Review by Russ Burrows>

I don't know if this film will rate too many "chills", but Mel Brooks' satire is great fun. Originally released theatrically in 1974, 20th Century Fox has recently released a Special Edition DVD that captures the rich black & white atmosphere and all the humor of this film. Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, and the rest of Mel Brooks' usual crew are on hand to populate the cast of what is basically a blend of the first two Frankenstein films. The results are often hilarious.

It is interesting that this film has served to familiarize so many people with the Frankenstein legend, people who have never read Mary Shelly's novel or seen the original Universal films from the 1930's. It's that good.

Young Frankenstein, while played strictly and successfully for laughs, contains all the classic elements of the old Frankenstein films. Hordes of villagers armed with torches and pitchforks storm the castle, the lab equipment crackles with showers of sparks, and there are plenty of brains floating in jars.

This version is presented in a very crisp looking wide-screen format with excellent sound. The Special DVD Edition also contains a boatload of extras that are sure to please fans, including deleted scenes, a "making of " segment, and extensive production stills. Chills??? I'm not sure how many, maybe one for all those brains in the jars, but it's a lot of fun.

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