The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the screenplay with O'Brien, who wrote both the book and lyrics for the stage. The film introduces Tim Curry and features Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick along with cast members from the original Kings Road production presented at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1973.
Still in limited release 36 years after its premiere, it has the longest-running theatrical release in film history. It gained notoriety as a midnight movie in 1977 when audiences began participating with the film in theatres. Rocky Horror is the first film from a major Hollywood studio to be in the midnight movie market. The motion picture has a large international following and is one of the most well known and financially successful midnight movies of all time. In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Plot
The story, narrated by a criminologist, tells the tale of newly engaged couple, Brad Majors and Janet Weiss, who find themselves lost and with a flat tire on a cold and rainy, late November evening. Seeking a phone with which to call for help at a nearby castle, Brad and Janet discover a group of strange and outlandish people who are holding an Annual Transylvanian Convention. They watch as the Transylvanians, servants, and a tap dancing groupie dance the film's signature song.
They are soon swept into the world of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a self-proclaimed "sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania." The ensemble of convention attendees also include servants Riff Raff, his sister/lover Magenta, and a groupie named Columbia.
Frank claims to have discovered the "secret to life itself." His creation, Rocky Horror, is brought to life. The ensuing celebration is soon interrupted by Eddie, an ex-delivery boy, partial brain donor to Rocky, and Columbia's lover, who rides out of a deep freeze on a motorcycle. In a jealous rage, Frank corners him and kills him with an ice axe. He then departs with Rocky to a bridal suite off of the laboratory.
Brad and Janet are shown to separate bedrooms where each is visited and seduced by Frank, who poses as Brad and then Janet in order to trick the real Brad and Janet into sex. Janet, upset and emotional, wanders off to look for Brad, who she discovers is with Frank via a television monitor. She then discovers Rocky, cowering in his birth tank, hiding from Riff Raff, who has been tormenting him. While tending to Rocky's wounds, Janet seduces him, while Magenta and Columbia watch from their bedroom monitor.
After discovering that his creature is missing, Frank, Brad, and Riff Raff return to the lab, where Frank learns that an intruder has entered the building. Dr. Everett Scott, Brad and Janet's old high school science teacher, has come looking for his nephew, Eddie, but Frank suspects that Dr. Scott investigates UFOs for the government. Upon learning of Brad and Janet's connection to Scott, Frank suspects them of working for him. Frank, Dr. Scott, Brad, and Riff Raff then discover Janet and Rocky together under the sheets in Rocky's birth tank upsetting Frank and Brad.
Rocky and the guests are served dinner, which they soon realize has been prepared from Eddie's mutilated body. Janet runs screaming into Rocky's arms and is slapped and chased through the halls of the castle by a jealous Frank. Janet, Brad, Dr. Scott, Rocky, and Columbia all meet in Frank's lab, where Frank captures them with theMedusa Transducer, transforming them into statues. They are then forced to perform a live cabaret floor show and have a short makeout session in the pool, with Frank as the leader.
The performance is interrupted by Riff Raff and Magenta, who stage a coup and announce their plan to return to the planet of Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania. In the process, they kill Columbia, Rocky, and Frank. They release Brad, Janet, and Dr. Scott, and then depart by lifting off in the Castle itself.
The narrator then finishes the film by concluding that man is alone—insects crawling on the planet's surface.
[edit]Cast
- Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter: A scientist. Frank is a flamboyant, hedonistic transvestite from Transsexual Transylvania; a pansexual mad scientist.
- Susan Sarandon as Janet Weiss: A heroine. Sweet and somewhat naïve. Janet, recently engaged to Brad, succumbs to temptation.
- Barry Bostwick as Brad Majors: A hero. The clean-cut fiancé of Janet Weiss. Awkward and out of step, he finds himself in situations never before experienced.
- Richard O'Brien as Riff Raff: A handyman. Frank's minion and Magenta's brother/incestuous lover.
- Patricia Quinn as Magenta: A domestic. Riff Raff's sister/incestuous lover.
- Nell Campbell (credited as Little Nell) as Columbia: A groupie. A tapdancer. Self-proclaimed lover of Frank, and formerly involved with Eddie. The only human who lives with Frank full-time.
- Jonathan Adams as Dr. Everett V. Scott: A rival scientist. Brad and Janet's high school science teacher, now a government scientist searching for extraterrestrial life.
- Peter Hinwood as Rocky Horror: A creation. Blond-haired and tanned, Rocky is mute except for his musical numbers. Rocky's singing voice was dubbed over by Trevor White.
- Charles Gray as The Criminologist: An expert. The film's narrator.
- Meat Loaf (credited as Meatloaf) as Eddie: An ex-delivery boy. Columbia's former boyfriend, partial brain donor for Rocky, nephew to Dr. Scott, and eventually, Dr. Frank-N-Furter's dinner.
Production
The film was shot at Bray Studios and Oakley Court, a country house in Berkshire, from October 21, 1974, to December 19, 1974. Filming of lab scene and the title character's creation occurred on October 30, 1974.[1]
The film's plot, setting, and style echoes that of the Hammer Horror films, which had their own instantly recognizable style (just asUniversal Studios' horror films did), and is reminiscent of the Hammer production of The Revenge of Frankenstein starring Peter Cushing.[2]
The castle is Oakley Court in Berkshire, known for a number of Hammer films. A great deal of location shooting took place there. At the time, the manor was in a very dilapidated condition. Filming took place during autumn, which made conditions harsh. During filming, Sarandon fell ill with pneumonia; she recovered after a few days. In 1979 refurbishment began on Oakley Court and the building is now a luxury hotel.
In the stage productions, actors generally did their own make-up, but for this film the producers chose Pierre La Roche to redesign the make-up for each character (he had previously designed make-up for David Bowie). Production stills were taken by 1970s rock photographer Mick Rock, who has published many calendars and photo books from his Rocky Horror work.
Release
The film is considered to be the longest-running release in film history.[3] It has never been pulled by 20th Century Fox from its original 1975 release, and it continues to play in cinemas 35 years later. Some cinemas showing the film have run it for decades at a time. There are two basic versions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, known as the US and UK releases. The UK version contains the original ending with the full version of the musical number "Super Heroes." The US version, created after the film hit the midnight circuit, omits "Super Heroes," as the studio thought it was too depressing.
A Super 8 version of selected scenes of the film was made available.[4] On August 2, 2010, The Rocky Horror Picture Show Official Fan Club announced the release of the 35th Anniversary edition Blu-ray in the US for October 19, 2010. The disc includes a newly-created 7.1 surround sound mix, a mono sound mix, and a 4K/2K image transfer from the original camera negative. In addition, new content featuring karaoke and an all-star shadow cast performance are included.[5]
[edit]Reception
The film opened in the US at the UA Theatre in Westwood, Los Angeles, on September 26, 1975. It did well at that location, but not elsewhere.[6] The cult following did not begin until the film began its midnight run at the Waverly Theatre in New York on April 1, 1976.[7]
Before the success of the midnight screenings, the film was withdrawn from its eight opening cities due to very small audiences, and its planned New York opening (on Halloween night) was cancelled.[8] Fox re-released it around college campuses on a double-bill with another rock music film parody, Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise, but again it drew small audiences.[8] With Pink Flamingos (1972) and Reefer Madness (1936) making money in midnight showings nationwide, RHPS was eventually screened at midnight, starting in New York City on April Fools' Day of 1976.[8] By that Halloween, people were attending in costume and talking back to the screen. By mid-1978, RHPS was playing in over 50 locations on Fridays and Saturdays at midnight, newsletters were published by local performance groups, and fans gathered forRocky Horror conventions.[8] By the end of 1979, there were twice-weekly showings at over 230 theatres.[8]
The Rocky Horror Picture Show has taken in US$139,876,417 at the US box office since its release. The length of its run in cinemas (weekly for over 30 years), combined with its considerable total box office gross, is unparalleled by any other film. The original budget for the film was US$1,200,000 (estimated).
The American television network Fox Broadcasting aired the film's much-publicized US television premiere on October 25, 1993. The film's popularity breathed new life to the stage production, which had had a 45-performance run on Broadway early in 1975 at the Belasco Theatre.
