Stars: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, David Dukes, Kevin J. O'Connor

Director: Bill Condon

Summary: Based on Christopher Bram's novel FATHER OF FRANKENSTEIN, Bill Condon's semi-fictional 1998 sleeper stars Sir Ian McKellen in a fantastic performance as director James Whale (FRANKENSTEIN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, SHOW BOAT). It is 1957, and Whale is living in semiseclusion in Southern California with his scrutinizing maid, Hannah (Lynn Redgrave). His health is failing, and he is able to do little but lounge around and contemplate his younger days--his many male loves, his days in WWI, and the film world that has forsaken him. When Whale first gazes upon his musclebound gardener, Clay (Brendan Fraser), however, it is the beginning of an unusual (and platonic) friendship. Seasoned with multiple flashbacks to the sets of his films and to the battlefield, GODS AND MONSTERS is a haunting and touching look at the life of a man who was at the top of the Hollywood hierarchy but soon found himself out of favor--and the offbeat friendship he formed in his final days. McKellen and Redgrave were both nominated for Oscars, and the film garnered one statue for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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One of the most critically acclaimed films of 1998 and winner of several awards including the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Gods and Monstersis a compassionate speculation about the final days of James Whale (1889-1957), the director of Frankensteinand 20 other films of the 1930s and 40s, who was openly gay at a time when homosexuality in Hollywood was discreetly concealed.

Adapted and directed by Bill Condon from Christopher Bram's novel Father of Frankenstein,the film stars Ian McKellen in a sublime performance as the white-haired Whale, who is portrayed as a dapper gent and amateur artist prompted by failing health into melancholy remembrance of things past. Flashbacks of lost love, World War I battle trauma and glory days in Hollywood combine with Whale's present-day attraction to a newly hired yard worker (Brendan Fraser) whose hunky, Frankenstein-like physique makes him an ideal model for Whale's fixated sketching.

The friendship between the handsome gardener and his elderly gay admirer is by turns tenuous, humorous, mutually beneficial and ultimately rather sad--but to Condon's credit Whale is never seen as pathetic, lecherous or senile. Equally rich is the rapport between Whale and his long-time housekeeper (played with wry sarcasm by Lynn Redgrave), who serves as protector, mother and even surrogate spouse while Whale's mental state deteriorates. Flashbacks to Whale's film-making days are painstakingly authentic (particularly in the casting of look-alike actors playing Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester), and all of these ingredients combine to make Gods and Monsters(executive produced by horror novelist-film maker Clive Barker) a touchingly affectionate film that succeeds on many levels. It is at once a keen glimpse of Hollywood's past, a loving tribute to James Whale and a richly moving, delicately balanced drama about loneliness, memory and the passions that keep us alive. --Jeff Shannon

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer, Featurette - 1. THE MAKING OF GODS AND MONSTERS: A JOURNEY WITH JAMES WHALE, Audio Commentary - 1. Bill Condon - Director, Interactive Menus, Scene Access, Biographies - 1. Cast, Stills Gallery, Production Notes
Year:	1998
Release Date:	April 24, 2000
Runtime:	101 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	19618 D V D
Label:	Downtown Pictures
Keywords:	Gods, General, Wide, Screen, Monsters, Drama
Genre:	Drama