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Last updated: August 12, 2009, 3:15 pm

Young Frankenstein [Blu-ray] Customer reviews:

Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 374

(Randy E. Halford, 2009-11-07) I first saw this (twice) in high school (yes, you heard right). Shown after classes, it remained uncut in all its risque, irreverent glory. I immediately fell in love with this comedy. And I'm still in love with it. If any film deserves to be called a "classic", it's this one. Not only did writer-director Mel Brooks & writer-star Gene Wilder capture the visual black & white beauty of the old horror classics, but they pulled off the impossible--a kooky, irreverent comedy that's also a sweet, loving tribute to those films. Every single joke & sight gag hits the bullseye, and each & every performance is memorable (made bittersweet by the passing of Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn & Peter Boyle over the years). There are so many great comedy bits crammed into this movie that it's almost futile to make a list here, so I'll spare you the reading. A definite must for any Brooks movie collection. Long live "Young Frankenstein!"

(John E. Jankiewicz, 2009-11-05) Yea Marty Feldman and his mobile hump!A classic movie which I haven't seen for a long time. Thanks Amazon for the in-budget viewing!

(William Sommerwerck, 2009-10-25) I rarely comment on the quality of Blu-ray transfers, as they're generally excellent. This one has me wondering. Not only is it grainy, but it doesn't /look like/ a B&W film. (A good one, anyway.) The highlights look as if they're approaching "burnout", while the black areas aren't really black. And though there are plenty of midrange tones, there's no pleasing gradation gradation between light and dark. "Ma and Pa Kettle" was better-photographed. Worst of all, the image has a yellowish cast, as if my display's color temperature was set too low. But it's a Pioneer Kuro, and they're generally close. Besides, I haven't seen this cast on other B&W films. So I suspected the problems with "tonal gradation" were due the film had been shot in color, and printed in B&W. However... the supplemental materials say the film was shot on B&W stock (AGFA was named, but they likely meant Ilford), and that a well-known cinematographer was hired to provide the kind of classic B&W look Mel Brooks wanted. And guess what -- that's what the scenes in the supplemental material look like! They do not have a color cast, and they have the beautiful gradation of a classic B&W film. Lovely. Who knows. Fox doesn't have a customer-relations department, so there's no one to ask. The picture is otherwise good, so if you want this disk, you might as well buy it. I will keep trying to find out. As for the film itself... I feel about "Young Frankenstein" much as I feel about "Superman II". The good things in these films are offset by poor directorial decisions. In the case of S2, during the big "blow-out" between Superman and the villains, Richard Lester inserts comic moments (of such things as ice cream flying in a man's face, or a person being dragged off by a torn-away pay phone) that are not only unnecessary, but distort the film's tone. As for Mel Brooks, he never heard a crude or vulgar joke he didn't like, * and if he thinks the audience might not "get" a joke, he shoves it in its collective face, sometimes repeatedly. Much of Brooks' humor is not only "obvious", but he /misses/ the obvious, as well -- why doesn't the film start in color, and switch to B&W when we arrive in Transylvania? By the way, the "Transylvania station" joke is retained. TV cuts often omit it, because it offends some people. Most people consider "Young Frankenstein" a classic. Perhaps it is, and I'm being overly critical, but I tend to see this glass as half-empty, not half-full. The one thing that is unquestionably classic is Madeline Kahn's performance. It goes beyond perfection, if such a thing were possible. Parents should be aware that, despite the PG rating, "Young Frankenstein" has a fair of amount of crude/vulgar humor and worse, an on-screen rape only /slightly/ less graphic than the one in "Brokeback Mountain". The PG-13 rating would be appropriate, but it didn't exist in 1974. * The issue isn't crude humor, per se, but the quality thereof. "South Park" and "The Venture Bros." are much better at it, mostly because they go for the jugular.

(G. Simmons, 2009-10-11) Mel Brooks is one of those comedic people you love...or hate (whatever). But I think everyone can appreciate his contribution to the genre. I find this particular film, when quoted randomly at parties, in public, with perfect strangers, still gets me the highest fives, the biggest laughs, and the most nostalgic nods from fans of every walk of life. You know why? Because it's genius and classic. In fact, if someone doesn't wax nostalgia over this piece of cinemagic magic, they should be flogged or pitied for their lack of joy in the world.

(One-Line Film Reviews, 2009-09-26) The Bottom Line: Young Frankenstein is certainly better if you've seen the original movies (though that applies to pretty much every such film) and if you have you'll be sure to appreciate Mel Brooks' light-hearted take on the Frankenstein movies, which movies quickly and has the added benefit of actually creating likable characters, so even if you're not captivated by every joke and pratfall you'll at least be in the presence of some enjoyable types. 3/4

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