April 6, 2009

The Titles of Frankenstein

On his blog, Shadowplay, film critic David Cairns writes:

One of the many agreeably odd things about the Edison Company’s 1910 FRANKENSTEIN is the way the story is told entirely in a series of intertitles, with the imagery merely fleshing out the textual description.

This astute observation is followed by a very entertaining "reading" of the venerable film.

I also recommend Cairns' sharp and funny review of the distinctively Frankensteinian science-fiction thriller, The Colossus of New York (1958).

Shadowplay is always a great read.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"One of the many agreeably odd things about the Edison Company’s 1910 FRANKENSTEIN is the way the story is told entirely in a series of intertitles"

It's actually NOT odd - for the time. You can find many shorts of that vintage in exactly the same style.

Best,
-Craig W.