The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie turns 40 today (why am I not surprised it has a Leo birthday… *grin*)! If you’ve somehow missed the visual and musical feast that is RHPS, here are a couple of relevant bits from Wikipedia –
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 British-American musical comedy horror film directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O’Brien based on the 1973 musical stage production, The Rocky Horror Show, music, book and lyrics by O’Brien. The production is a satirical tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the late 1940s through early 1970s.
Although largely critically panned on release, it soon became known as a midnight movie when audiences began participating with the film at the Waverly Theater in New York City in 1976. Audience members returned to the cinemas frequently and talked back to the screen and began dressing as the characters, spawning similar performance groups across the United States. Still in limited release four decades after its premiere, it has the longest-running theatrical release in film history. Today, the film has a large international following. It was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2005.
I had the opportunity to see Rocky Horror as a student at UNH back in 1983. Unfortunately, I decided to go see the “tame” version playing at 10pm at the MUB, instead of the full-blown experience playing at midnight. I’ll never forget filing out of the makeshift theater, wondering what all the fuss was about, and walking through the crowd of Frank N Furters and Magentas, I felt like a magical moment passed me by.
Now all these years later, while I’m still technically a virgin, we own Rocky Horror on Blu-ray and DVD (big step up from the 7th generation bootleg VHS tape we used to have), and all of our kidlets have seen it multiple times. One of these days I hope to have the complete experience, but for now, I have to make due with the small screen.
Oh, and while poking around on the interwebz today, I found a couple of pages with some great Rocky Horror information – be sure to check them out!
The Rocky Horror Picture Show 40th Anniversary: Absent Friends Celebrate Absolute Pleasure by Tony Sokol (Don’t miss the embedded video, “Tim Curry talks about the Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975”)
Happy Birthday, Dear Rocky! 38 Freaky Facts About The Rocky Horror Picture Show by Lindsay Champion (OMG! Check out #13!)
May the next 40 years be filled with shivery antici… pation
Feel free to shout out!