Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Summoned to his late grandfather's castle in Transylvania, young Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) soon discovers the scientist's step-by-step manual explaining how to bring a corpse to life. Aided by his loyal assistants, beautiful Inga (Teri Garr) and ghastly Igor (Marty Feldman)—who insists his name is pronounced "eye-gore"—things don't work out so well when he reanimates a body using an abnormal brain.

Slapstick comedies are hit-or-miss with me, and unfortunately, this one mostly missed. There are a few laugh-out-loud moments, particularly with some well-delivered one-liners, but not enough to keep me overly interested. I did enjoy watching the performances, particularly Peter Boyle as the monster.

Shot in black and white to portray the look and feel of monster movies in the early 20th Century, Young Frankenstein looks pretty good considering its age. Resolution is decent, black levels are consistent although slightly elevated and shadow details are easily distinguished. Fine object details are hard to see at times, especially in solid-black objects, which have little texture and definition, but given the source, this is to be expected.

The remastered DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack delivers a solid audio experience heavily loaded across the front soundstage and collapsed toward the center, which is consistent with the original mono recording. Dialog is clear and intelligible, although slightly nasal, but John Morris' musical score sounds wonderful with its violin-heavy tracks.

The bonus features include a commentary by Mel Brooks, some behind-the-scenes featurettes, outtakes, trailers, TV spots, an isolated music-score track, and a boatload of deleted scenes offered in both HD and SD. Additionally, there are two HD supplements: "It's Alive," about creating a classic monster feature, and "Transylvanian Lullaby," looking at the music of John Morris.

I hadn't seen Young Frankenstein in over 25 years, and I remember it being much funnier when I was a teenager. I found the first act dreadfully slow, but it picked up some steam in acts two and three. The Blu-ray presentation is decent, and fans will appreciate the bevy of supplements.

Release Date: October 7, 2008

Movie: 6/10
Picture: 7/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Pioneer Elite SC-05 AVR
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector