Home > Films > B > The Bride

Thursday March 28th 2024

The Bride | 1985

The Bride filming location: Château de Cordès, Orcival, France
The Bride location: Frankenstein's castle: Château de Cordès, Orcival, France | Photograph: Wikimedia / Calips

Odd remake of James Whale's 1935 classic Bride Of Frankenstein from the director of Quadrophenia, and reuniting some of that film's cast members, including Sting as Dr Frankenstein.

Continuing the camp tradition of the original (in the Thirties, gay director James Whale had cast his lover Colin Clive as Dr Frankenstein, and the wonderfully fey Ernest Thesiger as Dr Praetorius), Frankenstein's assistant, Dr Zahlus, is played by the irreplaceable Quentin Crisp.

In this version, Frankenstein has already succeeded with his creature, here called Viktor (Clancy Brown), and sets about making the perfect woman, Eva (Jennifer Beals). The story is set in ‘Budapest’ in the 1840s, but was filmed mainly in France (only the church and tavern interiors filmed at Shepperton Studios in the UK).

The Bride filming location: Sarlat la Caneda
The Bride location: the 'Budapest' square: Sarlat la Caneda | Photograph: Wikimedia / Manfred Heyde

The main square of ‘Budapest’, where Viktor carries Rinaldo (David Rappaport) into town, is Sarlat-la-Caneda, a beautifully preserved town of Medieval, Renaissance and 17th century buildings (its out-of-the-way position led to it being bypassed by modernisation, though a road was cut through Sarlat in the 19th century).

It’s 90 miles north of Toulouse in the Perigord region, and was previously featured in Ridley Scott's first feature film, The Duellists.

The longshots of the city, where the circus is encamped, are of Carcassonne, the walled city 50 miles southeast of Toulouse, and also seen as the exterior of ‘Nottingham Castle’ in Robin Hood, Prince Of Thieves.

More old town locations filmed in Perouges, about 20 miles northeast of Lyon.

Frankenstein’s chateau is Château de Cordès, a 15th century chateau renovated in the 17th century, just north of Orcival, southwest of Clermont-Ferrand. Although privately owned, it's open to visitors.