(PEHAVÝ MAX A STRAŠIDLÁ) (1987)
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 100 Minutes 33 Seconds
Audio: Slovak DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Cast: Martin Hrebeň, Eddie Constantine, Vivieca Lindfors, Ferdinand Mayne, Mercedes Sampietro, Gerhardt Karzel, Jacques Herlin, Barbara De Rossi, Andrej Hryc, Bolek Polívka, Marie Drahokoupilová, Roman Skamene, Tilo
Prückner, Sancho Gracia, Gail Gatterburg, Flavio Bucci,
Miroslav Holub, Milan Nedela
Director: Juraj Jakubisko
Freckled Max and the Spooks (1987) is a kiddie-friendly monster mash, directed by Juraj Jakubisko, and based on the 1978 novel Frankenstein’s Aunt by Allan Rune
Pettersson. Originally aired as a 7-part TV mini-series, this is the 100 minute cut-down version of that series for theatrical distribution. In it circus orphan Max (Martin Hrebeň) runs away from the circus after being mistreated, he finds himself taken in by a kindly water-sprite of sorts named Alojz (Eddie Constantine, Alphaville), who whisks him away to a crumbling mountaintop castle owned by the cigar-smoking Baroness Frankenstein (Viveca Lindfors, Creepshow) where he is welcomed by the monstrous but friendly inhabitants, among them County Dracula (Ferdy Mayne, The Fearless Vampire Killers), the ghostly White Lady (Mercedes Sampietro), Mr. Talbot (Flavio Bucci, Suspiria) the werewolf, fire-sprite Sepp (Tilo Prückner, The Neverending Story), and of course the Barnoness's nephew Henry Frankenstein (Bolek Polívka) and his assistant Igor (Jacques Herlin, National lampoon's European Vacation) who are in the process of re-animating Frankenstein's Monster, which they named Albert (Gerhard Karzel). In Young Frankenstein fashion there's an issue with the brain that Igor has procured, having errantly frozen it, nonetheless Dr. Frankenstein drops it inside the zippered head of his monster and brings him to life. At the same time the local villagers, spurred into action by the troublemaking Blacksmith (Andrej Hryc), are none to please that descendant's of Victor Frankenstein are re-animating corpses again, and storm the castle complete with torches and pitchforks, only to discover that Albert the monster ain't so bad after all, but not before nearly destroying the castle n the process. In the immediate aftermath Henry flees the castle (and the film for that matter), with the newly arrived Baroness Frankenstein, who rallies the misfit monsters and friends to restore the dilapidated castle.
The film plays out as a series of vignettes, sort of piecemeal but also surprisingly cohesive considering it's a cutdown of a seven-hour TV series, we have the troublesome Blacksmith continuing to try to do cartoonish harm to the inhabitants of the castle while also trying to hook Albert with his sister Berta (Gail Gatterberg), but he childlike Albert is smitten by the gorgeous Klára (Barbara De Rossi, Vampire in Venice) ho tends to his wounds at a certain point, their love story sort of becoming the focal point of the film, but her mother (Marie Drahokoupilova, Morgiana) strongly disapproves of the courtship witht he "monster", preferring her daughter would end up with the well off Hans (Roman Skamene), the mayor's son.
The film is quite comical and farcical, a mash-up of classic Universal Monsters by way of something like Monster Squad or The Munsters, very cartoonish, but also lovingly homagingthe classic monsters, complete with Gothic trappings and quaint mountain village that would not be out of place in the classic Universal Frankenstein flicks, or the later Hammer production. We get scenic views of the
Hohenwerfen Castle in Austria, the gorgeous Salzach Valley area offering plenty of Ye Olde World charm and mystique to the proceedings. It's an interesting kids flicks, there are some surprisingly dark moments that probably wouldn't make it into a Western kiddie friendly flick, suicidal contemplation among them, but it works in the context of the story, and never goes too dark. The chopped-up nature of the story being a condensed version does at times make it feel a bit too episodic and rushed, but again, I was surprised how well it flowed all things considered. If you're a fan of the later Universal Monster sequels, Abbott & Costello meet the Monsters or later monster-mash comedies like Monster Squad I would imagine you're gonna have a pretty fun time with this one.
Audio/Video: Freckled Max and the Spooks (1985) arrives on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile restored by the Slovak Film Institute, presented in 1080p HD, framed in 1.37:1 fullscreen. The charming Frankenstein spoof looks quite nice, film grain is presents, texturing and detail of the castle interiors and period clothing is pleaing, clarity is pleasing, and colors look solid It's a somewhat muted color palette but we do get the occasional laboratory scene with eerie lighting and some wonderful scenes of locals storming the castle with torches that draw the eye quite nicely. Audio comes by way of Slovak DTS-HD MA 2.0 with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and free of distortion, the Slovak dialogue sound excellent by ears, and the sound effects and score by composer Guido De Angelis (A Blade inthe Dark, High Crime), which adds a lot to the proceedings also fares well in the mix.
Onto the extras, we start off with a terrific new Audio Commentary by film historian Samm Deighan, she tackles the careers of the cast and the crew, diving deep intot heir careers and other film we may have seen them in, as well as the gorgeous castle location, breaking down the characters, an appreciation of the cinematography, and also nicely puts the film cut-down into context of the seven-hour mini-series, pointing out what's missing from the film version that was more deeply explored in the series, which I appreciated quite a bit. I also appreciated her love of this monster mash and it's quirky sense of humor.
We also get a 5-min “Film about Film” (Film o filme) - from 1986, by director Rudolf Ferko, which offers an interesting fly-on-the-wall behind-the-scenes look at the making of the miniseries. Next is the 1989 doc “Portrait of a Film Director” (Portrét režiséra) - 1989 (42:27) by dir. Matej Mináč, offering a moving portrait of Juraj Jakubisko, shot during the making of his film Sitting On A Branch I Am Fine. SITTING ON A
There are also 3 new new video interviews with Ján Ďuriš, Director of Photography (26:40), Petra Galková, Assistant Director (17:54) and Rastislav Steranka, Director of the National Cinematographic Centre of the Slovak Film Institute (17:06), all directed by Róbert Šu, that offer unique appreciations of the director and his work, and their own work on the series. Buttoning-up the extras is a 28-min New video essay by journalist and physical media expert Ryan Verrill (The Disc Connected) and film professor Dr. Will Dodson that does excellent work summarizing the 1978 source novel Frankenstein’s Aunt by Allan Rune
Pettersson.
This review is for the standard release version which arrives in an oversized clear keepcase with a 2-sided non-reversible sleeve of artwork featuring artwork by Deaf Crocodile regular contributor Beth Morris.
Special Features:
- New Audio Commentary by film historian Samm Deighan.
- “Film about Film” (Film o filme) - 1986, (4:43), dir. Rudolf Ferko. Fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the making of the miniseries and FRECKLED MAX feature.
- “Portrait of a Film Director” (Portrét režiséra) - 1989 (42:27) dir. Matej Mináč. Beautiful and moving portrait of Juraj Jakubisko, shot during the making of his film SITTING ON A BRANCH I AM FINE.
- 3 new video interviews with Ján Ďuriš, Director of Photography (26:40), Petra Galková, Assistant Director (17:54) and Rastislav Steranka, Director of the National Cinematographic Centre of the Slovak Film Institute (17:06), all directed by Róbert Šu
- New video essay by journalist and physical media expert Ryan Verrill (The Disc Connected) and film professor Dr. Will Dodson (27:55)
Screenshots from the Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray:
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