With reference, in particular, to the birth of the monster, compare and contrast Frankenstein 1994 to Frankenstein 1957 Over the past hundred years, Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein has been read worldwide

The director of the 1994 film made the lab realistic, by making the lab dirty and showing all sorts of scientific instruments. He also makes Frankenstein take his shirt off, get dirty and really get stuck into the birth of the monster, this suggests that he seems to want to be part of the creation more than in the 1957 version. Also in this film Frankenstein is studying at the university of Ingolstadt and in one scene we see peasants fleeing the city because of an outbreak of a disease. This is something which is not used in the 1957 version. In contrast the 1957 film's director chooses to make Frankenstein wear a suit and work in a very stereotypical lab. Although the 1994 film chooses to use a wider environment, this film decides to use gothic horror, which the other film doesn't, they do this by using lightening when the creature is born.

In the 1957 film Frankenstein is portrayed as a posh, snobby and self obsessed this is show by the house he lives in, his servants and the fact that he is always in his lab working on his creation. Good friends like Paul fall out with him because of his creation, Frankenstein is so driven he doesn't care that his best friend has left. In comparison the 1994 film chooses to show Frankenstein as a man that is driven, falls out with Clerval and Elizabeth, but he makes up with them, even though they don't know about the creature until Elizabeth is killed by the creature. Whereas Frankenstein is posh and snobby in the 1957 film, in this film he is rough and really gets stuck into what he is trying to do.

The technology in cameras over the nearly fifty year period improved dramatically, this is shown in the two films, for example when the monster is being created in the 1994 film, the camera follows Frankenstein around the lab as he is running backwards and forwards, whilst he is doing this the camera is overhead. Whereas the camera shots in the 1957 film usually would stay focused on two people at the same distance for about two or three minutes.

The music in the 1957 film is very effective and stands out because of the lack of special effects. The music is very dramatic and gives away what is about to happen, also the music is heard more because of the film not moving at a fast pace. Although music is used a lot in the 1994 film, it is not heard as much because of the special effects and the pace of the film. There are also many silences, which add to the drama.

In 1957 this film would have been thought of as scary because the audience at the time were not exposed to the sort of films that are around today. This film is not thought scary today because of the advances in film making technology. The 1994 filmis thought of as normal today because of the demand for films like this by the public today, therefore there are many films like this one.

Stuart Hardy B10C