54 years. That’s how long it took for Guillermo del Toro to get from falling in love with Mary Shelley’s Gothic sci-fi masterwork Frankenstein through James Whale’s 1931 masterpiece as a seven-year-old boy to finally, finally bringing his own version to our screens courtesy of Netflix. But GdT’s journey with Shelley’s Promethean tale isn’t over just yet. Today, boutique physical media label The Criterion Collection announced a lavish, director-approved four-disc 4K Blu-Ray release of Frankenstein is on its way this October. And that’s not all: the new release brings with it a 158-minute extended ‘Reborn’ director’s cut of the film.
Now, it is probably worth noting that the theatrical cut of del Toro’s Frankenstein — which stars Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi as all-timer ‘bad dad’ and maverick scientist Victor Frankenstein and his alternately pitiful and monstrous son — already ran to a hefty 149 minutes, making this new ‘Reborn’ cut just shy of ten minutes longer than the version we’ve seen already. Still, given the incredible artistry, craft, and heart woven into del Toro’s passion project, the prospect of getting even more of his sweeping epic — complete with a freshly recorded director’s commentary — is a tantalising one, indeed. And who knows, perhaps the ‘Reborn’ cut of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein will reinstate the seven-minute sequence that the Mexican fabulist has previously talked about cutting at James Cameron’s suggestion? We can but hope!
Elsewhere, additional highlights of this new Criterion release — which releases stateside on 27 October (and here, if past CC releases are anything to go by, soon after) — include a making-of doc entitled The Anatomy Lesson: Director’s Cut, a collection of craft-focused conversations featuring the movie’s stars and crew called The Parlour, and recorded Q&As moderated by Martin Scorsese and Patti Smith. All of which is to say that we know what’s just shot to top spot on our Christmas wish list, destined to nestle between our Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and Nightmare Alley Criterion 4Ks. If you are not to award us Criterion Collection Frankenstein in 4K, we will indulge in rage… and ours is infinite!
