The Movie
Time was, The Rocky Horror Picture Show needed to be seen in the theater. Not upon its initial release certainly, when it bombed terribly, and rightly so. I mean, there are some good songs and inspired performances, but big-screen musicals were becoming a tough sell by 1975, and adaptations of stage works are always difficult to handle. Add to this twin challenge an apparently modest budget and the results on display are downright campy. The story of Rocky Horror--about a square couple taken in for the night by a troupe of freaky "Transylvanians"--is thin to begin with, and the dialogue and scenarios borne of cheesy old science fiction and horror movies don't always impart a sophisticated edge.
But that corny clunkiness served the creators well, albeit in ways they never expected. The movie was ripe for parody, or perhaps "tribute," and as most film buffs know by now, midnight showings months later gave rise to an unprecedented phenomenon. Throngs of curiously motivated fans began to memorize the film, then talk back to the screen and even fling appropriate accoutrements. The brave will even don a homemade costume, run to the front of the theater and act it all out, making the movie a weekly multimedia pop culture event. And from a box office dud, a monumental bit of cinema history was made.
Both the American and U.K. versions of the film are here via seamless branching, the latter restoring the song "Superheroes" shortly before the end. Either cut can be viewed with the alternate black-and-white opening, which lasts a surprising while, all the way up to The Time Warp.
The Picture
This 35th Anniversary Blu-ray benefits from a new 4K/2K master, created from the original camera negative. It is presented in its proper 5:3 (1.66:1) aspect ratio, with slight vertical bars left and right to fill out the 16:9 HDTV screen. I noted some minor ringing in the glow of headlights at night, some noise in the shadows, but found the image overall to be quite clean and sharp, with the backgrounds in particular lacking any significant compression artifacts. Blacks tended to be a little flat, a little mushy, but colors were strong, particularly in the wacky sets.
The Sound
The new DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1-channel mix is simply fabulous, crystalline in its presentation of the music. Lead vocals are front and center, while backup singers might be behind us to the left or right. The orchestra has also been spread wide across the soundfield. There's a keen directionality to the action, with the occasional discrete effect, while the rears are handy for crowds or for the atmosphere conveyed by a faint wind. The dynamic range on some vocal clips was noticeably limited, but this track does so much right I feel I must give it a full four stars.
The Extras
"A Few from the Vault" assembles some (not all) bonus features from the DVD, most notably a pair of deleted musical numbers (one now in HD, since it was remastered for the U.K. version), ten minutes of alternate takes, alternate and misprint endings, and a half-hour-plus video program comprised largely of cast/creator interviews. Almost everything in this section is SD, and a full listing can be found below. Also ported over is the audio commentary by playwright/composer/lyricist/co-star Richard O'Brien and co-star Patricia Quinn.
New for Blu is the croon-along Rocky-Oke: Sing It! feature, and the three-and-a half-minute "Mick Rock (A Photographer)" about the on-set shutterbug, which nicely sets up the four-minute slideshow "Mick Rock's Picture Show (A Gallery)."
Unquestionably the star of the supplements is "The Midnight Experience," a four-layer Bonus View option that enables a Trivia Track, Vintage Callback track from the 1983 audience "Par-tic-i-pation" album, a virtual Prop Box to hurl items at the screen via remote, and The Late Night, Double Feature, Picture-in-Picture. This last bit puts a "shadow cast" on screen, devoted men and women doing for home video what they love to do for live audiences: dressing up like Rocky Horror characters and pantomiming the movie.
We can choose one of these Bonus View features, or any combination. The P-I-P video can also be toggled between a window and the full screen. A two-part "Search for the 35th Anniversary Shadowcast" (an hour total) details the global search and production of this truly outstanding extra. And it all comes packaged inside a lovely little hardbound book.
Final Thoughts
Longtime fans and virgins alike, beware: Even on such a wonderful new Blu-ray, watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show without audience participation is a cold, harsh revelation akin to a classic "But he/she seemed so hot last night!" morning after. This movie, and thankfully this disc, is a forum for the generations of loyal followers, and we need never watch alone.
Product Details
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