Frankenstein (miniseries)
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''Frankenstein'' is a 2004 American
television miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. " Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...
based on the 1818 novel ''
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific exp ...
'' by
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...
. It follows the original book more closely than other adaptations. The mini-series was nominated for ASC award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movies of the Week/Mini-Series/Pilot (Basic or Pay). It was also nominated for an Artios award for Best Mini Series Casting. It won the 2005 Prime Time Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Non-Prosthetic). The miniseries was edited into a film. Its UK DVD is 170 minutes long, the Spanish Blu-ray is 180 minutes long, while the American DVD is 204 minutes long.


Plot summary

Captain Robert Walton is a failed writer who sets out to explore the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
and expand his scientific knowledge in hopes of achieving fame. While icebound, the crew spots two dog sleds, one chasing the other. A few hours later, the crew rescues one of the sled drivers, a nearly frozen and emaciated man named
Victor Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character and the main protagonist and title character in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''.. He is an Italian-Swiss scientist (born in Naples, Italy) who, after studyin ...
. Frankenstein starts to recover from his exertion and recounts a story of his life's miseries to Walton. Victor begins by telling of his childhood in 1793. Born into a wealthy family in
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
, he grows up in a safe environment, surrounded by loving family and friends. Weeks before he leaves for university in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, his mother dies of scarlet fever. At university, he develops a secret technique to imbue inanimate bodies with life with electricity. After bringing a deceased dog back to life he decides to create a life using parts of the dead. He succeeds but is repulsed by his work: he flees the room, and the Creature disappears. Collapsing from pneumonia brought on by overwork and emotional stress, he is nursed back to health by his friend, Henry Clerval and Elizabeth. He returns home to find his brother William murdered. Certain this is the work of the Creature, Victor retreats into the mountains to find peace. The Creature finds Victor and tells him how he had become afraid of people and spent the first year of his life alone, learning to speak and read through his observation of a family whose shed he lived in. After approaching the blind grandfather, who responded to him in kindness, the Creature was physically attacked by the old man's son and ran away. Traveling to Geneva, he met a little boy — Victor's brother William — outside the town of
Plainpalais Plainpalais is a neighbourhood in Geneva, Switzerland, and a former municipality of the Canton of Geneva. It is mentioned in Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' in chapter 6, volume 1. Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges' ashes are buried in the cem ...
. Wanting to keep the boy from yelling, the creature accidentally killed him. Even though this was accidental the creature took this as his first act of vengeance against his creator. The Creature concludes his story with a demand that Frankenstein create for him a female companion like himself promising that if Victor grants his request, he and his mate will vanish into the uninhabited wilderness of
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
. Victor reluctantly agrees. Clerval tries to talk Victor out of his mission. Horrified by the idea that creating a mate for the Creature might lead to the breeding of an entire race of creatures, he abandons the project, destroying the notebook in which he had recorded the method by which he had brought the male Creature to life and then setting fire to the not-yet-living Bride. Furious, the Creature swears vengeance against Victor, promising to "be with him on his wedding night," and, shortly after, murders Clerval. Victor is imprisoned for the murder and suffers a mental breakdown. After being acquitted, and with his health renewed, he returns home with his father. Once home, Victor marries Elizabeth, but on the evening of the wedding, the Creature sneaks into the bedroom and strangles her to death. Victor's father goes mad with grief. Victor vows to hunt down and destroy the Creature. After months of pursuit, the two end up in the Arctic Circle, near the North Pole. After hearing Frankenstein's story, Walton relents and agrees to head for home. Frankenstein begs the captain to finish off what he could not, as the creature cannot be left alive. Close to death, he sees the ghost of his beloved wife beckoning to him, and dies shortly after. Walton soon after discovers the Creature on his ship, mourning over Frankenstein's body. Walton hears the Creature's misguided reasons for his vengeance as well as expressions of remorse. Frankenstein's death has not brought him any peace. Rather, his crimes have increased his misery and alienation; he has found only his own emotional ruin in the destruction of his creator and feels once again abandoned. He vows to kill himself on his own
funeral pyre A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...
so that no others will ever know of his existence. Walton watches as the Creature, carrying his creator's body, wanders off into the icy wastes of the arctic never to be seen again.


Cast

* Alec Newman as
Victor Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character and the main protagonist and title character in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''.. He is an Italian-Swiss scientist (born in Naples, Italy) who, after studyin ...
*
Luke Goss Luke Damon Goss (born 29 September 1968) is an English actor, and drummer of the 1980s band Bros. He has appeared in numerous films including ''Blade II'' (2002) as Jared Nomak, ''One Night with the King'' (2006) as King Xerxes, '' Hellboy II ...
as The Creature * Julie Delpy as Caroline Frankenstein *Nicole Lewis as Elizabeth Frankenstein * Monika Hilmerová as Justine Moritz *
Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...
as Captain Walton *
William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. H ...
as Professor Waldman * Dan Stevens as Henry Clerval *Mark Jax as Alphonse Frankenstein *Tomas Mastalir as Lieutenant *Milan Bahúl as Farmer *Lianna Bamberg as Young Elizabeth *Gabika Birova as Timid Servant *Edita Borsova as Agatha *Sonny Brown as Young Victor *Gordon Catlin as Father Beaufort *
Vladimir Cerny Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
as Master Crewman *Samo Chrtan as Young Henry *
Andrej Hryc Andrej Hryc (30 November 1949 – 31 January 2021) was a Slovak actor. He appeared in more than fifty films since 1976.Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said "Faithfully retelling a 19th century gothic novel means daring to be boring in places, but the peaks far outweigh those flat and arid stretches in this beautifully assembled Hallmark production."
Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at ...
said "This finally fulfils the promise many - including '' Frankenstein: The True Story'' and '' Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'' - failed to keep and is a faithful, respectful, slightly stiff adaptation of the novel." ''
DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
'' gave the film three and a half stars saying "The story takes a while to get emotionally involved in, but if you give it a chance, your patience will be rewarded in the last half of the film. Because of its emphasis on tragedy over horror, and because of its loyalty to Shelley's original work, I'm going to go ahead and give this one a recommendation."
Guy Adams Guy Adams (born 6 January 1976) is an English author, comedian, and actor, possibly best known for the novel ''The World House''. Adams is also a regular writer for Big Finish productions, who produce audio plays based on ''Doctor Who'', as we ...
writing for the
British Fantasy Society The British Fantasy Society (BFS) was founded in 1971 as the British Weird Fantasy Society, an offshoot of the British Science Fiction Association. The society is dedicated to promoting the best in the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. ...
reiterates that the "three hour mini-series sticks closely to the original novel" and said, "It's definitely a TV version (though thankfully light on the usual Hallmark Channel vaseline and whimsy), a little flat in places, but it is an honourable and enjoyable attempt at providing a definitive version of Shelley's book."


References


External links

* {{Kevin Connor Frankenstein films Films shot in New Orleans Films directed by Kevin Connor Films set in Germany Films set in Switzerland Films set in the 1810s