When Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie came out in theaters, I went to see it several times. Some of my friends thought I was crazy; the others went to see it with me. The film’s tagline (which is on the DVD case) was “Every year Hollywood makes hundreds of movies. This is one of them!” Perfect. I love the way they undersell it.
The movie isn’t much different from the television series, though with bigger sets and a much better model of the Satellite Of Love. Basically, it’s Mike Nelson and his two robots poking fun at an old movie. When the film was released, some people were upset because the movie the MST3K gang rips apart is This Island Earth, which is considered by some to be something of a genre classic, rather than the awful films the group usually tackles. But as it turns out, This Island Earth is perfect fodder for Mike Nelson, Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo.
At the beginning of the film, Dr. Forrester (Trace Beaulieu, who also plays Crow T. Robot) tells us the basic premise (for those who might have somehow missed every single episode the series). Then the opening sequence with Crow trying to dig his way back to Earth is great (much better than the majority of such sequences in the show). Crow admits, “I calculated the odds of this succeeding versus the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid, and I went ahead anyway.”
The jokes come fast and often in the film, more so than in many of the series’ episodes (though that might be due in part to some of the cuts the film suffered). During the opening credits, when it says “Universal-International Presents,” Mike quips, “Doesn’t the fact that it’s universal make it international?” And when the film’s title comes up Crow jokes, “This Island Earth can be yours if the price is right.” As they often do, they poke fun at what they see as a lack of a script. When a delivery man makes an appearance, Crow says, “Ah, the script has finally arrived.”
They also enjoy poking fun at Joe, Cal’s wormy sidekick character. When Joe says to Cal, “You know what my kids would say,” the gang leaps in with, “You’re not my real father.” As Cal leaves, Crow jokes, “I’ll understand if you assist other scientists, Joe.”
A group of aliens gathers together some of Earth’s scientists. They take two of them back to their planet, placing them in glass tubes. When Cal’s hands stick to some metal rails inside the tubes, an alien tells him, “They’re magnetized.” Mike quips, “And if your hands were metal, that would mean something.” The alien tells them, “There’s an intercom system in the tubes. You may converse as long as you’re able to.” Crow jokes, “But it will be billed to your room, so don’t overuse it.”
The film breaks at one point, also giving the gang a break. While Gypsy sings a great Irish song, Mike drives the Satellite Of Love right into the Hubble (leading to a nice Hamlet reference). This movie seems to have fewer interesting references than most episodes. In almost every episode, there are at least a few references that completely surprise me, and often a few that I have to look up. In this one, most of the references are to things that basically everyone will know, such as Casablanca, The Invisible Manand The Untouchables. And of course, to Gilligan’s Island, due to the presence of Russell Johnson in the cast of This Island Earth. When Russell Johnson first appears, Mike says, “What’s this ‘And the rest’ crap?” (a reference to the Gilligan’s Islandtheme song).
Be sure to watch the end credit sequence, as the gang makes fun of its own crew. “Craft services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday.” Crow jokes, “I sing the additional grip electric.” And Tom Servo says, “If not fully satisfied with this film, please return unused portion for a full refund.”
Bonus Features
This DVD has plenty of bonus material, including two new documentaries, each just over half an hour. The first of those is about the making of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 The Movie, and is titled, Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie: The Motion Picture Odyssey. This includes interviews with Trace Beaulieu, Kevin Murphy, Jim Mallon, Michael J. Nelson, Jeff Stonehouse (the cinematographer) and Jef Maynard (the production designer). They talk about how the idea for the film came about, including the fact that the gang was performing live at movie theaters even back when Joel was still with the show. They talk about early concepts for the film, including a mad scientist convention, and they discuss the impact that Universal had on the finished product, including that the film they riffed on had to be a Universal release and had to be in color. One thing I found interesting was the writing process for the show and film, and how Universal gave the team extensive notes about cuts they wanted (no esoteric references in the film). I also found the behind-the-scenes footage showing the set-up for the riffing segments really interesting.
The second documentary is This Island Earth: 2 1/2 Years In The Making. This documentary is all about This Island Earth, and includes interviews with several film historians, as well as a couple of the film’s actors (Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason) and Joe Dante. They talk about how the film was rushed into production, and about the mutant design (yes, the fact that it’s wearing pants). They also talk about the film’s marketing campaign, which mentions that the film was two and a half years in the making and is in color. Interestingly, at the end of this documentary, the MST3K version is discussed with, let’s say, not very high regard. They talk about how the cuts were merciless to the original film. Joe Dante talks about how the MST3K version is unfair, because of the cuts and also because of its having changed the picture to fit the silhouettes at the bottom of the screen.
There is also “The Making Of Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie,” a five-minute promotional spot with very brief interviews and some behind-the-scenes footage.
Even more interesting are the deleted and extended scenes. The DVD includes approximately twenty-three minutes worth of them, including extended versions of “Cal’s Lab,” “Exeter’s Office,” “Exeter and Brak” and “The Brak Show.” Interestingly, the extended scenes include some jokes that are different from those in the final cut. There is also a deleted scene labeled “Metaluna Thrill Ride,” in which Exeter shows Cal and Ruth some of the planet. These scenes, particularly “Exeter’s Office,” help to make more sense of This Island Earth, and should have remained intact. In addition, there are two other deleted segments featuring the MST3Kgang. The first is “The Meteor Shower,” a five-minute scene where the Satellite Of Love enters a meteor shower, and the gang seeks shelter in a bunker. It’s actually kind of a wonderful scene. The second is “Original Ending,” which includes another reference to “Drunken Sailor” with Gypsy. Again, I’m not sure why this was cut. It’s good.
The bonus material also includes the film’s trailer.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is scheduled to be released on September 3, 2013 through Shout! Factory.
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