The Rocky Horror Picture Show

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Template:Infobox Film The Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) (first released in the United Kingdom on 14 August, 1975) is a comedy-horror musical film directed by Jim Sharman from a screenplay by Sharman and Richard O'Brien, who also composed the songs. The film was based on O'Brien's long-running stage production The Rocky Horror Show. After an unexceptional first run, the movie went on to become a cult hit which continues to play weekly at midnight in theaters. Fans often attend viewings dressed as characters from the film and respond ritualistically to certain events by throwing food, using props, yelling jokes, dancing, and cheering.

The film stars Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Curry. "Little" Nell Campbell, Patricia Quinn, Peter Hinwood, Jonathan Adams, Charles Gray, and O'Brien are featured in supporting roles, while British character actor Christopher Biggins appears in the chorus. Rock singer Meat Loaf makes a brief appearance for one song. Curry, O'Brien, Quinn, Campbell and Adams were in the original cast of the play, and Meat Loaf joined them when the show originally went to the United States at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles.

In 2005, The United States National Film Preservation Board added The Rocky Horror Picture Show to the National Film Registry.

Taglines:

Action-packed... lotsa larfs & sex... gorgeous gals... thrills & chills... Transylvanian parties... romance.
A Different Set Of Jaws.
Another Kind Of Rocky.
He's the hero -- that's right, the hero!!
Give yourself over to absolute pleasure.
Don't Dream it, Be It!
Dream it in your living room... Be it in the theater! (1990 15th Anniversary Video Release)
A Musical Dream Come True. (UK quad poster)

1 Plot outline
2 Songs
3 Critical response
4 Cult following
- 4.1 Sexual slang
- 4.2 Presentation
5 Sequels
6 Trivia
7 See also
8 Reference
9 External links

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Plot outline

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story begins with a straitlaced couple, Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon), musically pledging their engagement after attending the wedding of their friends, the Hapschatts. The church wardens later appear as major characters in the main part of the film (as shown on the cut to the slide with the narrator). Brad and Janet decide to pay a visit to Dr. Everett Scott (Adams), their academic mentor and the man who introduced them to each other.

While driving to Dr. Scott's residence, they get a flat tire. With the spare also flat, they must walk back to a remote castle in the woods in hopes of finding a telephone. At the castle, Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry), a gender-bending scientist from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania, is throwing a party to celebrate the creation of his new strongman playmate, Rocky (Hinwood). Frank N. Furter immediately takes a sexual interest in both Janet and Brad which eventually leads the couple to question their loyalty to each other. To the despair of Dr. Furter, Rocky becomes more interested in Janet than him. Image:Patricia Quinn.jpg Dr. Scott's nephew Eddie (Meat Loaf), a motorcycle-riding rocker and delivery boy, has been captured in the castle by Dr. Furter, who apparently used him for the basis of Rocky's brain. Dr. Furter murders Eddie for his reckless behaviour, right in front of Janet, Brad, and all the guests of his house. Dr. Furter's groupie Columbia (Campbell), who loved Eddie and once loved Dr. Furter, has conflicting feelings about the two of them. Dr. Scott arrives at the castle looking for Eddie, and is soon at Frank's mercy. The servants of the castle, Magenta (Quinn) and Riff-Raff (O'Brien), release Brad, Janet, and Dr. Scott from the spell of the castle (not for any reasons of compassion; they simply don't care about them), kill the others out of annoyance, and return home to their home planet of Transsexual. A criminologist (Gray) narrates the story and appears from time to time to provide commentary on the actions.

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Songs

"Science Fiction/Double Feature"
"Dammit Janet"
"Over at the Frankenstein Place"
"The Time Warp"
"Sweet Transvestite"
"The Sword of Damocles"
"I Can Make You a Man" (also known as "The Charles Atlas Song")
"Hot Patootie"
"I Can Make You a Man: Reprise"
"Once in a While" (scene cut from film)
"Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me"
"Eddie"
"You'd Better Wise Up" (sometimes referred to as "Planet Schmanet Janet)
"Rose Tint My World"
"Wild And Untamed Things"
"I'm Going Home"
"Superheroes" (song cut from some older American versions of film)
"Science Fiction/Double Feature: Reprise"

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Critical response

Taken at face value, the film could be considered ground-breaking for its frank (albeit comical) depiction of subjects such as transvestism, homosexuality, cannibalism, voyeurism, adultery, and even incest. In addition, the scripting and design displays the writers' knowledge of the history of cinema even beyond the horror and science fiction film genres; for example, there are references to films as diverse as What's Up, Doc?, Rope, and Triumph of the Will. Nevertheless, the film did not do well initially when released, perhaps because the critics did not know what to make of it or what genre it might be placed in. The other reason was probably poor choice of theater placement, with the studio booking the film in politically conservative towns such as Santa Barbara, California. Generally however, although most critics account this film as tripe, the groundbreaking and frank dip into taboo ensures that it is a hit for the teen and pre-teen fanbase.

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Cult following

Template:Original research In spite of (or perhaps because of) its initial luke-warm critical and commercial reception, the film developed a cult following. The Waverly Theater in New York City is where it became a midnight hit.<ref>Beale, Lewis. "John Hughes Versus the Vampires: The Dilemma Of the Midnight Movie", New York Times, June 19, 2005</ref> People began shouting responses to the characters' statements on the screen. These mostly include melodramatic abuse of the characters or actors, vulgar sex jokes, puns, or pop culture references.

Other audience participation includes dancing the Time Warp, throwing toast, water, toilet paper, hot dogs, and rice at the appropriate points in the movie (many theatres forbid throwing things that are difficult to clean up, such as confetti or buttered toast). Casts of fans dress up as the characters and act out the movie in front of the screen, usually with great accuracy. At the defunct Key Theater in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., the theatre manager would ride his motorcycle down the aisle during Meat Loaf's/Eddie's song, "Hot Patootie." Audience members also use newspapers to cover their heads and squirt guns for rain during the "There's A Light" musical sequence, and use noise makers during the scene in which Rocky is unveiled. The whole phenomenon got a boost in 1980, with the release of the movie Fame, in which some characters attend a screening of RHPS at the Waverly.

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Sexual slang

People who have never seen the show are called "virgins". Often, before the movie starts, a "virgin hunt" is conducted, where the virgins are brought down to the front of the theatre and "have their cherries popped" or participate in ceremonial "virgin games". These often include faking orgasms, eating cherries, having a lipstick "v" put on their foreheads and dry humping.
People who have seen the movie, but not the live (cult) show, are considered "masturbators".
Those who attend the show frequently are referred to as "sluts".

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Presentation

What were ad lib responses from the audience are now, in a few locales, as tightly scripted as any screenplay. Audience members who provide "incorrect" or poorly timed responses may find themselves angrily shouted down just as if they were being disruptive in a normal movie. However, creative new lines are usually applauded and even added to the local repertoire. In most theatres yelling at new lines (either incorrect or otherwise) or other participants is considered rude.

There have been audience participation albums recorded and scripts published. However, most fans feel that it is preferable for responses to grow organically from the local culture. For example, the audience members in Salt Lake City have utilized frequent references to the Mormon church and Brigham Young University. In most locales, new responses are regularly added to the canon (for example the introduction of references to South Park character Timmy at times when Dr. Scott is in a scene). Additionally, in some areas, the AP lines take note of current events (for example, the use of the name of a recent famous deceased in the line "Ladies and gentlemen: NAME", when Riff-Raff opens the coffin at the beginning of the Time Warp).

Some arthouse cinemas will have a tradition of regularly playing the film on a particular date, especially Halloween. While the film—and associated live cast performances—are less popular than in its heyday, regular weekend showings can still be found in select United States cities.

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Sequels

Shock Treatment, a follow-up to RHPS, was made, but despite its appeal to cult audiences and its campy nature, it has not caught on as well as the original. It features O'Brien, Quinn, Campbell and Gray in different roles and the characters Brad and Janet, played by different actors. A third film, Revenge of the Old Queen, was written by O'Brien but never filmed.

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Trivia

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has taken in over $135 million in box office receipts since its release, which makes it the highest grossing movie to have never played in more than 200 theatres at the same time. The length of its run in theatres (weekly for over 25 years) combined with its considerable total box office gross, is unparalleled by any other film. [1]
The original budget for the movie was a tight $1 million dollars. While filming, the crew went over budget, adding to the initial financial failure of the film.
Many, or even all, of the actors earned very little from the movie - at the time and after it became so popular.
The surround mixes themselves did not appear on early prints of the movie. In 1990, for the 15th anniversary of the film, and in conjunction with the film's first U.S. home video release, the audio for the film was remixed from mono into Chace Surround Stereo. The song dubs were replaced by the stereo version of songs from the soundtrack record. Rocky's voice part is sung by a completely different actor. For the 25th anniversary edition, both the original mono track, and a new 5.1 surround mix (also done by Chace Productions) from the original dialogue/music/effects stems was created, which was far more accurate than the earlier stereo dub.
On the 25th Anniversary DVD, scroll down to Special Features (don't select it) and push left. This should highlight a pair of lips, which, when selected, will simulate the director's intended vision; the first 20 minutes are black and white, turning to colour when Riff Raff swings open the door, revealing Transylvanians (a la The Wizard of Oz). Richard O'Brien originally intended for the film to be in black and white until Frank's appearance in the lift, the only colour in that particular shot being his red lipstick.
The entire laboratory set was constructed with access only via an elevator (lift) before the team realised that Doctor Scott would need to reach it extremely quickly in a wheelchair. This is the sole reason for his appearance through a wall.
In the stage play, Doctor Scott does not have a German accent. The parallel to Stanley Kubrick's character of Doctor Strangelove is easily recognisable, up to and including the attempted Nazi salute. In many theatres, Tim Curry's line is often followed with people doing the Nazi salute and shouting "sieg heil".
Susan Sarandon had pneumonia during the filming.
An adventure game called Rocky Horror Interactive Picture Show was released to much hype but very little success. It was criticised for having a clumsy interface and outdated (2D) graphics.
There are at least three adult videos with names parodying the movie: The Rock Horror Porno Show, the Rocky Porno Video Show, and the Rock Erotic Video Show, whose box has characters costumed in a fashion which might suggest that it follows the plot of the movie somewhat, though this is not the case.
Tim Curry was the guest host of Saturday Night Live with Meat Loaf as the musical guest in 1981. This show included a sketch with Tim and Meat together called "Tim And Meat's One Stop Rocky Horror Shop". Eddie Murphy also alluded heavily to Rocky Horror in the show's opening monologue with Tim Curry.
A recent episode of the CBS series Cold Case involved a murder related to a screening of the movie. Bostwick played the role of the murderer.
In an episode of The Drew Carey Show, the characters of Drew, Kate, Lewis and Oswald dress up for a midnight showing of Rocky Horror, only to find that the theatre no longer shows the movie. In its place, the theatre now plays Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, attended by a costumed Mimi and Mr. Wick. A dance off between opposing fans to the tunes of Time Warp and Shake Your Groove Thing ensues.
As part of the 15th Anniversary celebration, Caliber Press published a comic book adaptation of RHPS written and drawn by Kevin VanHook in 1990.
The Oriental Theater in Milwaukee, WI has the longest running engagement in history, having shown the movie since 1977.
The Clinton Street Theater in Portland, OR has the second longest running engagement and the longest continually-running showing, having shown it every Saturday night/Sunday morning at midnight since 1978.
The punk band Tsunami Bomb has a song called "Planet Schmanet Janet" which is essentially a cover of the same song from the movie, one of the songs that did not appear on the movie's official soundtrack release thanks to the use of the word "fuck." Tsunami Bomb's version appears on the Rocky Horror punk cover album "The Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show."