Lady Frankenstein

Frankenstein. How many Horror films have that name in the title? I swear, the only two words that might beat it are Dracula and "blood". So when I saw that the much desired cult classic "Lady Frankenstein" was headed to DVD, I had to stop and think real hard if I had ever seen it or not. The answer was "no". But I am glad that I my first time was on this DVD.

The film starts with a group of grave robbers stealing a corpse and selling it. Here we meet our Dr. Frankenstein. This time out he is played to almost perfection by Joseph Cotton. Here we get a likable Dr. with just enough evil thrown in.

Guess what, the good doctor is trying to bring the dead back to life. The only difference this time around is that his daughter has returned from school and wants to get in on the action with lady Frankenstein being played by the beautiful Rosalba Neri, and yeah, she could get a rise out of most stiffs. Sorry.

Things happen, bad things, and in time our Lady Frankenstein becomes the main doctor in charge of the lab. I don't wish to give events away, but lets just say that folks get killed, and then they come back from the dead, then more people get killed and we get the usual Frankenstein fire-filled ending.

The story doesn't spill over with originality in many ways. By today's standards, the sex scenes and nudity are rather tame, but this does not hurt them in any way. It actually help it in a way. It becomes a little more sensual in a way. Yeah kids, there is some nudity here, and Rosalba looks great.

The things that help this film work is some rather nice gothic atmosphere and some solid acting from all parties involved, even the dubbing is nicely done. The film doesn't roar along the way some horror films will do, but if you like a nice, atmospheric Euro styled film, then give this a try.

The transfer on this disc is always acceptable, but does vary from just O.K. to pretty nice. I was never staring at my T.V. in amazement of the picture before me. But this is a low budget film from 1971 and it has been to Hell and back since it was printed. All things considered it is a good looking transfer. I have also done some research on finding out from some people as to how this matches up against previous video versions. From what I can tell, having never seen this in any other form, this transfer is the best yet. Some of the framing does have some cropping on the sides, or so it would appear, but considering I am sure that this thing has been cropped much worse in its life, and that the scenes that were cropped I am sure were to only take out scratches and imperfections, I must say that I am overall pleased with this films look.

The sound is all it should be. No re-recorded stuff here. It serves its purpose and is clear and strong enough. Nice track.

As extras we get some very nice stuff.

First we have a stills gallery full of posters and movie stills. These are a great addition since I bet these pictures are not the things you will find in every magazine out there!

Next we get the Rosalba Neri gallery. Fans of hers need this disc just for this segment. Here we get fully naked or close to naked pictures. Sure, there may only be a handful of them, but I won't complain. Yes they are nudes, but they are tasteful nudes.

We get an interview with the director Mel Welles where he gives us the whole history of his film in a pretty short time. He keeps his stories quick, to the point, and interesting beyond belief. He speaks of how he came on board, he talks about Rosalba coming on board. He takes the time to say a bit about everything and everybody. This was an interview track that I enjoyed very much.

Rosalba Neri is also interviewed on the disc. Here interview is a bit different than the one with Mr. Welles. His seems to have been done in a very well planned out manner. This one with Miss Neri almost seems like she agreed and the people just grabbed the nearest camcorder they could find. Not that this is a complaint. She is very charming, very happy to answer the questions she can remember the answers to, and very candid in some respects. Plus she is still a very attractive lady. Her sense of humor is also very good when it is informed to her that the American name she used is still intact on many of her products!

So, is this a "must have" for the collection? Probably not, but no collection will be hurt by it being in it. The film is a good Euro style horror film. The transfer is pretty good. The extras are also very nice. The only extra that would have been nice would have been a commentary with Mr. Welles, but the interview is a nice alternative. I would like to have heard a bit more from this man though, he really seemed proud of this little film and he is very well spoken.

The perks to buying this DVD would be that it is an enjoyable movie and you would be helping out a new company who seems to actually care about a product. Nice job to all parties!

Review by Carl Isonhart