Frankenstein has always been Guillermo del Toro’s white whale, as anyone following and paying attention to the director, knows, and we’re big fans of GDT here at ScreenAnarchy. (See Kurt’s original festival review out of TIFF here and one of our signature, team capsule collection of thoughts here.) I don’t have a ton of love for Netflix these last few years, but financing this Gothic opera with a focus on family melodrama is one of the best decisions any studio has made in the last decade, at least. Thankfully, they’ve also made the rare choice to unleash one of their films on physical media, and Frankenstein is out now from the Criterion Collection in your choice of Blu-ray, DVD, or a 4K/Blu-ray combo release, which is what I’m here to discuss today.
First of all, I’m really excited to write that this 4K release has another cut, Frankenstein: The Reborn Cut. It’s a brand-new director’s cut of the film, adding eight minutes of supreme GDT flavor. (Both the 4K theatrical version and the 4K director’s cut boast Dolby Vision HDR with Dolby Atmos soundtrack.) When I saw the film in its initial, limited-theatrical release, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d missed something in some spots and could only suspect that there were some things taken out in the cut that would have given additional context. I heard a rumor that GDT took advice on what to cut from fellow massive film director James Cameron… but when you consider how long Cameron’s latest Avatar films have become, I’m not sure this particular rumor is true.
Thankfully, I no longer feel that anything is missing after watching the director’s cut; the story feels as complete as it’s ever going to get. And man oh man, is it an epic of glorious proportions. Since we’ve already covered the plot a few times on this site, I’ll throw my two cents in on the rest of it. This is a film that was nominated for an awesome nine Academy Award nominations, taking home the top prizes for production design, makeup/hair, and costume design. Go to the film’s iMDb page, and you’ll notice a jaw-dropping 283 nominations and 95 wins across the globe from various organizations.
The Dolby HDR visual presentation is simply astounding; I was mesmerized for the entirety of the 158-minuten director’s cut, not having paused the film once. I found myself immersed in the heady depths of the saturated color palette, particularly lost in the incredible costumes and intricate sets. To participate in a film of this pinnacle of craft is every artist’s dream, and we are all better for it, from the marbleized look of Mike Hill’s Oscar-winning creature design to Kate Hawley’s ecstatic fabrics to GDT’s ability to command and stitch it all together into something undeniably gorgeous, just like the frenzied surgeon Victor (Oscar Isaac), Frankenstein is a film lover’s dream come true.
When it comes to sound, I may be in the minority when I say this, but it was mostly great. However, some of the dialogue in places felt indecipherable to me. I admittedly don’t have the best speakers on the market, but they’ve served me well over the years, and I don’t usually have this issue unless it’s a very old film that hasn’t been preserved well. Or maybe I just need to suddenly get my ears cleaned. Your results may vary.
The special features are robust as usual with a GDT Criterion release:
- 4K digital master of the theatrical version of the film, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
- 4K digital master of Frankenstein: The Reborn Cut, a new, extended director’s cut of the film, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
- Two 4K UHD discs of the films presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the films and special features
- New audio commentary on The Reborn Cut featuring director Guillermo del Toro
- The Anatomy Lesson: Director’s Cut, a new documentary on the making of the film
- The Parlour, a collection of conversations on craft featuring del Toro; actors Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Oscar Isaac; cinematographer Dan Laustsen; production designer Tamara Deverell; costume designer Kate Hawley; and creature designer Mike Hill
- Q&As moderated by filmmaker Martin Scorsese and musician Patti Smith
- Interview with composer Alexandre Desplat conducted by film-music scholar Jon Burlingame
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio
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PLUS: An essay by scholar and author Christopher Frayling
New cover by Denver Balbaboco
I loved watching the Martin Scorsese-led Q&A, in addition to the Patti Smith one wherein Oscar Isaac makes a cocaine joke, but there’s a slew of craft conversations grouped together called The Parlour, and it’s lovely to see reflections on Frankenstein from those working at the top of their professions. The included essay shed more light on Frankenstein author Mary Shelley’s life and the details on how her immortal tale came to be. And of course, the hour-long doc on the making of the film held even more joy.
If you’d like to see more release details, watch a film trailer, and add this fantastic release to your home collection, head over to Criterion here.