@RUTGERS.ARPA:TRUDEL@RU-BLUE.ARPA (02/04/85)
From: JOn <TRUDEL@RU-BLUE.ARPA> >>> . Rocky Horror Picture Show - the Queen of bad SF > >Now wait just a minute here Mark. Rocky is high camp - outrageous >on purpose. Rocky shouldn't be on a list of bad SF movies for many >of the same reasons that Dark Star is exempt. (I know, you just >included it on the list so that you could call it the "Queen of bad >SF", right?) Now correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Rocky Horror open to terrible reviews and close after a few weeks in the theatres? I seem to remember that the 'Rocky' craze was enabled after the movie 'Fame' brought it to our attention. Rocky Horror was supposed to be a serious movie, and it failed in that way. >If you've only seen Rocky Horror once, go again. The movie grows on >you after a while. After about the tenth viewing, when you can sing >all the songs and recite all the lines as well as you can for every >Star Trek episode, you may find that you enjoy it. Then again, you >may no longer be sane any more. I'm sorry, but I don't like to become a 'conformist'. After a while, I'd get tired of saying "Where's your $%&{Saturn symbol}!# neck!" over and over again. The same holds true with ST. I turn it on, and if it's one I instantly remember, I switch over to local PBS to see The Good Neighbors, Butterflies, etc. Don't get me wrong, I like making fun of poorly made films, but not more than once or twice. I'd rather not patronize shoddy productions. >To really be considered one of the "worst" movies of all time, I >think that a movie has to be a) a ridiculously pretentious attempt >at serious movie making, b) a low budget and poorly thought out >attempt to jump on and exploit the "SF market" bandwagon, or c) a >blatant insult to the intelligence of the audience. This is true, but I do not agree with the requirement about low budgets. Many films start out with Megabucks, and fail on the other counts. Recent unfavorites include Superduperman III, and Trash of the Titans. Need I say more? JOn "But what about our relationship?" "%$# that!" -------
lindley@ut-ngp.UUCP (John L. Templer) (02/05/85)
> >>> . Rocky Horror Picture Show - the Queen of bad SF > > > >Now wait just a minute here Mark. Rocky is high camp - outrageous > >on purpose. Rocky shouldn't be on a list of bad SF movies for many > >of the same reasons that Dark Star is exempt. (I know, you just > >included it on the list so that you could call it the "Queen of bad > >SF", right?) > > Now correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Rocky Horror open to terrible > reviews and close after a few weeks in the theatres? I seem to remember > that the 'Rocky' craze was enabled after the movie 'Fame' brought it > to our attention. Rocky Horror was supposed to be a serious movie, and > it failed in that way. Now wait just a minute here! Rocky Horror Picture Show was trashed by the critics, if that is really of any signifigance. But it was indeed a cult classic long before "Fame" rode to fame on it's coat-tails! :-) -- John L. Templer University of Texas at Austin {allegra,gatech,seismo!ut-sally,vortex}!ut-ngp!lindley "and they called it, yuppy love."
sean@ukma.UUCP (Sean Casey) (02/05/85)
>To really be considered one of the "worst" movies of all time, I >think that a movie has to be a) a ridiculously pretentious attempt >at serious movie making, b) a low budget and poorly thought out >attempt to jump on and exploit the "SF market" bandwagon, or c) a >blatant insult to the intelligence of the audience. Does this mean that an obvious parody cannot be bad? Sean
brian@digi-g.UUCP (Brian Westley) (02/06/85)
<Don't dream it, eat it!> Now, wait a minute...Rocky Horror was a 'cult' film looooong before 'Fame' came along. It was also a hit play (in England, at least; won the 1973 critics award for best play). Since 10 people will also post something in reply, I will make mine short. BTW, what's for dinner? -- Merlyn Leroy "Quote funny nose"
wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (02/07/85)
> > >>> . Rocky Horror Picture Show - the Queen of bad SF > > that the 'Rocky' craze was enabled after the movie 'Fame' brought it > > to our attention. Rocky Horror was supposed to be a serious movie, and > > it failed in that way. > > Now wait just a minute here! Rocky Horror Picture Show was trashed by > the critics, if that is really of any signifigance. But it was indeed > a cult classic long before "Fame" rode to fame on it's coat-tails! :-) From someone whose only exposure to "Fame" has been [avoiding] the TV series, would some kind soul explain what the movie "Fame" has/had to do with Rocky Horror? Thanks! Will Martin USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin or ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA
@RUTGERS.ARPA:boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (02/08/85)
From: boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (Jerry Boyajian) > From: JOn <TRUDEL@RU-BLUE.ARPA> > Now correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Rocky Horror open to > terrible reviews and close after a few weeks in the theatres? I > seem to remember that the 'Rocky' craze was enabled after the movie > 'Fame' brought it to our attention. Rocky Horror was supposed to be > a serious movie, and it failed in that way. How could RHPS have become a craze only after FAME "brought it to our attention." That scene in FAME was *showing* the already existing craze. I can't say about how the reviews went when the film first opened (the stage show, after running for, I think, a solid year in London, bombed on Broadway, but was another rousing success in LA), but what has that got to do with anything? I first saw RHPS in late 1976/early 1977, and saw a few more times soon after. The craze hit big sometime in 1978. It isn't an outstanding movie by any means, but it's funny, outrageous, and entertaining (and has a good soundtrack). I only wish I had it on videotape, so that I could watch it in peace. It would be nice to see and hear the *movie* again instead of the *audience*. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...} !decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
lindley@ut-ngp.UUCP (John L. Templer) (02/09/85)
> > > that the 'Rocky' craze was enabled after the movie 'Fame' brought it > > > to our attention. Rocky Horror was supposed to be a serious movie, and > > > Now wait just a minute here! Rocky Horror Picture Show was trashed by > > the critics, if that is really of any signifigance. But it was indeed > > a cult classic long before "Fame" rode to fame on it's coat-tails! :-) > > From someone whose only exposure to "Fame" has been [avoiding] the TV > series, would some kind soul explain what the movie "Fame" has/had to > do with Rocky Horror? Very little actually. In one scene in "Fame", two of the students from the School of the Performing Arts go to a New York theater to see "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Well, at this theater, there is a group of amateur actors who put on a show patterned after the movie RHPS. During one scene in RHPS, one of the students got up and started dancing along with the people on stage. Afterwards, when explaining to her freind why she did it, she says something like "The audience didn't see me, they only saw the character I was playing." -- John L. Templer University of Texas at Austin {allegra,gatech,seismo!ut-sally,vortex}!ut-ngp!lindley "and they called it, yuppy love."
@RUTGERS.ARPA:ron@BRL-TGR.ARPA (02/11/85)
From: Ron Natalie <ron@BRL-TGR.ARPA> > Very little actually. In one scene in "Fame", two of the students > from the School of the Performing Arts go to a New York theater to > see "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." I just saw Fame for the second time (the first in the theater when it first came out) on it's TV debut. The movie was hacked up to leave some scenses out (RUINED for TELEVISION) and the dialog was worked over. I don't recall what happened in the uncut version, but it was really stupid watching a theatre full of RHPS fans yelling "Idiot" at Brent. Idiot? -Ron Castles don't have phones, asshole.
@RUTGERS.ARPA:boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (02/13/85)
From: boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (Jerry Boyajian) > From: Evan Kirshenbaum <evan@SU-CSLI.ARPA> > As a possible explanation of the lack of success of the stage play on > Broadway, have you ever seen (or heard) the music for the original? > They improved it quite a bit for the Movie. Well, yes and no (re: have I heard the original). I haven't heard the London stage version, but I *have* heard (and own) a copy of the LA cast album. I, and everyone I know who's heard it, thinks it's far superior, music-wise, to the film soundtrack (and it was done *before* the film). --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
ron@wjvax.UUCP (Ron Christian) (02/16/85)
Indeed, Rocky Horror was playing the midnight circuit when I was
in college, some 7 to 10 years ago. To long lines.
Hey, guess what! The same thing is happening to Buckaroo Bonzai.
Trashed by the critics, it's apparently holding it's own on the
midnight shows. I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard that the
main problem the critics had with it is that the plot is complex
to the point of incomprehensible. My kind of movie.
But back to Rocky. I saw it in Phoenix years ago, and then in
Mountain View mere months ago. In the intervening time the audience
participation has improved immensely. Or maybe it was just that
evening's crowd, I don't know. One *does* get tired of screaming
A** H*** 134 times during the movie...
--
Ron Christian (Watkins-Johnson Co. San Jose, Calif.)
{pesnta,twg,ios,qubix,turtlevax,tymix}!wjvax!ron