Fresh
Wilder's hysteria seems perfectly natural. You never question what's driving him to it; his fits are lucid and total. They take him into a different dimension -- he delivers what Harpo promised.
Pauline Kael, New Yorker
Young Frankenstein
The scariest comedy of all time!
1974 · 1h 46m · PG
Comedy
Directed by
Mel Brooks
Overview
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.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
95%
Tomatometer
Fresh
More about the myth of Karloff than the monster, this Mel Brooks pastiche is probably his best early film.
Don Druker, Chicago Reader
Fresh
For a really delightful parody, James Whale's own Bride of Frankenstein is far better value.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh
It shows artistic growth and a more sure-handed control of the material by a director who once seemed willing to do literally anything for a laugh. It's more confident and less breathless.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh
Some of the gags don't work, but fewer than in any previous Brooks film that I've seen, and when the jokes are meant to be bad, they are riotously poor. What more can one ask of Mel Brooks?
Vincent Canby, New York Times
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