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DVD Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
Peter Cushing delivers his most cold-blooded portrayal of the mad Baron in his fifth turn as Dr. Frankenstein. Abandoning his latest experiment after a drunk stumbles into his secret lab (upsetting a severed head) he hurriedly finds new lodgings with a sweet young thing (Hammer glamour babe Veronica Carlson) whose boyfriend (Simon Ward, in his film debut) works in the local sanitarium. Frankenstein blackmails the lovers into complicity with his latest experiment, resorts to kidnapping and murder for his subjects, turns accomplice Ward into a killer, and even rapes Carlson in a coldly brutal scene. The goriest film of the series kicks off with a flamboyant beheading with a scythe (seen only as a spray of blood across a window) and is full of bloody brain surgery, conveniently offscreen but vividly suggested in the slurping sound effects of surgical saws and drills and the gallons of blood left in their wake. Freddie Jones is heartbreaking as Frankenstein's latest creature, a once-insane scientist who awakens to find himself cured but trapped in a grotesque, alien body. When he attempts to communicate with his wife, half hiding in a dark corner while she peers around and sees only a monster, director Terence Fisher offers the most affecting moment of pathos in the entire series. Cushing and Fisher reunited for one more film together, the seventh and final film in the series, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. --Sean Axmaker
The character and quality of Frankenstein varied a bit from film to film in the series. Luckily, Peter Cushing always brought his usual vitality to the role. Here the Baron is up to his old habits. He creates life yet again using the brain of a well respected, brilliant scientist (played with power and pathos by Freddie Jones)to make his creature intelligent. The sequence where the scientist tries to make contact with his widow touches on the sadness and power that made James Whale's "Bride of Frankenstein" so great. "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed" stands as among the best of Hammer's series (along with my personal fav the more atmospheric "Revenge of Frankenstein").
The extras amount to the original theatrical trailer. What makes this DVD worthwhile is the sharp, crystal clear and stunning transfer to DVD. The vivid, rich colors from the original film remain, for the most part, in tact. Although there's a bit of fading evident, the rich colors and nicely detailed sets look quite nice. There's few if any analog or digital artifacts in evidence.
It's a pity that there's no commentary track from a Hammer film or horror historian. Although most of the cast is dead, Simon Ward (in his debut as a Dr. that Frankenstein blackmails in to helping him make his latest creature)could have provided much needed information about the shooting of the film. It's a pity as "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" benefited from the commentary track featuring actor David Prowse.
A good choice to add to your Hammer film collection.
Gripping story, but poor treatment of Frankenstein character
This could have been a five-star entry into Hammer's Frankenstein series--one which I consider superior to the one produced by Universal. But, unfortunately, the portrayal of the central character, Baron Frankenstein, is off when compared to other entries in the series, particularly high-points like "Curse of Frankenstein" and "Frankenstein Created Woman."
In those films, there was something twistly heroic about Frankenstein... one almost finds oneself hoping he'll succeed. But here, he is just a vicious killer, a brutal rapist, a creature with no redeeming qualities safe for the inherent charm of Peter Cushing, the actor who portrays him.
The tale has Frankenstein blackmail a crooked doctor at a local asylum into giving him access to a mad scientist so Frankenstein can cure the madness through brain surgery. The corruption of Frankenstein and the crooked doctor spread to engulf the doctor's otherwise innocent fiance. On the very night of Frankenstein's seeming triumph, everyone ends up paying for their crimes, including Frankenstein himself.
The "morality play" aspect of this film works extremely well. What doesn't work is Frankenstein's completely monstrous nature. And it's made worse by the brutal rape he visits upon Victoria Carlson (who gives what is probably her best performance in this film). It's a shame really that the central character should be so off in the way he was written.
Who is the real monster
This is Hammer's fifth Frankenstein movie in the series and again Peter Cushing plays the Baron. He transplants the brain of a brilliant but insane Dr. Brandt into the body of Dr. Richter. The Baron appears to be the monster and the creature is just an unhappy victim, which is apparent in the opening scene where the Baron is wearing a hideous mask. At the end, the creature, whose mental agonies have turned into a hatred for the Baron, carries the Baron back into a blazing house.
The next in the series is The Horror Of Frankenstein (1970).
Though it wasn't Hammer Studios' final film, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell can be considered its swan song, an intelligent, inventive, stylized reworking of the themes that had sustained the series for almost two decades. Dr. Frankenstein has buried his old identity and reigns over an insane asylum as Dr. Victor (Peter Cushing under a flamboyant blond wig in his sixth and final turn as the mad scientist) as if it were a live-parts yard for his continuing experiments. With the help of an ambitious acolyte he builds his latest creature, a hirsute apelike brute stitched together from the asylum's most promising inhabitants and turned into a sad, tortured slave. The film was shot at the end of Hammer's glory days, and the budgetary constraints can be seen in... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Peter Cushing - Shane Briant Director(s): Terence Fisher DVD Release Date: Released the 21 October 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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The Hammeresque Creeping Flesh is a creepy thriller mixing one part Cain and Abel, a dash of Frankenstein, and a pinch of the Re-Animator with the best elements that '70s U.K. horror has to offer. Is evil a sickness that mankind can be cured of? Dr. Emmanuel Hildern (Peter Cushing) seems to think so. After returning from New Guinea with the ultimate skeletal specimen of evil it becomes his life's obsession. While Dr. Hildern closes in on the serum, James (Christopher Lee), his half-brother and rival, looks on with envy from behind the mental asylum he runs. He too is dabbling in science to find the cure of madness. However, with less of a success rate. After Dr. Hildern tests his evil serum on his daughter Penelope, she of course goes mad, goes on a killing spree, and ends up in... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Christopher Lee - Peter Cushing Director(s): Freddie Francis DVD Release Date: Released the 08 June 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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I usually get a DVD give it a quick look then write a review.This time I viewed the whole package before submitting my review.When you get your set carefully remove the discs.Look at the holder behind it.If you see a little plastic protrusion gently scratch it away with your fingernail then wipe clean. I'm glad I caught this in time. I'm sure this would have scratched my set.And probably yours.My set plays perfectly.The bonus features are great.Werewolf of London, Dracula (spanish), Dracula's Daughter, She-Wolf of London,and Son of Dracula, I consider as bonus films, the rest are the meat and potatoes of the set.A few years ago I considered purchasing Dracula on VHS, but the only copy I could find was with the Phillip Glass score.After viewing the disc in all three presentations(No... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Claude Rains DVD Release Date: Released the 27 April 2004 THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE. If you would like to purchase this title, we recommend that you occasionally check this page to see if it has become available.
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) Fredric March won an Oscar® for playing the protagonist (and antagonist) of Robert Louis Stevenson's story. Dr. Henry Jekyll is an honorable man of science, albeit frustrated at the enforced celibacy of a delayed wedding date. Hyde is the fearsome creature he turns into after drinking a potion, and Hyde's appetites (mostly expressed with Miriam Hopkins's Cockney dance-hall wench) are decidedly unrestrained. March's performance is pretty theatrical, but it's fun to watch; his Hyde twitches and squawks and lopes around like an ape in a tuxedo. Rouben Mamoulian's direction has plenty of the brio of early-thirties Hollywood, and the transformations from Jekyll to Hyde are ingenious for the time. This film followed Dracula and... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fredric March - Miriam Hopkins Director(s): Rouben Mamoulian DVD Release Date: Released the 06 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I get to Chapter 14 or thereabouts, and - Aaargh - I'm back on the menu screen. Right at the end of the film... A re-press please, Mr Macabro!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone else had problems like this? More Info about this DVD Director(s): Giorgio Ferroni DVD Release Date: Released the 16 March 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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