With Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett.
Get it here. “I can’t lie to you about your chances…”
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Now Available from Rifftrax Presents…67 Replies to “Now Available from Rifftrax Presents…”Commenting at Satellite News
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Alien 3 and Resurrection are far more deserving of a good riffing. :mrgreen:
Oh yea, this makes perfect sense. Riff the godfather of sci-fi horror movies. First Predator and now this…There are plenty of BAD movie left to riff.
WouldntYouLikeToKnow: Very true, there are plenty of BAD movies left.
*Is still waiting for them to do “Super Mario Bros: The Movie”
I gotta agree. I really like Rifftrax, but lately they’ve been riffing blockbuster hits. I hope they never forget their roots. :sad:
I was also skeptical about them riffing good movies, until I watched the Rifftrax for Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Bourne Identity. I loved both of those movies but the riffs were hilarious. In fact, I think Bourne is my favorite of all of them.
They riffed Raiders and Bourne too?! I don’t watch Rifftrax anyways so I shouldn’t care much, but still…Has anyone seen Bloodrayne?? I think that would be a perfect one.
I think “Alien” is one of Kevin’s favorite movies. I seem to remember a segment on NPR where he really hyped it up.
@eegah: I just watched both of those for the first time…great stuff! I especially loved Bourne Identity. Raiders is a classic, but the riffing made me realize just how silly it actually is.
It would be crime against the groaner gods if the line “Got milk?” wasn’t ominously uttered when Ash’s head looks up at Ripley and gurgles up that gunk.
Alien IS the godfather of sci-fi movies, a classic – which is why I don’t understand why riffing on it is such a big deal. It’s not like a few snarky remarks from Kevin and Bill is going to utterly destroy the movie. It’s not like Alien is going to be forever remembered as “that goofy movie that the MST3K guys riffed”, as if it were Manos or Hobgoblins or whatever. People will still remember it for the great movie it is. This is just taking a movie you’ve seen and enjoyed a million times, and then turning it on its head and enjoying it in a different way. That’s how I see it, anyway.
Say, why are we getting all these “Rifftrax Presents” anyways? I can’t remember the last time we saw a Riff that included Mike…
max: “I can’t remember the last time we saw a Riff that included Mike”
That would be about two weeks ago when “LOTR: The Two Towers” was released.
On the topic at hand, has anyone heard which cut of the film this will be? I only have the extended version which adds eight minutes or so to the move.
Will hold off judgment until the sample can appear in my courtroom. For now I’ll call a recess…
*bangs gavel..hits thumb* Ow!!
Re Plenty of Bad Movies Left : I had this same complaint with Mike’s Movie Megacheese book. At first it was cute and kind of funny, but soon, as he mocked good mvovies as well as bad, whatever charm there was wore off. There was no discrimnation between good movies and bad, except that when mocking the good ones he appeared petty and desperate and, worst of all, not funny.
If they stuck to schlock then people would have to rent, or egads, buy the film to enjoy a riff of the commentary. I hate to admit but I have Harry Potter and the Spiderman trilogy so it was refreshing to watch it while listening to the riff traxk of it- a change of pace.
As for Alien, now that I think of it, the John Hurt scene has been mocked many times and this film is stuck in the popular culture, so it is time for a new look.
RE: Still plenty of bad movies.
I give this view my full endorsement. I think we can all list some examples.
I enjoyed his commentary for Night of the Living Dead but would have enjoyed it even more if his tone recognized it as the classic is. Carnival of Souls was a little easier to take, and pretty darn fun to watch with Mike. Only problem I had was not knowing if the info he was giving was fact or him just funnin around.
The Podcast SUBJECT:Cinema (whose second episode’s topic was MST and was mentioned on this site a few years back) is taking up the whole debate on “is riffing ‘good’ movies acceptable?” on an upcoming Reel Live Call-In show. Check out http://popcornnroses.com for details. My own view is that nobody’s being forced to watch the riffings of allegedly good movies (I saw the first Alien and thought it was garbage myself), and with CT doing the shlock, it’s probably better that RiffTrax goes a different direction, taking aim at the so-called “good” movies. Equal opportunity riffing.
Rifftrax of “Citizen Kane,” anyone?
“I saw the first Alien and thought it was garbage myself”
RCFagnan, will you be touring with those big balls of yours? :D
Usually the debate on the internet is “Which is the most super cool awesomely freaking great film? Alien or Aliens!”
Just driving by, but wanted to say —
I love ALIEN. It’s a hell of a movie.
When we’re riffing we don’t mean to say as a matter of course that the movie in question is a stinker. Not with Rifftrax, anyhow… truer of MST3K, though I thought for the most part we weren’t vicious about it. I hope, anyway.
I love riffing cheesy old movies for what they offer, and it’s always a blast to do that. But trying to make something good (though not a comedy itself) into something funny is a really engaging, enjoyable challenge, too. And when you have to watch a movie over and over, I often appreciate spending time with good ones, now and again! Heh.
Luckily, there’s all sorts of strokes for all sorts of folks these days. Whatever your preferred taste — or if you enjoy both approaches, like I do (and for some movies, it’s not that clear which gear we’re in!) — Godspeed. Bless us all, every one. (Except Joe Don Baker. […Oh man, I’m gonna catch a beating.])
I’m gonna a Q & A sometime soon on the Rifftrax site, if anyone wants to chat more about this general subject. Or anything.
…Except for the whole Sisko vs. Janeway thing. I can’t fight that war anymore, friends.
Bill: “…Except for the whole Sisko vs. Janeway thing. I can’t fight that war anymore, friends.”
Pffffbbbtt. That’s no war. That’s a massacre.
Sisko. Eeeeeeeeeeasy.
[ upon re-reading my post, I realize that it might have sounded pretty anti-Mike, which it wasn’t intended to be. Love Mike as MST host, love Film Crew, just hate that d*** book…. ]
@ WouldntYouLikeToKnow – I am wondering about something: Why do you comment on RiffTrax entries, when you’ve never seen one? I am willing to send you a free track if that’s what it takes to get you to try it out.. syncing is not that difficult, I promise. :)
As far as I’m concerned, there are very few movies that are off-limits from riffing, and “Alien,” as terrific a little fright flick as it is, is NOT one of them.
Some film subject matters do not lend themselves to mockery (“Shindler’s List” is the obvious example) but I totally reject the argument that just because a consensus of viewers and critics have declared it a “good” movie, a particular movie cannot (or should not) be riffed. This reminds me of the fanboys who were upset that “This Island Earth” was riffed. Sheesh.
I need only point to the terriffic Rifftrax of movies like “Raiders of the Lost Ark” or the Lord of the Rings movies (I recently got a chance to watch the Two Towers riff, and it was one of their best yet–I’m a major Tolkien fan and I love the movies, but they are, nonetheless, oh so riffable) to illustrate my point.
Besides, riffing a movie does not harm it in any way. I’m always surprised that people get so protective of movies they love. They’ll be fine. If they’re as good as you believe they are, no observation about them is going to hurt them.
I’m a member of a riffing group that has tackled all sorts of “good” movies. We’ve riffed “Casablanca.” It was a HILARIOUS riff. We did “Oklahoma”–yeehaw it was fun. In all these cases, initial trepidation gave way to general hilarity. We’ve never gotten around to “Citizen Kane,” but I’d love to. As long as a movie takes itself seriously, and the topic is not to sombre, it can be riffed and there’s no reason not to do so.
As for remaining true to the MST3K premise of mocking “cheesy” movies, it’s important to remember that the premise of the show is not some pristine creed created in a vacuum. KTMA, and later the cable networks, wanted to keep costs down, and the dreck is cheaper than the good stuff, generally. The premise was crafted to fit the product, not the other way around.
Ah, another excuse for me to pick up the Quadrilogy on Amazon… :smile:
I don’t really think it matters much if the movies they riff are actually good. The funniest riffing comes when the movie is both not very well-known and flat-out bad beyond redemption (like “Manos”), but there’s still fun to be had otherwise. I mean, I liked “Cloverfield,” but I enjoyed the RiffTrax for that as well. (“Let’s get out of here, Scoob!”)
I can’t see anyone riffing “The Godfather” or “Seven Samurai,” though.
As much as I like Alien, I have to admit there are some long stretches where nothing happens. Some call it “mood”, while others simply yell “padding”. Bring on the riff, I say.
I’ve said this before, but one problem I have with riffing good or great films is it sort of taints them. The riffers become like my big sister entering the room, realizing I’m enjoying what I’m doing a little too much, then spending 90 minutes calling me a sissy for liking to play with dolls. :D :sad: Then Barbi and Ken are never fun again!!! :cry:
Bender, Alien shouldn’t be viewed as strictly an action film. You could say 100 of Hitchcock’s films are full of padding, but instead it’s really just suspense. How about the first time you saw Alien? It mayeb didn’t seem so much like padding then. Suspense!
/fanboy mode
@ Erik at Rifftrax
It shouldn’t matter whether or not I’ve seen one in order for me to give my opinion on the movie they choose to riff. I won’t watch a full outing of Rifftrax (my g/f showed me a few clips) because I don’t like Bill and it’s dumb and annoying to sit there and watch a movie with voices coming in from nowhere chiming in. Also, what I have seen hasn’t been all that funny. Sure it’s pretty much the same as MST3K (which I love, of course), but that had so much more substance to it. Thanks anyway for your offer though.
Being the opinionated a**hole I am I would also like to say that I’m glad to hear that they riffed Lord of the Rings. For anyone who has seen Clerks 2 (which sucked) knows that Randall summed up those movies perfectly.
@ WouldntYouLikeToKnow – I’m not saying you can’t express opinion on the movies we’ve riffed… but I think by corollary, you are expecting the results to be bad. Which, and this really goes for the LOTR movies, the results are anything but. I watched Two Towers myself and my unbiased opinion was that it was hilarious.
Randall pretty much was right on with his summary. That’s the only part of that movie I can watch again, truthfully.
I think I see your point, but I don’t agree with it. But I, myself, enjoy even the director’s commentaries on some of my favorite flicks.. I don’t really think a voice being disembodied makes it harder to follow.. if that’s what you are saying. I’m not sure I would call it “dumb and annoying” but alas, to each their own :)
Also, I just wanted to say that some parts are not funny. That’s just how it goes. But, watching some of my favorite mst3k episodes, I also found parts of them that went a while without laughs. Truthfully, I didn’t even laugh much at the Oozing Skull. (Blasphemy, perhaps). And it’s not because I work for Mike; I will gladly admit that some of the jokes fall flat, sometimes it’s 50/50, sometimes it’s more in favor of the funny. But that’s the way most of the mst episodes were, as well. I think one of the few I ever laughed through the entire thing was Santa Claus (Lupita!). So, I think just watching “clips” of anything aren’t always the best way to sell yourself on whether or not you’re going to like it.
I’ve seen entire episodes of shows, which I hated, and then been forced to re-watch them and found them hilarious. I can’t remember the shows offhand but I know it’s happened at least once :) So, my offer for an “entire” episode still stands. If you only ever watch one RiffTrax in your entire life, make it Transformers.
Relationships from Lord of the Rings should not be judged against contemporary attitudes. Puh-leez! I found that aspect of the films to be one of the most striking…the characters actually cared about each other, cared about honor. No modernization in there. Sam and Frodo were far removed from being potential sex partners. They captured something really special there (sounding “gay”, I know) and some, like myself, get that and some, like several narrow individuals, uh hum, are missing out on something unique in this day and age. So… :p
/fanboy mode
The quote from Clerks 2 (which I’ve never seen) IS funny though.
Oh, wanted to add I think it makes good financial sense for you guys to riff a lot of “good” movies. Most people are going to have them on hand anyway. I still haven’t gotten around to buying Glitter or Cocktail. I mean, God. I have to buy those? Damn you! Damn you all to hell! :mad:
BTW, this is my favorite part of the movie:
“I can’t lie to you about your chances…”
Ian Holm is so creepy-good as Ash, even as he sputters goat milk all over the place.
“I won’t watch a full outing of Rifftrax (my g/f showed me a few clips) because I don’t like Bill and it’s dumb and annoying to sit there and watch a movie with voices coming in from nowhere chiming in.”
Mom! Again!? I ask you to stop posting stuff about me!!
Heh. English be my 2nd language.
“I asked you to stop posting stuff about me!!”
Sacred cows make for some damn tasty burgers.
And really, why shouldn’t you be able to laugh at something you love and enjoy? I find it only makes my love of the subject bulletproof.
I’m glad they do something watchable every so often. Havent seen Alien in years and it’s a reason to see it again, much like seeing Raiders recently. (Blade Runner would be nice) Especially since the latest one I watched, the Trek thing with Walter Koenig, I had to stop half-way through. :( Even though Kevin and Bill’s riffing was hillarious I just couldnt take it in one full dosage.
Mr. Bill!! Awesome!
Yeah, great scene. Although when Ash is running around attaching Ripley he reminds me of Trumpy’s kin from Pod People. Kind of goofy because he’s a little short, but we have to accept him as a killer. :)
Yeah, no thanks. I get that they’re riffing on “better” movies just people are more likely to already have them and therefore more likely to buy the rifftrax… but it kind of misses the point of making fun of bad movies when the movies aren’t bad. What are you mocking in Alien? the production values? the effects? the acting?
This almost as lame as Jim Mallon’s turd of a website.
I wasn’t aware the “point” of Rifftrax was to make fun of bad movies. Just to make fun of movies.
And how much of any given MST was really about MOCKING the movie? Usually it’s just injecting silly dialog or making tangential-at-best pop-culture references. Two hours of BOY THIS IS DUMB would wear thin fast. The joy of MST came from the variety of quip.
RE:I enjoyed his commentary for Night of the Living Dead but would have enjoyed it even more if his tone recognized it as the classic is.
yeah I thought he pretty much just came off as condescending and obnoxious on that one. I couldn’t even watch it all the way through. I get the faint impression that rifftrax is more about cheap mockery rather than actually going through the trouble of distinguishing between good and bad movies.
also I like how they assume that people are too lazy to track down real b-movies.
RE:And how much of any given MST was really about MOCKING the movie? Usually it’s just injecting silly dialog or making tangential-at-best pop-culture references.
I’d say it’s a balance between the two. most of the movies were laughable before they ever made to MST. you wouldn’t have laughed at the “gorgon” in Teenagers From Outerspace unMSTied? the “rock lobster” reference helps and is funny, but… where’s the fun in ridiculing something that isn’t even worthy of ridicule?
There’s a reason that footage of athletes breaking records and hitting homeruns doesn’t get added to blooper reels with hanna barbera sound effects thrown in.
I defy you to find me any entertainment item that is magically above being made fun of, or being made funnier through use of wacky dialog insertion, pop-culture referencing and the odd obsession on some minute element (PACKERS!!!!).
A movie need not be “ridiculed” to be made funny. Just like, oh, say, Weird Al doesn’t have some kind of exclusive aim for bad songs to parody. And you can totally make fun of something you love and enjoy.
maybe it’s just a matter of taste but for me, pop-culture references by alone aren’t enough to sustain two hours of movie anymore than what you referred to as “boy this is dumb.” I just feel like you have to have both. I’m not trying to disparage rifftrax, a lot of what they do is really funny. I just prefer older, goofier, b-movies rather than modern over the top hollywood crap explosions.
How dare those three Marx Brothers mock that classic opera!!
Rifftraks should riff any movie that it wants to. One persons classic is another persons garbage.
But I won’t watch a rifftrac of a movie that I love because I couldn’t ever watch it the same way again. I’ve had that happen with songs I liked. Someone makes a parody of the song and every time I listen to the real song I hear the parody. Fortunately it hasn’t happened to any of my favorites but there are so few really really great movies that I don’t want to take a chance of ruining any of them.
Jeez, everyone, just like what you want to like and don’t like what you want to not like. Then again, if there’s no debate/argument/discussion of anything then forums would be almost totally useless.
“We praise or blame as one or the other affords more opportunity for exhibiting our power of judgment.” Friedrich Nietzsche, “All Too Human” (1878)
Because I thought it worth commenting on I’ll probably be labeled as a total geek, but the only thing I could think of when I saw that dvd cover was that the spacesuit was grabbed from the new “Doctor Who”. Hah! :p
Oh, and the whole debate about whether “good” movies should be riffed on or not, it’s all about choice. It certainly doesn’t hurt you if they riff a “good” movie; no one is forcing you to buy/watch/listen to the rifftrax. I could love “Glitter”, and choose not to buy the rifftrax :/
As mentioned above, the “bad” thing about riffing “bad” movies, is that you have to either buy or rent them…
If I have to buy a bad movie, I’d rather buy a really bad movie at the clearance bin for a about $5.00 than a new high profile bad movie for $20.00.
I hate renting because I end up renting the movie 2 or 3 times before I watch it. I only watch about 1 movie a month, except for MST3K, sometimes.
If anyone is skipping Rifftrax because they don’t like Bill, that’s certainly their choice — but Bill is far and away the best part of Rifftrax. In fact, I won’t buy a “Bill free” trax anymore because of how great he is. And that is not brown nosing, just my opinion :mrgreen: