Young Frankenstein (Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Not Widescreen Enhanced!
Review: This version, released in 2003, is an update of an original 1998 "Special Edition." I purchased this naively thinking the transfer was new and the disc was widescreen enhanced. NO SUCH LUCK! This is the exact same disc as the original, featuring only the addition of color artwork. The disc is a relatively thorough spec ed with a solid transfer, but the 1:85 letterboxing isn't formatted for 16:9 TV's. Thus, the disc plays in "windowbox" format on widescreen monitors, with cumbersome Black Bars top, bottom, left, and right. Widescreen TV owners take note.

Rating:
Summary: THEY DON'T GET MUCH WILDER
Review: Thirty years later, Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN remains a classic comedy, filmed with such loving affection for the classic it spoofed. So much of the humor is played so straight, it becomes even funnier. All the actors have their own crowning moments, many of which have been reiterated by other reviewers. But take the film's classic black and white photography and cinematography which evokes the pure essence of the original films. Gene Wilder is perfect as the heir to the Frankenstein legacy, and his comic timing has never been better. Marty Feldman is pure magic in his role as Eyegor, the bug-eyed assistant who is lecherous, witty and morose all at the same time. Teri Garr is brilliant as Inga, the buxom assistant whose German accent is so good it's amazing. Peter Boyle, barely recognizable under the expert make-up, does wonders with his eyes and his duet with Wilder on "Puttin on the Ritz" is superb. Cloris Leachman is great, but I wish she had more screen time; her Frau Brucher (Neighhh) is a comic masterpiece. And of course the late Madeline Kahn also brutally underused, is magnificent as Elizabeth, whose roll in the hay with the Monster is tremendous. Gene Hackman in his cameo as the blind man is top notch; only an irritating Kenneth Mars "mars" the perfect casting.
But one cannot help but admit YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is one of the funniest films Brooks ever made and one of the best American comedies of our time.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, Perfectly Cast Comedy, Rib Tickler Supreme
Review: Thirty years have not tarnished the unequivocal hilarity of Mel Brooks' send-up of classic 1930's horror movies. With stiff competition from "The Producers" and "Blazing Saddles", classics in their own right, this is arguably Mel Brooks' comedy high watermark. This masterwork is just one of those serendipitous circumstances when all the elements work beautifully and in just the right amounts. First, there are the visual elements...the sharp black-and-white cinematography by Gerald Hirschfeld and the authentic-looking production design and set decoration by Dale Hennesy and Bob De Vestal. Then there is the endlessly clever script by Brooks and star Gene Wilder, which ranges from broad slapstick and farce to bawdy burlesque humor to sharp irreverent satire. They have written a king's ransom in funny lines that have since become part of comedy film lore..."Werewolf?...There wolf. There castle."..."He vas my...boyfriend!"..."It's Eye-gor"...""Put...the candle...back".

The casting is impeccable. As Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced "Fronk-en-steen" to escape his "cuckoo" bloodline), Wilder balances his trademark wide-eyed innocence with the character's monomaniacal drive with perfect aplomb. Teri Garr and cross-eyed, bug-eyed Marty Feldman lend able comic support as Inga and Igor, the doctor's nubile "laboratory assistant" ("Roll, roll, roll in da hay") and the hunchback, inexplicably British footman ("What hump?"), respectively. Kenneth Mars has a funny turn as the police inspector, looking very much like a direct cousin of his Führer-loving Franz Liebkind in "The Producers". Deglamorized to the point of being heroic, Cloris Leachman is wonderfully over-the-top as Frau Blücher, still holding a torch for the original Dr. Frankenstein and whose very name makes the horses whinny in fear. Of course, she did a variation of this role in Brooks' later "High Anxiety" as the evil Nurse Diesel. Peter Boyle, well before his paternal curmudgeon on "Everybody Loves Raymond", makes a lovably menacing monster, his fearful nature offset by a soft-shoe turn with Wilder on "Puttin' on the Ritz". An almost unrecognizable Gene Hackman provides a memorably riotous cameo as Harold, the blind monk ready to make espresso for his new friend. Even with all this keen competition, Madeline Kahn still stands out as Elizabeth, the doctor's high-maintenance fiancée, who in one of the most hilarious scenes, gets seduced by the monster and climaxes with a rendition of "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life" that would make Jeanette McDonald blush. Just about everything she says gives me an uncontrollable case of the giggles. She is well missed.

The DVD has several worthwhile extras such as a few deleted scenes and outtakes, including a ridiculous "Actor's Parade" sequence that has no purpose but to make the entire cast pass by the camera. There is also a 36-minute making-of documentary, which is informative, entertaining and includes even more outtakes. There are also a couple of oddly amusing Mexican TV interviews with Feldman, Wilder and Leachman. This is a true comedy classic well worth owning and watching over and over again.

Rating:
Summary: It's just so funny
Review: A lot of comedy gets dated. For instance, the SNL skits that I used to love as a kid now are just plain... well... lame. 'Seinfeld', while great for its time, needs to be taken off the air and put away before it gets played out by the networks like 'Cheers' and 'Mash'. So that's where I am coming from when thinking about older comedy. This is not the case with Young Frankenstein.

The movie is flat out funny. Gene Wilder couldn't have been better in this film and the fact that it's black and white only adds to the feeling of the movie. Definitely recommend this over other Mel Brooks films as well (Blazing Saddles, Space Balls, Robinhood- Men in Tights, etc.)

Rating:
Summary: There wolf!
Review: I watched this hilarious spoof so many times on video as a teenager that I had it memorized by the time it came out on DVD. But that did not stop me from buying the DVD, of course. Why? The film is an absolute must-have for any self-respecting movie fan. I first popped in the DVD with the Mel Brook's commentary track and subtitles switched on -- and it was almost like watching the movie that first, glorious time. Another big plus about the DVD are the bonuses: I never knew that the film was actually the brainchild of Gene Wilder and that he is the one who should have walked away with the Oscar screenplay award, not Mel Brooks.