Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jim Mallon
Produced by Jim Mallon
Screenplay by
Based on Mystery Science Theater 3000
by Joel Hodgson
Starring
  • Michael J. Nelson
  • Trace Beaulieu
  • Kevin Murphy
  • Jim Mallon
Music by Billy Barber
Cinematography Jeff Stonehouse
Edited by Bill Johnson
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • April 19, 1996 (1996-04-19)
Running time
 75 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1 million[1]

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is a 1996 American comedy film and a film adaptation of the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, produced and set between seasons 6 and 7 of the show. It was distributed by Gramercy Pictures[1] and produced by Best Brains and Universal Studios.

The filmmakers dub a new comic narrative over the 1955 science fiction film This Island Earth, editing out approximately twenty minutes of the original film.

Plot

For the plot of the film-within-the-film, see This Island Earth

The film opens with mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester, working from an underground laboratory, explaining the premise of the film (and associated TV series). Mike Nelson and the robots Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo, along with Gypsy, are aboard the Satellite of Love high in Earth's orbit, when Forrester forces them to watch the film This Island Earth to break their wills; as per the television show, Mike, Crow, and Tom riff the film as it airs.

The film-riffing scenes are book-ended and interspersed with short sketches. Prior to the film, Crow attempts to dig through the ship's hull to return to Earth. After the filmstrip breaks and Forrester reloads it, Crow and Tom dare Mike to drive the Satellite himself, but ends up crashing into the Hubble Space Telescope; Mike then tries to repair the Hubble using the Satellite's manipulator arms, MANOS, but instead further damages the unit before Gypsy takes over. Some time into the film, Tom reveals that he has an interocitor like that used in This Island Earth. The gang tries to use Tom's device to return to Earth, but instead contact a Metalunan (the alien race from the film) who is unable to help them to figure out how to use it correctly but does accidentally repeatedly zap Tom's head with a laser beam. The contact is broken by Forrester, who also has an interocitor, and he zaps the group to encourage them back to the theater.

After the film, Mike, Crow, and Tom are far from broken, celebrating in various Metaluna ways. Forrester, furious at his failure, attempts to use his own interocitor to harm Mike and the others, but only succeeds in transporting himself into the shower of the Metalunan previously seen. Mike and the robots briefly celebrate Forrester's disappearance before they realize they no longer have a way back to Earth without him. Upon this realization, the crew goes back to the theater to riff on the film's ending credits.

Cast

Production

The film was shot away from the Best Brains corporate headquarters and studio in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, at Energy Park Studios in St. Paul.[2]

Deleted scenes

Release

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie was released on April 19, 1996. At its widest point of its North American theatrical release, the film screened in 26 cinemas.[1]

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $206,328. It went on to gross $1,007,306.[1]

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 80% rating, based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's consensus states: "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie may be thin and uneven, but it's hilarious in enough of the right spots to do the show's big-screen transition justice."[3]

Home media

The film was released on VHS by MCA/Universal Home Video to rental outlets on October 1, 1996. The film was released for retail sales on April 8, 1997 on both VHS and Laserdisc formats. MST3K: The Movie was released on DVD in 1998 by Image Entertainment, as a discount title with an MSRP of $14.99.

Universal re-released the DVD on May 6, 2008 through their Rogue Pictures subsidiary. The film is in anamorphic widescreen, and includes an upgraded Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, with English subtitles, a first for an MST3K DVD, and an alternate French language that is noticeably different from the original English one as many of the pop culture references that the show was famous for did not translate well overseas and had to be replaced.

It was announced on June 7, 2013 that Shout! Factory would be releasing The Movie on a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack Collector's Edition. This release included, for the first time, the deleted scenes from the film.

TV airings

Besides being released on VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD, in recent years, the film has also been shown on the Starz and HBO television channels in the USA, and the film has been aired frequently in Europe on the Sky Movies channels.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie at Box Office Mojo
  2. ↑ "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) – Filming locations". Internet Movie Database. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  3. ↑ "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
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