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Haven't we been over this already?
It was originally a musical - (see The Rocky Horror Show - and was made into a movie, with photography starting on October 21, 1974, with great help from Lou Adler, who had been running the RHS in his Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles for some time. Its world premiere was in London on August 14, 1975. Its US premiere was in Hollywood on September 26, 1975. October 31 is generally celebrated as Rocky's "birthday", for obvious reasons.
Nowhere. It bombed everywhere (expect in Los Angeles, where a following had already been created by the RHS at The Roxy). However, some attentive cinema owners noticed that, while RHPS wasn't selling as many tickets as other movies, they were selling the same tickets multiple times - that is, the same people kept coming back. Twentieth Century Fox then re-released the movie for midnight runs - cutting out Superheroes and SF/DF Reprise along the way. Its first regular midnight run started in New York City at the Waverly Theatre on April 2, 1976. Soon, people had started dancing and singing along with the music, and the call-backs and casts were soon to follow.
RHPS hit its peak in the early 1980's. Many casts had live bands performing, and the crowds were often sell-outs, or close to it. Since that time, the newer generations have found other ways to alienate society, and RHPS has become more "mainstream" (highlighted by the fact that it is available on video and rerun on Comedy Central). However, most everyone acknowledges the importance that RHPS had - and still has - in giving the "outcasts" of society a place to go, interact, and collectively realize exactly how fucked-up mainstream society really is.
RHPS was filmed in England primarily on a sound stage and in an old "castle" (which was the site for over 200 horror films, and has since been restored into a hotel). This castle is now the Oakley Court Hotel, located at Windsor Rd / Water Oakley / Windsor / Berkshire / SL4 5UR. You can call them at 01753 609988 or send them a fax at 01628 637011. They are very used to RHPS fans visiting them.
Note: Links in this section are to entries in the Internet Movie Database
Dr. Frank-N-Furter......................Tim Curry
Janet Weiss.............................Susan Sarandon
Brad Majors.............................Barry Bostwick
Riff Raff...............................Richard O'Brien
Magenta and Lips (Trixie)...............Patricia Quinn
Columbia................................Little Nell
Dr. Everett V. Scott....................Jonathan Adams
Rocky Horror............................Peter Hinwood
Eddie...................................Meatloaf
Criminologist...........................Charles Gray (RIP)
Ralph Hapschatt.........................Jeremy Newson
Betty Munroe............................Hilary Labow
Transylvanians..........................Perry Bedden
Christopher Biggins
Gaye Brown
Ishaq Bux (RIP)
Stephen Calcutt
Hugh Cecil
Imogen Claire
Rufus Collins (RIP)
Tony Cowan
Sadie Corre
Fran Fullenwider (RIP)
Lindsay Ingram
Peggy Ledger (RIP)
Annabel Leventon
Anthony Milner
Pamela Obermeyer
Tony Then (RIP)
Kimi Wong
Henry Woolf
Bridesmaids.............................Koo Stark
Gina Barrie
Petra Leah
Written by..............................Richard O'Brien
Jim Sharman
Cinematography..........................Peter Suschitzky
Music...................................Richard O'Brien
Richard Hartley
Special Effects.........................Colin Chilvers
Production Design.......................Brian Thomson
Costume Design..........................Sue Blane
Gillian Dods
Richard Pointing
Film Editing............................Graeme Clifford
Produced by.............................Lou Adler (executive)
John Goldstone (associate)
Michael White
BRAD: I can see the flag fly, I can see the rain;
Just the same, there has got to be
Something better here for you and me.
(Before Rocky's third verse)
NARR: Rocky Horror, you need peace of mind,
(Rocky Horror needed peace of mind.)
I want to tell you that you're doing fine.
(He didn't know he was doing just fine.)
You're the product of another time,
(He was the product of another time.)
So feeling low? Well, that's no crime.
(And as for feeling down - well that's not a crime.)
FRANK: A weakling, weighing ninety-eight pounds,
Got sand in his face when kicked to the ground.
(Will get sand...)
His girl split on him, and then, in the gym,
(And soon in the gym, with a determined chin,)
The sweat from his pores as he worked for his cause
(... works...)
Made him glisten and gleam; he was thin, but quite clean.
(Will make him...) (he'll be pink, and quite clean.)
He was in good shape, but the wrong shape.
(He'll be a strong man, but the wrong man.)
He ate nutritious, high protein, and swallowed raw eggs.
(He'll eat nutritious...) (... swallow...)
Tried to build up his shoulders, his chest, arms, and legs.
(Try to...)
Then a magazine advert with a new muscle plan
(Such an effort, if he only knew of my plan,)
Said in just seven days, I can make you a man.
(In just seven...)
He'd done pressups and chinups, cleaned and jerked, done the snatch.
(He'll do pressups, and chinups, do the snatch, clean, and jerk.)
Thought dynamic tension just must be a catch.
(He thinks dynamic tension must be hard work)
So he re-read the advert to see how it ran,
(Such strenuous living, I just don't understand,)
It said in just seven days, I can make you a man.
(In just seven...)
JANET: (spoken) What's happening here? Where's Brad? Where's anybody?
BRAD: (sung) Once in a while, she don't want to call you,
Speaking on the telephone.
And once in your life, she won't want to know you;
You look around, the one you've found, she is gone.
JANET: (spoken) I'm engaged to Brad just the same as Betty Munroe was to
Ralph Hapschatt. But Frank's kisses overwhelmed me with an ecstasy
I've never dreamt of before. Hot, burning kisses.
BRAD: (sung) And that's all the time that it takes
For a heart to turn to stone;
The sweeter the wine, the harder to make the break,
You hear something about someone you thought you'd known.
JANET: (spoken) I could see Brad's face before me and my mind screamed No!
But my lips were hungry - too hungry.
BRAD: (sung) So baby, don't cry like there's no tomorrow,
After the night, there's a brand new day;
And there'll be no pain, and no more sorrow,
So wash your face and phone my place, it'll be okay.
JANET: (spoken) I wanted to be loved and loved completely. My body
throbbed excitedly. Oh, Brad, Brad my darling, how could I have
done this to you?
BRAD: (sung) And that's all the time that it takes
For a heart to beat again;
So give me a sign that a lover makes,
You look around, the one you've found is back again.
JANET: (spoken) If only we hadn't made this journey. If only the car
hadn't broken down. If only we were amongst friends.. or sane
persons.
(The castle has just taken off)
BRAD: (sung) I've done a lot, God knows I've tried
To find the truth; I've even lied.
But all I know is down inside I'm
Bleeding.
JANET: (sung) And Super Heroes come to feast,
To taste the flesh not yet deceased.
And all I know is still the beast is
Feeding.
BACK: (lots of ooo-oooh's and aaa-aaah's)
CRIM: (spoken) And crawling on the planet's face,
Some insects called the human race.
Lost in time, and lost in space.
And meaning.
BACK: (sung) Meaning.
(Note: this last verse is in all versions)
RO'B: Science fiction, double feature,
Frank has built and lost his creature;
Darkness has conquered Brad and Janet,
The servants gone to a distant planet.
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
At the late night double feature picture show;
I want to go - oh, oh,
To the late night double feature picture show.
At last check, there was the original release of the film, the re-release of the film, the re-re-release of the film, the Japanese video (with subtitles), the UK mono video, two versions of the UK stereo video, the Australian video, the US video (15th anniversary), the laserdisc, the US video re-release, the special edition laserdisc, the US video re-re-release, and the US video re-re-re-release (25th Anniversary).
From version to version, different changes have been made to the soundtrack, the songs "Superheroes" and "Science Fiction/Double Feature (reprise)" have been added and removed, and, on the video and laserdisc versions, documentary footage and a "Time Warp" video have been added sometimes. The SE Laserdisc and the DVD also have oodles of extras, including a version of "Once In A While", as does the most recent US video release. All of these different versions can be quite annoying (and expensive) for completists who want every version of everything.
When Fox released the movie on video, rather than working from the original mono soundtrack, they decided to use the stereo release of the music soundtrack. Since the DVD and the 25th anniversary video release don't include this imperfect stereo mix, but instead a newly remixed 5.1 soundtrack, we can probably kiss it goodbye. We can only hope Fox will strike some new prints with the new remixed 5.1 soundtrack, which was mixed from the original mono stems. As of 2000, Lou Adler had no plans to do this...but anything is possible.
This is a partial list of the changes to the songs themselves (changes to everything else are primarily just which channel the sound comes out of). Thanks to Kevin J. Boycik and David Shetterly. David maintains a website called "Fix the Sound" for mono addicts at http://www.angelfire.com/oh/rhpsfishnet.
The primary reasoning behind removing Superheroes and Science Fiction Reprise is that they were felt to be too much of a "downer" for the US cult audience. The European version was never changed, however, and so among the various videos and films, the scenes are sometimes there and sometimes not. Fortunately, those at TCF seem to have wised up lately, so most every version released nowadays has the scenes.
As to the different soundtracks, the main reason is that Lou Adler likes stereo. Die-hard fans of the movie begged TCF to release a version with the original mono soundtrack, and finally after 10 years, it happened. (To anyone at Fox if you are reading this: THANK YOU!!) Why did it take so long? There are (relatively) few people out there who actually know about and appreciate the original soundtrack, and, quite frankly, when run through a heavy-duty home entertainment system, the reworked soundtrack did sound better from a purely aesthetic standpoint. People who pay thousands of dollars for laserdisc players (and amplifiers, speakers, etc.) want to be able to get the most from their systems, and a "remastered multi-channel" soundtrack is more likely to sell. Now, with the DVD, both gearhead audiophiles and mono addicts can be happy.