Rocky Horror Picture Show

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Biography

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock music|rock Musical theatre|musical stageplay , The Rocky Horror Show , written by Richard O'Brien . The film is a parody of B movie|B-movie , science fiction film|science fiction and horror film s 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 The Rocky Horror Picture Show cult following|a large international cult 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".

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, 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, " Time Warp (song)|Time Warp ".

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 includes 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. Janet, upset and emotional, wanders off to look for Brad, who she discovers, via a television monitor, is with Frank. She then discovers Rocky, cowering in his birth tank, hiding from Riff Raff, who has been tormenting him. While tending to his wounds, Janet becomes intimate with Rocky, as Magenta and Columbia watch from their bedroom monitor.

After discovering that his creation 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 Unidentified flying object|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 the Medusa Transducer, transforming them into statues. They are then forced to perform a live cabaret floor show and have an orgy 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 the human race is equivalent to insects crawling on the planet's surface.

Cast

Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter: A scientist .

Susan Sarandon as Janet Weiss: A heroine .

Barry Bostwick as Brad Majors: A hero .

Richard O'Brien as Riff Raff: A handyman .

Patricia Quinn as Magenta: A domestic .

Nell Campbell (credited as Little Nell) as Columbia: A groupie .

Jonathan Adams (British actor)|Jonathan Adams as Dr. Everett V. Scott: A rival scientist .

Peter Hinwood as Rocky Horror: A creation .

Charles Gray (actor)|Charles Gray as The Criminologist: An expert .

Meat Loaf (credited as Meatloaf) as Eddie: An ex-delivery boy .

Production

The film was shot at Bray Studios (UK)|Bray Studios and Oakley Court , a country house in Berkshire , from October 21, 1974, to December 19, 1974. Filming of the laboratory scene and the title character's creation occurred on October 30, 1974. #Henkin|Henkin (1979) , p. 16

The film's plot, setting, and style echoes that of the Hammer Horror films, which had their own instantly recognizable style (just as Universal Studios ' horror films did), and is reminiscent of the Hammer production of The Revenge of Frankenstein starring Peter Cushing .

The castle is 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, Susan 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. It has never been pulled by 20th Century Fox from its original 1975 release, and it continues to play in cinemas. 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 new stereo print was struck in 1990 which included "Super Heroes" and most US theaters which still play film now run this version, which is similar to the UK release although the sound mix is slightly different than the original mono print.
A Super 8 mm film|Super 8 version of selected scenes of the film was made available. #Piro|Piro & Hess (1991) , p. 77 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 resolution|4K /2K Digital cinematography#Video formats|image transfer from the original camera negative . In addition, new content featuring karaoke and shadow cast performance are included.

Reception

The film opened in the US at the USA Theatre in Westwood, Los Angeles , on August 14, 1975. It did well at that location, but not elsewhere. #Henkin|Henkin (1979) , p. 25 The The Rocky Horror Picture Show cult following|cult following did not begin until the film began its midnight run at the Waverly Theater in New York on April 1, 1976. #Henkin|Henkin (1979) , p. 26

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. #Samuels|Samuels (1983) , p. 11 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. 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. 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 for Rocky Horror conventions. By the end of 1979, there were twice-weekly showings at over 230 theatres.

The film received very positive reviews from film critics mostly due to Tim Curry's performance and singing. Based on 37 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes , 76% of the critics positively reviewed The Rocky Horror Picture Show . At Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, it has a rating score of 55, indicating "mixed or average reviews" based on six reviews. The film has taken in US$139,876,417 at the US box office since its release. The original budget for the film was US$1,200,000 (estimated).

Other projects

In 1981, Jim Sharman reunited with O'Brien to do Shock Treatment . This standalone feature was not a direct sequel to the original film.

A few years later, O'Brien wrote another script intended as a direct sequel to the cult classic entitled Revenge of the Old Queen . Producer Michael White had hoped to begin work on the production and described the script as being "... in the same style as the other one. It has reflections of the past in it." Although the script has not been published, Copyright infringement|bootleg copies can be read on the Internet . The script is currently owned by 20th Century Fox which produced the two original films. Most individuals associated with the project, including O'Brien, agree that the film will probably never be made, owing to the failure of Shock Treatment and the aging of the cast. http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/09/27/script-review-revenge-of-the-old-queen/

Music

The soundtrack from The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released in 1975 by Ode Records, produced by Richard Hartley. The album peaked at No.& nbsp;49 on the Billboard 200| Billboard 200 in 1978. It reached No.& nbsp;40 on the ARIA charts|Australian albums chart and No.& nbsp;11 on the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand|New Zealand albums chart . William Ruhlmann of Allmusic gave the album a star rating of five stars out of five and described it as the "definitive version of the score."

Thirty-five years later, Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 the week of October 27, 2010, with 48,000 copies sold. The music came from an The Rocky Horror Glee Show|episode of TV show Glee (TV series)|Glee , which recreated several scenes from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, including the opening credits, and featured Barry Bostwick and Meat Loaf in cameo roles.

Copyright Citations

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1. Tim Curry 2. Nicole Scherzinger

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