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Tarfumes.com - The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection - The Essentials (Manos, the Hands of Fate / Santa Claus Conquers the Martians)
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List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $19.99
Your Save: $ 4.96 ( 20% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Rhino Theatrical
Starring: Trace Beaulieu, Patrick Brantseg, Frank Conniff, Bill Corbett, Joel Hodgson
Directed By: Trace Beaulieu, Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, Kevin Murphy (II), Michael J. Nelson
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Ryko Distribution
EAN: 0603497034420
Format: Closed-captioned
Label: Rhino Theatrical
Manufacturer: Rhino Theatrical
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Rhino Theatrical
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2004-08-31
Running Time: 190
Studio: Rhino Theatrical
Theatrical Release Date: 1988-11-24
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Editorial Reviews:
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Join Joel and his "robot friends" as they're forced to endure two of the worst movies ever made. To maintain their sanity, they hilariously skewer the films' performaces, special effects and dialogue.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: wow
Comment: Have to agree with most reviewers that 'Santa Claus' is worth the price of the box. 'Manos' is indeed awful, so badly photographed, badly paced, and just plain off, it creates a black hole of badness from which little humor can escape - though the MST crew give it a credible try, and do produce some laugh-out-loud moments. The director of 'Manos' must have been a silent movie buff, as there are many scenes and settings evocative of 1920s films (and the sound is about as good). 'Santa Claus' on the other hand is campy-bad, and the boys make the most of it. Recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: So much fun!
Comment: I was a die-hard fan of this show back in the day. I ordered this to introduce my 11-year old son to the series. He is now a fan too. Sooo funny!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Worst! But That's Good!
Comment: Two classic stinker movies made watchable by Joel, Mike, Tom, and Crow. "Manos" is truly awful with the whole movie being re-dubbed (I encourage you to read IMDB.com's Trivia section on this movie). "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" is only a few steps lower on the bad movie scale because it had a higher production value. So just sit back and watch the crew slice these movies up. The "Poopie" blooper section also has some great outtakes.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Mystery Science Theater 3000
Comment: Just the way we remember the series when it was still in production.
Funny, witty, classic commentary by the "bots".
Customer Rating:
Summary: For a limited time only! Things The Curmudgeon actually LIKES - part three!
Comment: It's that time once again, faithful readers. Time to stop attacking the wretched dross available on this site and embrace the very best things that makes The Curmudgeon NOT wish hot, burning death on everyone on the planet. In short - its a time of celebration. And hey - YOU'RE invited.
It was a total fluke that I happened to see this show.
Back when MST3K was on the air, the only place to see it was in America. This was back in the time when the net wasn't invented, we ate what we killed ourselves and people used to have sex with monkeys. Probably. Dark days, my friends.
So it was only on a "vacation", as you space age yanks say, to America that I discovered the wonder, the sheer unadulterated joy that is Mystery Science Theater 3000. A show that does two pretty amazing things; it effortlessly glides past its shoe-string budget, creating lovable, fun characters from hunks of plastic but it also makes watching the worst movies imaginable into 90 of the best minutes of your day.
As is the case with, say, The Simpsons and such, I'm not actually reviewing this DVD itself, more the overall show (although both these episodes are hilarious, even if Manos had appeared on an earlier boxset). So while the very, very first episodes were quite hard to sit through, with some poor jokes, dodgy voices and loooong gaps in between talking, MST3K hit a stride fairly early on in its run and the quality didn't let up right till the end.
For those who don't know what this show is (and trust me, 99% of the UK seems to have never heard of it - certainly anyone I ever met), its premise is fiendishly simple; an average Joe (or Joel, and in later seasons Mike) is blasted into space by mad scientists to watch terrible B-movies while they scan his brain. Joel creates some robots to watch the movies with him and keep him company, and they, as indeed, do we, proceed to sit and watch the entire film, with only their wisecracks to keep us from gouging out our eyes instead of watching the film.
It sounds like a show that would quickly run out of steam. How many gags can you get out of watching old movies? Well, its down to the genius writing and perfect delivery of Joel, Mike (I always preferred Mike, to be honest), Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot that kept the show fresh, funny, endlessly quotable and even at over 90 minutes at a time, often without a dragging moment.
Yes, some episodes were better than others, but that was often down to the choice of film than the choice of gags. There are some truly side-splitting episodes that demand repeat viewing, with constant inspired, surreal riffs that just seem to flow from the crew. It never feels scripted or pre-determined. Every gag sounds off the cuff. Never before have bad movies turned into solid GOLD television.
MST3K suffered more than most TV shows. In fact, it bore the brunt of most things that either make a show "jump the shark" or kill it completely. Different writers, different voice actors for the robots, different mad scientists, change of station, different lead star - you name it, the MST3K crew faced it, dealt with it and kept on coming up with the goods. In today's age of shows being cancelled half way through a series for no real reason (hello, Bionic Woman) its nothing less than a triumph.
Sadly, a lot of these episodes (the show ran for 10 years) will probably never see the official light of day due to copyright issues, so its more reason to cherish the episodes that have made it through.
For those that actually LOVE old, corny films (like the MST3K crew do), its a treat. For those that just love hearing the most hilarious running commentary on bad movies, it's an absolute blast. MST3K really did offer something new from something old. To watch it is to love it.
And that, good reader, is Part Three in my list of the great and the good. But what could possibly be up next? Only one way to find out..
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