George Taylor Simply brilliant. This film is filled with terror, pathos, wit and a great cast. Picking up right after the original ends, with Mary Shelley telling the story of what happened, it never has a dull moment. While Karloff didn't want the monster to talk, his speech and his friendship with the hermit is the highlight of the movie. Just an excellent film that can be watched again and again.

qmtv I loved the original. This movie sucks! Crappy acting, dialogue, story, sets, music, cinematography, no horror, humor is garbage.Take a look at the sets. Clearly this was all done in the studio. It's just too clear and phony. The dialogue and acting was trash. I hate humor in horror movies. And if it's going to be in there, then limit it. I'd rather watch Young Frankenstein, much better movie. Why the hell is Frankenstein monster speaking? What is that? I must admit, I caught this on public television, Sengoli or whatever his name is, and missed a few sections, but I saw most of the movie. This movie is a failure. Watch the first, an incredible film, and leave it at that. Here are some highlights from the first film: Dr Frankenstein screams "It's Alive", When the monster is seen walking for the first time, When Igor is whipping the monster and you realize who the real monster is, when the father is carrying the dead daughter into town, when the monster is burned at the mill. If you want more, watch the first again, then again. All these and more were captured in the original movie, some by design, some by accident. It's called movie magic. We don't see anything like that in Bride. Do not see this movie. As my title describes it, inferior film making. And definitely do not see the Robert Deniro version, a freaking joke.Long live the original Frankenstein. 10 stars.My rating for Bride, for blasphemy is 0.

TheMovieDoctorful Before "The Empire Strikes Back", before "The Godfather Part II", before "Spider-Man 2" there was "Bride of Frankenstein." James Whale had already unleashed a groundbreaking classic upon the horror genre with 1931's "Frankenstein", but it was "Bride" that was his magnum opus. Everything that made the original film such a hit is multiplied x10 in this home run of a sequel. The powerful performances, the deep characters, the emotional weight, the creepy and gorgeous atmosphere and effects. "Bride of Frankenstein" is classic horror tragedy at its absolute finest, a shining treasure from a long gone Golden Age of Horror. "Bride"'s runtime is 1 hour and 15 minutes, and I never wanted it to end. The film focuses on two protagonists; Dr. Henry Frankenstein and his infamous Monster. The film balances the arcs of both these characters perfectly, keeping me invested from beginning to end. Dr. Henry Frankenstein is much more likable in this installment than the first film, a character who most certainly has learned his lesson from the grim, violent events of the first film. He creates a "mate" for his Creature not out of personal ambition or curiosity, but out of fear for the safety of his wife. However, there is still a fragment of the impulsive, crazed scientist from the first movie laying dormant in Henry's psyche, slowly and subtly revealed once Henry is threatened to create The Monster's "Bride" by Dr. Praetorious under punishment of death. Henry is forced into a battle for his very soul in "Bride of Frankenstein", a battle I was desperately rooting for him to win. The Monster's arc is just as emotionally investing and gripping; rather than fighting for his soul, he is merely fighting for hope and companionship. The Monster here is portrayed as a childlike, self loathing figure, searching desperately for a reason and justification to exist. Even after saving a small child from drowning, he is rewarded with hatred, torture and imprisonment. Watching The Monster slowly lose more and more hope in life and love over the course of the movie is heart wrenching, I just wanted to reach through the screen and give him a well deserved hug.To say the special effects have charm would be a gross understatement. The makeup effects for The Monster are much more realistic and detailed than in the first movie. (Not a small achievement, given the effects in the original "Frankenstein" were quite impressive) Dr. Praetorious's homunculi still hold up today as looking shockingly realistic and lifelike, surely they must have been truly groundbreaking back in 1935. The sets are as gorgeous as they are diverse, suitably grand and detailed. They help the world of "Bride" feel massive in scale.Boris Karloff oozes likability and sympathy in a role almost completely mute. His facial expressions carry more weight and emotion than most actors could deliver in hours of dialogue. In the few times he does speak, he brings a deep sadness and humanity to the role of The Monster. The suffering in his voice is almost contagious. Colin Clive gives a lot of depth to a role already full of it as Dr. Henry Frankenstein, balancing the line between repentant. noble soul and repressed madman. He brings a great amount of nuance and emotional range to Frankenstein.Ernest Thesiger is downright chilling in his role as the evil Dr. Praetorious. Praetorious represents the darkest, most repressed qualities of Henry Frankenstein without any of his remorse or humanity, and Thesiger plays him with a truly sinister and downright frightening screen presence.Valerie Hobson gives an underrated performance as Henry's wife Elizabeth, now a paranoid, emotional wreck from the events of the first movie. She absolutely sells Elizabeth's psychological trauma and torment. She is a living reminder of all the pain and suffering Henry inadvertently unleashed upon the world, as well as what is at stake for the future of everything he cares for if he fails to retain his humanity.Of course, it is impossible to talk about "Bride of Frankenstein" without mentioning the Hermit scenes. The scenes involving The Blind Hermit's interactions with The Monster are some of the best, most beautiful and most bittersweet scenes in film history. Seeing The Monster receive such kindness and compassion from The Hermit, acted with almost infectious warmth and charisma by O.P Huggie, after all the cruelty and injustice he's suffered is immensely satisfying. You can tell that things will end in catastrophe, but the these seemingly small moments of unconditional love and generosity between The Hermit and The Monster have more heart in them than the entirety of most feature length films today. O.P Huggie and Boris Karloff have an electric chemistry on screen, I could watch them interact for hours.The ending of the film is similarly emotional, as The Monster decides to give the ultimate sacrifice to save his creator and his wife, the very people who once feared and scorned his very existence. His time with The Hermit has taught him the value of unconditional love and empathy, of taking a "leap of faith" for the sake of helping others. It's a beautiful, searingly emotional ending complimented by a phenomenal facial acting from Karloff.I could go on and on about how masterful this film is, but everyone else already has. "Bride of Frankenstein" is well regarded as a classic, and that's a status that it most definitely deserves. Without question, a horror masterpiece.

Idiot-Deluxe Bride of Frankenstein was the last and the best of the superbly great James Whale/Universal Studio horror films of the 1930's and is hands down the best of all Frankenstein films (which go as far back as 1910) and is certainly one of the true quintessential's of classic black and white cinema. Brilliantly conceived from the ground up by the versatile and uniquely talented British film director James Whale and as far as horror films go in that era (31'-35') - Whale was in a league of his own.I find The Bride to be superior in every way to the original Frankenstein film (also directed by Whale and starring Karloff) more money, more experience, more inspiration and more creative freedom seem to be the key reasons. Every aspect of this uniquely brilliant film is of exemplary quality: casting, make-up design, script writing, lighting, photography, set design, musical score and most importantly inspired and imaginative direction, an absolute tour-de-force of talent and conviction from all involved. It's hard to drive home with words, just how colorful, entertaining and downright ingenious this ultra-classic film is. With The Bride the gangs, mostly, all back: Colin Clive energetically reprises his role as Dr. Henry Frankenstein, a 17 year-old Valerie Hobson replaces Mae Clarke in the role of Elizabeth Frankenstein, Dwight Frye is back as a character very similar to Igor - just not a hunchback this time and the best for last, the dynamite performance of Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Praetorius. What Thesiger does for this movie can not be understated, he's beyond brilliant in his role as the evil and manipulative Doctor Septimus Praetorius and every scene he's in he has full command of. He's supremely confident in his evil ways and it's always a delight to watch him plot, scheme and blackmail to get what he wants. His performance is often mentioned for it's "arch effeminacy", "waspiness" and overall flamboyance - in any case this wickedly colorful and off-kilter performance surely must put him in the top ranks as the ultimate mad scientist. A type of role meant for master thespians only. Simply put, Dr. Praetorius is one of the best and most entertaining film characters ever devised.As stated earlier the casting is brilliant in all the main roles, as well as several side characters such as, Una O'Connor, E.E. Clive, O.P. Heggie and Dwight Frye. Karloff's take on the Monster is among the best of his career, offering an infinitely more compelling performance the second time (of three) around; that and the "Monster Makeup" crafted by the masterful hand of Jack Pierce never looked better. When factoring in every aspect of this most iconic of make-up designs such as, the singed hair (monster's shouldn't sport BANGS!!!, as was seen in the first film), the multiple head claps, and the fact that Karloff's face was simply as bit fuller four years after the first film, which seemed to vantage the overall balance and effect of the famous monster make-up. Like I said "iconic" is the word, and having seen other actors portray the character over the years, the make-up definitely never looked better than when Karloff wore it.Like every other facet of this movie, the effects are TREMENDOUSLY FINE, much like the Jack Pierce make-up design, Kenneth Strickfaden's electrical gear is as iconic, as it is immediately identifiable. Frankensteins laboratory never looks or sounds any better than it does in this film and once it's electrical machinery begin to fire up and shot sparks and smoke - the laboratory itself qualifies as a character in and of itself. Some of the most electrifyingly lurid visuals ever committed to film happen during it's glorious high-voltage finale, which would have been impossible without Strickfaden's spectacular spark-spewing electrical apparati. Truly wicked a sight to behold.What about it's music? An early cinematic musical masterpiece is what composer Franz Waxman created for The Bride, said to be the first all-original film score featured in a horror film and after all these years it's still one of the very best. Waxman's music is all it Needs to be, When it needs to be and then some. My favorite aspect of the score is the ultra-exotic high-pitch 3-note motive that represents the Bride herself. This film is famous for a number of reasons, one of which is it's innovative lighting and photography, handled through varying degrees of sobriety by the great John Mescall. I've read articles that state that this film, from a lighting perspective, is one of the most beautiful films ever - I couldn't disagree on that point. You'll see some of the best looking tilted axis camera shots ever created, near the end of the film inside doc's lab; followed by an amazing montage comprised of shots involving both Dr. Frankenstein and Praetorius and, of course, all the amazing electric machinery found therein - running wide-open, crackling and spewing sparks all over the place. Some of the stand-out scene's of The Bride, include: first and foremost the amazing finale in the laboratory, Praetorius's picnic in the crypt, "the bottle sequence", the blind old hermit scene and when the monster is tracked down and lynched by angry villagers - among others, there's never a dull moment with the Bride of Frankenstein. It's feverishly creative monster-movie-making of the highest order.In the end, few films can match the level of creativity and the overall air of intrigue that this film possesses and what that all equals up to, is the most charmingly fascinating 75 minutes you're likely ever to see - not a bad effort for a film as vintage as 1935. And after seeing it on Blu-ray I can say without the slightest hesitation, that The Bride has aged beautifully, downright regally over the past 81 years. For that matter really having aged scarcely at all, because The Bride is a beautiful, timeless, work of art.