Encyclopedia
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a
science fiction-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 in many 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.
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 laughs & 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!
- A Musical Dream Come True.
Plot outline
The story begins with straightlaced couple Brad Majors and Janet Weiss 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. Brad and Janet decide to pay a visit to Dr. Everett Scott , their
academic mentor and the man who introduced them to each other.
Directly after this scene, a Criminologist begins to narrate the entire story, revealing that the true identities of the church wardens are to meet with Brad and Janet later on, and that it would be a night both of them "would not soon forget." The criminologist continues to narrate, albeit sporadically, throughout the film with an entirely straight face.
While driving to Dr. Scott's residence, they get a flat
tire and are passed by several mysterious motorcyclists. 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, they are welcomed by servants Riff-Raff , Magenta , and Columbia , and are whisked into a mind-bending dance sequence called
The Time Warp, with Columbia showing off her almost-perfect tap-dance skills and high squeaky scream.
Afterwards, they are introduced to Dr. Frank N. Furter , a gender-bending scientist from the
planet Transsexual in the
galaxy of
Transylvania, who is throwing the
party. Brad and Janet are stripped to their underwear, and Frank immediately takes a sexual interest in both of them, which eventually leads the couple to question their loyalty to each other. In a dramatic scene reminiscent of many Frankenstein movies, Frank re-animates a human, an attractive new strongman playmate, Rocky . To Frank's despair, Rocky becomes more interested in Janet than him.
Another of Frank's captives, Eddie , a motorcycle-riding rocker and an ex-delivery boy , suddenly emerges from a deep-freeze storage vault and sings his rock and roll song , making it obvious that he is Columbia's sometime lover. Frank becomes jealous and uses an ice pick to murder Eddie right in front of all the servants and guests to Columbia's screams of horror. Frank explains to an upset Rocky that it was a "mercy killing". Rocky is naïve and immediately responds to Frank's flattery about his physique. Frank and Rocky perform a mock bridal procession to a bedroom for a quick homosexual honeymoon.
Frank then has quick sexual trysts with Janet and then with Brad. Rocky is then bullied and chased around by the servants, who have been spying on the escapades with television monitors. After Rocky flees, Riff-Raff bites Magenta rather suggestively on the neck . Rocky, dirty and injured, returns and falls into the arms of Janet who is devastated after seeing Frank and Brad together on one of the monitors and is only too happy to accept Rocky's advances. Their lovemaking is in turn gleefully spied on by Magenta and Columbia via a monitor in Columbia's bedroom.
A wheelchair-bound Dr. Scott arrives at the castle; he, Brad and Frank catch Janet and Rocky together. During the very awkward formal dinner that follows, it turns out that Eddie is Scott's nephew and that Scott has come looking for Eddie. There are also inconsequential suggestions that Scott is a German accented Government scientist of some sort. Scott is soon at Frank's mercy. Frank, annoyed at Scott's continued mentioning of Eddie , reveals that Eddie's dismembered body is hidden beneath the dinner table and that they have been served his flesh as the main course and are unwittingly participating in
cannibalism. Columbia, who loved Eddie and once loved Frank, has conflicting feelings about the two of them and is soon disillusioned and becomes disloyal to Frank. Frank chases Janet , followed by the other characters, and then turns them in to stone statues at the flick of a switch . While they are still petrified, Frank dresses them in lingerie and makeup and prepares the Floor Show, in which each of the characters is freed from their frozen state to sing and dance in a
cabaret act.
Suddenly, the servants of the castle, Magenta and Riff-Raff, arrive and announce that they are taking the castle back to Transsexual, an announcement which Frank receives joyfully. However, Riff-Raff reveals that only he and Magenta are returning-Frank is to be executed. Columbia screams and Riff-Raff zaps her dead with his ray gun. Frank is shot next; Rocky tries to protect his creator's body from Riff Raff ray but dies in the process . After it is revealed that Riff-Raff and Magenta are siblings, they then return home to Transsexual to once again freely dance
The Time Warp. Brad, Janet, and Dr. Scott are released from the spell of the castle by Riff Raff and Magenta, left lying in an empty field where the castle once stood.
Cast
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"
- "Hot Patootie"
- "I Can Make You a Man: Reprise"
- "Once in a While"
- "Toucha Toucha Touch Me"
- "Eddie"
- "You'd Better Wise Up"
- "Rose Tint My World"
- "Don't Dream It, Be It"
- "Wild And Untamed Things"
- "I'm Going Home"
- "Superheroes"
- "Science Fiction/Double Feature: Reprise"
Critical response
Taken at face value, the film could be considered ground-breaking for its frank 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? is a 1950
Looney Tunes [i] cartoon directed by Robert McKimson [i] and released ...
,
,
Rope is an Alfred Hitchcock [i] classic [i] film notable for its single location covered in what app ...
, and
Triumph of the Will is a documentary [i] and propaganda film [i] by the German [i] ...
. Nevertheless, the film did not do well initially when released. One reason was probably poor choice of theater placement, with the studio booking the film in politically
conservative towns such as
Santa Barbara, California. However, although most critics account the film as tripe, the groundbreaking dip into taboo ensured that it would be a hit for the teen and pre-teen fanbase.
Cult following
Despite its initial luke-warm critical and commercial reception, the film developed a
cult following, becoming a midnight hit at the Waverly Theatre. 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,
underwear, and
rice at the appropriate points in the movie . Fans often attend shows dressed up as the characters, while an onstage "shadowcast" will act out the movie in front of the screen. 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
Rocky Horror at the Waverly. At times, the management of the theatres were as much a fan as the audience; for example, one could gain free entry by wearing one's underwear on the outside.
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, dry humping, and spanking with a paddle.
- Those who attend the show frequently are referred to as "sluts".
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.
For example, one popular yell refers to the discrepancy between how the car got a flat tire and how Brad continually states that the car broke down. Every time Brad says "Our car broke down" it is a popular jeer to loudly correct him. Also, a popular yell is to scream "asshole" whenever a character says "Brad," and to shout "slut" whenever a character says "Janet."
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 . Additionally, in some areas, the AP lines take note of current events .
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 American and Canadian cities.
In theatres where the film plays on a regular or semi-regular basis, groups of fans have formed casts. These casts act out the movie on a stage or on the floor in front of the movie scene. While some casts are very laid back, others have become very strict. Many casts require auditions to join in which a prospective member must show that he or she can perform the movie from memory without looking at the screen. Among Rocky Horror casts there is a perpetual quest for "screen-accuracy", meaning that everything from costumes to props to the motions that actors make on stage match the movie exactly.
Audience participation
The 25th Anniversary DVD includes a list of suggestions for audience participation.
- Rice: At the beginning of the film is the wedding of Ralph Hapschatt and Betty Monroe. As the newlyweds exit the church, viewers throw rice along with the on-screen wedding guests. During a stage performance, when the name Hapschatt is spoken, they scream out "half-shit!".
- Newspapers: When Brad and Janet are caught in the storm, Janet covers her head with a newspaper. At this point, viewers do the same thing with their newspapers.
- Water pistols: These are used by members of the audience to simulate the rainstorm that Brad and Janet are caught in.
- Flashlights: During the "There's a light" verse of "Over at the Frankenstein Place," viewers light up the room with flashlights, lighters, etc.
- Rubber gloves: During and after the creation speech, Frank snaps his rubber gloves three times. Later, Magenta pulls the gloves off his hands. Audience members snap gloves in sync each time to create a sound effect.
- Noise makers: At the end of the creation speech, the Transylvanians respond with applause and noisemakers. Viewers do the same.
...
toilet paper into the air and scream "Great Scott! Holy Shit!".
- Confetti: At the end of the "Charles Atlas Song" reprise, the Transylvanians throw confetti as Rocky and Frank head toward the bedroom; viewers do the same.
...
: When Frank proposes a
toast at dinner, audience members throw
toast into the air.
- Party hat: At the dinner table, when Frank puts on a party hat, viewers do likewise.
- Bell: During the song "Planet Schmanet," audience members ring bells when Frank sings "Did you hear a bell ring?"
- Cards: During the song "I'm Going Home," Frank sings "Cards for sorrow, cards for pain." At this point, audience members shower the room with cards.
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. Two further films,
Rocky Horror Shows His Heels and
Revenge of the Old Queen, were written by O'Brien but never filmed.
Starting around the year 2000 word on the street had it that between other projects Richard O'Brien was working on a new sequel. However, unlike previous attempts, this was to be a sequel to the original play from which the movie was based and would be performed on stage.
The title
has been floated as a potential title but O'Brien himself seems conflicted on the issue of what the eventual title would be. O'Brien has stated that the plot would include elements from both
Rocky Horror Shows His Heels and
Revenge of the Old Queen. Like
Rocky Horror Shows His Heels the play would be set nine months after the events of
The Rocky Horror Show and would feature a pregnant Janet carrying either Frank's or Rocky's child. O'Brien also leaked that one of the songs would be called "
Frankie Phoenix" and that it would illustrate Frank-N-Furter's resurrection.
Given if the play is every produced and becomes a financial hit there is the possibility it could take the path of it's predecessor and eventually become a film. But, after several false starts, it now looks as if the project may have fallen into development hell.
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 combined with its considerable total box office gross, is unparalleled by any other film.
- The original budget for the movie was a tight $1 million. 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 tagline "A different set of jaws" featured on the theatrical release poster and in trailers refers to the hit film Jaws, also released in the summer of 1975.
- 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 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 Scene Selection 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 . 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 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, Dr. Scott does not have a German accent. The parallel to Stanley Kubrick's character of Doctor Strangelove is a 1964 [i] Stanley Kubrick [i] ...
is easily recognizable, up to and including the attempted Nazi salute. In many theatres, Curry's line referring to his fellow scientist as "Dr. Von Scott" is often followed with people doing the Nazi salute and shouting "sieg heil." - Sarandon caught pneumonia after filming the pool scene in the floor show.
- 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 graphics.
- The cast has had very varied responses to the film's cult following. Sarandon, for instance, speaks of the film and its fans with affection, while Hinwood is reportedly mortified by his association with the film. Meat Loaf is somewhat ambivalent about it while Curry has claimed that he got so tired of the film's fans throwing themselves at him that he deliberately gained weight and became "chubby and plain". Recently, however, Curry has grown more affectionate toward the film.
- Barry Bostwick later gained fame playing the mayor of New York City on the hit ABC series Spin City was a TV series [i] that ran from 1996 [i] to 2002 [i] on ABC [i] ...
. On some episodes, the mayor can be seen wearing a button that says "I survived Rocky Horror". - There are at least four adult videos with names parodying the movie: The Rock Horror Porno Show, the Rocky Porno Video Show, the Funky Fetish Horror 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.
- Curry was the guest host of Saturday Night Live is a weekly late night 90-minute American [i] comedy [i]-variety show [i] ...
with Meat Loaf as the musical guest in 1981. This show included a sketch with the two 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 Curry. - 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, Wisconsin, has the longest running engagement in history, having shown the movie since 1977.
- The in Portland, Oregon, 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 in Norfolk, Virginia has the third-longest running engagement in the United States and the fourth-longest in the world, having shown the movie continually since spring 1978. The theater currently shows it the second and fourth Friday of every month, in addition to Halloween.
- There are rumors that Meatloaf's usual colaborator, Jim Steinman, saw the movie and said "That's so bad, people are going to throw things at the screen!", apparently prophesizing the audience participation that was to come. Although this is a favorite story of some fans, no one's been able to substantiate this.
References in pop culture
- In the game Ghost Master there is a minor character named 'Magenta Quinn' a reference to the character in the film called Magenta who is played by actress Patricia Quinn. The game characters' bio also reads 'Magenta is tired of being thought of as Riff Raff'. Riff Raff is another character in the film.
- In the That '70s Show episode "Too Old To Trick-or-Treat, Too Young To Die," Fez dresses as Frank.
- Randal "R.K" Milholland, creator, artist and author of Something Positive is known to be an avid fan of Rocky Horror, both on stage and on film. He both draws art for Interchangeable Parts and promotes the group with a permanent advertisment on his site, with the characters of Something Positive as the cast of Rocky Horror.
- There is an Episode of Family Guy titled "Dammit Janet!", although no other Rocky Horror references are present.
- In Alex Ross's comic book miniseries Kingdom Come, there are two background characters visually based on Columbia and Riff Raff. They are named April Fool and Goblin Lord.
- 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."
- In 1980, the late night comedy show Fridays had a skit called "The Ronny Horror Picture Show," spoofing the election of President Ronald Reagan. The parts were cast to show members of the administration and songs were rewritten using the same melodies, but parody lyrics, describing the Republican "takeover" of the country.
- In Fame , Ralph Garcy, Doris Finsecker, and Montgomery MacNeil attend a showing of "Rocky Horror" at the Eighth Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, during which Doris joins the Time Warpers. Sal Piro, one of the original instigators of the "live performance/audience participation" phenomena, makes a cameo during this scene as the MC of the "Rocky Horror" performance.
- In an episode of the Disney show Pepper Ann, the main character's grandmother dressed as a Floor Show person, and was planning to attend the "Fuzzy Terror Picture Show".
- In an episode of The Simpsons is an Emmy [i] and Peabody [i]-winning American [i] animated [i] ...
, Dr. Hibbert arrives at a film festival dressed as Frank, mistakenly thinking Rocky Horror was playing. - In the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the main character and his friends attend and dress up for the show every Friday night.
- In the video game , Brad and Janet are the names of Murrey's two friends, who happen to be flies.
- In the anime series G Gundam, in one episode the on-screen Narrator named Stalker begins his routine with a Japanese translation of the Criminologist's famous line "I would like, ah, if I may...".
- An episode of the animated series The Venture Bros., sometimes elongated to The Venture Brothers, is an American [i] ...
depicted the Venture family and their bodyguard Brock Samson returning from a "Rocky Horror" screening in full costume. - A recent episode of the CBS series Cold Case is an American [i] hour-long fictional television [i] show about a police di ...
involved a murder related to a screening of the movie. Bostwick played a serial killer who is investigated in the crime. - In an episode of The Drew Carey Show was an American [i] sitcom [i] starring Drew Carey [i] along with ...
, 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.
See also
Reference
External links
- , including links to over a dozen local cast websites as well as over
