Frankenstein (1910)
3 / 5 | DIRECTOR: J. SEARLE DAWLEY
The monsters that scare us are often ones we created. Frankenstein while searching for the meaning of life found that death is sometimes the answer.
He believed that he could create life but instead he created a being that millions have come to fear. In the span of 100 years Frankenstein’s Monster has made over 187 appearances with this being their first. A silent film that still speaks volumes about what motivates us to live lives of certainty.
J. Searle Dawley did not have the tools movie producers have today. He was not able to have a huge budget for makeup and art or the use of CGI. What he did have was a little bit of ingenuity. Dawley put his focus on creating a one time use wax figure of his monster. Just like a candle, he burned it until nothing was left. What made this truly memorable and so important was what he did with the film. When he played the film backwards it looked like his monster was being created out of thin air in the furnace scene in the movie. Making his wax gimmick a big part of the films success at the time.
The cinematography was essential to understanding the characters development. The shots that show Frankensteins room with his mirror are the most captivating. Showcasing the difference between what we are and what we see. What Frankenstein saw was nothing but a hideous monster that he wanted nothing to do with. While his monster saw his creator and a friend. The constant rejection ended up driving him mad. While Frankenstein was also driven mad but by the disbelief that his creation was not filled with life but filled with death. Similarly how we sometimes desire something so much but when we get it we no longer want it.
Frankensteins monster realized that his creators love was strictly for his bride and not him. Frankenstein wanted to just be happy with his wife and live a life without his monster. Leading his monster to run away and disappear. Frankenstein realizes this when he looks in the mirror staring directly at his monster as it slowly fades way and turns into a reflection of himself.
