Frankenstein

The first film adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel, produced by Thomas Edison's studio in just a few days. At sixteen minutes, it compresses the story to its essence: a young medical student creates life and is horrified by the result. The monster's creation — emerging from a burning cauldron in a scene filmed in reverse — is a genuinely eerie piece of early trick photography. Long thought lost, the only known surviving print was rediscovered in a private collection in the 1970s. It's a crude, fascinating artifact that proves cinema was drawn to Shelley's nightmare from the very beginning.