Actors and Acting Styles

The three starring actors in The Rocky Horror Picture Show are Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick.  While they began their acting careers in different arenas, they gained popularity and status from their roles in TRHPS.  Nearly forty years later, these three actors have maintained their active acting careers.   Barry Bostwick who played Brand and Susan Sarandon Who played Janet are both Americans selected to play against the decisively British cast in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.   All three actors exhibit the characteristics of being a method actor when preparing for roles; however, each actor has grown and developed along different poet-Rocky Horror paths.  According to Goodykoontz (2011), a method actor draws from his own experiences and transfers the emotions and actions to the character he is playing. 

 Barry Bostwick is a method actor has performed in stage, movie, and television.  Bostwick began acting in high school and trained in college as an actor.  Before acting in TRHPS, Bostwick performed on Broadway in Grease as well as several other stage roles.  After TRHPS, Bostwick continued to act on stage, in movies, and in television in both guest roles and sitcom star.  Almost every role has been a comedy role (IMDB, 2014). 

While Bostwick would be classified as a method actor, Sarandon can be considered a wild card. Sarandon began her acting career in the movies at an age older that her two counter parts.  She has successfully part a variety of roles each one different from a previous role.  Consider her role as the grandmother in the recently released movie, Tammy.  As a comedic role it is vastly different from her role in the dramatic that brought her to fame in Thelma and Louise (Olds, 2012).    A wild card actor is defined as an actor who is difficult to classify because he can play a variety of roles effectively (Goodykoontz, 2011).   

The undeniable star of the group, Tim Curry trained as classical Shakespearian actor.  He began as a stage actor in 1968, performing successfully in a series of plays in London and throughout the United Kingdom including Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar.  Through the various stage productions he met Richard O’Brien and was selected to play the role of Dr. Frank N. Furter in the Rocky Horror Show.  His movie debut was the revival of this role in the movie version, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Curry, 2014).  Although Curry considers himself to be a method actor, the industry considers him to be a character actor.  By character actor, I mean that he maintains his own personality within every role that he plays.  He has acted in every genre including drama, comedy, and animation, but his voice is highly recognized.  He refuses to mask or Americanize his voice.  In almost every movie that he has acted in he has played an evil character, or died by the end of the movie, or both.   This was the case with TRHPS and The Three Musketeers.   In addition to his distinctive voice, his eyes and devilishly, evil grin set him apart from others as the quintessential villain whether playing in a comedy such as McHale’s Navy or a drama such as Legend (Sokol, 2013). Based on Curry’s career and recognition, and based on Goodykoontz’s (2011) definition of star, a person who is well-known, and popular with a distinctive screen persona, Curry has reach the level of star status. 

References:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

IMDB. (2014). Barry Bostwick biography.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000960/bio

Olds, D. (2012). Susan sarandon talks acting. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRc5fBt6TIM  

Sokol, T. (2013). Tim curry, a career retrospective. Retrieved from  http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/55873/tim-curry-a-career-retrospective  

Susan Abigail Sarandon. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/susan-sarandon-9471729.

Timothy James Curry. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved  from http://www.biography.com/people/tim-curry-21243681

The Sound of Music Makes the Sound Come Alive

The Sound of Music is not the topic of today’s discussion, but rather the sound of music within a movie.  Or even the sound of dialogue or sound effects within a movie can influence the direction that a movie takes or what the audience feels or senses.  As mentioned there are three components of sound within a movie: the music, the dialogue, and the sound effects.  Each component plays a vital role in the overall audio experience that supports and enhances the action of the movie.  Imagine Jaws without the iconic dudum-dudum-dum-dum-da-da- sound of the approaching antagonist (shark).  

Jaws Theme Song - YouTube 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCfWHqrYUqo

Let’s examine the sound of the sounds of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

  

Dialogue is the spoken word brought to life.  According to Goodykoontz and Jacobs (2011), the dialogue and the visual action work together to create the entire film experience.   There are three basic reasons to use dialogue: to further the development of the plot, to enhance characterizations, and to quickly establish important information such as names, locations, dates, motivations, and back story.   Another form of dialogue used in movies that does not involve the actors is voice over.  Voice over is a character narration rather than a character to character conversation.  In TRHPS, the criminologist provides voice over as well as direct commentary to assist the audience in background knowledge as well as leading into another scene.  This bridges the gap when the movement of the setting is abrupt or when a new scene or information is introduced.  http://youtu.be/ZACs4m_nqFs

Sound effects in a movie include the use of Foley artists (unconventional sound effects), popular sound effects, and scoring or background music.  Movies are generally shot in large warehouse settings transformed into scene settings.  This type of area is not conducive to realistic sound quality.  Additionally, if a scene is shot outdoors sound will not carry in an appropriate manner.  For these reasons, sound editors must use a variety of techniques in order to create the appropriate sound quality.  (Goodykoontz, 2011) A sampling of the various sound editing enhancements can be seen in the Time Warp sequence from TRHPS.  Background music as added during the opening dialogue before the song is begun.  A hollow tapping as added to enhance the tapping dancing sound made by Columbia’s shoes during the dance sequence.  And When Janet faints, her sigh is increased to be heard along with the music.  Music and other sounds are lowered to allow the audience to hear any necessary dialogue of the actors.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umj0gu5nEGs

References:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Lex. (2013) The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Time Warp sequence. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umj0gu5nEGs

The Rocky Horror Picture Show Official Fan Site (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.rockyhorror.com/participation/timewarp.php

Lighting Sets the Mood

As I continue to discuss the technical of film-making attributes of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I turn my attentions to the lighting effects designed in the movie.  Why you might ask is lighting so important to a movie?  The lighting provides ‘the look’ of the film or setting within a scene.  There are three basic lighting effects used by the movie industry: high-key lighting, low-key lighting, and three-point lighting.  High-key lighting is designed to be very bright with few shadows. This type of design is mainly used for happy scenes and general everyday life settings.  Low-key lighting is designed to be used in dark scenes depicting drama, mystery, and thrills.  This is usually used in horror movies.  The third type of lighting is called three-point lighting and just as is sounds there are three main sources of lights.  This three dimensional illumination softens the actor’s faces while making them stand out from the action in the background.  (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011)  Let’s look at each of these lighting effects in relation to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

The use of high-key lighting is used in the party/Time Warp scene to show the characters in a happy time before the introduction of Frankie and Rocky.  The introduction of these two characters leads to conflicts with other characters as the movie progresses.  The party guests are at the mansion for a joyous occasion full of song and dance and anticipation. This high-key lighting has the opposite effect of the low-key lighting used in the scene that introduces the characters Brad and Janet to the party room.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg-vgGuTD8A 

As in a foreshadowing scene leading Brad and Janet through a rain storm, low-key lighting is used to set the mood of impending mystery and doom.  This lighting effect lends a certain depth to the scene allowing the audience to feel a sense of fear of the unknown as they follow Brad and Janet towards the one light that can be seen in the darkness, a light coming from an eerie looking mansion in the middle of a dark landscape.  http://vimeo.com/4833432

Three-point lighting was used in the burlesque/floor show scene of the movie to show the actors both in close=ups as well as in full stage group shots.  While high-key lighting could have been used in this scene, it would have diminished the effects of the costumes and the overall setting of the performance.  With three-point lighting the actors faces need to be seen clearly without making them appear harsh.  The lighting coming from separate angles also allows for the overall feeling of an older time of live stage performances.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3-bskAymLc

References:

Floor Show image retrieved from http://article.wn.com/view/2014/04/27/Rocky_Horror_revival_offers_lashings_of_camp_humour_and_fun_m/

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

There’s a Light image retrieved from http://www.mortaljourney.com/2011/04/additional-doc/rocky-horror-picture-show-audience-participation-script 

Time Warp image retrieved from http://www.rankopedia.com/Magic-Movie-Moments---The-Greatest-Musical-Moment-in-a-Musical-Film/CandidateData/25344/.htm

Narrative and Storytelling as Seen in Movies

Because I am feeling a little whimsical or maybe I'm just felling sassy, I have chosen to review Rocky Horror Picture Show as it relates to a film's narrative and storytelling.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Writers:                Richard O'Brien, Jim Sharman

Director:              Jim Sharman

Release Date:       Sept 29, 1975

Cast:
Tim Curry              Doctor Frank N. Furter
Susan Sarandon     Janet Weiss
Barry Bostwick      Brad Majors
Richard O'Brien     Riff Raff (the Butler and Magenta's brother)
Jonathan Adams    Dr. Everett V. Scott
Nell Campbell       Columbia
Peter Hinwood      Rocky Horror (the creature)
Patricia Quinn        Magenta (the maid & Riff Raff's sister)
Meat Loaf             Eddie  (Columbia's boyfriend and Dr. Scott's nephew)
Charles Gray         The Criminologist

Storyline:

This is the story of innocence lost through other world encounters with humanoid aliens.   A young and naive, newly-engaged couple seek to travel to through Ohio to share their news with an old college professor.  Along the way they meet with an unfortunate event causing them to seek shelter in an eerie mansion during a rainstorm.  After being introduced to the host, Frank N. Furter, the couple encounters a web of murder, sexual exploitation and awakenings, and government cover-up of aliens on Earth. On the part of the aliens their story is intertwined with Brad and Janet as they attempt to restore order on Earth and return to their home planet of Transsexual Transylvania.   This movies plays homage to the classic RKO and 1950’s horror films as the audience participates in the adventures and misadventures of Janet Weiss and Brad Majors. 

Plot:

Newly engaged couple Janet Weiss and Brad Majors travel through Ohio on a dark and rainy night.  After they are stranded with a flat tire, they are forced to seek refuge in a dark and scary mansion where their host Dr. Frank N. Furter is hosting an unusual party.  In the midst of the party the guests are introduced to Frank N. Furter’s creation, “Rocky”, that leads to the murder of Eddie.  Eddie is the boyfriend of one of Frank’s maids and the nephew of Dr. Scott an adversary of Frank’s and the person that Brad and Janet were traveling to meet. 

Although Rocky is created to be a ‘plaything’ for Frank, he rejects Frank’s advances forcing Frank to turn in attention to both Janet and Brad which leaves their innocence in ruins. 

Dr. Everett Scott arrives looking for his nephew, Eddie, and the guests discover that Frank is actually an alien (a transvestite from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy Transylvania) and that his loyal butler and maid are fellow aliens. 

When Frank N. Furter announces that he is returning to the galaxy Transylvania, Riff Raff the butler and his sister, Magenta the maid, declare that they have plans of their own.   This includes returning to their home planet without Frank N. Furter. 

The story is presented with the flamboyance of a rock opera while acknowledging the early popularity of both classical and B-rated sci-fi and horror movies. 

Chronology:  

The events in the story appear in chronological sequence until the very last scene when the narrator (The Criminologist) reveals that he is relaying the events in flashback from the police reports given by Janet, Brad, Dr. Scott, and other witnesses.  This allows the audience to not only follow the storyline but to also participate in the events as the happen.  As a cult classic, this is an audience participation movie.  Had the story followed a nonlinear progression, the events would have lost their meaning as each event leads to the conclusion that Frank N. Furter was to obsessed with sex and too unstable (mentally) to return to his home planet.

 As with any satire or mystery, foreshadowing plays an important role in this story.  The insinuated lines with visual props and hints of upcoming events lead the viewer through the odyssey that is Frank N. Furter’s obsessed mind, a mind obsessed with all forms of sexual orientation.  . 

References:

IMBd. (2014) The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/
 

Lips image. (n.d.) Retrieved from  www.drafthouse.com/movies/the_rocky_horror_picture_show/Austin  

The Rocky Horror Picture Show Official Fan Site (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.rockyhorror.com/ 

Wikipedia. (2014) The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocky_Horror_Picture_Show