Roger Corman's - The Little Shop of Horrors

(aka 'The Passionate People Eater')

directed by Roger Corman
USA 1960

The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 dark comedy film directed by Roger Corman. The film is famous for having been shot in two days. The film tells the story of a nerdy young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. The film is also noteworthy for featuring a young Jack Nicholson in a small role as Wilbur Force, the dentist's masochistic patient.

A softcore pornographic spoof of the movie was released in 1973 as Please Don't Eat My Mother. Interest in the original movie was rekindled when a stage musical called Little Shop of Horrors was produced in 1982. It closely followed the original film and was itself adapted to cinema as Little Shop of Horrors, in 1986. This in turn spawned an animated TV series Little Shop.

The film gained notoriety as the fastest film ever shot. According to legend, the manager of Producer's Studio had informed him that a film was about to wrap that included a large office set. Corman's brother Gene bet him that he could not make a film with the set. Corman arranged for the set to be left standing and had it redressed as a flower shop.

However, new information has revealed the true reason that Corman shot the film so fast: money. On January 1, 1960, new industry rules were to go into effect preventing producers from "buying out" an actor's performance in perpetuity. After that date, all actors were to be paid residuals for all future releases of their work. This meant that Corman's B-movie business model would be permanently changed and he would not be able to produce low-budget movies in the same way. Before these rules went into effect, Corman decided to shoot one last film and scheduled it to happen the last week in December of 1959. [citation needed]

Corman and writer Charles B. Griffith purportedly wrote the script over the course of a single evening, writing in all-night Hollywood coffee shops. [citation needed] The film was cast with stock actors that Corman had used in previous films. They rehearsed for three days before filming began. [citation needed] Principal photography of The Little Shop of Horrors was shot in two days and one night by Corman, with other material shot over two successive weekends. [citation needed] He used three cameras at once and shot every scene with only one take. As a result, some scenes run continuously for two or three minutes. The total budget for the production was $27,000 (some reports say $34,000).

Excerpt from Wikipedia located HERE

Theatrical Release: September 14th, 1960

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DVD Comparison:

Legend Films - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Legend Films (Colorized Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC

(Legend Films - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Legend Films (Colorized Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)

DVD Box Cover

Distribution	Legend Films Region 1 - NTSC	Legend Films (Colorized Edition) Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:12:57	1:11:52
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.13 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate :
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Legend Films Aspect Ratio: Original - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Audio commentary track by comedian Michael J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame • Trailers DVD Release Date: June 27th, 2006 Keep Case Chapters 12

Comments

We have seen quite a number of colorizations - most from Legend Films - Plan 9 From Outer Space, House on Haunted Hill, Carnival of Souls, Reefer Madness, Night of the Living Dead - the films share limited production values and have established themselves with a cult following. Certainly The Little Shop of Horrors fits perfectly in that category.

Okay, on colorization... we do not condone or recommend films that have been manipulated by colorization. Just as we do not recommend censored films, non-original audio or aspect ratio manipulated films. Colorization can look silly at times, attempting to give texture where there often is none. But after saying that the Legend Films colored version of Corman's The Little Shop of Horrors looks exceptionally good - probably the best colorization we have seen. It is stated that 'Legend Films did an extensive restoration on the film, transferred the feature in high definition and used the most advanced colorization process to complete the film.'... and I have no reason to argue this. It is always a respectful sign that Legend adds the original black and white version as an option with the colorized. You can see for yourself how incredible the film looks from the captures we have posted below. I will only add that the only prevalent damage that I did see (see last captures) was restored in the colorized version.

An optional commentary by Mike Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame, is added to the DVD. In it he states "Of all the movies featuring nebbishly little guys who chop up people and feed them to a man-eating plant, this is by far the best." I've never been a huge fan of Nelson's brand of humor but I did get a few laughs out of this commentary. As far as the film goes - it is enjoyable on many levels - for its meager production values, as a comedy and the obtuse (at times) acting. This well-priced DVD is a lot of fun and for those curious about the new colorization process - this is a top example of how good it can look.

- Gary Tooze

DVD Menus

(Legend Films - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Legend Films (Colorized Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)

Screen Captures