Like most children, my earliest childhood memories of Frankenstein are of the creature–played by Peter Boyle– singing “Putting on the Ritz” in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. Later, and despite the best attempts of The Adams Family to divest it of its existential angst (although I know there is an argument there:), a 10th grade English teacher would introduce me to the deeper philosophical and religious questions raised by Mary Shelley. Since then, I return to the book every few years and find that the older I get, the more its questions concerning the relationship between creature and creator in a world filled with pain and evil resonate with my own.

That’s why I was so excited to run across this article about an upcoming film adaptation that is going to be directed by Guilliamo Del Toro, of Hellboy fame (among others). Of his vision of the story and for the movie, the article explains:

“Speaking with MTV News about the project, Del Toro said that there were new, unexplored, ways to look at the story.What does that mean? He confessed recently that his way in is to view “the creature as a lost child of Paradise,” he said. As in, you know, The Paradise.“I think that there are aspects to it which is the dialogue between the creature and the creator for example [that haven’t been fully explored],” he said.

Needless to say, I will be anxiously awaiting the day someone films this with a cell-phone in a theater in America and posts it to a movie website hosted in China, so I can watch it; until then, we’ll always have Gene–

COMMENTS

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2 responses to “Frankenstein: "It’s (almost) ALIVE (again)"”

1. dpotter says:

   10/28/2008 at 12:24 pm

   Sounds like you had an amazing 10th grade teacher.

   Reply
2. DZ says:

   10/28/2008 at 2:15 pm

   woah. this is such good news. I love Del Toro. I wonder if he’s going to get to it before he does the two-part Hobbit adaptation…

   Reply