Frankenstein is one of the best horror stories ever told in the history of mankind. The story of a mad man who was able to bring a dead person back to life has shocked nations and generations and will shock in the future as well. This is probably one of the reasons why Mel Brooks' movie is so great. He was able to take a serious story, almost traumatising and make a classic comedy out of it. His movie is a pure satire from beginning to end and this is where you can see how hard he must have worked on this movie. His more recent movie Spy Hard (1996) was quite disappointing because the humor there seemed much more sexual and the parody wasn't all that great. The only interesting part of that movie was the variety of different scenes Brooks mixed in although they didn't really blend well together.
In most movies in which you have a very rich man and his butler, the butler is quite often very funny and delivers some of the best jokes. The best example for that would have to be John Gielgud's role in Arthur (1981) which won him a best supporting actor Oscar. He played a wise-cracking butler who was able to be snide to his master without being too impolite. However, I seem to find that Martey Feldman as Igor in Young Frankenstein was even funnier than John Gielgud was in Arthur. This is the second part of Young Frankenstein.
Finally, the third part of Young Frankenstein has to with family reputation. Gene Wilder plays Fredric Frankenstein and does not like his name because of the reputation it was given by his crazy grandfather. He wants nothing to do with his past family but when his great grandfather's will is found and asks him to return to Transylvania, he sees no choice but to go out of respect for his predecessor. Upon arriving in Transylvania, he quickly meets Igor and is taken to the Frankenstein castle. There, he soon becomes obsessed with the idea of bringing a dead human being back to life. This obsession is provoked by a woman who works at the castle and who was the mistress of Fredric's grandfather.
The rest of the story is developed in a very similar way to the original terrifying classic only in a highly comic manner. Gene Hackman has a cameo as a blind priest and his scene is one of the funniest ones in the movie. Mel Brooks smartly directs this movie letting the viewer hope some things happen and others won't. Gene Wilder's contribution to the script is another plus and he delivers his role very well. The scene in the classroom is highly comic. Also noticeable is Teri Garr who plays young Frankenstein's "assistant" in the laboratory room. But Martey Feldman walks away with the movie as the snide and hilarious butler Igor. He plays the role of one those people who make you laugh just by appearing on the screen. You won't want to miss this one.
In most movies in which you have a very rich man and his butler, the butler is quite often very funny and delivers some of the best jokes. The best example for that would have to be John Gielgud's role in Arthur (1981) which won him a best supporting actor Oscar. He played a wise-cracking butler who was able to be snide to his master without being too impolite. However, I seem to find that Martey Feldman as Igor in Young Frankenstein was even funnier than John Gielgud was in Arthur. This is the second part of Young Frankenstein.
Finally, the third part of Young Frankenstein has to with family reputation. Gene Wilder plays Fredric Frankenstein and does not like his name because of the reputation it was given by his crazy grandfather. He wants nothing to do with his past family but when his great grandfather's will is found and asks him to return to Transylvania, he sees no choice but to go out of respect for his predecessor. Upon arriving in Transylvania, he quickly meets Igor and is taken to the Frankenstein castle. There, he soon becomes obsessed with the idea of bringing a dead human being back to life. This obsession is provoked by a woman who works at the castle and who was the mistress of Fredric's grandfather.
The rest of the story is developed in a very similar way to the original terrifying classic only in a highly comic manner. Gene Hackman has a cameo as a blind priest and his scene is one of the funniest ones in the movie. Mel Brooks smartly directs this movie letting the viewer hope some things happen and others won't. Gene Wilder's contribution to the script is another plus and he delivers his role very well. The scene in the classroom is highly comic. Also noticeable is Teri Garr who plays young Frankenstein's "assistant" in the laboratory room. But Martey Feldman walks away with the movie as the snide and hilarious butler Igor. He plays the role of one those people who make you laugh just by appearing on the screen. You won't want to miss this one.
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