The Rocky Horror Picture Show is based on a 1973 theatrical production entitled the Rocky Horror Show which debuted in a dilapidated 60-seat theatre in London, England. Set for demolition, the theatre was operated by the Royal Court Theatre Company, a renowned group organized to showcase the work of novice playwrights and performers. The show, conceived by Richard O'Brien and Jim Sharman, became a hit with London critics who declared it the Best New Musical of 1973.

Had it not been for this award, the show may not have enjoyed a second successful run in a larger venue nor opened in Los Angeles in 1974 and on Broadway for the first time in 1975 -- with the film version released that same year.

Screenwriter Richard O'Brien knew director Jim Sharman from a theatrical production they had worked on in Australia. Sharman was known at the time for directing a string of successful rock operas. O'Brien had just composed a bunch of songs he was eager to have Sharman listen to. Impressed, Sharman began to hammer out story ideas with O'Brien for what would become a play that inspired one of the world's most famous cult films.

Janet (Susan Sarandon) and fiancé Brad (Barry Bostwick) are driving down a road in the middle of nowhere. They have set out to meet their former professor Dr. Everett Scott (Jonathan Adams) who was responsible for them dating one another. A loud bang is heard as a tire on their car ruptures. With no other cars on the road, Brad knows he and Janet are in a fix considering the spare is flat and he has nothing to inflate it with.

Brad remembers having passed a castle earlier. Someone obviously resides there so he tells Janet the only thing he can do is hike back to the castle and try to use someone's telephone to call for assistance. Sarandon is not about to sit in the dark during a rain storm on a remote road waiting for him to return, so she goes along.

Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) resides in the castle known as Frankenstein Place. While Brad and Janet have only a simple request to use the phone, he is in no hurry to allow them to make the call and instead invites them up to his laboratory.

A so-called scientist, Frank-N-Furter has been hard at work designing a man, now dubbed Rocky (Peter Hinwood), for his personal and sexual gratification. This is not Frank-N-Furter’s first attempt at the same project. Research conducted on the body of a delivery boy named Eddie (Meatloaf) went awry when he was forced to freeze the man's corpse in a chamber after removing half his brain. Eddie has now escaped the chamber on a motorcycle, destroying one of the laboratory walls.

Angry Frank-N-Furter stabs Eddie (who is actually Dr. Von Scott’s missing nephew) to death. Eddie’s uncle is gravely concerned for him, and after entering Frankenstein Place in search of answers about the man's disappearance, he’s given a place at Frank-N- Furter's dinner table. Unknown to Janet, Dr. Von Scott and Brad have been feasting on Eddie's remains. Frank-N-Furter is actually an evil alien transvestite from planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania. Dr. Von Scott knows this but is powerless against Frank-N-Furter, who zaps everyone into statues.

The strength of The Rocky Horror Picture Show lies in its infectious musical numbers and Tim Curry's commanding performance and impressive vocal range. But the problem lies with screenwriter O'Brien and director Sharman's screenplay which is full of one-dimensional characters many viewers have trouble relating to.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show DVD comes bundled in a new box-set that also contains the following bonus items: the sequel, entitled Shock Treatment; commentary from O'Brien; a prompter telling viewers when to scream at the screen or use a water gun to react; and a bonus section in which audiences can view the film as if it were being shown to them in a theater where actors and audience members alike react to scenes.

(Released by 20^th Century Fox and rated “R” by MPAA.)