Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Frankenstein Intro
The unique introduction to Frankenstein was brought up during the class discussion, some speculated that it was added to the film as a nod to the play which the film was based on. Others thought it may have been an actual warning to those not ready for such a shocking viewing experience (1931). I personally believe it was made strictly for publicity purposes, giving the film some added mystique which added quite a memorable opening sequence to the film. The intro didn't seem to interfere with the overall viewing experience, even considering character was broken during the scene, it seemed to make it more fun and most likely exciting to those viewing it for the first time. What did you think of the intro? did it help solidify frankenstein as one of the more beloved films of the horror canon?
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Frankenstein was so exited to be like God because he experimented over a corpe by doing surgery to relpace with demented brain. What an irony?
ReplyDeleteAs I stated in class, I perceived the introduction as a sort-of Welcome to the Circus sideshow introduction. "You are about to see a freakshow! Are you ready."
ReplyDeleteThis as a means of pumping up the audience for what was about to come.
I got that vibe too. Also, reading the textbook, it seemed like movies about circus freaks and sideshows were a very popular thing around this time. If it drubs up a little more publicity and gets people into the theater, then why not?
ReplyDeleteI keep going back to modern day horror films (even though I know most will say it's not fair of me to do). Producers want their audience to feel the fear that the characters are experiencing, they want their audience to feel as if they are in that same situation. If I were watching this film back in the 1930's I would have thought of the introduction during parts of the film that were most disturbing telling myself "I know it only a story". To me the intro made the movie less horrific than it could have been but I also believe this is going back the Hays Codes again, making this a necessity.
ReplyDeleteI liked the intro, it made the film interesting and gave it a bit more mystery.
ReplyDeleteIt's to play into the Vaudeville expectations that the audience would have had. Later horror (most B-pictures) did this as well, but the effect was diminished as Vaudeville became a thing of the past.
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