The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jim Sharman
Produced by	Lou Adler Michael White
Written by	Richard O'Brien Jim Sharman
Starring	Tim Curry Susan Sarandon Barry Bostwick Richard O'Brien Patricia Quinn Nell Campbell Meat Loaf
Music by	Richard O'Brien Richard Hartley
Cinematography	Peter Suschitzky
Editing by	Graeme Clifford
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	August 14, 1975 (UK) September 26, 1975 (USA)
Running time	Original cut 99 min. US cut 97 min.
Country	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.2 million
Gross revenue	$139.8 million
Followed by	Shock Treatment

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 musical comedy film that parodies science fiction and horror films. Still in limited release 33 years after its premiere, it has the longest running theatrical release in film history.^[1] It gained notoriety as a midnight movie in 1977 when audiences began participating with the film in theaters across the country."Rocky Horror" is the first movie from a major film studio, such as 20th Century Fox, to be in the midnight movie market.^[2] Widely known by mainstream audiences, it has a large international following and is one of the best known and most financially successful midnight movies of all time.^[3] 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."

The film, considered a cult classic^[4], is an adaption of the British musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show. Richard O'Brien, author of the stage show^[5], was assisted by Jim Sharman in writing the screenplay. The movie introduces Tim Curry and features Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick along with cast members from the original Kings Road production of the play.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Locations, sets and props 3.2 Costumes 4 Release 5 Reception 6 Sequels, scripts and remake 7 Musical numbers 8 Soundtrack 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Plot

The story, narrated by a criminologist (Charles Gray), is that of a newly engaged young couple, Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon), who find themselves lost and with a flat tire on a cold and rainy night. Seeking a phone with which to call for help, the two knock on the door of a nearby castle, which they find is inhabited by strange and outlandish people who are holding an Annual Transylvanian Convention. They watch, still wet from the rain, as the Transylvanians dance the Time Warp, the film's signature song.

They are soon swept into the world of Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry), a bizarre and self-proclaimed "sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania" and his servants, brother and sister Riff-Raff (Richard O'Brien) and Magenta (Patricia Quinn), as well as a groupie Columbia (Nell Campbell) and an ensemble of convention attendees. It is Frank's intention to unveil the "secret to life itself". He takes the whole group up to his lab to "see what's on the slab".

In a scene inspired by the classic Frankenstein movies, "Rocky Horror" (Peter Hinwood) is brought to life. The ensuing celebration is interrupted by Eddie (Meat Loaf), an ex-delivery boy, who rides out of a deep freeze on a motorcycle and performs a rock and roll number. Eddie enchants everyone and, in a jealous response, Frank corners and slaughters him with an ice axe.

Brad and Janet are shown to separate bedrooms, where each is visited and seduced in turn by Frank. Janet, upset and emotional, wanders off to look for Brad. She discovers Rocky, cowering in his birth tank, hiding from Riff Raff who has been tormenting him. She seduces the creature whilst Magenta and Columbia watch on their monitor. After discovering 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 (Jonathan Adams), Brad and Janet's old high school science teacher, has come looking for his nephew, Eddie. Furter suspects Dr. Scott of working for the government investigating UFOs.

Rocky and the guests are served dinner, which they soon realize has been prepared from Eddie's remains. Janet runs screaming into Rocky's arms, and is chased through the halls of the castle by Frank and the rest following behind. Janet, Brad, Dr. Scott, Rocky, and Columbia all meet in Frank's lab, where Frank captures them with the Medusa Transducer, a machine which transforms them into living statues, and then forces them to perform in a cabaret-style floor show. The performance is interrupted by the appearance of Riff-Raff and Magenta, who stage a coup d'etat and announce their plan to return to the planet Transsexual. After explaining to Frank that he is not going back with them, they use a laser to kill him, and in the process also kill Columbia and Rocky. They release the remaining earthlings — Brad, Janet and Dr. Scott — warning them to get off the property; after they do so, the entire castle takes off into space to return to the planet of Transsexual, in the galaxy of Transylvania.

Cast

• Tim Curry as Dr. Frank N. Furter (baritone), a scientist. Frank is a flamboyant, often devious and (perceived to be) evil, hedonist transvestite, bisexual scientist.
• Susan Sarandon as Janet Weiss (soprano), a heroine. She is well-meaning, sweet and somewhat naive. She was recently engaged to Brad, and finds herself tempted into bad ways.
• Barry Bostwick as Brad Majors (tenor), a hero. He is the clean-cut fiancé of Janet Weiss, to whom he recently proposed at a friend's wedding.
• Richard O'Brien as Riff-Raff (countertenor), a handyman. Frank's assistant and Magenta's twin brother. Richard O'Brien wrote both the musical and the screenplay. He also sings the opening credits.
• Patricia Quinn as Magenta (contralto), a domestic. Magenta is the twin sister of Riff-Raff, and works as Frank's domestic worker. Patricia Quinn's lips are used for the opening number and movie poster.
• Nell Campbell as Columbia (soprano), a groupie. Columbia is the groupie, friend and self proclaimed lover of Frank, but also Eddie's alleged lover.
• Jonathan Adams as Dr. Everett Von Scott (bass), a rival scientist. He was Brad and Janet's high school science teacher. He has come to the castle in search of his nephew Eddie, who has been murdered by Frank.
• Peter Hinwood as "Rocky Horror" (tenor), a creation. Muscle-bound creation of Frank's, with blond hair and a tan. Rocky has a solo with "Sword of Damocles", but does not speak, aside from feral sounds for dialog, and singing in the Floor Show at the end of the show. This was changed from the stage show. Rocky's songs are performed by Trevor White.
• Charles Gray as the criminologist (tenor), an expert. The film's narrator.
• Meat Loaf as Eddie (tenor), an ex-delivery boy and Columbia's boyfriend. Dr. Frank-N-Furter murders Eddie in the film version with an ice axe, but in the stage version, Eddie pops out of a Coke machine and Frank murders him with a microphone stand.

Production

The original American productions of the stage musical were both produced by Lou Adler who is best known for his Cheech and Chong feature films. Adler brought the production to the US in 1974 and later became executive producer of the film version.^[6]

Many of the original cast and crew-members from the stage production returned to work on the film. Director Jim Sharman, production designer Brian Thomson, and costume designer Sue Blane collaborated on the original London production with many of the cast that made it into the film version. Tim Curry reprised his role from the London and Los Angeles stage productions. After the film, Curry also did a short run on Broadway as Dr. Frank N. Furter. Creator Richard O'Brien (Riff Raff) also returned for the film from the British stage team, as did Little Nell (Columbia) and Patricia Quinn (Magenta)^[7]. Jonathan Adams, the narrator from the original cast, also returned for the film, instead playing Dr. Scott. ^[8] The film was shot at Bray Studios and Oakley Court, a country house in Berkshire, England, UK from 21 October 1974 to 19 December 1974. Filming of Rocky's birth occurred on 30 October 1974, the 81st anniversary of the birth of Charles Atlas.^[9]

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is slightly different from its original theatrical production. In the film, many of the original aspects from the stage show changed, as did characters and dialogue. All of the title character's lines were cut, making Rocky a mute who only sings during musical numbers. Eddie pops out of Coca-Cola machine on stage but rides out of a deep freeze in the film. Scenes were added for continuity and characters only mentioned in the musical were now in the opening scene.

Several ideas from the original conception of the film were dropped before production. During the opening theme, the film was supposed to include clips from all the movies mentioned in the song "Science Fiction Double Feature".^[10] Producers discovered quickly that obtaining the rights to all the various film clips would be very costly, and cut the idea. Another idea was to parallel The Wizard of Oz (1939) by having the first 20 minutes of the film in black-and-white and Academy ratio until the doors burst open showing the Transylvanians in widescreen and then to full color at Frank's entrance.^[10] This effect would have been prohibitively expensive, so the idea was discarded. The film was, however, shot in the narrower 1.66:1 aspect ratio.

Locations, sets and props

The film's plot, setting, and style echoes that of the Hammer Horror films, which had their own instantly recognisable style (just as Universal Studios' Horror films did), re-using sets and props through many of their films. Production designer Brian Thomson and director Jim Sharman chose locations, sets, and even props for the Rocky Horror Picture Show that were, in many cases, used in Hammer productions. The classic "Creation" scene in Rocky Horror is so reminiscent of "Frankenstein" movies because it uses the tank and dummy from a Hammer production of The Revenge of Frankenstein starring Peter Cushing.^[11]

The castle is known as the Hammer House for the number of films that it appeared in. A great deal of location shooting took place here. At the time, the manor was in very dilapidated condition. Filming took place during autumn, which made conditions harsh. Today, the castle, Oakley Court, has been completely refurbished and is now a luxury hotel.^[12]

Costumes

One of the more unusual aspects of the film were the costumes. Costume designer Sue Blane based all her designs on what little she knew of 1950's America. A previous production she had designed called "The Maids" also starred Tim Curry in a victorian corset. This same corset was used in the London stage production and then used again in the film.^[13] Blane compared the relatively small ($400) costume budget of the stage show to the $1600 costume budget in 1974 for the film.^[14]

Nearly all the costume designs from the original stage production were used in the film, with a few exceptions. Some new designs appeared and a few old ones were discarded. In the London stage production, Tim Curry began the role of Frank-N-Furter as a blond, and although it was short lived, the original design sketches by Blane do reflect that. Magenta gained a new maid costume to give the character more purpose and Columbia gained a sequined evening coat.

The introduction of new characters such as the Transylvanians presented Sue Blane with a challenge to costume a number of extras who reappear throughout the film. The outcome of their costuming did not satisfy Blane who stated that she wished she had more time for those particular costumes.

In the stage productions, actors generally did their own make-up, but for this film producers chose Pierre La Roche to redesign the make-up for each character (he had previously designed make-up for David Bowie).^[15] Production stills were taken by 1970's rock photographer, Mick Rock who has published many calendars and photo books from his Rocky Horror work.

As part of the audience participation fans recreate the costumes to wear to screenings. Like other movie fans, participants at Rocky Horror wear their costumes while attending contest at conventions as well as on the weekends at local showings of the movie. Fans go to great lengths to be as faithful to the designs as possible. The quality of these costumes range from the unrecognisable to faithful screen replicas.

Release

The film has enjoyed an unusually long run, both in the US and Internationally. The movie is considered to be the longest running release in film history.^[16] It has never been pulled by Twentieth Century Fox from its original 1975 release, and continues to play in cinemas more than thirty years later. Some cinemas showing the movie have run it for decades at a time.

The film was released on VHS during the home video boom of the 1980s, except for in the U.S., which had to wait for the 15th anniversary in 1990. In 1993, a Laserdisc edition was released, and in 1995 a Special Edition Laserdisc was released. On the 25th anniversary in 2000, a DVD was released with all the special features from the Laserdisc, as well as new features and DVD-ROM games. Before the mainstream use of home video, a Super 8 version of selected scenes of the film was available.^[17]

There are two versions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the US and British releases. The British version contains the original ending with the full version of the musical number "Super Heroes". The US version omits the number, as the studio thought it was too depressing. Both versions are on the 25th Anniversary DVD.^[18]

Reception

Main article: The Rocky Horror Picture Show cult following

The film opened in the US at the UA Theatre in Westwood, California on 26 September 1975. It did well at that location but not elsewhere.^[19] The cult following did not begin until the movie began its midnight run at the Waverly Theatre in New York on 1 April 1976.^[20] The film is still shown with audience members acting out the entire movie in front of the screen. The Clinton Street Theater in Portland, Oregon has also shown the movie weekly since its debut there in April, 1978.

Overall, critics were negative with their reviews of the movie. The overly sexual nature of this British rock comedy was not well received by the mainstream US media of 1975, although there were positive reviews. The music was praised, as was Tim Curry's performance. However, 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.^[21] 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.^[21] 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.^[22] By that Halloween, people were attending in costume and talking back to the screen. By mid-1978, RHPS was playing in over fifty locations on Fridays and Saturdays at midnight, newsletters were published by local performance groups, and fans gathered for Rocky Horror conventions.^[23] By the end of 1979, there were twice-weekly showings at over 230 theaters.^[24]

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has taken in $139,876,417 (USA) (sub-total) in box office receipts since its release.^[25] 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.^[26] The original budget for the movie was $1,200,000 (estimated).^[27] The audience participation made the film become a worldwide phenomenon. As the cult-audience grew, Rocky Horror fandom became the subject of news stories. Dori Hartley, a fan from the original New York shadow cast, went on to appear in "Paradise Garage", a Tim Curry music video.^[28]

After the release, the original advertising campaign for screen and television was pulled by Twentieth Century Fox executives in the very early stage. The studio objected to the use of the red lipsticked lips uttering the words Twentieth Century Fox. The American television network Fox Broadcasting aired the film's much-publicized US television premiere on 25 October 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.^[29] Rocky Horror sequels and other media have found their way into production, including merchandise ranging from prefabricated costumes, games, and soundtrack releases.

Sequels, scripts and remake

The original stage production has been revived on Broadway and was nominated for four Tony Awards in 2001, including Best Revival of a Musical. Interest for other movies by both hardcore fans as well as the more mainstream audience has been around for some time. In 1981, Twentieth Century Fox released "Shock Treatment", the follow up film by the same artistic group and with many of the original British cast. It was never in general release, but premiered straight to the midnight circuit. This stand-alone feature was not a direct sequel to the original film. It told the continuing story of Brad and Janet against characters portrayed by the same actors from the first film with the notable exceptions of Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon. The original script was titled "Rocky Horror Shows His Heels" and began as a direct sequel until the idea was changed due to unavailability of some of the original cast. So the story was changed as well as the title, becoming first "The Brad and Janet Show" and finally "Shock Treatment".

Another script was written by the original author, Richard O'Brien, some years later, intended as a direct sequel. Entitled "Revenge of the Old Queen" it was never made and O'Brien himself has been quoted as saying it never will.

MTV Films and Sky Movies are planning to remake The Rocky Horror Picture show^[30]. The network is planning a 2-hour-long remake to be based on the original screenplay, and featuring songs not included in the original. The film is anticipated to be released sometime during Halloween 2009. When interviewed, shock rocker Marilyn Manson claimed he had been approached by 20th Century Fox to play Frank N. Furter, in an updated version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, tentatively titled Rocky Horror.

The creator of the original, Richard O'Brien, will not be involved; he has said that while he has no view on whether it should be remade, it does not have his blessing.^[31]

Musical numbers

Song	Lead singer(s)	Other singers	Scene
Science Fiction/Double Feature	Richard O'Brien (Patricia Quinn as lips)	N/A	Opening credits
Dammit Janet	Brad, Janet	Riff-Raff, Magenta, Columbia	Hapschatt wedding
Over at the Frankenstein Place	Brad, Janet	Riff-Raff, Chorus	A rainy night on the way to Dr. Scott's
The Time Warp	Riff-Raff, Magenta, Columbia	Criminologist, Transylvanians	Ballroom of the castle
Sweet Transvestite	Frank N. Furter	Riff Raff, Magenta, Columbia, Transylvanians	Ballroom of the castle immediately after Time Warp
The Sword of Damocles	Rocky	Riff-Raff, Magenta, Columbia, Transylvanians	The "Lab"
I Can Make You a Man	Frank N. Furter	Transylvanians	The "Lab"
Hot Patootie - Bless My Soul	Eddie	Transylvanians	The "Lab"
I Can Make You a Man (Reprise)	Frank N. Furter	Janet, Transylvanians	The "Lab"
Once in a While (deleted scene/song)	Brad	N/A	Brad's bedroom (intercut with scenes of him and Janet from the first half of the movie)
Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a Touch Me	Janet	Rocky, Brad, Frank, Magenta, Riff-Raff, Columbia	Rocky's birth tank in the lab (with some scenes in Columbia and Magenta's bedroom)
Eddie	Dr. Scott, Columbia	Full cast	The dining room in the castle, Columbia's bedroom
Planet, Schmanet, Janet'	Frank N. Furter	Riff-Raff, Magenta, Brad, Janet, Dr. Scott	Stairway and corridors of the castle then back to the lab
Rose Tint My World	Columbia, Rocky, Brad, Janet	N/A	Floor show stage
Don't Dream It, Be It	Frank N. Furter	Brad, Janet, Columbia, Rocky, Dr. Scott	Floor show pool
Wild And Untamed Thing	Frank N. Furter, Columbia, Rocky, Brad, Janet	Riff-Raff	Floor show stage
I'm Going Home	Frank N. Furter	Columbia, Rocky, Brad, Janet	Floor show theater stage and aisle
Superheroes (scene/song deleted in US release)	Brad, Janet	Criminologist	Exterior of the castle and the criminologist's office
Science Fiction/Double Feature (Reprise)	Richard O'Brien (no character)	N/A	Ending credits

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released as The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Music From The Motion Picture in 1975. It contained the tracks:

1. "Science Fiction/Double Feature"
2. "Dammit Janet"
3. "Over at the Frankenstein Place"
4. "Time Warp"
5. "Sweet Transvestite"
6. "I Can Make You a Man"
7. "Hot Patootie - Bless My Soul"
8. "I Can Make You a Man (Reprise)"
9. "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me"
10. "Eddie"
11. "Floor Show: Rose Tint My World/Fanfare/Don't Dream It, Be It/Wild and Untamed Thing"
12. "I'm Going Home"
13. "Super Heroes"
14. "Science Fiction/Double Feature (Reprise)"

The 1989 CD release included two bonus tracks:

1. "Time Warp (1989 remix - extended version)"
2. "Time Warp (music - 1 = background track = U mix)"

"The Rocky Horror Picture Show: 25 Years of Absolute Pleasure" (2000)

See also

• The Rocky Horror Show
• Cross-dressing in film and television
• RKO Pictures
• Revenge of the Old Queen
• Shock Treatment

References

External links

• Official fan site
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Internet Movie Database
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Rotten Tomatoes