not logged in
Posted by:  |
|
| I saw that you were both talking about "Shock Treatment". I was just watching this movie the other night (I view them as a trilogy of sorts: "Phantom of the Paradise", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and "Shock Treatment". I'll include some interesting information about this at the end of my message.) I'm not the only Rocky Horror fan who thinks that the music from "Shock Treatment" is actually somewhat better than the original. But I could never get into the story. I think there's a reason for this... In 1979, Richard O'Brien submitted the first draft of a screenplay for a sequel called "Rocky Horror Shows His Heels", in which basically Janet is having Frank's baby, Rocky is still alive and Frank-n-Furter has been resurrected. The screenplay itself has never actually leaked into the fan community but the studio reader notes have. If anyone's interested in these, I’ll put up the links in another message. The screenplay was ultimately rejected but O'Brien couldn't stand to lose his songs (Remind you of anything, "Bad for Good", maybe? ;-) so he recycled them into a different story which was called "The Brad and Janet Show". Now, THIS screenplay is definitely available. "The Brad and Janet Show" evolved into "Shock Treatment" (I think the character of Dr Scott was replaced by Bert Shnick who was played by Barry Humphries). "Shock Treatment" was going to be shot on location in America but there was some sort of strike which almost prevented the movie from being made, so Brian Thompson, the set designer who also worked on the original, came up with the idea that you see in the film. I don't think O'Brien was ever all that happy with "Shock Treatment" (which must be referred to as an equal and not a sequel) and when it came time for the 15th anniversary of "Rocky Horror", an official sequel was announced by 20th Century Fox. It was going to be called "The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Part 2: The Revenge of the Old Queen", the Old Queen being the mother of our famous SWEET TRANSVESTITE. In this sequel, we would actually see the Moon-Drenched Shores of Transylvania (which is also the name of the opening song. From the demo that was played on Rocky Radio, it's pretty reminiscent of "Science Fiction Double Feature".) I'm including the link to the first draft screenplay of "Revenge" at the end of this message. Anyway, you probably don't need to be told that "Revenge” was never made, although there were talks about 10 years ago that O'Brien would write an official sequel for the stage, which might have been called "Rocky Horror: The Second Coming", and which might have drawn on ideas from both "Rocky Horror Shows His Heels" and "Revenge". But that too never happened. And now, the information about the trilogy with "Phantom", "Rocky" and "Shock", which was posted on an old Rocky Horror community years ago now (No paragraphs, sorry :S Okay, this gets a little tricky. First of all, I'm assuming that I don't have to list connections between "Shock Treatment" and "RHPS". These are obvious, and are well-documented elsewhere. We can already assume, then, two-thirds of the trilogy. Now for the last third - "Phantom of the Paradise". All three were released by 20th Century Fox. All three were rock musicals in which the songwriter had a principal role - and always as a villain or untrustworthy type (Ritz as Riff / Cosmo, Paul Williams as Swan). All three were unsuccessful initially but went on to get a cult following. All three have a running theme of voyeurism through video (cameras, monitors, etc.). Both "RHPS" and "POTP" were rock updates of classic horror stories (the Frankenstein story, "Phantom of the Opera"). "POTP" and "Shock" were both satrical reflections on fame / wealth / glory. Look at the similarities between "ST" & "POTP" -- In both films, Jessica Harper plays a young innocent type who SHOULD BE in love with a clumsy, bespectacled goof (Winslow / Brad) but instead falls under the spell of a powerful, mysterious svengali (Swan / Farley). In both films, the powerful mysterious svengali has the clumsy, bespectacled goof locked up and safely out of the way (Winslow goes to Sing Sing, Brad goes to Dentonvale). In both films, Jessica Harper's character is drugged to keep her under the svengali's spell. In both films, Jessica Harper wins over an audience by belting out a song. (It just takes one song to make Jessica famous in both films.) In both films, the clumsy goof breaks free and manages to disrupt the svengali's big public event in the film's climax (Brad bursts onto the "Faith Factory" set, Winslow disrupts the "Faust" concerts at the Paradise). In both films, Jessica's character finally comes to her senses and rejoins the clumsy goof. (Although in "POTP", it's too late; Winslow is dead.) As for "POTP"/"RHPS" connections: there are stylized versions of the "birth" of Frankenstein's monster in both films. And once the blond, handsome, sex-obsessed Frankenstein monsters (Beef or Rocky) come to life, what do they both do? Sing, of course! (And notice how the women who stitch Beef together resemble Magenta.) Also, both "RHPS" and "POTP" have nostalgic, 1950s-sounding songs about dead rockers named Eddie! Farley, Frank, and Swan can also be seen as soulmates. All are powerful, all have underlings, all have a hypnotic charm, all are vain, and two out of three of them are killed at the end. One unmistakable thing: we don't get a good look at either Swan or Farley for a while in the film, and Frank's entrance is also late in coming. And the first shot of Frank is of his shoes. The first shot of Swan is of his gloves. And the first shot of Farley is all dark and shadowy. And notice how both Swan and Frank live in big creepy houses / castles that look really cool during a rainstorm with lightning! And dozens of critics have noticed similarities between Gerrit Graham's portrayal of Beef and Tim Curry's portrayal of Frank. "RHPS" and "POTP" also both make use of corny, time-worn cinematic techniques (those "wipes" between scenes, for example). In both "ST" and "POTP" the line between "reality" and "entertainment" is severely blurred, yet the audience couldn't care less! Oh, I could go on and on...
| |
