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'{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2012}} {{Infobox film | name = Flesh for Frankenstein | image = Flesh-for-frankenstein-german-movie-poster-md.jpg | alt = | caption = | film name = <!-- {{Infobox name module|language|title}} or {{Infobox name module|title}} --> | director = [[Paul Morrissey]] | producer = {{plainlist|*Andrew Braunsberg*[[Carlo Ponti]]}}<ref name="Curti2017"/> | screenplay = Paul Morrissey | story = Paul Morrissey | based on = {{Based on|[[Frankenstein]]|[[Mary Shelley]]}} | starring = {{plainlist|* [[Joe Dallesandro]] * [[Monique van Vooren]] * [[Udo Kier]]}} | music = Claudio Gizzi<ref name="Alexander2009">{{cite web |url=http://www.fangoria.com/blogs/chris-alexander/4174-exclusive-interview-with-composer-claudio-gizzi.html |title=Exclusive Interview with Composer Claudio Gizzi |last1=Alexander |first1=Chris |date=6 October 2009 |website=[[Fangoria]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014080741/http://www.fangoria.com/blogs/chris-alexander/4174-exclusive-interview-with-composer-claudio-gizzi.html |archive-date=14 October 2009 |dead-url=yes}}</ref> | cinematography = [[Luigi Kuveiller]]<ref name="Curti2017"/> | editing = [[Jed Johnson]]<ref name="Curti2017"/> | studio = Compagnia Cinematografica Champion<ref name="Curti2017"/> | distributor = Gold Film (Italy) | released = {{Film date|df=yes|1973|11|30|West Germany|1975|3|15|Italy}} | runtime = 95 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AFF030506/ |title=''Flesh for Frankenstein'' <nowiki>|</nowiki> British Board of Film Classification |website=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |accessdate=December 10, 2014}} Submitted runtime: 94:47</ref> | country = {{plainlist|*Italy* France}}<ref name="Curti2017"/> | language = | budget = | gross = }} '''''Flesh for Frankenstein''''' is a 1973 [[horror film]] written and directed by [[Paul Morrissey]]. It stars [[Udo Kier]], [[Joe Dallesandro]], [[Monique van Vooren]] and Arno Juerging. Interiors were filmed at [[Cinecittà]] in [[Rome]] by a crew of Italian filmmakers. In the United States, the film was marketed as ''Andy Warhol's Frankenstein'' though only the title ''Frankenstein'' appeared on the print itself, and was presented in the Space-Vision [[3D film|3D]] process in premiere engagements. It was [[X-rated|rated X]] by the [[MPAA]] due to its explicit sexuality and violence. A 3-D version also played in [[Australia]] in 1986, along with ''[[Blood for Dracula]]'', its obvious pairing. In the 1970s, a 3-D version played in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]] and in [[London]], England. The gruesomeness of the action was intensified in the original release by the use of [[3D film|3D]], with several disembowelments being shot from a perspective such that the internal organs are thrust towards the camera.<ref name="dvd"/> ==Plot== Baron von Frankenstein neglects his duties towards his wife/sister Katrin, as he is obsessed with creating a perfect Serbian race to obey his commands, beginning by assembling a perfect male and female from parts of corpses. The doctor's [[Sublimation (psychology)|sublimation]] of his sexual urges by his powerful urge for domination is shown when he utilizes the surgical wounds of his female creation to satisfy his lust. He is dissatisfied with the inadequate reproductive urges of his current male creation, and seeks a [[Organ donation|head donor]] with a greater libido; he also repeatedly exhibits an intense interest that the creature's "nasum" (nose) have a correctly Serbian shape.<ref name="dvd">{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/fleshforfrankenstein.php |title=DVD Verdict |publisher=DVD Verdict |date=2005-11-07 |accessdate=2014-12-11}}</ref> As it happens, a suitably randy farmhand, Nicholas, leaving a local brothel along with his sexually repressed friend, brought there in an unsuccessful attempt to dissuade him from entering a monastery, are spotted and waylaid by the doctor and his henchman, Otto (Arno Jürging); mistakenly assuming that the prospective monk is also suitable for stud duty, they take his head for use on the male creature. Not knowing these behind-the-scene details, Nicholas survives and is summoned by Katrin to the castle, where they form an agreement that he will gratify her unsatisfied carnal appetites.<ref name="dvd"/> Under the control of the doctor, the male and female creatures are seated for dinner with the castle's residents, but the male creature shows no signs of recognition of his friend as he serves the Baron and his family. Nicholas realizes at this point that something is awry, but himself pretends not to recognize his friend's face until he can investigate further. After a falling-out with Katrin, who is merely concerned with her own needs, Nicholas goes snooping in the laboratory and is captured by the doctor. Frankenstein muses about using his new acquisition to replace the head of his creature, who is still showing no signs of libido. Nevertheless, Katrin is rewarded for betraying Nicholas by being granted use of the creature for erotic purposes, but is killed during a bout of overly vigorous copulation. Meanwhile, Otto repeats the doctor's sexual exploits with the female creature, resulting in her graphic disembowelment. The Baron returns and, enraged, does away with Otto. When he attempts to have the male creature eliminate Nicholas, however, the remnants of his friend's personality rebel and the doctor is killed in gruesome fashion. The creature, believing he is better off dead, then disembowels himself. The doctor's children, Erik and Monica, then enter the laboratory, pick up a pair of scalpels, and proceed to turn the wheel of the crane that is holding the farmhand in mid-air. It is not clear if the scalpels are there in order to release him, or take over where their father left off.<ref name="dvd"/> ==Cast== * [[Joe Dallesandro]] – Nicholas, the stableboy * [[Udo Kier]] – Baron von Frankenstein * [[Monique van Vooren]] – Baroness Katrin Frankenstein * Arno Juerging – Otto, the Baron's assistant * [[Dalila Di Lazzaro]] – female monster * Srdjan Zelenovic – Sacha / male monster * Marco Liofredi – Erik, the Baron's son * Nicoletta Elmi – Monica, the Baron's daughter * [[Liù Bosisio]] – Olga, the maid * [[Cristina Gaioni]] – farmer, Nicholas' girlfriend * Rosita Torosh – Sonia, the prostitute * Carla Mancini – farmer * Fiorella Masselli – large prostitute * Imelde Marani – blonde prostitute * Miomir Aleksic (''uncredited'') – other male monster ==Production== In 1973 [[Paul Morrissey]] and [[Joe Dallesandro]] came to Italy to shoot a film for producers Andrew Braunsberg and [[Carlo Ponti]].<ref name="Curti2017">{{cite book |last=Curti |first=Roberto |year=2017 |title=Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970-1979 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |pages=81-83 |isbn=1476629609}}</ref> The original idea came from director [[Roman Polanski]] who had met Morrissey when promoting his film ''[[What? (film)|What?]]'' with Morrissey stating that Polanksi felt he would be "a natural person to make a 3-D film about Frankenstein. I thought it was the most absurd option I could imagine." Morrissey convinced Ponti to not just make one film during this period, but two which led to the production of both ''Flesh for Frankenstein'' and ''[[Blood for Dracula]]''.<ref name="Curti2017"/> The films staff included many Italians in the production, including [[Enrico Job]] as the production designer, pianist Claudio Gizzi for the score and special effects artist [[Carlo Rambaldi]] for the special effects.<ref name="Curti2017"/> Warhol's contributions to film were minimal, including visiting the set once and briefly visiting during the editing period.<ref name="Curti2017"/> At first, Morrissey intended to rely on improvization for the dialogue for his characters, but had to come up with a new method as this would not work for some actors such as [[Udo Kier]].<ref name="Curti2017"/> This led to Morrissey preparing the dialogue day-by-day, dictating it to Pat Hackett at his studio.<ref name="Curti2017"/> Filming began on ''Flesh for Frankenstein'' on 20 March 1973.<ref name="Curti2017"/> While some Italian prints credit [[second unit director]] [[Antonio Margheriti]] as director of the film under his pseudonym "Anthony M. Dawson", Udo Kier has stated that Margheriti had nothing to do with directing the film. Kier stated that he and the other cast members received direction only from Morrissey, and noted that "Margheriti was on the set, he came to the studio from time to time, but he never directed the actors. Never!"<ref name="Kier1995">{{cite magazine |last1=Del Valle |first1=David |year=1995 |editor1-last=Lucas |editor1-first=Tim |title=Uko Kier: Andy Warhol's Horror Star [Interview] |url= |magazine=Video Watchdog Special Edition |location=[[Cincinnati]], Ohio |publisher= Tim & Donna Lucas |issue=2 |pages=40-56 |quote=}}</ref> Margheriti was credited as the director to ensure the film would obtain Italian nationality for the producers due to Italian laws.<ref name="Curti2017"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.comingsoon.net/horror/features/776779-__trashed |date=4 November 2016 |title=Exclusive Interview: Udo Kier on Courier-X and Who Really Directed Dracula and Frankenstein |last=Alexander |first=Chris |website=Coming Soon |publisher=Evolve Media}}</ref>[[Tonino Guerra]] is credited as the screenwriter in the Italian prints as well, but his input is strictly limited to the Italian print of the film as the writer never Morrissey.<ref name="Curti2017"/> Margheriti did shoot some special effects scenes, including the scene involving "breathing lungs" made from pigs lungs.<ref name="Curti2017"/> == Release == ''Flesh for Frankenstein'' was shown in West Germany on 30 November 1973 as ''Andy Warhol's Frankenstein''.<ref name="Curti2017"/> It was later shown on 2 April 1974 at [[Filmex]], the Los Angeles International Film Exposition.<ref name=>{{cite news |author=Staff writer |date=17 March 1974 |title=Filmex |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/165627147/ |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |department=Calendar |work=The Los Angeles Times |volume=93 |issue= |edition= |location=Los Angeles, California |publisher= |page=3 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |quote=}}</ref> The film was submitted to Italian censors in January 1974 under the title ''Carne per Frankenstein'' which was initially different than the American edit, containing some less explicit sex scenes and more violent death scenes<ref name="Curti2017"/> The film was initially banned in Italy and resubmitted under the title ''Il mostro è in tavola, barone...Frankenstein'' which changed the dialogue and , eliminated some scenes, and adding others giving it an 89 minute running time.<ref name="Curti2017"/> ''Flesh for Frankenstein'' was released as ''Il mostro è in tavola, barone...Frankenstein'' where it was distributed by Gold Film.<ref name="Curti2017"/> The film earned $4.7 million in rentals in North America.<ref>"All-time Film Rental Champs", ''Variety'', 7 January 1976 p 48</ref> By 1974 the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' stated that the film had grossed $7 million.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kilday |first=Gregg |date=November 9, 1974 |title='That'll Be the Day' Having Its Day |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/166870583/ |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=a10 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In Italy, the film grossed a total of 345,023,314 [[Italian lire]], an amount Italian film historian Roberto Curti described as "mediore".<ref name="Curti2017"/> == Critical reception == Upon its release, [[Nora Sayre]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote "In a muddy way, the movie attempts to instruct us about the [[Universal (metaphysics)|universal]] insensitivity, living-deadness and the inability to be turned on by anything short of the grotesque. However, this 'Frankenstein' drags as much as it camps; despite a few amusing moments, it fails as a spoof, and the result is only a coy binge in degradation."<ref>{{cite news |last=Sayre |first=Nora |date=May 16, 1974 |title=Butchery Binge:Morrissey's 'Warhol's Frankenstein' Opens|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9802E2DF123DE73ABC4E52DFB366838F669EDE |accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref> Craig Butler of [[AllMovie]] called the film "a ramshackle affair, with performances that are ludicrously over-the-top and direction that is even more so, and a script that is filled with horrible dialogue. Not to mention, it's a truly gross experience. Of course, many will appreciate it just for these qualities, either to laugh at how truly outrageous it all is or to marvel at the manner in which director/writer Paul Morrissey is skewering the very countercultural sex revolutionaries that were among his biggest fans, creating what is at heart a very conservative critique of hippie culture."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/flesh-for-frankenstein-v2341/review |title=''Flesh for Frankenstein'' (1973) – Review – AllMovie |last=Butler |first=Craig |website=[[AllMovie]] |accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref> Ian Jane of [[DVD Talk]] said of the film, "''Flesh for Frankenstein'' is a morbid and grotesque comedy that won't be to everyone's taste but that does deliver some interesting humor and horror in that oddball way that Morrissey has."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/18811/flesh-for-frankenstein/ | title=Flesh for Frankenstein | author=Ian Jane | publisher=[[DVD Talk]] | accessdate=2011-05-04}}</ref> {{asof|January 2018}}, the film held a 92% 'fresh' rating on movie review aggregator website [[Rotten Tomatoes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flesh_for_frankenstein/ |title=''Flesh for Frankenstein'' – Rotten Tomatoes |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |accessdate=January 25, 2018}}</ref> == See also == {{Portal|1970s}} * [[List of films featuring Frankenstein's monster]] * [[Andy Warhol filmography]] * [[List of 3D films]] * [[Video nasty#DPP list|Video nasty]] == References == {{reflist}} == External links == * {{IMDb title|0071508|Flesh for Frankenstein}} * [https://www.criterion.com/films/562-flesh-for-frankenstein| Criterion Collection] {{Frankenstein}} {{Paul Morrissey}} {{Warhol}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Flesh for Frankenstein}} [[Category:Frankenstein films]] [[Category:1973 films]] [[Category:1973 horror films]] [[Category:1970s 3D films]] <!-- http://www.allrovi.com/movies/movie/flesh-for-frankenstein-v2341 --> [[Category:French films]] [[Category:French 3D films]] [[Category:French horror films]] <!-- http://www.allrovi.com/movies/movie/flesh-for-frankenstein-v2341 --> [[Category:Italian films]] [[Category:Italian 3D films]] [[Category:Italian horror films]] <!-- http://www.allrovi.com/movies/movie/flesh-for-frankenstein-v2341 --> [[Category:Films directed by Paul Morrissey]] [[Category:Films set in Serbia]] [[Category:Incest in film]] [[Category:Italian independent films]] [[Category:Necrophilia in fiction]] [[Category:Splatter films]] [[Category:French independent films]] [[Category:Films produced by Carlo Ponti]]'