Great Movie Re-Watch

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Director:

Jim Sharman

Writer:

Richard O’Brien

Starring:

Tim Curry

Susan Sarandon

Barry Bostwick

Richard O’Brien

Patricia Quinn

Nell Campbell

Jonathan Adam

Peter Hinwood

Blurb:

A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.

Thoughts:

I remember where I was the first time I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I’m not sure if a friend was trying to shock me or legitimately thought I’d like the movie, but I ended up loving it. I have not had the pleasure of watching in theaters, but one day, hopefully with that same friend.

The whiplash of going from Bedknobs and Broomsticks to Rocky Horror was amusing (My blog posts ended up being posted out of order). The opening helped ease me in, though. When the songs started, I didn’t care at all. I love the songs so much.

There is, of course, a lot of history tied with this film. It wasn’t a success at first, and only because of the studio’s policy to allow theaters to order from their backlog did it become a cult classic. Now it is the longest-running theatrical release in film history.

Papers have been written on this movie, including an essay entitled “Bisexuality, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Me” by Elizabeth Reba Weise. It’s included in the book Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out.  Rocky Horror represents the queer community in a way that I’m not sure was there in the seventies. Maybe, I’m not sure. I love that Frank N. Furter, Tim Curry, seduces everyone. He is a treasure in all things.

The costumes, the dance numbers, the humor, there is nothing that I don’t enjoy while watching this. If anyone ever asks me, I say that I don’t enjoy trippy movies or tv shows, but looking at my catalog and considering TV Shows I’ve been watching, I’m starting to think that’s not true. Maybe I’m just really picky about my trippiness?

A couple of attempts at sequels to Rocky Horror were made, but there doesn’t appear to be a true one released. The closest that came is a movie called Shock Treatment. I haven’t watched it and from what I can tell most people didn’t like it. I might try to dig up a copy one day to judge for myself.

I will not be getting rid of my 35th-anniversary blu-ray edition. It doesn’t appear as though the 45th edition has anything new. I’m hoping that at some point there’s a remaster, but who knows if that will happen.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

Directors:

Robert Stevenson

Ward Kimball

Writers:

Ralph Wright

Ted Berman

Bill Walsh

Don DaGradi

Ken Anderson

Starring:

Angela Lansbury

David Tomlinson

Blurb:

An apprentice witch, three kids and a cynical magician conman search for the missing component to a magic spell to be used in the defense of Britain in World War II.

Thoughts:

I remember Bedknobs and Broomsticks fondly. It’s not a movie that I’ve seen often, but it made a big enough impact on me that I bought it when I saw it for sale. I’ve watched it once since then and still enjoyed it, but that’s been years and years ago (it’s a DVD to give you an idea). While talking with some friends, I discovered that they had the same experience. They’d seen it, liked it, but didn’t remember much if anything about it, just that they liked it.

It’s based on a book, of course. Disney purchased the rights when they had issues getting Mary Poppins and then Bedknobs was set aside when they finally did get Poppins. It seems like it did well at the time, though it was compared to Mary Poppins in reviews. I looked to see if there was a blu-ray available on Amazon and it appears to only be on streaming and DVD, so I guess it never made it to blu-ray. It’s not a movie that’s gotten a lot of love and I wonder if it’s because of the witch element.

After my re-watch, I still enjoy it, but since it’s on Disney+, I don’t feel the need to own it. There was a very long singing and dancing number that had some questionable representation. It also felt a bit like Mary Poppins, though, that could have been that one of the main actors was from that film. After reading the Wikipedia entry it sounds like at least one song originally written for Mary Poppins was included in Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

By far, the best scene in the movie was the battle at the end. It was so bonkers ridiculous, and amazing. That part alone made me almost keep the film. Still, as I said, it’s a DVD, and Disney+ has it available, and it doesn’t seem likely to be taken down.

I just want to add, Angela Lansbury is a treasure, and every time I see her, I think of Murder She Wrote and want to watch it. Plus, she was Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast, the best Disney movie ever! (Maybe not ever, but definitely up there)

The Rescuers (1977)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

The Rescuers (1977)

Directors:

John Lounsbery

Wolfgang

Reitherman

Art Stevens

Writers:

Larry Clemens

Ken Anderson

Frank Thomas

Vance Gerry

David Michener

Ted Berman

Fred Lucky

Burny Mattinson

Dick Sebast

Starring:

Bob Newhart

Eva Gabor

Geraldine Page

Joe Flynn

Blurb:

Two mice of the Rescue Aid Society search for a little girl kidnapped by unscrupulous treasure hunters.

Thoughts:

The Rescuers was the first movie on my list that’s not technically mine. When I made my list of owned movies, I included movies that my husband owns as well. We’re one household, so it made sense. There are a couple of movies that he owns that I won’t be watching for various reasons, but I’m including most of them in my re-watch.

The Rescuers was a dark movie. There were hardly any light moments in the entire film. A little orphan girl is kidnapped and forced into a dangerous situation repeatedly so the villain can get a giant diamond, for crying out loud. Current kid’s movies do not have a monopoly on darkness.

While reading the Wikipedia entry for a children’s movie, something you love to see is “nudity scandal.” It sounds like a disgruntled or stupid employee decided to sneak in a shot of a topless woman. It was only in two frames and pretty much impossible for someone to notice on ordinary viewing, but of course, someone spotted it. After seeing the image, I feel like it was more amusing than anything else.

Reviews at the time seem to be mostly positive, saying it was a return to old form for Disney. Since I got rid of most of the movies that came out at that time, I only have my memories to compare it too. The only time I had issues with the animation were when the villain was appeared, and there was a ton of black outlining. I thought she looked pretty bad.

The songs were mostly forgettable, they were nice at the time, but thirty minutes later, I forgot they were even there. I did love the voice cast, though. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor sounded perfect together.

The film is also a bit dated. Bianca was smart and capable, but since she was a woman, she was often babied. However, she seemed to take it in stride and use it to her advantage, so that was nice.

The Rescuers isn’t necessarily a movie I feel like I need to own, but there are worse movies to have on my shelves.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Director:

Ken Hughes

Writers:

Roald Dahl

Ken Hughes

Richard Maibaum

Starring:

Dick Van Dyke

Sally Ann Howes

Lionel Jeffries

Gert Fröbe

Anna Quayle

Blurb:

A down-on-his-luck inventor turns a broken-down Grand Prix car into a fancy vehicle for his children, and then they go off on a magical fantasy adventure to save their grandfather in a far-off land.

Thoughts:

After my re-watch of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, I believe it’s not a movie I need to own. I enjoy it, but there’s nothing extraordinary about it. What makes me keep it is the heaps of nostalgia I have attached to it. It was one of maybe fifteen movies that I owned growing up, and I watched it so many times that it will forever be embedded in my mind. I could sing all of the songs even though I can’t remember the last time I watched it.

One of my favorite parts is the machine that cooks breakfast. It always fascinated me, and I’d always try and figure out how it worked. It was still fun to watch, even though now I’m about 99% sure it couldn’t work. There’s still that part of me that wants it to.

The songs are excellent and fun to sing. Dick Van Dyke was a pleasure to watch and, thankfully, didn’t try to do a British accent.

This was a book adaption and did not follow the book very closely. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond books. It was apparently a story that he told to his children. Reading Wikipedia, it looks like Roald Dahl worked on the movie script, which was something I didn’t know. I’m not sure how much of his version was kept since the director said he had to rewrite it. Still, it’s kind of cool that Dahl, a famous children’s story author, worked on this script.

Reviews on release were positive, but it sounds like 1968 was a dark year for movies. I haven’t checked to see what was released, but it was mentioned a couple of times. Later reviews were also positive, but it’s somehow got a 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, another sign that sites algorithms are garbage.

It didn’t make money on the initial release, but it seems like no movies did back then. Whether that was manipulative accounting practices or it was an actual loss, it doesn’t sound like it was considered a flop at the time.

I didn’t try watching this with my children, though, I did have it on in the background. The beginning held their focus, but it was too long for them. It was too long for me and could have easily had a couple of scenes cut entirely.

Anyway, I’ll be keeping Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, though I won’t be watching it again anytime soon.

The Sound of Music (1965)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

The Sound of Music (1965)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

George Hurdalek

Howard Lindsay

Russel Crouse

Ernest Lehman

Maria von Trapp

Starring:

Julie Andrews

Christopher Plummer

Eleanor Parker

Richard Haydn

Peggy Wood

Charmain Carr

Blurb:

A woman leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the children of a Naval officer widower.

Thoughts:

I watched The Sound of Music with my kids because it’s a movie I watched a lot as a child. My children were not as entertained as I was when I was their age. It took us four days to make our way through this film and on the last day I watched the ending alone. It is a longggg movie.

Once again, the music is amazing, there isn’t much dancing, but the puppet show and the little skits the kids do are charming. It’s a lovely movie, definitely a classic, but not one I need to watch often. It’s not one I could watch often with how long it is.

Recently, a book about the Von Trapp family’s lives was on sale, and I bought it. I’m interested to see what was changed for the movie. One of my favorite parts is the love story. I’m curious to see if that was entirely made up. Reading everyone’s Wikipedia entries is pretty interesting.

I’ve only got one more movie in the 60s, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Another kids movie that my kids will probably not like :rollingeyes: