Review of Rocky Horror Picture Show, The

Introduction

At last the cult classic is available on DVD and not only that, they`ve made a special 25th Birthday edition!

For those that have been living on the moon for the past few decades, the Rocky Horror Picture Show is a rock musical with a difference. Conceived by Richard O`Brien as a stage show, it ran initially in the UK and then in the states where Tim Curry and Meatloaf were recruited to the cast.

The movie was made on a very tight budget and immediately bombed - the makings therefore of an instant cult classic. Even today, it can be seen in around 100 cinemas in the US alone every night of the week, attended by an audience dressed in drag, throwing rice, squirting water pistols and shouting at the screen.

The stage show is still going strong and is popular in places like Brighton but can usually be spotted in most major cities at any one time. Fishnets are mandatory and leave reality at home.

Then there`s the Timewarp.......

Video

The prints are around 25 years old and weren`t exactly cutting edge, so the picture quality isn`t perfect - there are noticeable dust and scratches throughout, if you want to look for them. But it is in widescreen, it is anamorphic and the colour balance is great.
They have done a great job with the material available and have a THX qualification for their troubles!
The DVD menus are excellent, with every choice you make being announced by a pair of red lips and accompanied by the antics of a pair of stocking-clad legs. Everything is animated and shows lovely attention to detail.

Audio

Audio is available in the original mono or a remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Again, you can tell the film is 25 years old, the audio can sound a bit muddled in places. The 5.1 soundtrack does sound oddly metallic on occasion.

In general however, audio is good, voices are easily understood and the songs are excellent.

Audio for the special features is good, mainly because the majority were recorded recently.

Features

As far as I can tell, this release has all of them!

The first disc contains the main feature and the majority of the special features are on disc 2.

Disc one initially presents the viewer with a choice of the US or UK versions - the difference being the inclusion of an extra song in the UK release. There`s also a third version, hidden on the disc....

(go to scene selection, press the left button and select the lips in the lower left corner that just appeared)

Everything is nicely annotated so you know what you are doing. The fun parts of this disc are based around audience participation.
You can watch the feature with a prompter explaining when exactly to throw the rice, wear a newspaper or indeed chuck a slice of toast across the room.
Or you could watch the film with the full audience participation track selected and thus hear the various set phrases people shout at the screen (check the `net for full transcripts). You can even cut to audience reactions at certain points in the film.
Then there`s an entertaining and rather surreal commentary by Richard O`Brien and Patricia Quinn and some DVD-ROM games. Phew.

One the second disc, we get outtakes and alternate takes from the movie, a couple of alternate endings and an excellent making-of where they go into detail about everything from casting to initial failure in the cinemas through to the bizarre cult following the film now has.
There are also some great interviews by VH-1 (Meatloaf is probably the best) and the VH-1 Pop-Up video of “Hot Patooie”.
And some trailers.
And stuff.

Conclusion

Wahey, I`ve been waiting for this one for ages. Admittedly the picture and sound quality aren`t cutting edge but they have done an excellent job and it is definitely the best quality version of the film available. The extras are outstanding, not only are they there in vast numbers but they are also wickedly entertaining to watch. If you are a fan, this is a must-have.

It`s just a jump to the left......