2 Oscar Nominations·National Film Registry
A young neurosurgeon inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback, a pretty lab assistant and the elderly housekeeper. Young Frankenstein believes that the work of his grandfather was delusional, but when he discovers the book where the mad doctor described his reanimation experiment, he suddenly changes his mind.
Brooks and Wilder's loving spoof of the Universal monster cycle lands as one of the most carefully crafted comedies of the 1970s, with its period-accurate black-and-white cinematography and Gene Wilder's lead performance drawing near-universal admiration. The main friction in reviews comes down to consistency: admirers find it relentlessly inventive, while skeptics argue the script coasts on the original films' plots, filling gaps with puns and smut rather than genuine comic construction.
“Mel Brooks' funniest, most cohesive comedy to date”
Vincent Canby·The New York Times
“Brooks' most disciplined and visually inventive film (it also happens to be very funny)”
Roger Ebert·RogerEbert.com
“Part homage and part send-up, 'Young Frankenstein' is very funny in its best moments, but they're all too infrequent”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“Wilder and Brooks haven't dreamed up a funny plot. They simply rely on the old movie plots to get them through a rambling collection of scene parodies and a more or less constant stream of puns, double entendres and other verbal rib-pokers and thigh-slappers”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
“the script being far from consistently funny, but there are splendid moments”
Leslie Halliwell·Halliwell's Film Guide
Comedy
DirectorMel Brooks
StarringGene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman
ComposerJohn Morris
2 Oscar Nominations·National Film Registry
A young neurosurgeon inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback, a pretty lab assistant and the elderly housekeeper. Young Frankenstein believes that the work of his grandfather was delusional, but when he discovers the book where the mad doctor described his reanimation experiment, he suddenly changes his mind.
Brooks and Wilder's loving spoof of the Universal monster cycle lands as one of the most carefully crafted comedies of the 1970s, with its period-accurate black-and-white cinematography and Gene Wilder's lead performance drawing near-universal admiration. The main friction in reviews comes down to consistency: admirers find it relentlessly inventive, while skeptics argue the script coasts on the original films' plots, filling gaps with puns and smut rather than genuine comic construction.
“Mel Brooks' funniest, most cohesive comedy to date”
Vincent Canby·The New York Times
“Brooks' most disciplined and visually inventive film (it also happens to be very funny)”
Roger Ebert·RogerEbert.com
“Part homage and part send-up, 'Young Frankenstein' is very funny in its best moments, but they're all too infrequent”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“Wilder and Brooks haven't dreamed up a funny plot. They simply rely on the old movie plots to get them through a rambling collection of scene parodies and a more or less constant stream of puns, double entendres and other verbal rib-pokers and thigh-slappers”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
“the script being far from consistently funny, but there are splendid moments”
Leslie Halliwell·Halliwell's Film Guide
Comedy
DirectorMel Brooks
StarringGene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman
ComposerJohn Morris
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