THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

Richard O’Brien, most known for the TV show ‘The Crystal Maze’ is a great talent. However, not many people knew that back in 1975, he wrote a story, which was brought alive on stage, then became an iconic cult classic – The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The movie begins with the Criminologist (Charles Gray – You Only Live Twice), telling us the story of two regular engaged kids, Brad (Barry Bostwick – his first movie appearance) and Janet (Susan Sarandon – The Great Waldo Pepper), who end up with a flat tyre in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain. They go to seek the help of a nearby castle, to use the telephone to get someone to repair their tyre. What they did not expect was a gathering of strange people for the Annual Transylvanian Convention, organised by the eccentric, self-proclaimed transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania, Dr Frank N Furter (Tim Curry – again, his first movie role). Also in attendance is Frank N Furters servant Riff Raff (Richard O’Brien – The Crystal Maze), Magenta, the domestic (Patricia Quinn – Up the Front) and a groupie, Columbia (Little Nell – Barry McKenzie Holds His Own).

Brad and Janet are soon sent to Frank N Furters Lab, where he believes that he has found the key to life itself, by making a creation, Rocky (Peter Hinwood – Another first time appearance). The celebration is quickly interrupted by Eddie (Meatloaf), a former delivery boy and Columbia’s lover, who has been stuck in the freezer, as a partial brain donor to Rocky. It soon becomes apparent that Eddie’s appearance irritates Frank N Furter, who instantly kills him.

After Frank N Furter and Rocky go to their ‘Bridal Suite’, Brad and Janet are shown to separate bedrooms where each are visited and seduced by Frank N Furter, who poses as Brad (when visiting Janet) and then as Janet (when visiting Brad). Janet, upset and emotional, wanders off to look for Brad, who she discovers, via a television monitor, is in bed with Frank N Furter. She then discovers Rocky, cowering in his birth tank, hiding from Riff Raff, who has been tormenting him. While tending to his wounds, Janet becomes intimate with Rocky, as Magenta and Columbia watch from their bedroom monitor.

After finding out that Rocky is missing, Frank N Furter, Brad and Riff Raff return to the lab, where Frank N Furter finds out someone had entered his home, a Dr Everett Scott (Jonathan Adams – Yes Prime Minister), a former teacher of Brad and Janet’s, who has come to find his nephew, Eddie.
Frank N Furter believes that Dr Scott works secretly for the government department of UFOs. Upon learning that there is a connection to Brad, Janet and Dr Scott, Frank N Furter believes they are all working together. It is not long until they all find Janet and Rocky under the sheets of the creation cube, to which upsets both Frank N Furter and Brad. After the beginning of a breakout fight, Magenta comes in stating Dinner is ready, and that they have all to attend.

All the guests are given their dinner, which is soon found out to be that they are eating Eddie. Janet runs into Rocky’s arms, where she is slapped and chased around the castle by a jealous Frank N Furter, with Dr Scott and Brad closely following behind.
Everyone is gathered into Frank N Furters lab, where Frank turns Brad, Janet, Rocky, Columbia and Dr Scott into statues with his ‘Medusa Transducer’. They are then forces to perform a live cabaret show, with Frank N Furter as the lead singer.

Soon into the ‘Floor Show’, Riff Raff and Magenta interrupt, revealing that they along with Frank N Furter are Aliens from the planet Transsexual, in the Galaxy of Transylvania.
They Kill Columbia, Rocky and Frank N Furter, who has failed the mission and releases Brad, Janet and Dr Scott and beam the castle back to the planet Transsexual.
Brad, Janet and Dr Scott are seen to have survived, but crawling in the dirt of the castles ground. The narrator concludes that the human race is equivalent to insects crawling on the planet’s surface.

The movie as well as the stage show is very cheaply made and full of cheese. The movie itself is homage to all Sci-Fi and Horror movies, which you are able to pick out instantly. What makes this film work well is it was practically full of unknown actors (for its time) and for them to come out into the queer, outrageous world that Richard O’Brien has created.

Having said that the movie is cheaply made, the introduction of the lips is very clever. It is Magentas lips singing the song (Science Fiction, Double Feature), but, unknown to many it is actually Richard O’Brien singing the words. The synchronisation of voice and lips is extraordinarily perfect, in a movie full on continuity errors.

The movie is told through the narrative of the Criminologist, which paints the picture of not only a story, but a case file of something that is very sensitive in the government’s eyes.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is iconic for many things, the main being the ‘Time Warp’. In this modern day, no one can say they do not know the Time Warp, and what makes it funnier is while it is being sung in the movie; the Criminologist is giving us, the audience a step by step guide to the dance. It is not very often you see the former James Bond Villain, Blowfeld do the Time Warp.

Another perfect synchronisation is the beginning beat to the song ‘Sweet Transvestite’, as the beat plays, we see Frank N Furters platform heel silently stomping to the beat. This is a very clever concept as we do not know it is Frank N Furter, let alone a Transvestite until he turns round.

The music, as already said is iconic. From songs from the ‘Time Warp’, to ‘Toucha Toucha Touch Me’, the sexual innuendos are one main consistency through songs and scripting writing, which is so subtle, it sticks straight out, thus bringing the cheesiness to the movie. As Mel Brooks done with ‘Young Frankenstein’, it is a perfect homage movie.

The acting the movie was excellent. Considering it was many of the casts first movie appearance, they done extremely well, especially Tim Curry, who was the leading star. Many will remember him as Long John Silver in the ‘Muppets Treasure Island’, but seem to forget his iconic role as Frank N Furter, which remains as his best work. The expectations were exceeded through the cast’s vocals in the singing. All but Peter Hinwood (Who was dubbed over because he actually could not sing), sang their own roles. The most surprising was the fact that Susan Sarandon could sing (Not Amazingly, but still managed to hold a note) – a woman of many talents!

All round The Rocky Horror Picture Show will remain an all-time cult classic. It is a must see to everyone, even if you don’t enjoy the movie, you can’t help but sing the songs and dance to the Time Warp. Nicely timed songs and comedy, with a hint of horror and lots of sexual references! What’s not to like?

Rating 5/5

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

Director Paul Greengrass (Green Zone), knows how to make a good movie, whether fact or fiction, but what is striking about his latest movie is the main star of it, Tom Hanks. We do not usually associate Hanks in an ‘action/thriller’ genre, but in this movie, Captain Phillips, we see a completely different side to the Hollywood icon of Hanks.

The movie is based on a true story of Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks – The Da Vinci Code), who takes command of the MV Maersk Alabama at Port in Oman, to sail its cargo through the gulf waters of Aden to Mombasa.
After receiving word of pirate activity off the coast of Somalia, he runs more security checks and added on precautions.
During one exercise, two skiffs hijacked by Pirates chase them, but Phillips and his crew manage to outrun them.
The next day four pirates led by Muse (Barkhard Abdi – introductionary movie Captain Phillips) get hold of a faster skiff and manage to get on board the ship, despite the crews efforts. They capture Phillips, while the crew hide in the engine room.
Muse, under orders from a local leader hopes to ransom the ship and crew in exchange for money. However, after Muse is captured by the ship’s crew, negotiations between the pirates and the ship’s crew lead to a trade of Muse for Phillips and let them leave in a life pod. However, the pirates launch the boat with Phillips still on board.

The Navy soon follows with orders not to let the pirates reach Somalia and to safely return Phillips. The Navy Seals then show up with more orders which agitate the pirates.
Eventually, Muse agrees to board the Navy boat, The Bainbridge believing he will join the elders of his clan in negotiating a trade for Phillips.

Tension rises for the Seals to get three marks (i.e. 3 clean shots of the remaining pirates on board the life pod).
After trying to write a goodbye letter to his wife, one of the pirates tie Phillips up and blindfold him ready to execute him, whilst Phillips screams to stop and screams a message to his family……..

The movie itself is rather long, but with excellent spaced out action sequences to its final showdown keeps the audience engaged in the matter, which is a true story. Having that been said, crew members of the actual ship say that the movie does not tell the full true story and the real Phillips confirmed that scenes were not factual, but pure fiction. Either way with whichever scenes dramatized, the movie does remarkabley well for such an intense story. Some may see it as boring, but when the pirates come aboard to the rescuing of Phillips, the story, camera action and music increases and intensifies as it is at the back of everyone’s mind that this happened.
Many may not be able to watch the movie as it is visually traumatising what Phillips had to endure when captured by the pirates, to which only Tom Hanks could have pulled off. The scene where he is about to be executed is not just graphic, but visually and psychologically disturbing. Him crying out his love for his family, screaming for mercy to the clear shots of the Seals killing something or someone? We begin to see an emotional breakdown in Phillips as he does not know what’s happened – he is blindfolded, has he been shot? Who is dead? And for someone to go through that whether fact or fiction is very hard to cope with for both the person having to go through it whether in real life or in movies, but also for the audience. It pulls on a heart string and is at time hard to watch beyond tears.

All praise yet again must go to Tom Hanks for another spectacular performance. If in the case he was entitled to be nominated for an Oscar, he would certainly be handed it straight away with his acting. Its top notch as Philadelphia and Castaway, only he could have played that role and was superb at it.

The newcomer Barkhard Abdi, who played head pirate, Muse also deserves high praise for his acting. From basically coming out of the blue, he is definitely guaranteed an Oscar nod for supporting actor with his evil pirate, yet at times showed there was a heart in him, and he should not be disregarded as just the ‘villain’.

For not wanting to go into too much detail about the movie as many may not have seen it yet, but, take your tissues and be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster to what maybe Tom Hanks best work in his whole career.

Rating 5/5