ADDITION: Arrow 4K UHD (March 2022): Arrow's are releasing Kenneth Branagh's 1994 "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" to 4K UHD. It is cited as being a "New 4K restoration from the original camera negatives by Sony Pictures Entertainment". The Dolby Vision image is quite a bit richer than the 2009 Sony Blu-ray. Flesh tones, that were decidedly warm in interiors on the BD, fluctuate around candle-lighting or mad-scientist equipment to glow orange while exteriors can be more pale on the 4K UHD. There are some heavier blue and green biases on the new transfer but the overall palette is so varied that it flows well throughout the film with heavy grays dominating the darker scenes and sporadic vibrancy  in the day-lit scenes. The only visual part that stretched my saturation-suspension-of-belief were the outdoor sequences in the mountains flying the kite and testing electric storm effects. This scene looked a shade over-the-top on my system but the higher resolution, more than double the bitrate of the Blu-ray, has lush heavy grains textures that are stable and consistent. Overall, I thought it was a big step up from the BD that could look pale/duller and flatter by comparison. This is rich, lush and the contrast layering really benefits the image - especially with Frankenstein's monster where detail also take a pleasing bump. I don't expect it could look much better in this format and, as always, different systems may produce different observations.      

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 92 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: The Godfather (software uniformly simulated HDR), Le Crecle Rouge (software uniformly simulated HDR), An American Werewolf in London (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Hard Day's Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Piano (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Great Escape (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Red Shoes (software uniformly simulated HDR), Citizen Kane (software uniformly simulated HDR), Unbreakable (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mulholland Dr. (software uniformly simulated HDR), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Hills Have Eyes (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Servant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Anatomy of a Murder (software uniformly simulated HDR), Taxi Driver  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wolf Man (1941) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frankenstein (1931) (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Deep Red (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Misery (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Silence of the Lambs (software uniformly simulated HDR), John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc),  Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Chernobyl  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie  (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsing (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

The 4K UHD disc's audio gives the English language options of a robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track with a stereo option in linear PCM. I opted for the stereo only occasionally sampling the surround where I thought it might be impactful. The 2.0 channel worked reasonably well with the laboratory zapping-electricity, thunder, lightening, rain and subtle but effective growls, snarls and tears from Bobby De Niro. The dynamic score is by Branagh-regular Patrick Doyle (Dead Again, Gosford Park, Henry V, Nim's Island, Alfonso Cuarón's excellent Great Expectations, Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way, and the 2011 version of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, among his credits.) The orchestral variety of the score ranges from romantic serenity to maniacal fury carrying substantial intensity.  Audio seemed adequate if the separations were never crisp and occasionally came through awkwardly at times. All 4K UHD discs are Region 'Free' as was Sony's 2009 Blu-ray and the Arrow offers optional English (SDH) subtitles.

There are plentiful extras on the 4K UHD disc - starting with a commentary by film historians Michael Brooke and Johnny Mains. They discuss the lack of hunchback assistant in Branagh's version and how many of the clichés actually came from stage plays in the early days of adapting Shelley's novel. They talk about how the opening seen in the North Pole cut out of most film adaptations, how electricity is not specifically mentioned in the book, the special effects in the film giving a nod to the Universal special effects of the 40's, how Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was one of the first to utilize CGI, the painterly pastel colors and style, how the role of Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) greatly expanded from the novel and how Branagh stating Edward Scissorhands was a big inspiration among many other relevant and interesting topics. Both Brooke and Mains are a wealth of knowledge and have clearly done extensive research. I found that the commentary notably advanced my appreciation of the production. There are about 45-minutes worth of three separate interviews with composer Patrick Doyle, costumer designer James Acheson and make-up designer Daniel Parke that reveal more inner workings of behind the camera creations. Mary Shelley and The Creation of a Monster, is a brand new 1/2 hour documentary featurette on the origins and evolution of the Frankenstein story, featuring Gothic specialists David Pirie, Jonathan Rigby and Stephen Volk who also give input in the 1/4 hour long Dissecting Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a brand new featurette with the trifecta discussing the differences between the novel and Kenneth Branagh’s screen adaptation. Very interesting to see is Frankenstein: A Liberal Adaptation from Mrs. Shelley’s Famous Story for Edison Production (1910.) This was the first screen adaptation of Shelley’s story and we can see it in a 2K restoration by the Library of Congress, with music by pianist Donald Sosin. It runs shy of 13-minutes. Lastly are a gallery, two original trailers and the package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork (see below) by Laz Marquez. Great work Arrow! Recall that Sony's 2009 Blu-ray had zero extras.  

Arrow's 4K UHD release of Kenneth Branagh's "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" is as perfectly produced as almost all of their digital packages to date. We get a wonderful color-rich image lush with filmic grain demonstratively exemplifying the incredible make-up and effects. We get a keen, new, educational commentary with astute observations and factoids, new interviews, a new documentary, the 1910 adaptation and great artwork with a reversible sleeve. The film has the most classical representation with the always visually impressive reanimated corpse, aka 'Frankenstein's creature', swearing revenge on humanity. The cast is likewise top-shelf with Robert De Niro stretching his acting chops from vaccine-hesitant thug to baseball-stitched superman, Kenneth Branagh as obsessed Victor Frankenstein (and Rory Jennings as the young version), Aidan Quinn as an equally fanatical North Pole explorer who sees his folly in Victor, Tom Hulce as loyal friend, corseted love-interest Helena Bonham Carter as the fiancée destined for a horrific 'bridal' end, Ian Holm as scholarly papa Frankenstein,  and less-recognizable John Cleese as Frankenstein's brilliant and daring tutor who's brain is eventually transplanted to the Victor's Creation. Complaints usually entail its length and pacing but Branagh's "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" is to be respected... and a sight to behold in 4K UHD. "Be Warned" the tagline states - but we say to those who love the iconic monster's cinematic journeys to buy with confidence.  

Gary Tooze