Movie: The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Production Company: 20th Century Fox
Director: Jim Sharman
Producers: Lou Adler, Michael White
Scriptwriters: Richard O’Brien, Jim Sharman
Main Cast: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick
Release Date: August 14th, 1975
Running Time: 1hr 40min
Certificate: 12A (2011)
Introduction
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 cult classic musical films starring Susan Sarandon and Tim Curry about aliens, relationships, and taboo topics which were revolutionary for its time, such as sex, incest, and homosexuality- so to sum it up, it is completely and utterly bonkers, but in the best possible way.
Synopsis
After getting engaged, lovebirds Brad Majors and Janet Weiss make a trip to their friend, Dr. Everett Scott. Only, along the way, their car gets a flat tire, so they begin to walk to try and find somewhere that might have a telephone.
On their hunt, couple stumble across a castle, owned by the infamous Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter, which they enter with the hope of calling a mechanic to fix their car, but ultimately stumble into a world of casual sex, rock music, murder, and aliens.
Analysis
Narrative
How do I even begin to analyse the narrative of Rocky Horror? This film tries its best to be every genre possible- from a romance, comedy, horror, musical, sci-fi, it can even be argued that the inclusion of the Criminologist as a character makes the film a crime drama too.
A lot of people get confused the first time they watch this film, because so much outrageous stuff is going on within 90- minutes, but this film deserves to be watched at least three or four times to be fully appreciated and understood.
I feel that so much happens in this film, that giving a narrative analysis would just spoil the film for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. All I’ll say is that the screenplay is very well written, and all the twists and turns of the film will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Acting
When thinking about the acting in Rocky Horror, the only actor that truly stands out is Tim Curry- who played Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter. Curry gave an incredible performance, giving the role one hundred and ten percent.
Of course, the other actors Patricia Quinn (Magenta), Richard O’Brien (Riff Raff) and Nell Campbell (Columbia) all gave a great performance as Frank’s minions as they played the roles in the stage play before the film, so they had experience, and I feel that bringing these actors back to play the roles in the film really helped in terms of acting.
However, I feel that the performances of Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) were heavily underplayed and lacked much pizazz in comparison to the other actors, but this was a character choice as the characters are supposed to be binary opposites to those who live in the castle. It just feels like there is a huge shift in terms of acting ability, but this was more to do with the content the actors were given rather than their acting skills.
Costumes
The costumes of The Rocky Horror Picture Show can be described in one word. Iconic.
The costumes have become a staple in terms of the film becoming a cult classic and fans going to midnight screenings as they would dress up as the characters.
Brad and Janet’s costumes are both quite boring and normal, but this was because they are from the real world and are supposed to represent the norm of society. But when you look at Frank’s costume, his long hair, and corset that he wears represent a sense of femininity where the way they show his arms and some of his skin has been done in a way to try and re-enforce the sense of masculinity, making the costume a good balance of femininity and masculinity.
The costumes are so iconic in Rocky Horror, that Patricia Quinn, who played Magenta was going to quit the production when she heard she wouldn’t be singing Science Fiction/ Double Feature, but as soon as she saw the set and the costumes, she instantly changed her mind as they all looked so good.
Special Effects and Cinematography
There is not much to say about special effects in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, apart from the last five minutes of the film when Riff Raff uses the laser, and then when the castle teleports away. Yes, these special effects are actually atrocious, but the film was made in 1975, and there wasn’t access to CGI or the special effects that we have today, so it was good for its time.
In terms of cinematography, the film does something very clever with the camera work. As Frank is a very seductive character, the camera makes sure to lock eye-contact with Frank multiple times throughout the film to try and make the audience feel slight discomfort and feel that Frank is trying to seduce them in a sense. This is not only clever and fitting for the character that Frank is, but it also succeeds in breaking the fourth wall.
The Music
Of course, I couldn’t analyse The Rocky Horror Picture Show without discussing the music. The film has a total of seventeen catchy songs from the original stage musical. Each song feels completely different, whether it’s a love song like Dammit Janet, a rock song like Hot Patootie, or a balled like I’m Going Home.
All of the songs are very catchy and even the Time Warp has since become a popular one to play at parties. But what interests me is the score. At the end of the film during the final battle, there isn’t any singing whatsoever, and this is replaced by an epic score, which hasn’t been played throughout the rest of the film. This is because it’s trying to shift the genre of the film from a musical to a tragedy, but I feel that the use of introducing the score in the last five minutes of the film was very risky, but it paid off.
Summary
To summarise The Rocky Horror Picture Show is an iconic cult classic film, with interesting characters, storylines, and very catchy songs. The storyline might be slightly complicated to understand at first, but once you re-watch the film, you will fully understand its excellence. This film is completely wacky and bonkers, but there is something in it for everyone, and because of that, I have to give it my highest scoring so far…
Overall Rating: 9.5/10 – Classic
Recommendation: Yes
