Free sample:
By the way, RiffTrax has announced that ALL of its Video On Demand products are now completely DRM-free.
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Now Available from RiffTrax…78 Replies to “Now Available from RiffTrax…”Commenting at Satellite News
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“At present the bigger titles — and the NEWER titles — sell way, way better than anything more obscure. This is true about certain movie genres, too. And I don’t mean a small difference, but 80% less revenue.” – Bill Corbett
I’m not going to try convincing people to watch the Dark Knight riff if they don’t want to. Just remember that Rifftrax is trying to focus on what most customers seem to want, based on what sells well. Cinematic Titanic continues in the tradition of MST3K by providing you with the movie, which causes them some headaches. However, Rifftrax doesn’t try getting tangled up with all the legal issues involved in riffing these movies. If it’s Public Domain – like the shorts – there’s no problem. However, it seems like most Rifftrax customers don’t want to go through the effort of finding “really awful old movies” on their own.
Customer actions speak louder than words, so here’s my thoughts on what to do if you want more “really awful old movies”:
#1: Buy all the Rifftrax Shorts. Remind the guys how much you love to see them riff on old public domain stuff.The new Rifftrax Shorts DVD is a lot like a Film Crew DVD, minus the host segments with Bob Honcho. (It’s in the “Swag” section.) It seems to be selling well, so there’s hope for more Shorts DVDs. While you’re at it, get “Missile to the Moon”. It’s one of the most Film Crew-esqe movie choices they’ve offered, and yet the MP3 riff is one of the lowest selling titles. That doesn’t send a good message to the bean counters. I’ve heard the VOD version sells better, which just helps drive home the movie availability issue.
#2: Buy the Rifftrax Presents titles. This secondary line seems to allow for a bit more variety in movie choices. Don’t let some new riffers scare you away. Speaking of new people….
#3: Buy iRiffs titles for the kind of movies you’d like Rifftrax to tackle. If they become moderately good sellers, it could help prove that A) lots of customers have copies of the DVD or B) lots of customers are willing to buy a VOD of the PD title. This could help justify making an “official” riff for it.
If you know someone who is weary of downloading VOD stuff for some reason, Incognito Cinema Warriors XP has a DVD version of their Lady Frankenstein riff in the “Swag” section. I only bring this up because I noticed some people on mst3kinfo.com don’t like downloading stuff, but they’re more than happy to order the Rifftrax Shorts DVD.
By the way, if you really want to see them riff a Schumacher Batman film, I highly recommend the Rifftrax for Batman and Robin. That is, of course, assuming you actually have a copy of Batman and Robin on hand. A couple of my friends had a VHS copy lying around at their house. They refuse to buy it again on DVD, and I don’t blame them. Fortunately, the VHS syncs with the Rifftrax just fine.
Incidentally, we enjoyed The Dark Knight in the theater (twice) but we don’t take it seriously enough to think it’s “above” riffing. Heck, I bought it after work and we started making our own jokes while we watched it. Haven’t watched the Rifftrax yet, but we’re looking forward to it.
/me looks at the advertising poster.
Wait, they got a slightly moldy John McCain as a co-riffer?
Have you been to the rifftrax website in awhile?
It has turned into a overwhelming smorgasbord of sh!t titles plastered everywhere. The entire website reeks of one money grab after another. Still, I guess it beats getting a real job right, Mike, Kevin, and Bill. It’s sad to see people in the sunsets of their lives willing to do anything to make a quick buck! ;(
I wish RiffTrax would riff Citizen Kane, just to really piss everyone off.
For those who think that this movie is somehow above being poked at and made fun of… I’d just like to point out that this week, the brilliant comic Sheldon has been going over “It’s A Wonderful Life”, and finding those moments that, if you stop and think about them for five seconds, make you go “wait a damn minute”.
http://www.sheldoncomics.com/archive/081208.html
My only quibble with them doing the Dark Night Without Bathroom Beaks is… well. I don’t think I can sit still that long again.
It’s not that TDK should be deemed untouchable (unlike, say, Schindler’s List)… it’s just that it’s not a movie I feel like laughing at.
I would love to see Rifftrax do Meet Dave (in fact they really, really need to do this movie). They might need to mock Bill in the process though.
I loved TDK. But with some of the cast involved, it is just waiting for some riffing.
Eric Roberts.
Anthony Michael Hall.
The lack of Katie Holmes.
Not to mention:
Morgan Freeman.
Michael Caine.
Gary Oldman.
And let’s not forget Reign of Fire star, Christian Bale.
The potential for hilarity is pretty high.
Frank Cotton: I felt the same away about Memento. Another very solid film the Rifftrax crew opted to make a commentary for. But like TDK, there’s not much to poke fun at, so the Memento riff was flat and uneventful. In my opinion, films with a solid cast, plot, script, etc. is never a good foundation for comedy, especially the RT crew’s style, who has years of combined experience rffing movies with glaring problems. I wish Mike and the crew would stick to riffing movies that deserve to be riffed. (eg WickerMan, The Happening, Independance Day, Troll2, Plan9, etc). Well made films just aren’t as fun.
It’s all a matter of taste. I thought the Memento Rifftrax was funny. Why should any movie be off limits? I’d love to see The Godfather, A Clockwork Orange, and even Rear Window be riffed. The only exception, IMO, would be comedy movies in general. Comedy being riffed just doesn’t seem to work.
“It’s sad to see people in the sunsets of their lives willing to do anything to make a quick buck! ;(”
40-something = sunset of life? Are you posting from the dark ages somehow?
“I wish RiffTrax would riff Citizen Kane, just to really piss everyone off.”
And Casablanca, Gone with the Wind . . . hell, what else? Ooh, Wizard of Oz! Heh heh . . .
A Riffing would be the only way to get me to enjoy movies like that. I’m no fan of bloated Hollywood action nonsense or the other drivel out these days, but I don’t have any particular like for so-called “classics” either.
“I’d just like to point out that this week, the brilliant comic Sheldon has been going over “It’s A Wonderful Life”, and finding those moments that, if you stop and think about them for five seconds, make you go “wait a damn minute”.”
Did you know that IAWL was almost universally panned when it first came out, and only found success years later when stations used it as filler for the holiday season? IIRC, anyway; may have been a bit more complicated than that. Still.
“40-something = sunset of life? Are you posting from the dark ages somehow?”
Truly, and let’s not forget that they do have families they’d like to provide well for . . .
Well, after hearing the Raiders rifftrax, it’s obvious to me that the good movies can be just as funny (or “riffable”) as the bad. It’s not like the rifftrax equation is the worse the movie the better the riffs. In fact, it’s the opposite: it’s the more memorable plots, characters and settings that allow them to provide a really funny alternate, and humorous, version of the film’s dialogue. That’s why Radar Secret Service is one of the more dull episodes of Mystery Science and Space Mutiny is awesome.
At any event, The Dark Knight is a great movie, but we can stop pretending like it’s a movie that will hold up for 60 years like Citizen Kane has. It seems hypocritical when some can dish it out but can’t take it when it’s their movie they’re doing. I’ll let the humor speak for itself.
Meh, pass.
“it’s the more memorable plots, characters and settings that allow them to provide a really funny alternate, and humorous, version of the film’s dialogue. That’s why Radar Secret Service is one of the more dull episodes of Mystery Science and Space Mutiny is awesome.”
You win the internet.
Although one could insert something like “Puma Man,” “Final Sacrifice,” or “Jack Frost” for Space Mutiny. It’s the ones that are crazy without being psychotic that are generally the most enjoyable.
Watched it Loved it and they didn’t go with any “bad” ledger jokes as some had feared… They do comment of the chicagoesce gotham city and even krankor gets a nod Instant Classic!
If I end up getting this movie, I’ll definitely purchase the rifftrax for it. Count me first among those who think sacred cows make the best hamburgers; I’ve said for a long time I’d like to see Citizen Kane riffed. Gone With the Wind would be good too Raptorial Talon, except that then I’d have to sit through the three plus hours of film. Hey, maybe they could do “The Ten Commandments” sometime…
For those of you interested, Bill must have been lurking here. The latest RiffTrax Blog has him explaining why they chose to do Dark Knight as well as calm some fears.
My opinion: If a DVD’s going to sell a bajillion copies it’ll probably sell more RTs than an actual bad movie nobody wants to own. I think it’s totally possible to riff a good movie and have everyone happy in the end. Let them riff what they want and you, the buying public, can choose what to purchase.
Don’t like it? Don’t buy it.
It’s fine with me if they make fun of “Dark Knight”– I didn’t like the film, anyway. I like “Spider-Man” and they made fun of that. I think it’s fine.
Also, it’s understandable what they are doing. They want to sell their products, so they create those things which can sell to as wide an audience as possible. Reminder: It’s a business. We have a choice to buy them or not, yada yada blah blah blotty blue blotty blue blotty blue!
I think it’s healthy to vent, under a fake or real name. Thank you– won’t you?
#53, yes indeed it’s almost like they are a… business, yes… selling…. product! yes that’s it, selling products to customers! Holy Crap!
“Hey, maybe they could do “The Ten Commandments” sometime…”
I’d pay to see that.
That’s got Charleston Heston, right? If so, a mandatory line is “Get your paws off my people, you damn dirty Pharaoh!”
Plus the obligatory NRA jokes (“you can pry my . . . oh, wait, guns won’t be invented for another two thousand years.”)
Could be good.
So “The Dark Knight” doesn’t qualify as a bad movie, huh? Interesting…
“The Ten Commandments” would be a laugh riot if Rifftrax did it – it’s a camp classic!
I’m not holding my breath, though.
I liked it very much (the Dark Knight riff).
:mrgreen: TDK is NOT a bad movie at all,but RT needs to riff on recent movies,so why not I Am Legend,Firehouse Dog,Meet Dave,Indiana 4(truly sucked big time!!),The Happening;etc..??? Don’t you think that RT needs to try older Grade Z movies instead?? Maybe do another Shorts?? They should try something different.
I don’t have a problem with Rifftrax going after today’s big-name movies. After all, it falls into the whole concept of MST attacking mediocrity (and less), and for the most part that’s exactly what Hollywood puts out. I enjoyed The Dark Knight but it, in no way, should be off-limits to riffing. Christian Bale’s gruff talking during his Batman scenes in particular were enough to mock.
For me, I would love them to go after a film like “An American Haunting”, which I thought was really good three-fourths of the way in and then fell completely apart, because the director obviously had “daddy issues”.
When it comes to what movies deserve riffing, I do think a line should be drawn at some point. It depends on the subject matter…someone mentioned “Schiendler’s List”, which is a great example of a movie that should be left alone. Movies documenting real-life tragedy wouldn’t go over well in a riffing format, no matter how cynical you are.
I would never expect rifftrax to do their own version of “In Cold Blood” or “The Killing Fields” for specifically that reason.
#75 – Rifftrax has already released tracks for “I Am Legend”, “Indiana Jones 4”, and “The Happening.” They also continue to riff shorts on the site. I’m not sure what you’d call Grade Z movies, but I’d like to think stuff like “Plan 9 From Outer Space”, “Missle To The Moon,” and “Troll 2” qualify. You should try exploring the site sometime.
Of course you could have just been sarcastic, but it’s hard to tell with text sometimes.
I finally just watched TDK (because a friend of mine was one of the screaming millions who insist that it’s the “BEST MOVIE EVER!”) – and it broke my heart to have to tell him that he is dumber than a sack of doorknobs.
THE DARK KNIGHT IS A HORRIBLE FILM! What in the world has happened to so many people that they have so completely and utterly fallen for the marketing for this chopped together piece of crap? There are so many plotholes in this movie that if it were a bridge, it would have been condemned by a City Council and the construction company behind it would be serving Federal time!
Within the first 10 minutes of this movie I was asking myself, “Whu?” at least a dozen times. As soon as that school bus just casually pulled out of the gaping hole in the side of the bank (entirely UNDAMAGED, mind you!) and oh-so conveniently pulled into a line of school buses (which I guess, just HAPPENED to be driving by, at that EXACT moment, with the EXACT amount of space to allow another school bus to join them!) – I knew I was watching a poorly made film.
And before you say – this didn’t call for the “Suspension of Disbelief”. This required the Suspension of Intelligence!
And how is Ledger’s performance “excellent?” His performance in “Dogtown” was better than this! What? Because he stuttered? Because he hunched over a lot and kept flopping his tongue and lips around those cheesy scar prosthetics on his mouth? Was the Joker somehow KNOWN for his frog imitations? WHAT?
And Harvey Dent suffers burns on his face so deep that it actually exposes BONE – and yet his eye remains perfectly intact? His speech isn’t impaired AT ALL? Great googly-moogly! He looked like half a Martian from “Mars Attacks”!
AUGH! If ANY movie deserves to be made fun of – by the “professionals” of Rifftrax or us poor, amateur slobs who KNOW what a bad movie looks like after 10 YEARS of MST3K – it’s this over-blown conceited cobbled-together bit of nonsense. Hell, “The Wild, Wild World of Batwoman” was better than this movie – AND THAT JUST SHOWS YOU HOW PISSED OFF I AM AT THE MAKERS OF “THE DARK KNIGHT”. I HATED THE “WILD, WILD WORLD OF BATWOMAN”!!!
Clearly, Dr. F has won if the drooling occupants of Earth honestly believe this was the “best” movie ever. Push the button, Frank.