I'm a wild and an untamed thing: I'm a bee with a deadly sting. (Rocky Horror Picture Show (DVD))

Member Name: jammaker49

Product:	Rocky Horror Picture Show (DVD)
Date:	21/01/04 (240 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Rocky, Rocky and more Rocky

Disadvantages: None

It?s astounding. Time is fleeting?..madness takes its toll. But listen closely?..oooops. I forgot where I was for a while there! Well anybody who knows me knows that I?m already crazy, so it will come as no surprise to them that I absolutely adore this DVD.

Although numerically old enough to have discovered Rocky Horror when it first came out, I did not truly ?discover? it until it began its new circuit in the mid nineties. From the first time I saw the film on TV, I was hooked. Totally and utterly! I have had the video for at least 10 years, and have lost count of the number of live shows I have attended. However, the DVD version beats all the previous filmed versions into submission. There are so many functions and extra bits, that I really think I have only just touched the surface so far.

If anybody hasn?t yet seen the film, which planet do you live on?? On this digitally remastered DVD, you can watch either the original film, as it was released in 1975, or with the addition of the previously omitted ?For once in your life?. Apparently it was originally recorded, and then omitted as they had to cut down very slightly on the length of the film, and this got the short straw! As it is always included in the stage show, personally, I would want to see it in the film, but it is quite acceptable to see the film minus this one track, and not even know it is missing.

Is there anybody out there who does not know the storyline of Rocky Horror? Or the cast of the original film? Suffice to say, I am not going to go into great detail about the story. You only have to use a search engine to find Rocky Horror picture show, and there are countless sites that will do that bit for me!

The Rocky Horror show was the brainchild of Richard O?Brien, of Crystal Maze fame, way back in the early 70?s. It is at root, a musical spoof on all the B rated horror movies of the time. It is something you either love or hate. Somehow, there are no in-betweens.


After a couple of years in theatres, the film was finally brought together, starring Tim Curry as Frank N? Furter, Susan Sarendon as the straight-laced Janet and Barry Bostwick as the drippy Brad. Richard O?Brien himself played the hunchbacked servant, Riff Raff, Patricia Quinn was Magenta and Little Nell played the red-headed groupie, Columbia. Meatloaf (looking very much younger) portrayed the half-brained Eddie, and was, apparently, the only singer to have played the part, and managed to fit in all the words to ?Hot Patootie?.

I am digressing here, from the purpose of this op: the DVD. I make no apologies. I love all things ?Rocky? and find my mind as well as my fingers going off at tangents, as I recall the numerous times I have viewed this thing! However, I will do my very best to keep to the point!

When you go to the cinema to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show, or indeed, to one of the live shows, the thing that stands out above everything else is the audience participation. There is a ?come-back? line for virtually every line of dialogue on screen. One of the ways you can view the film on the DVD is with the accompanying audience participation dialogue. It does mean that parts of the ?official? script can be somewhat lost in the background, but as I probably know the film almost word perfectly, this was not a problem at all. If it is your first viewing (in other words, if you are a Rocky Virgin) then this is probably not the best way to view it! Once you become more au fait with the film then this is indeed a fun way of learning the very necessary ?heckle? lines, that over the years have become part and parcel of the Rocky experience.

There is yet another option where you can have the film running in the background, whilst Richard O?Brien and Patricia Quinn discuss various aspects of the making of the film. For a serious Rocky fan, this gives a valuable insight to the different characters, and indeed, their opinions of
the script at the time. For instance, Meatloaf nearly walked off the set the first time he saw Tim Curry in suspenders and fishnets, wondering what an earth he had got himself into! Apparently, until that moment, he had only the sketchiest idea of what it was all about, and had taken the role simply because he loved the Hot Patootie number!

Yet another option to view, is with sub-titles, giving you the places where actions, rather than words are the order of the day for the audience. For instance, at the beginning, in the wedding scene, and indeed, at the ?marriage? of Frank and Rocky, traditionally the audience throws rice. You are prompted on screen when to do this on the DVD. Similarly, when Brad and Janet approach Frank?s castle, there is a terrific thunderstorm and in the cinema, out come the water pistols (don?t forget your newspaper for over your head. This part can mean a real drenching for those in front!) On the DVD you are prompted when to do this.

Also on the DVD, Richard O?Brien visits the locations of some of the places where the film was shot. For example, the old, broken down manor that served as Frank?s castle in the film, is now a 5 star luxury hotel in the Elstree area. Thank goodness that my daughter (Leolover on Dooyoo) already had her wedding reception venue booked before we watched the DVD, because I?m pretty sure she would have been VERY interested in this, as she is as much a Rocky nut as I am!

One of the best parts on the DVD (which, incidentally, comes on 2 discs) is the interview section with the stars of the film. It?s very interesting to see them as they were back in 1975, and how they are now. For many of them, it was almost their first time on a cinema screen, but from that start, they went on to bigger (I can?t say better!) things. Others, like Peter Hinwood, who played Rocky, vanished out of the limelight almost immediately.

All in all, if you are a Rocky fan, then this DVD is an absolute must hav
e. It can never take the place of being amongst a whole army of dressed up Rocky nuts at a live show, or even a midnight cinema showing of the film. There IS nothing that can compare to the atmosphere and electricity generated at such an event. But it is the next best thing, and it does mean you can watch, and even participate, in the action, in the comfort of your own home. I?ve seen numerous stars play Frank on-stage (Robin Cousins, Darren Day, Jonathan Wilkes and Jason Donovan to name but a few) but no-one lays claim that part as much as Tim Curry. Indeed, Tim Curry IS Frank, and always will be.

If you want to watch Rocky, then go get this DVD. I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

In Richard O?Brien?s own words, "I think I invested it with my psyche and that subliminally it feeds the audience psyche. It has a hypnotic hold, like a fairy tale invested with psychological tremors 'Daddy, won't you tell me the story again?'. You never tire of hearing the fairy story as a child and that's why you never tire of ROCKY." http://www.rockyhorror.com/profobrn.html

Incidentally, our local theatre, the Queens in Hornchurch, is planning a ?Sing-a-long-a Rocky in March. No prizes for guessing who already has tickets!

PS. If you visit http://www.rockyhorror.co.uk/fanpics/london.html and scroll down to the second picture, you will see my daughter with Jonathan Wilkes, on the night of the 30th birthday party Rocky bash in London last June! We were lucky enough to have tickets not only to the show, but to the after show party too. What a night that was. But that is a completely different story!

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