A low-rent riff on the far superior Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, and even Frankenstein Created Woman, with an hint of The Island of Dr. Moure thrown in for god measure, about a rich woman planning to have her brain transferred into the body of one of three beautiful young women, with the help of Dr. Frank and her assistant Victor (see what they did there? Bet they thought it was clever.)
Reportedly the production ran out of funding when…
Frankenheimer knows how to direct action, which is good, because his direction is the best thing about this muddled Ludlum adaptation. It's an interesting premise - is a huge fund of stolen Nazi money an attempt to make amends for past sins, or a secret plot to create a new Fourth Reich? - but all the twists and turns and double-crosses eventually drag on. And the too 80's for 80's score unfortunately undercuts the suspense Frankenheimer does build.
Went trolling through HBO-Max collection of Looney Tunes in search of holiday themed cartoons, and this is the only one I found, Taz in Santa garb pays a visit on Bugs, his nephew, and Speedy (who is apparently renting from Bugs?), leading to a typical Bugs-Taz faceoff. The 1979 animation is rudimentary compared to classic-era productions (on par with 1970's-80's Pink Panther shorts), but not without some charm. A few clever jokes and throw back references that I won't spoil…
A beautiful, majestic film. The acting is top notch all the way around, and the casting seems well matched to the original novel. The visuals - design and cinematography - are stunning. In many ways, this is the Dune movie I had always hoped for. But it's impossible to determine if it actually succeeds as an adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel until we can see the second half of this saga.
I tremendously enjoyed this film - it lived up…
