Little Shop of Horrors

Rating:
Summary: A CULT CLASSIC.
Review: "Little Shop Of Horrors" is cult film without a doubt, one of the central characters is a mutated plant that subsists on blood and human flesh. This movie inspired a Broadway musical and a remake in 1986 (but that time with songs and dances). The original version is not a musical, it's a black comedy, populated with weird characters.

"Little Shop Of Horrors" was shot with a tight budget, but it doesn't matter, because if a director and his crew are creative, they can make a good movie with little money, and "Little Shop Of Horrors" is one of those movies.

The film has a very charismatic cast, all the actors play a eccentric character, but all of them are funny and their performances are essential to the success of the movie. "Little Shop Of Horrors" is cult classic, a black comedy that it's funny and eccentric at the same time.

Rating:
Summary: And all along it was a YIDDISH COMEDY!!!
Review: As every film buff knows, this is the schlock horror movie that later became the hit Broadway musical of the same name. Like the musical, this was never intended to be a scare -- it was done tongue-in-cheek and is really a spoof .

I had heard of this movie, but did not see it until after viewing the musical. What surprised me was the amazing amount of Jewish humor in the original. Mr. Mushnik, the flower shop owner, speaks with a decidely Yiddish accent, and is constantly making puns like "Aloha -- OY!" Then there's Mrs. Shivah (her name refers to a Jewish funeral custom), who is always buying flowers for some relative who died. Never mind that traditional Jewish funerals don't use flowers -- it's a good gag. So is Seymour's hypochodriac mother, who is the exact opposite of the usual Jewish Mother -- she DOESN'T want Seymour to get married, but if he does, he should at least get a girl with a really serious disease, not this healthy Audrey he brings home. The dinner at Mom's is hilarious -- everything she serves is some sort of home remedy. Cough syrup liquers, cod liver oil soup.... kosher, but YECCCCH!!!!

All of this gets lost in the musical rewrite, which went from Yiddish theater mode to Motown. That was funny, too -- but if you are into collecting old Jewish humor, then the original "Little Shop" should definitely be on your shelf. I give it five stars, not because it's a great cinematic acomplishment (it's not!) but because I see it as a part of Jewish-American cultural history. And besides, it's funny!

Rating:
Summary: And all along it was a YIDDISH COMEDY!!!
Review: As every film buff knows, this is the schlock horror movie that later became the hit Broadway musical of the same name. Like the musical, this was never intended to be a scare -- it was done tongue-in-cheek and is really a spoof .

I had heard of this movie, but did not see it until after viewing the musical. What surprised me was the amazing amount of Jewish humor in the original. Mr. Mushnik, the flower shop owner, speaks with a decidely Yiddish accent, and is constantly making puns like "Aloha -- OY!" Then there's Mrs. Shivah (her name refers to a Jewish funeral custom), who is always buying flowers for some relative who died. Never mind that traditional Jewish funerals don't use flowers -- it's a good gag. So is Seymour's hypochodriac mother, who is the exact opposite of the usual Jewish Mother -- she DOESN'T want Seymour to get married, but if he does, he should at least get a girl with a really serious disease, not this healthy Audrey he brings home. The dinner at Mom's is hilarious -- everything she serves is some sort of home remedy. Cough syrup liquers, cod liver oil soup.... kosher, but YECCCCH!!!!

All of this gets lost in the musical rewrite, which went from Yiddish theater mode to Motown. That was funny, too -- but if you are into collecting old Jewish humor, then the original "Little Shop" should definitely be on your shelf. I give it five stars, not because it's a great cinematic acomplishment (it's not!) but because I see it as a part of Jewish-American cultural history. And besides, it's funny!

Rating:
Summary: Cheap film a curiousity
Review: Created on a shoestring budget using pre-existing sets, this film was made in 3 days. It was a tongue in cheek film. But, the best thing about it is it inspired a great off-broadway musical which in itself inspired the wonderful musical film. But, if you are a cult film fan, Corman's flick might interest you. Otherwise, the cheap effects, horrible script and unispired direction will leave you out for blood. This is a public domain film and never looks wonderful. Watch for Jack Nicholson in a small role!

Rating:
Summary: The Perp is a Plant
Review: If you liked "The Young Frankenstein", you'll love Roger Corman's 1960 cult classic, "Little Shop of Horrors":

The film's about an incompetenet "Dragnet" cop duo of Sgt. Joe Fink and Frank Stoolie who investigate the mysterious Skid Row disappearances of a bum, dentist, thief and a ... [woman]. The perp is a plant with a buddingappetite for blood. This tongue-in-cheek horror movie flowers with the performance of a young Jack Nicholson* (as the masochistic undertaker) while blooming with plot characters such as Gravis Mushnik, the greedy plant shop owner and Mrs. Shiva, whose relatives just keep on dying...

Mind you, this is a low-budget film, so the film quality of this B&W is not crisp. In fact, Roger Corman only paid the actors a one-week salary, rehearsing them on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then filming them on Thursday and Friday! But these actors and Fred Katz's background music really score over any budgetary contraints! As it turns out, this low budget film will later re-sprout as a 1980 Off-Broadway smash and then turn into the Academy Award winning 1986 musical film version. (Personally, I feel the plot is better in Corman's original but the 1986 version has outstanding lyrics and special effects.) So, if you like your horror films with an irreverent twist, then you'll be sure to enjoy this film.

See "Bucket of Blood" also by Charles Griffith and directed by Roger Corman; "Little Shop of Horrors" with Rick Moranis, Steve Martin and Bill Murray; and, Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder and Madeline Kahn.

* By the way, Jack Nicholson's feature film career began with Roger Corman's "Cry Baby Killer" and evolved into a 10-year collaboration between these two.

Rating:
Summary: Roger Corman's florist-shop bloodfest classic
Review: Roger Corman's original LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is a classic cult B-movie that is full of classic one-liners and immortal performances.

Jonathan Haze is fantastic as the nervous Seymour, who grows the Venus Fly-Trap plant (whom he calls "Audrey Junior") and ends up supporting it's flesh-eating habit. Jackie Joseph plays Seymour's long-suffering girlfriend Audrey, while Mel Welles plays Seymour's eternally-flabergasted employer Gravis Muschnick.

But it is Myrtle Vail, as Seymour's mother, that gives perhaps the most hilarious performance. She is superb. Newcomer Jack Nicholson (yes, THAT Jack Nicholson) is fantastic in one of his early roles as a pain-addicted dentist fanatic.

Later musicalized as a long-running Broadway musical (starring Ellen Greene as Audrey) which was later made into a successful film.

Rating:
Summary: GoodTimes' Little Shop DVD is the one to beat
Review: Unfortunately, Little Shop of Horrors and every other Roger Corman Filmgroup production lapsed into public domain years ago and have generally been available on VHS and DVD only in poor-quality editions ranging from merely bad to atrocious. (The only Filmgroup features to get a decent official or semi-official release so far are Bucket of Blood, Beast from Haunted Cave, and Night Tide.) After researching every DVD version of Little Shop of Horrors available (there are at least eight!) I played a hunch and went with GoodTimes to replace my VHS copy, and I'm very pleasantly surprised at the overall excellent quality of the source print. When I saw the "preserved using the best available elements" line at the beginning of this disc I thought 'yeah, right,' but I have to admit that this is the brightest, cleanest, sharpest (if not exactly razor-sharp) print of this film I've ever seen. The black level, contrast, gray values, and shadow/highlight detail are fine, and physical damage is limited only to some very light speckling and blemishing (!!). On the downside, the transfer itself seems to be somehow deficient (low bit rate?), causing areas of flat white or smoothly gradated grays in the image to exhibit some very faint but noticeable pixelation or banding, especially during the opening credit sequence (areas of flat color seem to be DVD's Achilles Heel). The casual viewer probably won't notice this phenomenon unless it's pointed out, but it's there. That said, the superior quality of the source print more than makes up for this one barely noticeable flaw; this is still most likely the best edition yet available of this classic 'sick humor' gem and well worth the bargain price. It definitely blows away every TV print and cheapjack PD video version I've ever eyeballed. Grab this before it goes out of print.
The movie itself still entertains tremendously today, a funny, goofy (dare I say charming?) horror-comedy that basically plays like a stage farce (most of the action takes place on one or two sets). The story is essentially a remake of Bucket of Blood with a change in locale and a few fresh twists. This time Jonathan Haze portrays everyschlep Seymour Krelboine, who lives with his alcoholic hypochondriac mother (she listens to KSIK radio) and works at Mushnick's skid row flower shop. Seymour (temporarily) finds fame, fortune, and romance by nurturing (and eventually murdering for) an exotic talking cannibalistic plant. Mel Welles, in his finest hour (literally), steals nearly every scene with his droll portrayal of perpetually exasperated Gravis Mushnick, and Jackie Joseph (Andy Griffith Show, Who's Minding the Mint) seems born to play pretty, ditzy Audrey. Corman regulars adding to the fun include Dick Miller (Walter Paisley in Bucket of Blood) as Fouch, a flower-eating client, John Shaner as a sadistic dentist, and 14th-billed Jack Nicholson (featured prominently on most tape and disc box art) as his masochistic patient. Shot on a shoestring in just three days (at least all the interiors), Little Shop holds up better than many big-budget comedies of the day (anyone watched Story of Mankind lately?). Much credit must be given to Charles B. Griffith, unsung hero/architect of the AIP/Allied Artists/Corman style. His list of credits reads like Corman's greatest hits: It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, The Undead, Not of This Earth, Teenage Doll, Bucket of Blood, Beast from Haunted Cave, Wild Angels, Death Race 2000, etc. Griffith's clever, witty screenplay is a model of late-50s sick humor, working in a dead-on Dragnet parody, some wonderful malapropisms and bits of wordplay, lotsa Yiddish humor, and a handful of his patented icky-creepy moments. (Griffith also voiced the plant, Audrey Jr., played a few walk-ons, and directed some second unit scenes, all uncredited.) Fred Katz's memorable score is alternately goofy and spy-jazzy, and, unlike some of Roger Corman's other attempts at comedy (e.g. Creature from the Haunted Sea), I find his touch just right here, ably supporting Griffith's verbal bits with complementary editing patterns (check Sgt. Joe Fink and Det. Frank Stoolie's hilarious introductory scene). Lighter in tone and a bit broader and more farcical than Bucket of Blood (which I personally prefer), Little Shop, judged on its own terms, is still fresh and engaging, though the low budget is obvious at times. I'm not sure how fans of the Broadway show or movie musical will react to the original (I admit to being a purist myself), but if they share a taste for low budget horror or 50s-style sick humor they'll probably find it an offbeat treat.