Rating: Summary: Dueling "Little Shop of Horrors"s Review: Having recently watched this musical remake of Little Shop of Horrors, my curiosity about its genesis lead me to its progenitor. I hadn't realised that Roger Corman's original was intended as a comedy, but indeed it is a study in absurdity, all fully intended. It is impossible to say whether the more recent version or the original is "better"--they are simply different, and each amusing in its own way. I prefered Rick Moranis's Seymour to that of Jonathan Haze, but Jackie Joseph's Audrey had funnier lines and was less pathetic than Ellen Greene's, whose voice almost had me climbing the walls. What really surprised me was that the comic touches I had thought were signatures of the Saturday Night Live/Second City crowd were all in the original: the sadistic dentist and his masochistic patient; "Pain" magazine, "Feed me!", and more. Futhermore, the original had other absurd characters and scenes that didn't make it into the remake, including Seymour's mother, a hypochondriac whose home cooking is all flavoured with medicine, and a parody of Joe Friday from Dragnet. But Audrey II, in his technicolor, Muppet-y greatness, is much more a sassy, commanding presence in the all-singing 80's version. Steve Martin's role as the sadistic dentist was considerably expanded, and to great effect. Both Bill Murray and Jack Nicholson were equally good as the masochistic dental patient. And even though Fred Katz's score in the original was noteworthy, the songs by Ashman and Menkin (these are the guys who later gave us the songs to Disney's The Little Mermaid!) in the remake are terrific. My favorite is the suspenseful "Suppertime." My only quibble was that I had some trouble making out all the words to the songs. Howard Ashman is a great lyricist and so it's a real shame. Otherwise, I enjoyed both Little Shops, as did my entire family, and we recommend them both for your viewing pleasure.
Rating: Summary: Little shop of fun!!! Review: This was a great movie the first time i saw it, and now with the out takes, and the making of section, it's even better! I laughed hysterically at The pranks crew members played each other. I laughed even harder at the lost ending bloopers. Only downside to it, is that it doesn't include the entire lost ending. Oh well... shoulda bought it sooner.
Rating: Summary: The best musical of all time! Review: And that's NOT an under-statment on my part. Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, and Steve Martin were great in this film, and made me watch it again and again! Skid Row (Downtown), Dentist!, Feed Me (Git It), The Meek Shall Inherit (Though I perfer the un-cut version), and Mean Green Mother From Outer Space were great, and the special effects were wonderful. A great movie for it's time!Little Shop of Horrors (Also called LSH or LSOH for short) was a great film. It's about an evil, man eating plant from outer space who has set his goals on taking over the world. (Or eating it, to be exact.) Audrey 2, the plant, starts out by being a seemingly harmless plant that just so happens to show up at the "Old Chinese Man"'s store after the total eclipse of the sun. When Seymour is picking up a bundle of roses down where he lives, cuts his finger and begins sucking the blood from it. Audrey 2 notices, and begins making sucking noises. From then on this plant feeds on human blood, ranging from a sadistic dentist, to the nearly-harmless Skid Row flower shop owner. This movie will keep you in stiches from beginning to end, with great preformances from Rick Moranis as Seymour, Ellen Greene taking back up her part from stage as Audrey, Steve Martin as the sadist dentist, Orin Scrivello D.D.S, who is Audrey's boyfriend who sports leather and a motorcycle, and Vincent Gardenia as Mushnik.
Rating: Summary: So Good It Can Please The Hungriest Viewers ¿ Even Audrey II Review: "Little Shop of Horrors" is a piece of work. In the story of a geeky shopboy, an abused girl, a wicked dentist, and one hungry plant, everything flows together smoothly. The story, first a cheapy B-film, then an Off-Broadway musical success before landing in this film, is ridiculously off-beat - so peculiar that it makes perfect sense and is incredibly fun. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman put together a memorable lot of songs that are bested by nothing else. Most notably, 'Suddenly, Seymour' and 'Somewhere That's Green' ooze with the stuff that dreams are made of. Rick Moranis is wonderfuly pathetic as Seymour, and it's surprising how well he can actually sing. Stealing the show, however, is the delightful Ellen Greene as Audrey. Her voice is sharp enough to etch into Baccarat crystal and then some. It's no wonder they carried her over from the original production. Whenever Audrey is on screen, nothing falls flat - but that's redundant because this film never falls flat. Speaking of the original production, this film strayed from it quite a bit. I'm sure no one gives a hoot about revising one song into another and cutting some altogether - However there is much controversey surrounding the infamous Alternate Ending. That is the only thing keeping this disc from the most prominent spot in my collection. The alternate - and orginal ending consisted of Audrey and Seymour being devoured by the plant and Audrey II rampaging the city. Test audiences booed it, prompting the change. The original DVD didn't have the final product of this ending either - just a black and white workprint. Allegedly, for an anniversary down the line, David Geffen will rerelease the film in theatres with this ending. Until then, the otherwise wonderful disc is devoid of one vital bonus.
Rating: Summary: I AM YOUR DENTIST - And I Get Off on the Pain I Inflict! Review: This is the best musical I've ever seen on a film. Everybody is quite brilliant, but especially Steve Martin in his role as the dentist (the scene where he sings his anthem is the best in the film, I think), and Tisha Campbell, Tischina Arnold(Pam from "Martin"), and the other girl as the singers. Rick Moranis is great too, and Bill Murray is great. The scene between Steve Martin and Bill Murray kind of hints around at some raunchyness, as does the film throughout with lots of taste, humour, and plant food.
Rating: Summary: Son, be a dentist Review: Very entertaining. Great songs and performances. Steve Martin steals the show, and his scene with Bill Murray is particularly good. I really enjoyed it, but the ending was a bit of a let-down.
Rating: Summary: Little dvd of Delight Review: Movies are a chance to escape. To get away and be entertained for a couple hours, so when LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS was released on dvd, I had to have it, despite what any of my friends said. I know, its quite the flamboyant picture, and I think thats why its so irresistable. The music is great, epsecially when presented in dolby digital 5.1. The sound is dynamic on this disk, especially when the plant falls over from time to time, subwolfer kicks in quite naturally. The plot is wickedly entertaining, and STEVE MARTIN as a sadistic dentist is hilarious. Numerous cameos plague the film, making it even more enjoyable. The extras are great, and the commentary very informative. Frank Oz, you rock dude. The one true musical I can stomach. HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED!!
Rating: Summary: A great mix of music and black comedy Review: In this movie (which is based on a successful Broadway musical) a guy named Seymour (played by a wonderfully nerdy Rick Moranis), buys a strange plant in order to improve the business at the flowershop run by Mr. Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia). Calling the plant Audrey II, Seymour finds that it likes to drink blood instead of water - which lead to some very funny moments. Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops provides a great, mean-sounding voice for the plant. There are lots of celebrity cameos here - John Candy as a Radio DJ, Steve Martin as a horribly nasty and sadistic dentist, and Bill Murray, to name a few. I thought this movie was very funny and the music is brilliant. My favorite songs are the West Side Story-esque "Suddenly Seymour" (sung by Rick Moranis) and the show-stopping "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" (sung by the plant), in a great scene combining excellent music and very black comedy. I think anyone would enjoy this movie - I really liked the combination of music and black humor. It`s highly recommended!
Rating: Summary: I love the musical but... Review: ...This DVD version is a great dissapointment. The audio is ok, but the digital transfer is all grainy and not very clear. As for the extras, what a let down. Not only are the extras not very extra (a couple of lame trailers, tv spots) but there was a section called Outtakes and Deleted scenes. Unfortunatly, it is made up of all outtakes, and no real deleted scenes (ok, so you get to see a couple of things not included in the final cut, but people are screwing up their lines, so they are no deleted scenes at all.) Not the best DVD. I hope they release another one later with better features, but I am not holding my breath!
Rating: Summary: One of my favorite movies of all time Review: I don't like many musical movies, but I do like "Little Shop of Horrors" a lot. While I was growing up as a kid, it was always one of my favorite movies, and it still is. I remember back in the day when just about everybody I knew had this movie. It's a classic tale of a plant that fell from outer space that ends up in the hands of a man (Rick Moranis) that works for a struggling flower shop. The plant (Audrey II) isn't like most other plants because it has to have blood in order to live, particularly that of humans. Rick Moranis must find a way to manage the plant once it gets almost as big as the shop itself. There are a lot more good things to say about "Little Shop of Horrors." The plant has good effects, the acting is superb, and parts of the movie are hilarious. Not to mention that Steve Martin and Bill Murray make hilarious camio appearances to make the movie even better. This is one movie I recommend anybody to get, it's a classic to say the least.
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