Home :: DVD :: Musicals & Performing Arts  

Ballet & Dance
Biography
Broadway
Classical
Documentary
General
Instructional
Jazz
Musicals
Opera
World Music
Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors

List Price: $14.97
Your Price: $11.23
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 .. 8 9 10 11 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fun, Fun and way out fun!
Review: This off beat musical comedy is too fun, too sick and just plan rolicking for words!

The cast is perfectly matched to each character, the do wop Motown ala Crystals combined with Levi's rock out bass as "da plant" draws you onto the screen!

One for today's generation, sophisticates and those who want to really enjoy a musical - when it's over, all you want to say is "Wasn't that a lot of fun!"

Rent it, buy it, but ENJOY it.........

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Mean, Green and Mad!
Review: Can you imagine Barbra Streisand in this film as Audrey? Although everyone familiar with this movie (and stage musical) immediatly sees Ellen Green in the part, we find out from the documentary on this disc that Babs was offered the role first. Thankfully she wasn't interested.
The film itself is the best stage-to-screen musical adapt. since Grease and none (even Chicago) have since come along to beat it. The music by Alan Menken and the lyrics by the late, great Howard Ashman are fantastically intertwined to evoke laughs as much as the required early-1960's atmosphere. This talented duo went on to score Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and (in part, due to Ashman's death) Aladdin. When listening to Little Shop's Somewhere That's Green it's easy to see where Mermaid's Part of Your World came from.
The cast are uniformly excellent and succeeded in making their parts their own (meaning that any production now seen on stage features clones of Moranis, Green, Martin etc.). Rick Moranis as Seymour seems to have been born to play the part and his singing voice comes as something of a revelation! Green, as I have already said, IS Audrey but Steve Martin just about manages to steal the entire film from all of them in an extended cameo as Orin the sadistic dentist. Other cameos include James Belushi, John Candy and (brilliantly) Bill Murray.
Audrey II (the plant) is a wonder of engineering and puppetry and watching the film now, I couldn't help but think that if this movie was made today Audrey II would be CGI - impact lost! Thank goodness then, that Frank Oz, director and some-time Muppet-man, gathered a group of talented people together to create a truly startling character. Although the character would be nothing without Levi Stubbs so wonderfully providing his voice.
Wisely it was decided to change the ending from the stage shows bleak (and, frankly, poor) conclusion to a more up-beat and 'Hollywood-style' finale. The original ending is glimpsed in the all-too-short deleted scenes section of this disc, as a couple of Audrey IIs attack a building, but it would have been nice to see the scene in tact perhaps with an option to swap it for the actual ending when watching the film. Also the inclusion of 'Mean, Green Mother' really helps the second half of the film which sadly sags in the show due to the absence of such a show-stopping number.
The 'making of' was made of the time and so is light and fluffy. I would have prefered a little more depth on the realisation of Audrey II. The trailers are worth watching - mini masterpieces of campy kitch but Oz's commentary is a little on the ponderous side.
So, in conclusion, the extras are acceptable if a little dull, but who needs extras when the film is as thoroughly enjoyable and toe-tapping as this! Just remember: - whatever they offer you - don't feed the plants.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Offbeat, engaging and delightful
Review: "Little Shop of Horrors" is a movie like no other. You're slyly drawn in by a cute little musical that progressivley gets more and more "weiEIeiEIerrRRrd" (to quote Wink the radio guy, played by John Candy.)

Candy, Jim Belushi, Steve Martin and Christopher Guest show up here to add their talents to outstanding performances by Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene.

The music is great! I'm not a huge fan of 50's and 60's style do-wop stuff, but if your feet can stay still during the tunes in this show, forget it--you're dead already and it doesn't matter.

The arrangements are excellent. The Greek Chorus Girls add style, panache and polish as well as harmony.

One of my favorite things about this film is finding someone who hasn't seen it yet and sharing it with them. They always say, "When was this made? How could I not hear about this movie? It's great!"

The DVD version is excellent. I've owned the VHS for years, but the DVD sound and picture are far superior. The documentary on the making of the film is a nice extra and makes you appreciate what you see that much more.

My confession? I've probably watched this movie thirty or more times. If you ask to watch it again tonight, would I do it? You bet.

Just buy it. You won't be sorry. The DVD lets you show off your home theater system with hardly an explosion. It's a gem.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: overblown and bloated
Review: One of the most overproduced films ever!!! The charm of the original production is lost.The original two day wonder of Roger Corman is miles ahead. Spend your money on the play.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 5 stars ... no question about it
Review: Little Shop of Horrors is one of my all time favorite movies. It's one of those oddball flicks that just kind of sticks with you, year after year. The music is great, the story is hilarious, and the casting is perfect (I'm not a real big Rick Moranis fan, but I can't imagine anyone else playing the part of Seymour Krelborn). There are some great cameos, including Christopher Guest as one of the customers in the flower shop.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I Thought This Would Be the Next "Rocky Horror"
Review: When I first saw this movie I was amazed. It was breezy and fun, yet a very dark comedy underneath. It was a perfect blend of the two genres and it reminded me why "Rocky Horror" was so successful. I believed this movie would be playing at midnight shows, but it never took off. I blame home video for that and Warner Brothers for not recognizing its full potential.

Casting was perfect. The special effects were cheesy enough. The cameo appearances were flawless. Steve Martin as a S & M dentist really steals the picture. The musical numbers are fine, the sets are great and the story is classic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: STRANGE & FUNNY
Review: This musical is soo cool! everyone was perfect for the part, lol steve martin just blew the screen off as dentist. soo funny. And Greene was the perfect Audrey. I can't picture Babara stresein (sp?) EVER having the squeaky/high voice Greene could do. That'll just be plain Oo!!!! weird! The songs are also awesome, specially the duets like "Suddenly Seymour" and "Downtown (Skid Row!)" also cool.

The movie doesn't have alot of meaning. basically a big evil plant using/manipulating the human, Seymour, to feed it. I like the original ending better. all this happy ending doesn't quite hit it since they omitted "Don't feed the plants!", but still a good movie with the song "green mean mother from outer space!".
^_^

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the charlie manson of plant movies
Review: FLAWLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!the story goes that a nerdy little geek lives in the slums.he works for a slave driving boss.his only co-employee is a really sexy abuse victim.they work at a flower shop that no onecomes to.one day,the nerd buys a strange and interesting plant which attracts customers like mad.then he discovers the tiny little flytrap style plant lives off of blood.each time it feedsit gets quite a bit bigger.the worst is yet to come!it gets so big,it matures and starts singing,dancing and talking the nerd into murdering to keep it alive.its a great movie.my 9th favorote ever.i even heard it was made into a broadway musical!theres a whole host of stars including,rick moranis as the nerd,john candy as a dj,bill murray as a lover of pain and many many more.theres a lot of cussing in it,so maybe you dont want your kids to watch it,but all the violence is implied or overheard.its a comedy but like one for sick puppies.frank oz is the director,whoever the hell that is.theres a older version from 1960 maybe with jack nicholson in it.this one is better.a few of its songs even made dr dementos top 20 most demented videos of all time back in the 80s when mtv was cool.they were one about steve martin,who plays,a dentist who likes to inflict horrible pain on his patients and rides a motorcycle to work.this is steve martins best character ever.another song that was on it was on the countdown was about that guys abuse victim ol lady who dreams of escaping.some other songs on the album[it is a musical] are the guy sure looks like plantfood to me,grow for me,you dont know who your messing with and more.the lyrics are really really catchy.the chicks name is audrie.she is sexy!the best performance,though there were many ,was by syeve martin for his psycho-nitris addicted-ol lady beating-biker-dentist-sado-maschoist.this is everybody ive mentioned best film ever.it is 1 ahead of jay and silent bob strikes back on my top 100 films ever.this one is #9.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Little Shop Of Horrors
Review: I loved the songs from this version but I was dissapointed in the ending because I was looking forward to seeing the finale(Don't Feed The Plants)that was used in the off broadway (and broadway) productions and was intended to be the original ending in the movie (until test audience polls showed they did not like it). On the other hand I thought Rick Moranis made a great Seymour. Did anybody make an observation that they didn't have other songs from the original Off-Broadway production? They were: Now(It Just The Gas), Act 1 Finale, Enter'cate, Closed For Renovation, and Mushnik and Son. Anyway I still loved the other songs very much! Buy it! It's Gooooooooooood!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Musical, OK movie
Review: The complete score by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken is really very good, a gem of musical theater. However, this movie, even with its outstanding acting and singing, doesn't live up to the gem of the original, complete score of the Off-Broadway production (that is now being revived on Broadway). Mushnik doesn't sing which leaves out "Mushnik & Son", and the full "The Meek Shall Inherit" is not included. The original finale "Don't Feed the Plants," is also sadly omitted.

Rick Moranis is very good capturing the character of Seymour. Ellen Greene (the actress who orginated the role of Audrey) is also first rate. But the actor who steals the show is Steve Martin as the Elvis-like, sadistic dentist. Great singing, and great impersonation.

Despite the few qualms I have, I would still recommend seeing this (it's a great film)---but if you see the Broadway production on tour you'll know what I mean when I say that too much is omitted.


<< 1 .. 8 9 10 11 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates