Details
Movie Description
Based on Christopher Bram's novel FATHER OF FRANKENSTEIN, Bill Condon's semi-fictional 1998 sleeper stars Sir Ian McKellen in a fantastic performance as director James Whale (FRANKENSTEIN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, SHOW BOAT). It is 1957, and Whale is living in semiseclusion in Southern California with his scrutinizing maid, Hannah (Lynn Redgrave). His health is failing, and he is able to do little but lounge around and contemplate his younger days--his many male loves, his days in WWI, and the film world that has forsaken him. When Whale first gazes upon his musclebound gardener, Clay (Brendan Fraser), however, it is the beginning of an unusual (and platonic) friendship. Seasoned with multiple flashbacks to the sets of his films and to the battlefield, GODS AND MONSTERS is a haunting and touching look at the life of a man who was at the top of the Hollywood hierarchy but soon found himself out of favor--and the offbeat friendship he formed in his final days. McKellen and Redgrave were both nominated for Oscars, and the film garnered one statue for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital Stereo - English
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - 1. Bill Condon - Director
Trailer - 1. Theatrical
Featurette - 1. THE WORLD OF GODS & MONSERS: A JOURNEY WITH JAMES WHALE Narrated by Clive Barker
Film Highlights
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection
Text/Photo Galleries:
Production Notes
Cast & Filmmaker's bios
DVD-Rom Features:
Web Links
Industry Reviews
"...Beautifully crafted....Fraser gives the movie its shattering emotional impact..."
Movieline - p.91 - Stephen Farber
"...A funny, darkening portrait of James Whale, the director of 'Frankenstein' brings this neglected auteur back to life..."
Sight and Sound - p.34-42 - Kevin Jackson
"...McKellan gives the performance of his career..."
Rolling Stone - p.122 - Peter Travers
"...Condon has made a deeply touching, elegant, and inventive biographical fantasy....An extraordinarily graceful film..." -- Rating: A
Entertainment Weekly - p.53 - Lisa Schwarzbaum
"...An immensely touching character study that is heightened by well-chosen glimpses of Hollywood's past....GODS AND MONSTERS creates a deeply resonant portrait..."
New York Times - p.E5 - Janet Maslin
"...Simultaneously poignant and tremendously entertaining....A triumph of both style and soul, a vessel well worthy of its esteemed subject matter..."
Box Office - Wade Major (11/01/1998)
"...There are so many colors to McKellen's performance, so many diverse emotions fleetingly play on his face, that resisting his art is out of the question. Better work by an actor will not be seen this year..."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (11/04/1998)
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