Gods and Monsters | |
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Directed by | Bill Condon |
Screenplay by | Bill Condon |
Based on | Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Stephen M. Katz |
Edited by | Virginia Katz |
Music by | Carter Burwell |
Production companies |
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Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Budget | $10 million [3] |
Box office | $6.5 million [3] |
Gods and Monsters is a 1998 period drama film written and directed by Bill Condon, based on Christopher Bram's 1995 novel Father of Frankenstein . The film stars Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, and David Dukes. Its plot is a partly fictionalized account of the last days of the life of film director James Whale (McKellen), known for directing Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). A veteran of World War I, the aged Whale develops a complicated relationship with his gardener, Clayton Boone (Fraser), a fictitious character originally created by Bram for the source novel.
An international co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, Gods and Monsters is produced by Paul Colichman, Gregg Fienberg, and Mark R. Harris; Clive Barker served as executive producer. [4] [5] As well as featuring reconstructions of the production of the Bride of Frankenstein, the film's title is derived from a scene in Bride of Frankenstein, in which the character Dr. Pretorius toasts Dr. Frankenstein, "To a new world of gods and monsters!"
Gods and Monsters was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for McKellen and Best Supporting Actress for Redgrave, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay. [6] Despite receiving positive reviews, the film was a box office failure. It was later adapted as a play of the same name which premiered in London at the Southwark Playhouse in February 2015.
In the 1950s, James Whale, the director of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein , has retired. Whale lives with his long-time housemaid, Hanna, who loyally cares for him but disapproves of his homosexuality. He has suffered a series of strokes that have left him fragile and tormented by memories: growing up as a poor outcast, his tragic World War I service, and the filming of Bride of Frankenstein. Whale slips into his past and indulges in his fantasies, reminiscing about gay pool parties and sexually teasing an embarrassed, starstruck fan. He battles depression, and at times contemplates suicide, as he realizes his life, his attractiveness, and his health are slipping away.
Whale befriends his young, handsome gardener, Clayton Boone, and the two begin a sometimes uneasy friendship as Boone poses for Whale's sketches. The two men bond while discussing their lives and dealing with Whale's spells of disorientation and weakness from the strokes. Boone, impressed with Whale's fame, watches Bride of Frankenstein on television as his friends mock the movie, his friendship with Whale, and Whale's intentions.
Boone assures Whale that he is straight and receives Whale's assurance that there is no sexual interest, but Boone storms out when Whale graphically discusses his sexual history. Boone later returns with the agreement that no such "locker room" discussions occur again. Boone is invited to escort Whale to a party hosted by George Cukor for Princess Margaret. There, a photo op has been arranged for Whale with "his Monsters": Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester from "ancient" movie fame. This event exacerbates Whale's depression. A sudden rainstorm becomes an excuse to leave.
Back at Whale's home, Clayton needs a dry change of clothes. Whale can only find a sweater, so Clayton wears a towel wrapped around his waist. Whale decides to try to sketch Clayton one more time. After some minutes, he shows his sketches to Clayton, disclosing that he has lost his ability to draw. After Clayton drops his towel to pose nude, Whale makes him wear a World War I gas mask and then uses the opportunity to make a sexual advance on Clayton, kissing his shoulder and neck, and forcefully reaches for his genitals. An enraged Clayton fights off Whale, who confesses that this had been his plan and begs Clayton to kill him to relieve him of his suffering. Clayton refuses, puts Whale to bed, then sleeps downstairs. The next morning, Hanna is alarmed when she cannot find Whale, prompting a search by Clayton and Hanna. Clayton finds Whale floating dead in the pool as a distraught Hanna runs out, clutching a suicide note. Clayton and Hanna agree that he should disappear from the scene to avoid a scandal.
A decade later, Clayton and his son, Michael, watch Bride of Frankenstein on television. Michael is skeptical of his father's claim that he knew Whale, but Clayton produces a sketch of the Frankenstein monster drawn by Whale, and signed, "To Clayton. Friend?". Clayton later walks down a street at night in the rain, miming the movements of Frankenstein's monster.
Gods and Monsters received positive reviews from critics, with McKellen's, Fraser's and Redgrave's performances singled out for particular praise. Time Out called it "not a complicated film, but warm and clever". [7]
The film has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 67 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Gods and Monsters is a spellbinding, confusing piece of semi-fiction, featuring fine performances; McKellen leads the way, but Redgrave and Fraser don't lag far behind." [8] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 74 out of 100, based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [9]
James Whale had several men (and women) pose nude for him, and some of these are shown in the making-of featurette. Several of his paintings were bought by a collector and loaned to the studio for the making of this film.
Whale suffered from strokes towards the end of his life, which affected his mental abilities, and he was found dead in his pool. [32] There were rumours that this was a homicide, but the evidence only pointed at suicide. [33]
In the documentary included on the DVD and in interviews, novelist Christopher Bram explains that the character of Clayton Boone is completely fictitious. [34]
Sir Ian Murray McKellen is an English actor. With a career spanning more than sixty years, he is noted for his roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cultural icon and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. He has received numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, six Olivier Awards, and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards and five Emmy Awards.
James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: Frankenstein (1931), The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), all considered classics. Whale also directed films in other genres, including the 1936 film version of the musical Show Boat.
Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film Frankenstein. As with the first film, Bride of Frankenstein was directed by James Whale starring Boris Karloff as the Monster and Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein. The sequel features Elsa Lanchester in the dual role of Mary Shelley and the bride. Colin Clive reprises his role as Henry Frankenstein, and Ernest Thesiger plays the role of Doctor Septimus Pretorius. Oliver Peters Heggie plays the role of the old blind hermit.
Frankenstein is a 1931 American gothic pre-Code science fiction horror film directed by James Whale, produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., and adapted from a 1927 play by Peggy Webling, which in turn was based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell.
Christopher Bram is an American author.
Brendan James Fraser is an American-Canadian actor. Fraser had his breakthrough in 1992 with the comedy Encino Man and the drama School Ties. He gained further prominence for his starring roles in the comedies With Honors (1994) and George of the Jungle (1997) and emerged as a star playing Rick O'Connell in The Mummy trilogy (1999–2008). He took on dramatic roles in Gods and Monsters (1998), The Quiet American (2002), and Crash (2004), and further fantasy roles in Bedazzled (2000) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008).
Van Helsing is a 2004 action horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as monster hunter Van Helsing and Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious. Van Helsing is both an homage and tribute to the Universal Horror Monster films from the 1930s and 1940s, of which Sommers is a fan.
Colin Glenn Clive was a British theatre and film actor. He is most famous for his role as Dr. Henry Frankenstein in the 1931 film Frankenstein and its 1935 sequel, Bride of Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a 1994 science fiction horror film directed by Kenneth Branagh who also stars as Victor Frankenstein, with Robert De Niro portraying Frankenstein's monster, and co-stars Tom Hulce, Helena Bonham Carter, Ian Holm, John Cleese, Richard Briers and Aidan Quinn. Considered the most faithful film adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, despite several differences and additions in plot from the novel, the film follows a medical student named Victor Frankenstein who creates new life in the form of a monster composed of various corpses' body parts.
William Condon is an American director and screenwriter. Condon is known for writing and/or directing numerous successful and acclaimed films including Gods and Monsters, Chicago, Kinsey, Dreamgirls, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, and Beauty and the Beast. He has received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Gods and Monsters and Chicago, winning for the former.
Shuler Paul Hensley is an American singer and actor.
Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, CBE was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
Doctor Septimus Pretorius is a fictional character who appears in the Universal film Bride of Frankenstein (1935) as the main antagonist. He is played by British stage and film actor Ernest Thesiger. Some sources claim he was originally to have been played by Bela Lugosi or Claude Rains. Others indicate that the part was conceived specifically for Thesiger.
Father of Frankenstein is a 1995 novel by Christopher Bram that speculates on the last days of the life of film director James Whale. Whale directed such groundbreaking works as the 1931 Frankenstein and 1933's The Invisible Man and was a pioneer in the horror film genre.
Sam Irvin is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter, actor, author and film teacher.
Paul Colichman is an American media entrepreneur who founded the gay cable channel Here!. In 2008, John Waters nicknamed Colichman "the gay Citizen Hearst." He is the CEO of Here Media, Inc. and has produced and/or distributed over 200 motion pictures and television series episodes, most notably Academy-award winning film Gods and Monsters, starring Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser and Lynn Redgrave.
David John Skal was an American cultural historian, critic, writer, and on-camera commentator known for his research and analysis of horror films, horror history and horror culture.
The Bride of Frankenstein is a fictional character first introduced in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus and later in the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein. In the film, the Bride is played by Elsa Lanchester. The character's design in the film features a conical hairdo with white lightning-trace streaks on each side, which has become an iconic symbol of both the character and the film.
Frankenstein is a film series of horror films from Universal Pictures based on the play version by Peggy Webling and the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. The series follow the story of a monster created by Henry Frankenstein who is made from body parts of corpses and brought back to life. The rest of the series generally follows the monster continuously being revived and eventually focuses on a series of cross overs with other Universal horror film characters such as The Wolf Man. The series consists of the following films: Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).