Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

The director's cut is the best version FYI

The Director's Cut

I just watched this yesterday with my nephews. I was shocked that the version we watched had the original ending where Audrey II eats both Audrey and Seymour and then along with other Audrey IIs destroys and takes over earth. I had no idea that was the original ending and had to be reshot because it was too dark. I liked it, but I also like the theatical version where Seymour saves Audrey, destroys Audrey II and the move to the suburbs to live happily ever after...then the camera pans down to an Audrey II in their flower bed.

How could you forget to credit those background singers: Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, Tisha Campbell

Ellen Greene is absolutely wonderful in this 👍

R4 I credited the singers along with the Players. They are good, but Martin as Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. is better.

They are in San Francisco Skid Row

Terrific soundtrack. I sing along, badly.

R8 What is your favorite song?

Skid Row

Downtown where the folks are broke / You go Downtown where your life's a joke

Love, love, love Little Shop!

Saw it multiple times in theaters when it came out. Dragged several friends to see it and they ended up loving it too.

Have seen the directors cut. Its well done, but so dark. I liked the Hollywood ending better. Don;t think the film would have done nearly as well or have resonated with so many people if they'd kept the dark ending.

Feed me.

Feed me, Krelborn! Feed me NOW!

This doesn’t compare to the original, LOW budget movie. Campy, campy, campy. Jack Nicholson’s first role. So bad it’s good.

Side Note...Ellen Greene did a concert version with Jake Gyllenhaal in 2015 to honor her friend Howard Ashman who co-wrote the show and died of AIDS. She could still sing the shit outta that score. In all my years of theater I have never felt such electricity the air.

I thought the movie was a swing and a miss, but not for lack of effort. I'm not sure why it didn't thrill me, maybe because it's such a morose, unpleasant story.

R16 That is why I love it- a morose and unpleasant story with great songs, campy acting, and a lot of color.

I wanted to see it so bad in the theatre when I was a kid, but my mom thought I was saying Little Shop of Whores! I had to wait until it was on HBO.

The music is just fantastic.

R14 And famous dead girl Karyn Kupcinet has a minor role as a Audrey II fan girl.

Favorite movie musical, along with cabaret.

R15 Why doesn't Jake Gyllenhaal do more musicals? He's got a great singing style.

[quote]How could you forget to credit those background singers: Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, Tisha Campbell

Wait, isn’t that the cast of Martin?

[quote]Such a fun and campy 1980's movie!

Yeah, nothing says fun like murder. Why were we cheering on a murderer?

Behind the scenes...

I think the person who posted the behind the scenes blurred some images so Warner Bros wouldn't have it pulled.

Lucky to have seen the stage musical

Bloopers

R15 I have been to a lot of theater and nothing tops the electricity in the room when Ellen stepped on to the stage for the first time during that production. I thought, at her age she isn’t going to be able to live up to the hype. She crushed it!!!!

Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. is my favorite Steve Martin characters

I wish the movie included the track Mushnik and Son, but vest la vie. I love that movie.

The movie is kind of a mess but serves as a bit of musical history showing Ellen Greene at her peak. Moranis isn’t bad either. Steve Martin doesn’t really work, and what works on stage with the plant doesn’t work at all in the movie.

Oh, and the trio is spectacular.

For my money, this is the last truly great movie musical. Just perfect. And I love both endings, for very different reasons.

Between this and Miss Piggy and Yoda, Frank Oz sits in the pantheon of greats (no matter what Bette Midler says).

R32 What do you mean? Martin is so funny in this movie! My personal favorite character of his!

I honestly think this is one of the greatest adaptations of a stage musical ever filmed. It just works. It shouldn't work, but it does.

I love musicals but I generally loathe adaptations of stage musicals. I can count on one hand the movie musicals that actually work. Little Shop is one of them.

Skid Row is just perfect in this film.

The songs in the musical are what makes it so good. Great, catchy songs--one after another. Love the big alien plant, too. Audrey II. I think the plant was the real scene stealer.

Half of you are saying it is a great film, the other half are saying it has The Wiz Effect- great soundtrack, poor film.

What the fuck is a Suddenly Seymour?

R40, why would you even click on this thread if you don't know? Idiot.

Unclench, fuckhead @ r41.

Would you like a Cadillac car?

Or a guest-shot on Jack Paar?

How about a date with Hedy Lamarr...

You gonna git it

Another one of those oh so rare movies you can watch over and over. "Watch him suck up that gas Oh My God"!

Test audiences thought Audrey's death was too cruel.

I need blood and he’s got more than enough

I don't know. IIII don't knoooow. I've got so many strong reservations.

Should I go and perform...

mutilations?

Not about the movie, but Alan Mencken talking about creating the show with Howard Ashman...and some performances. Pity anyone trying to play Audrey after Ellen Greene.

Some Fun Now sung by the chorus is so much fun too :)

Somewhere That's Green from 2015.

"They are in San Francisco Skid Row"

Skid Row is in downtown Los Angeles, it's a real place and still is. And I didn't find that out until I was over forty, I'd thought that was just a generic term for a shitty urban neighborhood.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite films ever, easily the best musical of the late 20th century, probably one of the top ten best musical films ever made! It's perfect, every song is as catchy as hell, every performance is spot-on, and the film makes the rare triumph of both being a great comedy and a great horror story. Many films try to take the tone from fun-and-games to shit's-got-real, and few succeed as well. And Rick Moranis's performance in the lead is perfect, he even sings the shit out of "Suddenly Seymour", and damn the screen lost a gem when he retired. Don't come back on our account, Rick, live your life as you deserve, just know that the work you did is still appreciated.

Eh, it left me cold.

In my opinion it is not a great musical. "Feel Bad" shows are tricky and as satire the whole thing can come off as bloated and a bit overwrought, as things do here.

Though capably done, I found it depressing.

The favorite musical of TCM host Dave Karger.

I love it, too.

And of course Somewhere That's Green and Part Of Your World from The Little Mermaid by the same songwriters.....sound so much alike.

Ellen is great - but I kind of like the character as played in the 1960 original in Jackie Joseph. And Vincent Gardenia gets on my last nerve as Mushnick.....