Today on TV: A visually stunning, magnificently staged historical film with 2 Oscar winners – Kino News

After Francis Ford Coppola not only scored a mega hit at the box office with “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, but also won three Oscars, the next operatic horror piece was to conquer the cinemas just two years later – again based on one of the greatest classics of world literature: “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” by and with Oscar winner Kenneth Branagh.

Although the film also performed strongly at the box office, the reviews remained noticeably more subdued compared to Coppola’s vampire epic – and the Academy didn’t have a big hit either: instead of a trophy, there was only a (deserved) Oscar nomination in the “Best Make-up” category.

While “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” can be celebrated as the more virtuoso and sensual film, Branagh’s “Frankenstein” is still worth seeing – especially thanks to its opulent visuals. Have you not seen the dark romantic mixture of horror, science fiction, drama and historical film yet? Then you can catch up on the film today, October 25th from 10 p.m. on ZDFNeo.

This is what “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” is about:

In the 18th century, Victor Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh) is obsessed with the idea of ​​creating artificial life. After his mother’s death, he leaves his hometown of Geneva and begins studying medicine in Ingolstadt, where he is particularly fascinated by Professor Waldman’s (John Cleese) lectures. But Frankenstein only wants to discuss theories, he wants to realize them. And so he starts collecting body parts at the local cemetery.

His experiment succeeds: he actually creates a living creature (Robert De Niro, Oscars for “The Godfather II” and “Raging Bull”). But when he sees the creature for the first time, he is overcome by horror at his own work. The next morning the creature disappeared. Frankenstein hopes that it has fallen victim to the rampant cholera epidemic – but he soon realizes that his creation is alive and is looking for its creator…

Equipment cinema at its best

Kenneth Branagh, who until then had gained fame primarily through his Shakespeare film adaptations, wanted to present an adaptation that was as true to the work as possible with “Frankenstein” – in contrast to many previous film adaptations, which focused less on Victor Frankenstein and more on his creature. In terms of acting, Branagh also manages to impressively portray the pathological obsession and stubborn hubris of his character, who is afflicted with a God complex – even if he poses shirtless a little too often, which gives Branagh and his character a certain harmony in their narcissistic vanity.

The film’s real strength lies in its composition down to the last detail: Whether Geneva framed by majestic Alpine panoramas, feverish Ingolstadt marked by illness or the threateningly quiet ice desert of the Arctic Ocean – every image, every backdrop, every prop is designed with lavish attention to detail and makes “Frankenstein” a real cinematic experience from a visual perspective. In any case, the rumored 45 million US dollar budget has more than paid off!

The problem, however, is that the film increasingly loses sight of itself in its second half. What begins as a complex character portrait with a culturally, socially and historically tangible setting later develops into a hasty, episodic ride through the original novel – which then deviates more from it. So the overall viewing experience remains somewhat erratic and fragmentary. But the pictures… they remain fond memories.

Looking for another streaming highlight? Then we have the right tip for you:

Stream outstanding time travel thriller tonight: A must for fans of Christopher Nolan!

This is an updated republication of an article previously published on FILMSTARTS.