(exciting music)
- [Narrator] For 100 years, Universal has created
some of the most memorable
and beloved characters seen on screen.
- I'm the dude, so that's what you call me.
- [Narrator] Time and again, these characters
have delighted and inspired us,
(minion yelling)
allowing us to explore new worlds,
(dinosaur screaming)
uncover our deepest fears.
- I'm not an animal!
- [Narrator] And discover our inner hero.
- Someone started all this, and I'm gonna find them.
- [Narrator] They are characters
that are universal.
(inspiring music)
(coffin creaking)
As early as 1931,
Universal was terrifying audiences everywhere
with Bela Lugosi's immortal Dracula.
- I am Dracula.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] At the time, it was unknown
whether audiences would embrace
such a serious supernatural thriller.
But the gamble paid off at the box office,
and paved the way for the success
of Boris Karloff's fearsome Frankenstein.
- It's alive!
- [Narrator] As well as his beautiful bride.
(Bride of Frankenstein screaming)
And a host of other spine-tingling monsters.
(monsters growling)
(man laughing)
- Look he's all eaten away.
- [Narrator] Yet some of the most memorable monsters
were not created by actors,
but by innovative special effects.
In 1975, Steven Spielberg would stun audiences with "Jaws",
combining mechanical effects with clever filmmaking
to create a shark so terrifying,
that people to this day are wary of getting in the water.
- You're gonna need a bigger boat.
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] Later, computer technology would create images
of a terrifying T-rex in "Jurassic Park".
- You feel that?
- [Narrator] As well as updates of "The Mummy",
(mummy screaming)
(King Kong growling)
and even "King Kong".
(woman screaming)
Ensuring that these characters would continue
to frighten for generations to come.
(King Kong screaming)
- We all go a little mad sometimes.
- [Narrator] But some of the most fearsome characters
in Universal's library have been the human ones.
Depicting the all-too-real horror
of our most chilling instincts.
Who could forget Barbra Stanwyck
as the original femme fatale in "Double Indemnity"?
(gun firing)
A character so disturbing, censors insisted
that her murderous deeds be done off-screen,
leaving audiences haunted by her sinister smile, instead.
But there was no censoring Al Pacino's performance
of drug lord Tony Montana in the gangster epic "Scarface".
- Who put this thing together?
Me, that's who!
Who do I trust?
Me!
- [Narrator] His downfall was a lesson
in glamor and brutality, and transformed the character
into a cultural icon.
- Say hello to my little friend!
(gun firing)
- [Narrator] But perhaps the most frightening of all,
is Anthony Perkins' deadly depiction
of psycho Norman Bates.
A man who's fractured psyche manifested itself
as a meek manager, as well as his murderous mother.
(woman screaming)
(inspirational music)
Yet some of Universal's
most exciting characters, have been those struggling
to overcome their demons.
- As long as we live, we must stay true to ourselves.
- [Narrator] As Spartacus, Kirk Douglas's rebellious slave
must lead a revolt against the ruthless Roman Empire,
without becoming the monster he wishes to escape.
- I'm Spartacus!
(intense music)
- [Narrator] While Matt Damon's tortured assassin,
Jason Bourne, must race against time
to atone for his bloody past,
before it catches up with him.
- You said I'd be saving American lives.
(joyful music)
- [Narrator] But Universal has also shown
that a hero doesn't need to be bold --
- This aggression will not stand, man.
- [Narrator] Or, exceptional.
As proven in the cult classic, The Big Lebowski.
- Hmm.
- [Narrator] As the dude, Jeff Bridges portrayed
a hilarious hero who took a more laid-back approach
to dealing with criminals.
- Hey, hey!
Careful man, there a beverage here, hey!
(groaning)
(cheerful music)
- [Narrator] Many of Universal's classic characters
have made us laugh throughout the years.
Not because they were extraordinary,
but because we recognized them in our own lives.
They are the characters we knew in high school,
(shoe wacking)
- [Man On Phone] What was that?
- That was my skull!
I'm so wasted!
- [Narrator] And the party animals we met in college.
(woman screaming)
- I'm a zit, get it?
- [Narrator] We recognize them as the girl next-door.
- Fred, she's gotten her boobies.
(Fred laughing)
- I better go get my magnifying glass.
- [Narrator] Or even, our "Blues Bothers".
- Hit it.
- [Narrator] Yet most unforgettable of all,
are the out of time and out of this world characters
inspired by the imagination.
- 1.21 gigawatts!
- [Narrator] Who can forget Christopher Lloyd's
timeless Doc Brown, in the blockbuster adventure
"Back to the Future".
- We're sending you back to the future!
(car whooshing)
(flaming blazing)
- [Narrator] Teamed up with Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly,
their antic across the space-time continuum
would inspire two sequels,
and a popular theme park attraction.
- I finally invent something that works!
(E.T. croaking)
(little girl screaming)
(E.T. screaming)
- [Narrator] However, no character
is as universally loved as E.T.,
the extra-terrestrial who befriended a lonely boy
and stole audience's hearts everywhere.
- [E.T.] E.T. phone home.
- [Narrator] Steven Spielberg's home sick little alien
would not only break box office records,
but would depict the triumph of the human spirit
better than any human character ever could.
- Ouch.
(Boy whimpering)
- Ouch.
- [Narrator] These are Universal's characters,
challenging audiences to look at themselves
and the world in new and exciting ways.
They are characters that transcend time and space,
and will continue to live in our hearts
for the next 100 years.
- I'll
be
right
here.
(inspirational music)