, an audio commentary with Mel Brooks reminiscing about the making of the film, production stills, trailers and TV spots, a wonderful documentary, new featurettes, a set-top game, seventeen deleted/extended scenes and an outrageously funny blooper reel (watch the documentary before the blooper reel for maximum effect).

And remember next time a reanimated corpse is on the loose that "A riot is an ugly thing... und I think it is just about time that we have one!"

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Mel Brooks' monstrously crazy tribute to Mary Shelley's classic pokes hilarious fun at just about every Frankenstein movie ever made. Summoned by a will to his late grandfather's castle in Transylvania, young Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) soon discovers the scientist's step-by-step manual explaining how to bring a corpse to life. Assisted by the hunchback Igor (Marty Feldman) and the curvaceous Ings (Teri Garr), he creates a monster (Peter Boyle) who only wants to be loved.