By “riffs”, I mean voice-overs by Mystery Science Theater 3000, Cinematic Titanic, RiffTrax or any of the others that take a schlock film and have fun with added dialog and descriptions. Right now I am watching a RiffTrax version of a film I originally saw back in the early eighties, Kill And Kill Again with James Ryan.
Have any of you seen riffed and unriffed versions of the same films, and how did it work for you?
I have, though the only one that probably qualifies as a “favorite” B-Movie is Krull. It doesn’t work quite the same way, because if they Riff something you like, there’s a degree of kneejerk defensiveness that sometimes interferes with the enjoyment of a really good crack.
Not that we know anything here about kneejerk defensiveness!
I found though that I could enjoy the cracks on their own merit, generally with good feelings, by the second watchalong, and even the first time, it didn’t ruin my appreciation of either version of the work, just that I had a harder time the first time I heard/saw it riffed.
And even then, oh boy, have I seen a lot of unriffed versions of material I saw Riffed First… and ye gods, that’s some unwatchable drek. I’ve also sat through such things (with friends) pretty much Riffing and OMFGing the whole time.
My all-time favorite MST3K movie is Boggy Creek II: And The Legend Continues. I’ve probably seen it 5 or 6 times and will definitely watch it again. I have sat through the un-riffed version once, and that was enough.
YES!!! I even like it when they riff GOOD movies, such as Rifftrax’s riffs of Jaws, The Wizard of Oz, and Casablanca.
Best example of riffing something I actually like: Rifftrax Live did Doctor Who’s The Five Doctors some years back, but rights issues mean they haven’t released it for home viewing.
“This is just like a bad fanfic, except the Doctors haven’t kissed.”
“Yet.”