Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) is a nerdy orphan living and working in the basement of a flower shop in the Skid Row section of New York City. Business has been terrible with customers being non-existent. Owner Mr. Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia) is thinking about closing the store. Also working at the shop is Audrey (Ellen Greene), a beautiful young woman with bad taste in men. Currently she’s dating sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello D.D.S. (Steve Martin), and often shows up to work late with a black eye or broken arm. Audrey dreams of having the idyllic family life somewhere outside of Skid Row, but seems resigned that there is no escape. Seymour and Audrey likely have feelings for one another but neither has the courage to make a move.
One day, during an unusual total eclipse of the sun, Seymour finds a very odd plant resembling a flytrap, which he names Audrey II. When he puts the plant in the store’s front window, business suddenly begins to boom. Everyone is excited to see this strange new plant. However, Seymour struggles to keep Audrey II healthy. That is, until he accidentally pricks his finger on a rose thorn and feeds the plant a couple drops of his blood. Audrey II thrives and grows, but there’s only so much blood that Seymour has to give her. Soon Audrey II begins to speak (voiced by Levi Stubbs of The Four Tops), and starts to suggest that he find her another source of blood..and flesh.
At its core, Little Shop of Horrors is a love story between a boy, a girl and a plant, which goes off in a horrifying direction. Little Shop of Horrors started off as a 1960 dark comedy by B-movie king Roger Corman, before being adapted into a Broadway musical in the 1980s and then back to this 1986 movie-musical. It had been a number of years since I last saw this film, but as I started to watch, and that 1960’s doo-wop style music started to play, I was instantly reminded of why this film/musical is a favorite of mine.
Little Shop of Horrors could have ended up as more of a campy B-movie like the original film that inspired it, but instead, it gives viewers characters and relationships to care about, and some amazing musical numbers. The movie was directed by the amazing Frank Oz (The Dark Crystal, The Muppets Take Manhattan), and has wonderful set design that instantly transports the viewer to this Skid Row flower shop in the early 1960s. The musical features songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, who went on to create The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. There are so many memorable musical numbers in this film, including the titular ironically 1960’s “Little Shop of Horrors”, Audrey’s emotional solo “Somewhere That’s Green”, the loving duet “Suddenly, Seymour”, and (new for the film) “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space”.
Moranis and Greene have amazing chemistry, and as the audience, you really root for these two to make it. Steve Martin’s Orin is despicable, but he’s so hilarious in this role as this over-the-top sadistic dentist that you can’t help but enjoy him. The film also includes guest appearances by many recognizable actors, including Christopher Guest (as The First Customer), Jim Belushi (as businessman Patrick Martin), John Candy (as radio host Wink Wilkinson), and Bill Murray (as pain-loving dental patient Arthur Denton).
While much of the story takes place in the flower shop, the film also makes use of a Greek chorus trio of 1960s doo-wop singers—Crystal (Tichina Arnold), Ronette (Michelle Weeks) & Chiffon (Tisha Campbell)—who help move the story along. These women are so delightful, and transform to fit whatever is needed by the scene. They are a key pat of why this film works so well. That, and the use of a practical Audrey II, who comes to life and feels like a real live character—it’s amazing how the filmmakers have made it feel like this giant plant is actually singing, with the lips lining up so naturally.
This new disc release includes both the Theatrical Cut of the film as well as the original Director’s Cut in 4K. Test audiences did not like the much darker original ending of the film, which is apparently more in line with that of the play, and I definitely agree with them. I think the Director’s Cut has a very ambitious and cinematic ending, and it was great to be able to watch it fully restored and in place in the film. However, I definitely prefer how things wrap up in the theatrical cut of the film, which gives viewers a far more positive and happy ending.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the film, Warner Bros. has released Little Shop of Horrors on newly remastered 4K UHD both in Limited Edition SteelBook and standard packaging. We were sent the standard 4K UHD edition for review. The presentation is fantastic. The picture looks stunning with an excellent level of deail, solid colors and a natural and pleasant level of film grain., The new Dolby Atmos audio track provides a really full and immersive experience for the musical numbers while still keeping dialogue clear. The disc ports over many features from the previous 2012 Blu-ray release of the film, including a director commentary track, a gag reel with optional commentary track, a feature on the alternate ending with optional commentary, and over 30 minutes of other featurettes. New to this release are a pair of featurettes featuring brand new interviews with director Frank Oz, star Ellen Greene, and others.
The release includes just a single 4K UHD disc, which is placed in a standard 4K keepcase. There is a cardboard slipcover, and an insert sheet with instructions on how to redeem a digital copy o the theatrical version of the film.
What’s Included:
- Film: (Theatrical: 1:33:53, Director’s Cut: 1:43:11)
- 2160p / Widescreen 1.85:1
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1); Theatrical Only: English DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo, French Dolby Digital Stereo, German Dolby Digital Stereo, Italian Dolby Digital Stereo, Spanish (Castilian) Dolby Digital Stereo, Spanish (Latin) Dolby Digital Stereo
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Spanish (Castilian), Dutch, Spanish (Latin), Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
- 4K Digital Copy of the Theatrical Cut (Movies Anywhere compatible)
- Commentary (1:33:53)
Director Frank Oz provides an interesting and informative commentary for the theatrical cut of the film. He talks about the challenges of adapting the Broadway musical for the big screen. - To Feed or Not to Feed: For the Love of Little Shop* (14:39)
In this brand new featurette, Director Frank Oz and actress Ellen Greene (“Audrey”) talk about initially not wanting to do the project, and what changed their minds. They also talk about the cast, the sets, the use of the Greek Chorus, the negative reaction to the original ending, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and production photos. - Mean Green Mother – Creating Audrey II* (8:23)
In this brand new featurette, Frank Oz (director), Bran Ferren (special visual effects), Richard Conway (model unit supervisor) and actress Ellen Greene talk about working with creator/designer Lyle Conway who created the look of Audrey II, the challenges of making the puppet lip-sync properly to the songs, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and production photos. - Frank Oz and Little Shop of Horrors: The Director’s Cut (10:40)
Director Frank Oz and visual FX supervisor (model unit) Richard Conway discuss creating the visuals for film’s original ending, which mirrored the play’s ending, but didn’t set well with test audiences, and reshooting the ending. - A Story of Little Shop of Horrors (23:04)
Promotional featurette from 1987 that takes a look at the origins of the movie in Roger Corman’s 1960 film and the stage musical that followed, casting the film, the trio of girls, bringing the plant to life, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with filmmaker Roger Corman, producer David Geffen, director Frank Oz, creator/designer Lyle Conway, and stars Rick Moranis (“Seymour”) & Ellen Greene. - Outtakes and Deleted Scenes (8:41)
The cast has fun on set in this combination of gag reel, outtake reel and test footage. - Outtakes and Deleted Scenes with Commentary (8:41)
Same as above but with commentary provided by Director Frank Oz. - Director’s Cut Ending (22:03)
The original darker ending for the film. - Director’s Cut Ending with Commentary by Frank Oz (22:03)
Same as above but with commentary provided by Director Frank Oz. Since there’s no commentary track on the Director’s Cut of the film, it’s nice to also get Frank Oz’s behind-the-scenes analysis on this cut of the film as well.
4K UHD:
Digital (code may not be valid after 12/31/2028):
Extras:
Items new to this release are marked with an *
Final Thoughts:
Little Shop of Horrors remains one of my all-time favorite films/musicals, and it still holds up extremely well nearly 40 years later! Warner Bros.’ new 4K release looks and sounds amazing and gives viewers the option to watch either the original Director’s Cut or the theatrical release in newly-remastered 4K Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. The release not only ports over previous bonus material but also gives fans two new featurettes. This is an easy recommendation for any fan of the film/musical.
