| Flesh for Frankenstein | |
|---|---|
| |
| Directed by | Paul Morrissey |
| Produced by | Andrew Braunsberg Andy Warhol Lou Peraino Carlo Ponti Jean-Pierre Rassam |
| Written by | Paul Morrissey Tonino Guerra |
| Starring | Monique van Vooren Udo Kier |
| Distributed by | Bryanston Distributing Company |
| Release date(s) | 17 March, 1974 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Language | English |
Flesh for Frankenstein is a 1973 Andy Warhol horror film directed by Paul Morrissey, starring Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren and Arno Juerging. Filmed in the famous Cinecittà by a crew of Italian master filmmakers, Flesh for Frankenstein is suffused with the crumbling glamour of old Italian films, paying homage to (while simultaneously parodying) the earnest and stark visual and psychological beauty of the horror films on which it is based. Morrissey's sense of ironic detachment gives the film a gruesomely comic modernity and beauty all its own. In the United States, the film was marketed as Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, and was presented in the Space-Vision 3-D process in premiere engagements. It was rated X by the MPAA, due to its explicit sexuality and violence. A 3-D version also played in Melbourne, Australia in 1986, along with Blood for Dracula, an obvious pairing. The cinema supplied 3-D glasses. In the seventies a 3-D version played in Stockholm, Sweden. The 3-D glasses were some kind of polaroid glasses that showed colors very well.
Contents |
Themes
Like Blood for Dracula, made by the same crew and cast, and sharing many of the same sets (a cost-cutting measure first used by Roger Corman), Flesh for Frankenstein is an attempt at using a gothic story to comment on power, knowledge and social order. While many adaptations of Frankenstein portray the doctor as a man whose dedication to science for professional glory take him too far, in Flesh for Frankenstein, the Baron’s interest is more self-absorbed: he seeks to rule the world by creating a new species that will obey him and do his bidding.
Writer and Director
Screenwriter Tonino Guerra is better known as the author of Fellini's Amarcord and Antonioni's Blowup. While some Italian prints reportedly give second unit director Antonio Margheriti credit as director of the film, Udo Kier has stated that Margheriti had nothing to do with directing the film. Kier stated that he and the other cast members received direction only from Morrissey, and noted that he never saw Margheriti on the set.[1]
References
- ^ Kier, Udo. Video Watchdog Special Edition # 2, 1995. "Udo Kier: Andy Warhol's Horror Star": Interview with Kier
