LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (DVD/1986/DUAL L/WS/TRAILERS/OUTTAKES/BEHIND SCENES) DVD

Little Shop of Horrors
It started as a 1960 Roger Corman horror comedy, filmed in two days; it then inspired a lavish 1982 Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Finally in 1986, Little Shop of Horrors (1960) graduated into a multimillion-dollar, all-star film musical. Rick Moranis plays nebbishy Seymour Krelborn, who works in a rundown flower shop on Skid Row. While his boss (Vincent Gardenia) bemoans the lack of business, Seymour seeks a way of bringing the shop -- and himself -- fame and fortune. He purchases a strange plant from an even stranger oriental street vendor (Vincent Wong), naming the plant after his girlfriend Audrey (Ellen Greene, one of the few carry-overs from the Broadway version). Gradually, Seymour learns to his horror that "Audrey II" (given the voice of R&B performer Levi Stubbs) craves blood and flesh. With each of Audrey II's "FEEED MEEE"s, Seymour must scare up human food to satisfy the plant's appetite. One such victim is dentist Steve Martin, a leather-jacketed Elvis type (the dentist's ultra-masochistic patient played by Jack Nicholson in the 1960 original is here impersonated by Bill Murray). The lighthearted tone of the film darkens as Audrey II grows in monstrosity, but the unhappy ending of the Broadway version is avoided herein. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Rick Moranis as Seymour Krelborn Ellen Greene as Audrey Vincent Gardenia as Mushnik Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. Levi Stubbs as Audrey II Tichina Arnold as Crystal Tisha Campbell as Chiffon Michelle Weeks as Ronette John Candy as Wink Wilkinson James Belushi as Patrick Martin Christopher Guest as 1st Customer Bill Murray as Arthur Denton

Crew Denis Holt - Associate Producer Margery Simkin - Casting Pat Garrett - Choreography Marit Allen - Costume Designer Frank Oz - Director John Jympson - Editor Miles Goodman - Composer (Music Score) Alan Menken - Composer (Music Score) Menken & Ashman - Songwriter Howard Ashman - Songwriter Paul Engelen - Makeup John Fenner - Production Designer Steve Spence - Production Designer Roy Walker - Production Designer Robert Paynter - Cinematographer David Geffen - Producer William S. Gilmore - Producer Tessa Davies - Set Designer Bran Ferren - Special Effects Steve Maslow - Sound/Sound Designer Howard Ashman - Screenwriter Howard Ashman - Book Author

Little Shop of Horrors
This very entertaining film may be the only movie musical to contain an Elvis-inspired number that celebrates a dentist's sadism. This song, shocking, funny, and very catchy, neatly summarizes the charms of this simultaneously light and dark movie musical. The major share of the film's success belongs to lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken. Their songs straddle the line between joy and satire. Musically they invoke recognizable styles ('50s doo-wop, saccharine Broadway love song), but the pointed, comical lyrics constantly collide with the music's sensibilities and the contrast produces continuously entertaining results. Director Frank Oz, arguably the finest puppeteer of his generation, does a spectacular job bringing the gigantic Audrey II to life. Former Four Tops singer Levi Stubbs gives a superb vocal performance as the cannibalistic plant. The rest of the case finds the absolute right level of outrageousness to match the cartoonish art direction. Steve Martin, playing the sadistic dentist, and Bill Murray, a masochistic patient, have a comedic scene that matches the songs for perversity and hilariousness. Ashman and Menken would go on to even greater success, penning the songs in Disney's The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
 

Alan Menken: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Song (nominated) Bran Ferren: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Visual Effects (nominated) Howard Ashman: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Song (nominated) Lyle Conway: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Visual Effects (nominated) Martin Gutteridge: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Visual Effects (nominated)

Golden Globe, Best Picture - Musical or Comedy (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects 2: PCM stereo 1: PCM mono Additional Features: Feature-length commentary by director Frank Oz Outtakes and gags Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Interactive menus Production notes 2 theatrical trailers Scene access Language & subtitles: English, Français, Español DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 94 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 0. Scene Selections 1. Prologue: Little Shop Of Horrors [6:09] 2. Skid Row (Downtown) [4:26] 3. Strange And Interesting Plant [2:07] 4. Da-Doo [1:20] 5. "Twice as many!" [2:10] 6. Grow For Me [4:43] 7. Wink Wilkinson's Weirrrrrd World [3:58] 8. Somewhere That's Green [4:24] 9. Some Fun Now [1:35] 10. A Low Self-Image [2:14] 11. Dentist! [2:32] 12. Orin Scrivello, DDS [3:14] 13. Feed Me (Git It) [5:55] 14. "A long, slow root canal." [7:38] 15. Feeding The Plant [5:54] 16. Suddenly, Seymour [4:16] 17. Suppertime I [4:02] 18. The Meek Shall Inherit [4:01] 19. Suppertime II; Suddenly, Seymour Reprise; A Proposition [:30] 20. Mean Green Mother From Outer Space [8:37] 21. End Credits [7:29]