The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 British-American
musical screwball comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox produced by Lou Adler
and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by
Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who appears in the film, which is based on
the 1973 musical stage production of the same title, with music, book, and
lyrics by O'Brien. The production is a parody tribute to the science fiction
and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1970s. Along with
O'Brien, the film stars Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick and is
narrated by Charles Gray with cast members from the original Royal Court
Theatre, Roxy Theatre, and Belasco Theatre productions.
The story centres on a young engaged couple whose car
breaks down in the rain near a castle where they seek a telephone to call for
help. The castle or country home is occupied by strangers in elaborate costumes
celebrating an annual convention. They discover the head of the house is Dr.
Frank N. Furter, an apparent mad scientist who actually is an alien
transvestite who creates a living muscle man in his laboratory. The couple are
seduced separately by the mad scientist and eventually released by the servants
who take control.
The film was shot in the United Kingdom at Bray Studios
and on location at an old country estate named Oakley Court, best known for its
earlier use by Hammer Film Productions. A number of props and set pieces were
reused from the Hammer horror films. Although the film is both a parody of and
tribute to many of the kitsch science fiction and horror films, costume
designer Sue Blane conducted no research for her designs. Blane stated that
costumes from the film have directly affected the development of punk rock
fashion trends such as ripped fishnets and dyed hair.
Although largely critically panned on initial 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. At almost the same time, fans in costume at the King's Court
Theater in Pittsburgh began performing alongside the film. This "shadow
cast" mimed the actions on screen above and behind them, while lip-syncing
their character's lines. Still in limited release four decades after its
premiere, it is the longest-running theatrical release in film history. It is
often shown close to Halloween. Today, the film has a large international cult
following. It was selected for preservation in the United States National Film
Registry by the Library of Congress in 2005.
The film's creative team also produced Shock Treatment in
1981, a standalone feature using the characters of Brad and Janet and featuring
some of the same cast.
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