F ra n k e n s te in
b y Vera Vegh
M ary S helley’s novel Frankenstein has been a source o f inspiration ever since it w as firs t published in 1818. The sto ry cam e to M ary through a dream w hile she and her husband, th e R om antic po e t Percy Shelley, w ere guests in th e Geneva hom e o f the poet Lord Byron, w ho challenged the g roup to w rite th e best horror sto ry M ary w as only 18 at the tim e, but she succeeded brilliantly The sto ry o f the young science s tu d e n t V icto r Frankenstein, w ho creates a “ m o n ste r” in an u n o rth o d o x scientific experim ent, is considered the firs t science fictio n novel and has had a huge influ ence on lite ra tu re and p o p u la r culture. One o f th e earliest exa m p le s o f to d a y ’s h o rro r genre, the novel sp a w n e d a series o f sto rie s, film s, plays and a d a p ta tio n s . The la te st tw is t on th e tale is th e m ovie
V ic to r Frankenstein, w ritte n b y M a x Landis, d ire cte d
by Paul M cG uigan, and starring Daniel R a d cliffe and Ja m e s M acA voy
In M ary S helley’s original story, V icto r creates an artificial man to prove th a t he can step over the boundaries o f life and death. W hen he looks at the m onstrosity th a t he has created, how ever, th e sight horrifies him. He d o e sn ’t even nam e him so as not to give him an id e n tity The g rotesque but sentient C reature escapes and kills his brother, then blackm ails V icto r to create a m ate fo r him - and th e spiral into chaos and te rro r seem s inevitable.
In M cG uigan’s film, the story is told from the perspective o f Igor, V ictor Frankenstein’s lab assistant. He is not there in the original story: Igor is the stereotypical assistant to many types of Gothic villains (such as
level: intermediate and above
középhaladó szinttől
FILM
In an Interview with Collider, Radcliffe joked that “if you
like the book, y o u ’ll hate the movie. ” The reason for
this is that Frankenstein’s monster will not be created until near the very end of the film. “One o f the biggest
differences between us and other Frankensteins will be that, generally speaking, the main relationship is between Frankenstein and the m onster and the m onster is created in the m iddle o f the movie, and in our version it ’s created right at the end and the journey up to that is really about how we come to that eventual idea. I ’ve heard other people call it kind o f an origin story fo r Frankenstein, b u t it ’s an origin story fo r a Frankenstein you have never m et before, if that helps. ”
The movie is not the scary and frightening horror film usually associated with the name Frankenstein, as it focuses mainly on the relationship between Igor and Victor. We can also
MOVIE
Count Dracula or V ictor Frankenstein), but you may have seen his character in films like The Rocky Horror
Picture Show or The Nightmare Before Christmas, too.
In this movie, though, he is a fully formed character with a backstory and a point of view, giving the well-known tale a new flavour.
The story shows the troubled assistant’s dark origins and his redemptive friendship with the young medical student Victor Frankenstein. Victor and Igor start working together, but their experiments eventually get them into trouble with the authorities. They are near to becoming fugitives as they complete their goals to use science to create life - and Victor’s ultimate endgame of creating a man. Igor is the eyewitness to Frankenstein becoming the man who created the legendary Monster. As Victor’s experiments go too far and his obsession has horrifying consequences, only Igor can bring his friend back from the brink of madness and save him from his monstrous creation.
expect to get to know more about Igor’s love life, since he meets Lorelai (Jessica Brown Findlay’s character), a beautiful circus performer, who gets close to the brooding assistant. This uniquely new and different perspective is especially interesting, as the actors playing Victor and Igor - James MacAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe - are tw o of the bests of their generation. MacAvoy has prominent stage roles and a series of dramas under his belt (A tonem ent, Becom ing Jane, Trance, Filth) and he is also widely popular as Charles Xavier in the
X-Men movies. Daniel Radcliffe has gained w orldw ide
recognition as a child actor in the Harry P otter films, but he is determined to leave the wizard boy behind him - you can read his profile on pages 42-43 Their co-stars in the film are Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott, Mark Gatiss and Freddie Fox.
“ We shall create life out o f death, ” says Victor
Frankenstein in the trailer. If you are interested in the scientific enterprise that was supposed to change the world, check out the movie for a nice w inter thrill!
twist twist] csavar troubled trAbld] zaklatott
source so:s] forrás redemptive ndemptiv] megváltó
Geneva d3i'ni:va] Genf authorities D'0Dratiz] hatóságok
to challenge te tjseland3] kihívni fugitive fju:d3ativ] szökevény
to succeed ta sak'si:d] sikerrel járni ultimate endgame 'Altimát endgeim] végjáték, végső cél
scientific experiment [ saian'tifik ik'sperimant] tudományos kísérlet brink of brink d v] széle valaminek
to consider ta kan sida] valamilyennek tartani generally speaking ‘d3enrali spi:kir]] általánosságban véve
influence on influans Dn] hatás valamire journey up to that d33.ni Ap ta ősét ] addig tartó út
to spawn ta spo:n] keletkezni valamiből eventual iventjual] végső, végleges
artificial a:ti'fijl] mesterséges associated with e'saujieitid wiő] kapcsolatba hozható
boundary baundri] kötelék to get close to ta get klaus tu ] közel kerülni valakihez
monstrosity mDn'strositi] szörny brooding bru:dio] borongó
sentient senfnt] érző uniquely ju:'ni:kli] egyedülállóan
to blackmail ta blsekmeil] zsarolni prominent ' prominent] kitűnő
mate mert] társ, pár to have under one’s belt ta hav Anda WAnz belt] birtokában lenni valaminek
inevitable in'evitabl] elkerülhetetlen Atonement a'taunmant] Vezeklés
perspective pa'spektiv] nézőpont Filth file] Mocsok
Gothic gD0ik] gótikus wizard wizad] varázsló
villain 'vilan] gonosztevő enterprise entapraizl vállalkozás
backstory bask sto:ri] háttértörténet thrill ;e n i] borzongás
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