The Rocky Horror Picture Show starts late one stormy night as Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) & his fiancé Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon) break down near Denton the small town where they live, the approach a Castle to ask for help & are invite din where they find a Transylvanian transsexual transvestite named Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) who also happens by an alien scientist & his unusual guest's & servants as Brad & Janet experience an outrageous night they will never forget...
This British American co-production was co-written & directed by Jim Sharman & after having seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show last night for the first time in a very long time I am baffled as to it's cult status & why it's so highly regarded. I suppose the main thing that stands out about The Rocky Horror Picture Show is that it is a musical & people burst out into song every so often, the biggest single problem I have with this film is that none of the songs expect the popular & somewhat catchy Time Warp number are that good. None are overly memorable or catchy, I just thought they were very dull songs that didn't inspire me at all. While something like Grease (1978) has three or four instantly recognisable songs which have worked themselves into popular culture the same cannot be said for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The story itself is secondary to anything else but if you want to examine it there's not much here to keep one entertained, character's & plot are basic & certainly didn't do much for me. The film borrows most of it's influence & ideas from other films, just listen to that opening 'Science Fiction Double Feature' song which is littered with name-checks & references.
The film does look good with some nice colourful cinematography & some nice sets but it's merely window dressing to try & cover-up what I think is both quite a poor film & musical. The film does have a bit of energy & it's quite often rather bizarre but I am not sure that's enough to justify 100 minutes of your time. The costumes are outrageous & there's plenty of cross-dressing going on but these days it comes across as silly rather than daring or shocking.
With a fairly modest budget of about $1,200,000 the film does look nice & is well made. Shot on location & in the studio here in the UK. The acting & singing is alright but I can't bring myself to be any more positive than that.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a film with a strong cult reputation that I can't fathom out at all, what it boils down is that I didn't like it & it's as simple & straight forward as that. An acquired taste to say the least. A sequel Shock Treatment (1981) reunited the writer's, director & some of the main cast & character's.
This British American co-production was co-written & directed by Jim Sharman & after having seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show last night for the first time in a very long time I am baffled as to it's cult status & why it's so highly regarded. I suppose the main thing that stands out about The Rocky Horror Picture Show is that it is a musical & people burst out into song every so often, the biggest single problem I have with this film is that none of the songs expect the popular & somewhat catchy Time Warp number are that good. None are overly memorable or catchy, I just thought they were very dull songs that didn't inspire me at all. While something like Grease (1978) has three or four instantly recognisable songs which have worked themselves into popular culture the same cannot be said for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The story itself is secondary to anything else but if you want to examine it there's not much here to keep one entertained, character's & plot are basic & certainly didn't do much for me. The film borrows most of it's influence & ideas from other films, just listen to that opening 'Science Fiction Double Feature' song which is littered with name-checks & references.
The film does look good with some nice colourful cinematography & some nice sets but it's merely window dressing to try & cover-up what I think is both quite a poor film & musical. The film does have a bit of energy & it's quite often rather bizarre but I am not sure that's enough to justify 100 minutes of your time. The costumes are outrageous & there's plenty of cross-dressing going on but these days it comes across as silly rather than daring or shocking.
With a fairly modest budget of about $1,200,000 the film does look nice & is well made. Shot on location & in the studio here in the UK. The acting & singing is alright but I can't bring myself to be any more positive than that.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a film with a strong cult reputation that I can't fathom out at all, what it boils down is that I didn't like it & it's as simple & straight forward as that. An acquired taste to say the least. A sequel Shock Treatment (1981) reunited the writer's, director & some of the main cast & character's.