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| Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein |
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Genre:Horror
Reviewed In Issue 14 Of Widescreen Review®
Stars:
Robert De Niro, Kenneth Branaugh, Tom Hulce, Helena Bonham Carter, Aidan Quinn, Ian Holm, John Cleese |
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 DVD General Information |
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| (Studio/Distributor): |
Columbia/TriStar Home Video |
| (Catalog Number): |
78716 |
| (MPAA Rating): |
R |
| (Retail Price): |
$$39.95 |
| (Running Time In Minutes): |
123 |
| (Color Type): |
Color |
| (Chaptered/Scene Access): |
Yes |
| (Closed Captioned): |
Yes |
| (Theatrical Release): |
1994 |
| (LD Release Date): |
6/1/95 |
| (THX® Digitally Mastered): |
Yes |
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| Credits Information |
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| (Director): |
Kenneth Branagh |
| (Screenplay/Written By): |
Steph Lady & Frank Darabont |
| (Story): |
NA |
| (Music): |
Patrick Doyle |
| (Director Of Photography): |
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| (Production Designer): |
Tim Harvey |
| (Visual Effects): |
NA |
| (Costume Designer): |
James Acheson |
| (Editor): |
Andrew Marcus |
| (Supervising Sound Editors): |
Campbell Askew |
| (Re-Recording Mixers): |
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| (Executive Producers): |
Fred Fuchs |
| (Co-Producers): |
Kenneth Branagh & David Parfitt |
| (Producers): |
Francis Ford Coppola, James V. Hart & John Veitch |
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| DVD Picture Information |
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| (Principal Photography): |
Academy Standard Flat |
| (Theatrical Aspect Ratio): |
1.85:1 |
| (Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): |
1.85:1 |
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| DVD Sound Information |
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| (DVD Soundtrack): |
Dolby Surround |
| (Theatrical Sound): |
SDDS (8) Digital |
| (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack): |
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| (Remastered Dolby Digital): |
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| (Remastered DTS Digital Surround): |
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| (Additional Languages): |
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| WSR Narrative Review |
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Story Synopsis:
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is an epic and romantic new version of Mary Shelley’s classic about a doctor genius who dared to create life in a lab. Robert De Niro stars as the Creature, driven to revenge when his master, Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh) brutally rejects him after giving him life. Helena Bonham Carter stars as Frankenstein’s beloved Elizabeth, who is murdered by the embodiment of his creation, so that the Creature can have a companion with whom to live out his life; isolated from all mankind. Keeping to the spirit of the original novel, the film is stitched together from a number of thematic elements that are at once terrifying, passionate and shattering.
LaserDisc Picture:
The matted 1.85:1 picture is inconsistent in picture quality. Some scenes are sharp and detailed, others filtered and seemingly out-of-focus. The CAV portion is subtly sharper and more detailed. Fleshtones are inconsistent, yet color fidelity overall produces a pleasing look. A slight veil of grain and noise permeates the background, but there are no distracting artifacts. This is another in a series of recent Sony HD format transfers that do not attain the quality level of the best non-HD and HD transfers or those produced under the guidance of the THX® Laser Disc Program.
LaserDisc Soundtrack:
The soundtrack was produced theatrically exclusively in the eight-channel (and 5.1) discrete SDDS format. This matrix Dolby Surround® version is aggressively enveloping, however the overall sound tends towards thinness and harshness, and bass extension sounds limited, never developing the full bass impact the visuals suggest.
| (Surround Bass Below 50Hz): |
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| (Aggressive System Surround): |
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| (Intense 25Hz Bass): |
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| (Deep Bass Challenging): |
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| (Aggressive 0.1 LFE): |
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| (Holosonic Soundfield): |
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| (Aggressive Split Surround): |
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| (Center Back Surround Imaging): |
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| (Directionalized Dialogue): |
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Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality: |
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Superb Music Score Recording Quality: |
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Superb Special Visual Effects Quality: |
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Superb Color Fidelity: |
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Superb Cinematography: |
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Reference LaserDisc: |
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Collector Edition: |
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