Today is a memorable day for fans of movie musicals. You see, 40 years ago in the United Kingdom, a little movie by the name of Rocky Horror Picture Show hit theaters, slightly ahead of the September 26th release in the United States. Starring Tim Curry, Meat Loaf, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick, among others, the movie is basically a horror comedy version of the B-horror/sci-fi films of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s.
Quick note before I continue: Also released on this day in film history was Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 and Fred Dekker’s The Monster Squad.
While Rocky Horror didn’t perform well at first, it quickly became a cult smash, drawing crowds to midnight showings who dressed up as characters of the show, all dancing and singing along to the action on screen. Songs like “The Time Warp” and “Sweet Transvestite” have become karaoke staples and wedding dances. Well, maybe the former and not so much the latter, although I guess it depends on the kind of wedding.
The impact of this film is still being felt to this day in the entertainment world. Shows like “Glee” take great influence from it and it could be argued that without this film we wouldn’t have had Repo! The Genetic Opera or The Devil’s Carnival.
Plus, can we all agree that regardless of one’s sexuality, Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter is pretty goddamn sexy?
Here’s a fact that some of you may not know: Rocky Horror Picture Show is the longest-running release in film history. 20th Century Fox has never pulled it from theaters and it still performs insanely well at midnight screenings around the world.
So, let’s all raise a glass to this insane musical that simply refuses to die!