Frankenstein (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein)

I busied myself to think of a story...

...which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature...

...and awaken thrilling horror.

One to make the reader dread to look around.

To curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart.

Tell the captain, we've got to take in the topsail.

She's going to rip!

Please, captain! We have to drop the sails!

All hands to the mast!

Take the wheel! Come on!

Captain, we've hit the ice! We've hit the ice!

Iceberg ahead!

Hard to starboard!

Go back!

Help! Help!

-Help! -Hold on, Vernon!

Hold on!

Put your backs into it, men!

Let's go!

Captain, this is useless. The ice stretches for miles.

What do you suggest we do? Lay down and die?

The men are exhausted, sir. They can't go on, man.

I tell you, I have not come this far to give up now.

They knew the risk when they signed on.

And we are gonna chop our way to the North Pole if we have to.

Then you run the risk of mutiny, captain.

-Did you say mutiny? -Yes I did, sir.

We proceed north as planned.

At the cost of how many more lives?

As many as it takes!

There's something out there.

What is it?

What the hell is that?

Who is your captain?

I am.

Who the devil are you?

I've no time to talk.

You bring your men and your weapons and follow me.

-Now! -Stay where you are.

I give the orders here.

Get the dogs! Get them!

Leave them.

They're already dead.

Get back to the ship now!

Everybody back to the ship!

Bears don't kill like that, nothing does.

Maybe it wants the man with the captain.

-Or it wants the captain. -The devil's come for the captain.

For the last time, I made my way from St. Petersburg to Archangel on foot.

From there I took a whaling ship north. When we hit the ice, I used the dogs.

What's out there?

Listen to me. I have spent six years planning this, my entire fortune.

I will not be stopped by you or some phantom.

Do you share my madness?

-No, not madness. -What, then?

There's a passage to the North Pole, and I will find it.

At the cost of your own life? The lives of your crew?

Lives come and go.

If we succeed, our names will live on forever.

I will be hailed as the benefactor of our species.

You're wrong.

I, of all men, know that.

Who are you?

My name...

...is Victor...

...Frankenstein.

Mother!

Oh, my wonderful son Victor!

You are the handsomest, kindest, cleverest...

...most wonderfulest boy in the whole world!

Madam! You will spoil the boy, really.

Would you two leave us, please, Mrs. Moritz?

Doctor.

Come along, Justine.

Victor, this is Elizabeth. She's coming to live with us.

She's lost both her mother and father to the scarlet fever, Victor.

She's an orphan now.

You must think of her as your own sister.

You must look after her, and be kind to her.

Always.

Mother, oh. How is the imminent arrival?

Oh, a little frisky today.

When you were a little boy, you used to chase fireflies in the field.

Yes, and when I trapped them in my jar, they died.

-And do you remember how you cried? -Yes.

Because you wanted to keep them glowing by your bedside...

...to light you as you read.

You were so hungry for knowledge. Such a serious little boy.

You've become such an earnest young man.

All these strange and ancient books.

You'll be an even greater doctor than your father.

But you know, Victor, life shouldn't be all study.

There's such fun to be had.

-Give me that back. -No.

Give me that back, Mother.

Change partners. And twirl!

-Now, Caroline. -You're right.

-You mustn't exert yourself. Please. -I know.

Don't worry, madam. Your new baby will be a natural dancer.

Excellent.

You'll be the envy of all the young ladies and gentlemen.

Justine.

Justine, may I have this dance?

-Madam! -Hurry!

You must make a decision!

How can I? The baby's in the wrong position.

I can't proceed.... I can't....

Cut me. Save the baby.

She'll be all right.

Your father's the finest doctor in Geneva.

Father?

Father?

Father, how is she?

I did everything I could.... Everything I could....

Mother? Mother!

Bring her back.

Please, bring her back.

No!

Please, bring her back.

Oh, Mother.

You should never have died. No one need ever die.

I will stop this.

I will stop this.

I promise.

Victor, you're completely obsessed. Please explain what that is.

It's energy. It never disappears, it merely changes form.

It's possible to convert this candle wax...

...into the convulsions of a mechanical dog.

But the applications of this are limitless. Really.

Oh, please come outside, Victor. It's such a beautiful day.

Go away, I'm busy.

What's this?

It's for spraying down the electric eels.

Now, put it down. Put it down. It's not for playing with.

It's not for playing with. Put it down, put it down-- Don't do that.

I warned you. Don't-- Don't-- Give me that, you little....

Come on!

Come on!

We should be grateful to Victor...

...for abandoning his experiments for one afternoon.

Well, who says I have?

What do you mean?

Look!

We're all going to die.

-You knew this would happen. -Not for certain.

But I had hoped the conditions would be right. They're common here.

I've never seen one quite as large, though. Look.

-Isn't it wonderful? -Victor, you shouldn't have done this.

It's all right, it's all right.

-We must take cover. A tree! -That's exactly the wrong thing to do.

It's a much larger conductor than we are.

Victor, what about Willie?

-What are we to do? -Come on.

Spread out. Elizabeth, take this. Now, quickly.

-Come on, quickly! -What is that?

Dig it right into the ground. Go ahead.

-Now what? -Justine, take this. Come on.

-Willie! -Everyone down.

Give me your hands. It'll be fine. Now take him. Now, that's good.

I hope you know what you're doing.

-Willie? Willie, don't look up! -Willie.

-Victor-- -Wait!

One, two, three....

Now.

So how do you feel, Elizabeth?

Alive.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends. Gather round and listen.

As you probably know, tomorrow my dear son Victor...

...leaves me to pursue, what I'm sure...

...will be an illustrious career in a profession...

...I am not altogether unassociated with.

Oh, modesty.

My one regret is that his mother...

...my late wife, is not here...

...to share the pride...

...which our son fills me with tonight.

Yes.

She wanted you to have this, Victor. On your graduation.

And in it she has written:

"This is the journal of Victor Frankenstein."

The rest of the leaves are blank...

...to be filled with the deeds of a noble life.

We'd better go in, before they miss us.

Just a little while longer. Please.

I don't know when we'll be alone together again.

Oh, dear Victor.

I shall miss you laughing at me.

I'll miss you making me laugh.

So how do brothers and sisters say goodbye?

Perhaps they never have to.

I won't, if you won't.

Are you my sister?

Sister...

...friend...

...lover.

Wife?

Yes.

Then come with me to Ingolstadt. Marry me now.

-Victor, no. -Well, then I'll stay.

I want more than anything else in the world to be your wife.