Barnes & Noble

After beginning as a small, offbeat London stage production, Rocky Horror's 1975 big screen release has since become the ultimate doctrine of decadence, with a timeless rock-'n'-roll soundtrack that defies comparison. Tim Curry stars as the deviant and devious Doctor Frank-N-Furter, an alien from Transsexual Transylvania. Homespun couple Brad and Janet, portrayed by Barry Bostwick (Spin City) and Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking), happen upon Furter's castle on the eve of the unveiling of his new creation, Rocky, his personal Adonis. Fellow Transsexual Transylvanians include butler Riff Raff (screenwriter Richard O'Brien), Magenta the maid (Patricia Quinn), and Columbia the groupie (Nell Campbell). Charles Gray appears as the narrator/criminologist and a pre-superstardom Meat Loaf delivers as ex-delivery boy Eddie. The film's popularity quickly matured as a subculture of midnight shows and audience participation emerged, of which acting out and acting up in the costume of a favorite character was the meat -- and throwing soggy food products was the potatoes. Employing the best-loved elements of kitschy thrillers and B-grade science fiction, this bizarre and fun-filled twist on love and inhibition continues to transcend generations a quarter century later. Sharon Steinbach

All Movie Guide

This low-budget freak show/cult classic/cultural institution concerns the misadventures of Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon) inside a strange mansion that they come across on a rainy night. After the wholesome pair profess their love through an opening song, their car breaks down in the woods, and they seek refuge in a towering castle nearby. Greeting them at the door is a ghoulish butler named Riff Raff (Richard O'Brien), who introduces them to a bacchanalian collection of partygoers dressed in outfits from some sort of interplanetary thrift shop. The host of this gathering is a transvestite clad in lingerie, Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry), a mad scientist who claims to be from another planet. With assistants Columbia (Nell Campbell) and Magenta (Patricia Quinn) looking on, Frank unveils his latest creation -- a figure wrapped in gauze and submerged in a tank full of liquid. With the addition of colored dyes and some assistance from the weather, Frank brings to life a blonde young beefcake wearing nothing but skimpy shorts, who launches into song in his first minute of life. Just when Brad and Janet think things couldn't get any stranger, a biker (Meat Loaf) bursts onto the scene to reclaim Columbia, his ex-girlfriend. When Frank kills the biker, it's clear that Brad and Janet will be guests for the night, and that they may be next on Frank's list -- whether for murder or carnal delights is uncertain. And just what is that mystery meat they're eating for dinner, anyway? In addition to playing Riff Raff, O'Brien wrote the catchy songs, with John Barry and Richard Hartley composing the score. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

The story of Rocky Horror Picture Show is not by itself what this film is about. The film's largest charm evolved from the fact that thousands upon thousands of dedicated fans lined up for midnight viewings all over the world which turned out to be participatory events. Viewers came dressed up as their favorite characters and gleefully reacted to the film atrocities, making it all the more fun. The story finds a couple, Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon), who, when their car breaks down, are stranded in a remote castle populated by Transylvanian transvestites led by Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry). The carnal goings-on in this creep-house are more than Brad and Janet ever wished for when they came a-knockin'.

Product Details

• UPC: 024543051008
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Vistavision (1.66:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: THX-Supervised Mastering, Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 1:40:00
• Sales Rank: 2,281

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show / Shock Treatment
• The Fox-MGM Hollywood Musicals Collection

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