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Young Frankenstein (Special Edition)

Young Frankenstein (Special Edition)

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.24
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Mel Brooks's best film
Review: And perhaps the only Mel Brooks film that stands the test of time, unlike "The Producers" or "Blazing Saddles".

This comedic homage to 1930s monster flicks never seems dated. All the gags, one-liners, slapstick and even sexual jokes are a hysterical today as they were 30 years ago.

I don't think there's ever been a more perfect ensemble cast in a comedy: Wilder, Leachman, Kahn, etc. Each of them at the top of their game delivering comedic gems ranging from the subversive to the coarse. And all of it gut-achingly funny.

Brooks is at the top of his game here, too -- deftly combining the performances, the writing. and the b/w-style of the 1930s (down to the eye lights and soft focus close-ups) to create a brilliant and funny masterpiece.

Plus the excellent DVD tranfer and bonus features make this a must-have title.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is the ONLY movie review I will ever do!!
Review: As I sit here and listen to the opening theme from Mel Brook's "Young Frankenstein", the strings stir my soul and remind me why I love this movie so much.
Being an absolute "Frankenstein" fan (Mary Shelley's classic is my all-time favorite novel), it is logical, to say the least, that I became so amazed at the treatment the original Shelley story was given by Gene Wilder (and Mel Brooks, who took on this screenplay and gave it life). Wilder's 'take' on this science fiction classic (penned by a nineteen-year-old!) shows his sincerity and love for Shelley's timeless story of man's neverending yet sometime tragic desire to emulate his creator. The characters rendered in "Young Frankenstein" serve a two-fold purpose (in my opinion): To remind us all of our own mistakes, no matter how grand or petty...We all do really stupid things in life---it's our nature as imperfect beings to do so. The second purpose, simply enough, is to make us laugh at those mistakes. The character Frederick's realization of this culminates at the end of the film, as all is well---or, well-endowed as his new bride soon finds out.
The entire cast of this film brought so much talent to the telling of this story that I'm sometimes amazed that they even finished the film without having laughed themselves to death. Fortunately, this comedy masterpiece was put into the capable hands of Mel Brooks, and we're all better off because of it.
If you have seen this film and haven't laughed, then you seriously might want to seek therapy: you've obviously got a lot of repressed anger and cynicism and would do well to heed the words of "Puttin' On The Ritz" (as sung by Gene Wilder and bellowed by Peter Boyle in one of the movie's funniest scenes).
Those of us who love this film know full well the merit of its' attraction and comedic genius. "Young Frankenstein" is truly one CAN'T MISS and MUST HAVE films you will ever see.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Very disappointing.
Review: I purchased this because I saw it in High Definition on my widescreen TV about a week or so before its release. This is not a 16:9 presentation. It is a letterboxed 4:3 image.They got THE IN-LAWS right. Why couldn't they do it with this very funny movie?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great movie...DVD worth the money (but warning!)
Review: First, let me begin by saying that the only reason I don't give this 5 stars is that I wanted a bit more from the commentary track, as I indicate below.
The content of this wonderful movie is covered amply elsewhere, so I won't repeat what others have so well synopsized. I WOULD like to point out a couple of things about this particular DVD:
1) The commentary track is accessible from the the LANGUAGE SELECTION menu, rather than from the special features menu (as is usual for commentary tracks). I was terribly frustrated by this until I got some help from Christian at boldopinions.com (thanks Christian!).
2) Yes, the commentary track IS mostly Mel babbling, but there are some nice tidbits here (many of the cut-away shots were put in because Gene Wilder kept breaking, Mel thought "Puttin' On The Ritz" was frivolous, etc.). It's also heart-breaking to hear about how Marty Feldman's health habits led to his death at age 59. Unfortunately, since Mel's commentary leans toward the personal, we don't get to hear about the roots of the dart-throwing scene (practically a duplication of a scene in "Son of Frankenstein")-- and I would SWEAR that the trees going by the window in the Transylvanian train sequence are the same ones in the train sequence in "Son of Frankenstein." So we can't have everything.
3) The documentary is really wonderful-- it's obvious that everyone has warm feelings about the film, and the recollections are sharp and insightful. It gives the movie added dimension, so don't pass it over.

I haven't seen mention in the Amazon reviews of "Young Frankenstein" the multiple homages to "Son of Frankenstein," not the least of which is Gene Wilder's spot-on lord-of-the-manor affectations through many of the early Transylvanian sequences (in his grandfather's bedroom: "And where is my grandfather's PRIVATE library?...[book snatched from shelf] Why, these books are all very general [snap snap snap the pages]; any doctor might have them in his study [SLAP book closed]" and the entirety of the aforementioned dart-throwing scene (in which Wilder is positively CHANNELING Basil Rathbone). So make "Son of Frankenstein" ALSO required viewing prior to seeing "Young Frankenstein."

Finally, I think that Mel hits the nail on the head when he says (repeatedly) that so many scenes are emotional at the same time that they're being funny. This film was made with such love by all concerned, and it shows. Yes, it can be occasionally crass, and go for obvious cheap laughs (albeit MUCH less so than any movie Mel has made before or since), but what one ultimately takes away from this movie is the incredible amount of care everyone took with the project. Hell, you might even find yourself with a tear in your eye at the end (I did-- the awesome score by John Morris helps a lot!). Alas, Mel and Gene were never again to collaborate on a script (it is amazing that the Borscht Belt comedy of Mel Brooks and the hopeless romanticism of Gene Wilder found such fertile creative ground in the first place!), so this movie is lightning in a bottle (pun intended). Don't miss it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One for the archives
Review: Simply put, YF is as funny now as when it came out thirty years ago. In fact, even more so. Mel Brook's at his best. Unbelievable cast. One that should be a prerequisite for every Theatre Arts 101 course within every university across the country.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nearly Perfect
Review: This film is absolutely hysterical. One of the many reasons is due to Gene Hackman in a small but unforgettable scene. This man's comedic talent and timing matches and often surpasses that of professional comics. See The Royal Tenenbaums for further proof. He is one of the finest American cinematic actors of all time.
Interestingly Hackman's role in this film, featuring Gene Wilder throughout, is the reverse of Bonnie and Clyde. That awsome film had Gene Hackman throughout, with Wilder in a contained scene that was unforgettable.
I never grow tired of this film. See it and forget your troubles for awhile.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Faithful and Funny
Review: It's amazing to me that a movie can be so faithful to the original movies and yet be so funny. I remember this movie from my childhood, but had never seen the original Frankenstein, so I rented it on Halloween- and was disappointed. Young Frankenstein had everything that the original had, yet was laugh-out-loud funny. Gene Wilder does an excellent job; when I see him in another role, I start quoting this movie. A comedy classic.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: That's "Frawnk en steen!"
Review: Gene Wilder plays the great-grandson of Dr. Frankenstein who is trying to forsake his family history...until his ancestor's last will & testament arrives. He goes to Translyvania & meets Igor (Marty Feldman) who helps him find the ancient lab where the Frankenstein monster was built & builds one of his own. Madeline Kahn co-stars. It's totally funny. It'll leave you in stitches.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Frau Blucher (listen intently)
Review: Nobody does it better. . . nope not ever. A combo of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein this is a long, fun, black and white bonanza for crazy one liners and site gags. Nothing beats the breakfast scene when they discuss the monsters dimensions. "He will have an enormous. . . It goes without saying." Anyway, five stars is not enough for the fun this movie can provide. One suggestion, watch the two Frankenstein movies mentioned above before seeing this one. It is a great ride and well worth the purchase price.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Walk This Way!
Review: One of the greatest films ever. Better than Blazing Saddles in my book. Some of the funniest scenes in the history of film are in this movie. When Igor says, "Walk This Way," he means it...literally. It's just one great scene after another.


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