Frankenstein film adaptations and the plot representation with reference to the changing needs of the audience

Frankenstein; or the modern Prometeus was a novel written in the 19th century by eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley. The novel was the first of its kind, a mixture of gothic and romantic elements, and also an early example of science fiction genre. Soon after its publication, the novel gained wide recognition and was adapted as a theatre piece, and later as a movie. Many film adaptations followed. Each of them had its own modes of expression and aimed at the constantly changing needs of the audience concerning the complexity of the characters and the visual aspects of the film. The new versions of the movie made many changes in the plot and used diverse techniques as to become an answer to these needs, which were different in the 1930s and 1990s. James Whales Frankenstein from 1931 is the most popular adaptation. Whale did not take everything from the original work but reinvented it. He completely cut out some parts so as to focus more on Frankenstein and his creation. The creatures face, created by a talented makeup artist, Jack Pierce, became the ultimate image of the Frankenstein Monster (Rohrmoser : 1). Someone asked about the monsters looks would definitely think of the one shown in the movie mentioned above. The creatures first appearance on screen is one of the best introductions of the film characters in the cinema: some distant footsteps are heard by Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz, a character who did not exist in the book, then the creature clumsily comes into the room with its back to the camera and turns around slowly, showing its ugly, deformed face. A close-up follows to present all the details of this gloomy sight (Sawicki). The monster is supposed to incite sympathy by bringing a childlike innocence (Kelwick). He cannot speak, not like in the book, where the monster is also literate. He can communicate only through gestures or facial expressions. Seeing the light, he tries to grasp some of its shafts, when the light is gone, he reacts piteously with confused frustration and wordless whimpers (Dirks : 1). After an unintentional drowning of a little girl, with whom he played radiat[ing] with joy (Hefferna) at a lakes shore, the Monster seems to express some confusion, despair and remorse - shaking and wringing his hands and possibly perceiving the horrible thing he has done (Dirks : 1). He is not able to understand the world around him because no one taught him to. His evil reactions, like killing professor Waldman, are not the

result of the abnormal brain stolen by Fritz or the monsters interior malice. The reason of his behaviour is the hatred of the surrounding (Sawicki). He is looked at with contempt and disgust. Fritz, the hunchback, tortures him relentlessly because it reminds him of his own misshapenness, he bullwhips the creature and waves a flaming torch in his face (Dirks : 1). Not even another deformed human being takes pity on him. Whales film is a dark, gloomy adaptation. Frankenstein works in an old house, full of winding stairs and light contrasting with darkness. His laboratory is filled with weird devices and looks as if it was taken directly out of a nightmare (Rohrmoser : 1). The first hints of the awe pervading the movie are given in the opening scene while the man and the hunchback are digging out a grave to steal a body for the experiment, which is later conducted by means of electricity(Rohrmoser : 1). The director uses many sound effect, like various thuds, bangs, and assorted odd noises (Berardinelli 1999), which must have created some baffling effects on the audience who was only beginning to get used to the world of sounds in the movies. This film can also be seen as a conservative morale. Frankenstein, setting himself above God, created something evil, but repenting for the deed, he may save himself. It is like a moral guidepost for man saying that he has to remember who he is (Rohrmoser : 1). Mel Brookss Young Frankenstein is a parody. It loosely connects some plots from other films about the creation of a new life and presents them in an entertaining way. Paroding the early film adaptations, Young Frankenstein is black and white. The main hero is the grandson of Victor Frankenstein, a medical teacher who, in the beginning, does not want to acknowledge his inheritance but later, he creates a monster of his own. Frederick Frankenstein is given an assistant, Igor who has a hunchback shifting from side to side and a cross-eye. Igor is a parody of Fritz from Frankenstein(1931) who brings his master an abnormal brain. In Brookss version, the little girl is not drowned but catapulted from a see-saw into her bedroom, where her parents peek in to wish her good night before she falls asleep (Dirks : 2). From Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Brooks takes Elizabeths hairstyle and a helpful, blind hermit, who accidentally hurts the creature. Whale also added Frau Blucher whose name makes the horses whinny, and inspector Kemp who is a parody of another police inspector from Son of Frankenstein. Brooks incorporates a scene in which the domesticated monster tap dances and sings Puttin on the Ritz, a song performed by Fred Astair, someone combining sexual charm and urbane sophistication (Hefferna), which contrasts greatly with the creatures ugliness. This scene also shows what the monster became in the culture- a source of immensely popular entertainment (Hefferna). However, the most important innovation is a happy ending for

everyone. The monster cannot speak but thanks to another experiment carried out by Frankenstein, he becomes an eloquent human being and even delivers a speech in the end of the movie. For the first time, he gets the kind of comfort he is looking for (Rohrmoser : 2). The monster is accepted by the city dwellers and maries a beautiful woman, like in the tale of Beauty and the Beast (Hefferna). He is finally accepted and treated like any other person, which the monster longed for throughout the novel. In 1994, Kenneth Branagh directed Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, in which he played the main role. His version is very close to the original story, yet it contains some inaccuracies. The creatures image is quite complex, he is capable of great love and great rage (Berardinelli 1994). He is innocent and frightened like a new born child, ashamed of his own appearance but the world makes him change into a violent and ruthless monster (Miller 2007). The creature shows both his cruelty- killing Frankensteins little brother, and his gentleness when he is wheeping at his creator's death bed or after having been beaten by the family from the forest (Rohrmoser : 3) even though he only wanted to help them and receive some love and respect that every human being deserves. He is intelligent, literate and eloquent but his terrible appearance causes people to despise and fear him. DeNiro playing the monster is given a body that looks like a patchwork quilt of flesh cut from dead bodies, a paradoxically ugly composite of features <<selected . . . as beautiful>> (Hefferna). Branaghs movie is extremely visual, full of effects and colours. The scenery ranges from the breathtaking snowy stretches of land and a ship stranded in a frozen sea through a crowded city to an artistically furnished family mansion making an overwhelming impression (Mieszkowski). What stands out the most is the scene of the experiment conducted by Frankenstein. The man rents a house where he builds a laboratory filled with various machinery, tubes and wires, and where, in a spectacular do-it-yourself experiment, he brings the creature to life. During the scene, Frankenstein hurries through the laboratory half naked and in a state of frenzy, excited about his discovery. Some previous of Frankensteins experiments are also shown on the screen, like catching the lightning with the help of some kind of a conductor and later passing the spark from one person to another in a Michelangelos Creation of Adam manner. The contemporary audience, more liberated than ever, is constantly exposed to sex and violence. The adaptation could not be devoid of it. Branagh gives the viewer a bloody labour of Frankensteins mother, Frankenstein gathering the parts of the dead bodies to beget a new life and makes Frankenstein and Elizabeths relationship sexual, imbued with passion and lust. Most unexpectedly, Frankenstein reanimates another human being. After Elizabeths death, the

man attaches her head to the body of their friend and makes himself a new bride. He dances with her, trying to make her remember the past. The tragic scene becomes a parody of their former passionate romance that cannot be revived as Frankenstein lost his Elizabeth along with her first life. Every adaptation of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein has its own way of showing the monster and the story itself. They are adapted to their times and their audiences likes and wants. The oldest version is the most conservative but, thanks to its gloomy settings and the memorable monsters characterization, it still makes an immense impression on the viewers. Brookss parody forces everybody to think of the possible links with some other films and cultural phenomena, and makes the audience laugh out loud. The last adaptation mentioned in the paper connects quite a faithful representation of the plot with a visual artistry and a fulfillment of the viewers need of blood and sexuality on screen. Each of them is a memorable movie worth watching.

References: Berardinelli, James. (1999) Frankenstein (1931), http://www.reelviews.net/movies/f/frankenstein31.html, data accessed 7 January 2011 Berardinelli, James. (1994) Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, http://www.reelviews.net/movies/m/mary_shellys.html, data accessed 7 January 2011 Dirks, Tim : 1. Frankenstein (1931), http://www.filmsite.org/fran.html, data accessed 7 January 2011 Dirks, Tim : 2. Young Frankenstein (1974), http://www.filmsite.org/youn.html, data accessed 7 January 2011 Hefferna, James A. W. Looking at the Monster: Frankenstein and Film, http://www.english.upenn.edu/Projects/knarf/Articles/hefferna.html, data accessed 7 January 2011

Mieszkowski, Przemysaw. Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, http://horror.com.pl/filmy/recka.php?id=1826, data accessed 7 January 2011 Miller, Eric. (2007) Mary Shelleys Frankenstein (1994), http://classichorror.com/reviews/mary_shelleys_frankenstein_1994, data accessed 7 January 2011

Kelwick, Jamie. Frankenstein (1931), http://www.kelwick.karoo.net/TheUsherSpeaksClassic/TheUsherSpeaks-Frankenstein1931.htm, data accessed 7 January 2011 Rohrmoser, Andreas : 1. Frankenstein (1931), http://members.aon.at/frankenstein/frankensteinuniversal.htm, data accessed 7 January 2011 Rohrmoser, Andreas : 2. Young Frankenstein (1974), http://members.aon.at/frankenstein/frankenstein-young.htm, data accessed 7 January 2011 Rohrmoser, Andreas : 3. Mary Shelleys Frankenstein (1994), http://members.aon.at/frankenstein/frankenstein-branagh.htm, data accessed 7 January 2011 Sawicki, Piotr. Frankenstein, http://horror.com.pl/filmy/recka.php?id=663, data accessed 7 January 2011