Review #72
20th Century Fox, 1974
Mov No. 24037
Genre: Comedy / Horror
Rated: PG
Directed by: Mel Brooks
Staring: Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman
Oscars: 2 nominations
AFI 100 years, 100 _____ tributes: Laughs (#13); Songs (#89, Puttin' on the Ritz)
Runtime: 1h 46min
Best quote: "Igor, would you give me a hand with the bags?" "Soytainly. You take the blonde and I'll take the one in the toyban." - Dr. Frankenstein & Igor
Dr. Fredrick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is the Grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, the one who created that horrible monster. Upon learning that his great Grandfather had died, Fredrick travels to Transylvania to take care of the remains of the castle.
Upon arriving at the train station, Fredrick meets his new servant, the bug-eyed Igor (pronounced eye-gore; Marty Feldman). He is also introduced to his new assistant, Inga (Teri Garr). Arriving at the castle, he meets Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman), who has an uncanny knack for making horses whinney.
The first night in the castle, Fredrick, Inga and Igor are all awakened by a strange music. This music leads Fredrick to find his grandfather's private library and his journals on how he brought the monster to life.
Up untill now, Fredrick had always tried his best to live down the family name... even going as far as to pronounce his name "Fronk-un-steen." However, after finding the tell-all book, he had to try out the procedure.
The monster he creates (Petyer Boyle) wreaks havoc, but not just on Fredrick and his castle-friends... on the whole village as well.
To me, Mel Brooks is one of the greatest directors of cinema. He is one of only a handfull of people to have won an Oscar, Tony (for Broadway theatre), Grammy (Music), and an Emmy (T.V.). So is stands to reason that he is very good at whatever he does. If you've never seen any of his films, your missing some pretty good comedy. You should also check out Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, Silent Movie, or Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
Young Frankenstein is a well crafted, well-done paraody. It works on many levels; you can watch it with or without having seen Frankenstein, you'll probably like it any which way.
Plot: 
Mel Brooks is the classic movie parodist (like "Weird Al" Yankovic is to music). He has done a terrific job spoofing the horror movie genre with his classic send up of the classic Frankenstein. It's hilariously funny, as most Mel Brooks films are.
Visual Effects:
The black and white cinematography works very well; Brooks uses varried camara angles and achieves quality, unique shots.
All the props used in the monster-making room are original from Frankenstein, which adds to the authenticity of the picture.
Yoou also get the feeling that you are in Transylvania throught the varried sets and settings.
Sound:
The scroe works very well. The one song, if you want to call it a song (it's more of a dance number which isn't really sung), Puttin' on the Ritz, was well coreographed and is a highlite of the film.
Character Development:
Atmosphere:
You'll find that it is easy to get into Young Frankenstein. The jokes come at a fairly steady pace, so you'll be laughing most of time anyway.
Realism:
Mel Brooks is one who doesn't "Hollywoodize" his movies. He spoofs hollywood, yes. However, he doesn't use computer images in every shot or build whole characters out of the computer.
But this is a movie, and it is fake... you get the idea.
Warren’s Rating:
8.0/10Is the movie worth your time to watch?
01-04-04
