A 1970s Time Capsule from #AtoZChallenge @AprilA2Z R is Also for Rocky Horror Picture Show

A 1970’s Time Capsule

POP CULTURE

Be sure to read my other R post today: ROOTS

The A to Z Challenge has dueling decades going on.  Check out the 1980s theme from a fellow blogger HERE

The movie that required patrons to bring props to the theater.  None other than the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  In 1975 when it was released, I was in grade school but by the time I went to high school, the film had developed a cult following.  Teenagers everywhere were flocking to their local theater at night, equipped with all kinds of props that answered back to the movie dialog.  Still others were daring enough to dress like the larger than life characters.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 British-American musical horror comedy film based on the 1973 musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show. The production is a satirical tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through early 1970s. The film stars Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick along with cast members from the original Royal Court Theatre, Roxy Theatre and Belasco Theatre productions.

Like many films that become cult favorites, the film was largely critically panned when first released but as I stated previously, 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.  This video explains all you need to know to properly participate.

 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. 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.

It has lead to many events based on the film.  In this video, the The Rocky Horror Show breaks the world record for the largest Time Warp dance in Brighton on 31 October 2009.

Plot Summary

The story centers 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 is occupied by strangers in elaborate costumes celebrating an annual convention. They discover the head of the house is Frank N. Furter, an apparent mad scientist who actually is an alien transvestite who creates a living muscle man in his laboratory. The couple is seduced separately by the mad scientist and eventually released by the servants who take control.

Are you reading my post as a Rocky Horror Virgin?  Here is the plot in 30 seconds as performed by the Bunnies

 

All images in this article are in the public domain. For any YouTube clips embedded in my posts, I am not the uploader.