Frankenstein in movies
Mary Shelley wrote her book entitled `Frankenstein' on a rainy day in Switzerland. She wanted to create horrible and horrifying story. The outcome turned out to be a great success. For this reason many film makers decided to put the book on screen. I would like to concentrate in my essay on the differences between the plot in the book and in film adaptations.
To start with the beginning, we need to look what the term adaptation means.
An adaptation is a story that is derived from a previously existing plot and reconfigured to fit the requirements of a different medium. A film adaptation can either follow the source material faithfully or manipulate, embellish and reframe events, settings, characters and social context to fit a director's particular vision and budget.
Being exposed to the definition of adaptation, we got to know why the book differs from the films based on this piece of writing.
First adaptation of `Frankenstein' that I will take into consideration comes from1910. It is a silent movie, because in the 20th century the technique did not allow to create a movie with human speech. However, the mood of the film is well presented. Each and every time a monster enters, the music changes and the light alters, too. This creates a nature of fear, suspense and the viewers have a feeling that something evil will appear. The film takes about 13 minutes, it is all because in 20th century people could not afford to make longer plays. It is the reason why many characters and episodes from the book are not presented within the film. Having less that a quarter of an hour, film makers were not able to produce a film that will include all the details as the book describes. Moreover, the book differs from the film because of the ending. We need to remember that the screenwriters wanted to attract many viewers, so they created a film that will appeal for them. In 20th century women went to cinema eagerly and film makers created a happy ending to suit their needs. Instead of the death of the main hero, we are exposed to the ending in which the creature vanishes when discovers the true nature of love between Victor and Elizabeth after their marriage. Playwrights and movie directors, in the hope of drawing large audiences who were not necessary interested in reading classics, simplified the original plot. By focusing on outside action scenes rather than the mentality and feelings of the character, the story has been made more popular..
Another example of the adaptation of Mary Shelley's book that I will take into account comes from 1931. This film shows the viewers how the monster was formed. The scene of creating the monster is full of horror and fear. It is all due to the music and light. The monster is crated with the help of electricity. It is taken from the introduction from the book where Mary Shelley write about it. In the book the author never revealed how the creature was made. The readers need to imagine the act of creation. The playwright changed the names of the characters as well. Victor now takes the name of Henry. He is called Henry Frankenstein. There are also several changes in the plot to entertain and attract the viewers. The monster has a brain of a criminal and is not pure and innocent as at the beginning in the book. The idea of `tabula rasa' disappears. This is made to simplify the plot.
The last example I will take into consideration is from 1994.This adaptation is similar to the book, but contains differences, too. It is hard to return to the original story when most of the viewers are familiar with the previous adaptations. The film concentrates on the feeling of the monster and his wish to be accepted by the society. He wants its creator to produce a female for him.
All things considered, the book `Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley became a base for film adaptations. Since the story after simplification was easy to show on screens, film directors made them. The plot had to be changed because the film is short and viewers will not sit 5 or 7 hours to watch something, even as interesting as Shelley book. All in all, the book that still is a classic altered into a film about a mad scientist and his grotesque creation.
Hamlett Ch., Adaptation Definition, retrieved on 31st May 2011 [http://www.ehow.com/facts_5547358_adaptation-definition.html#ixzz1Nx3V2R59]