wouldn't recommend this one for first time buyers

[FBX]

The fifth element seems like an easy target but honestly I was disappointed in the riffing on it. I'm glad some people liked this one but seeing as how I'm a big fan of MST3k and how I enjoyed the roadhouse riffing, I didn't find this one funny and its not because I dont get riffing. The underlying problem is that the fifth element is supposed to be wierd, and besides its own wierdness, it doesnt have much ammo to make fun of. I ended up liking the fifth element (saw it for the first time because of rifftrax) on its own merit. Definately a hit or miss rifftrax.

Also I didnt post this to get flamed. I want rifftrax to get enough business to stay around, but this movie in particular comes off as a "gotta try this one first" film that'll turn people away for good if they dont like it.

[Rube_Maroon]

First time buyers should look to Star Trek V.

[trickfred]

Not counting the hard-core former MST fans, first time purchasers will probably buy their first track based on whatever they have in their personal DVD collection. Looking at the catalogue now (let's pretend Cocktail's already up there), and pretending the site hasn't made me purchase any new DVDs yet, T5E is the first Trax I'd purchase based on that.

[Afgncaap5]

It was my first rifftrax (and my only one so far, it takes forever for these e-checks to clear due to my bank's crazy rules about time), and I enjoyed it personally.  I get what you're saying about the fifth element being a weird film on its own, and I appreciate it as a higher-quality example of a popcorn-grade flick, but I wasn't dissapointed with it.

Of course, I'm the one who wants to see Mike riff on Casablanca, so my vote may note count for much.

[RandyMistie]

Hey, I saw FE in the theaters and then bought it when it came out on DVD, (few years ago).  It was my first rfftrax just because I could listen to it right away as it was the only DVD I owned for a rifftrax.

I loved the riffing.  I wasn't offended because I liked the Fifth Element as a movie.  There WERE very very goofy moments that needed to be made fun of.  I thought it was well directed and had some nice sci-fi elements (no pun intended), and the special FX are still great, but the story did need a bit of polish.  It was like a first draft, really. And, there were some very odd choices on the part of the director and the actors alike.

Mike pointed out stupid things I never noticed before, like the squealing tires on the flying cars, or the really bad costumes that I had never looked at too closely but, he's right, they are silly as all hell.

In summary, to your point, I don't think your concerns are very valid.  Certainly not universally so, at any rate.  I think it will do well.

[ZachsMind]

T5E is my favorite one so far. I'd recommend it for anyone who hated the film, anyone who loved the film, and anyone who wants to know what the hell this Mike guy's doing talking over a film in an mp3 file.

Road House is in my opinion more of an aquired taste than T5E, although it's plain that Mike was REALLY ENJOYING reaming Road House another orifice, perhaps too much. The boy was in hog heaven with Road House and that alone made it enjoyable, but not everyone's gonna 'get' Road House.

Perhaps none of these are ideal for first time listeners. Right now this is a kind of niche market. What Mike and company may need to contemplate is a specially designed RiffTrax in the near future that's specifically designed to kinda introduce the unwashed masses. Pick a really popular film that's still kinda bad. Something that would get the attention of a lot of people. So far the picks have been kinda geek-oriented, which is great for me cuz I am a geek. Maybe Cocktail will help to break out of that geekdom thing, but I think they need to find a film that made well over a hundred million dollars. Cocktail only grossed about $78 million, and it was pretty gross. Top film contenders for a RiffTrax specially designed to initiate newcomers might include this list. All these films grossed well over $100 million a piece. Some would admittedly work better than others. The list is in no particular order, although I think the first few are no brainers. Any of those would work.

Titanic
Star Wars
E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Shrek
Spider-Man
Pirates of the Carribean
Jurassic Park
Finding Nemo
Forrest Gump
Lion King
Independence Day
The Sixth Sense
Home Alone
Matrix Reloaded
Harry Potter
Jaws
Batman (1989 with Michael Keaton)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Twister
Ghostbusters
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Passion of the Christ
Cast Away
Signs
The Da Vinci Code
Saving Private Ryan
Mrs. Doubtfire
Peter Jackson's King Kong remake
Back To The Future
The Exorcist
Armageddon
Gone With The Wind
Pearl Harbor
Dances With Wolves
Grease
Oceans Eleven 
The Day After Tomorrow
What Women Want
The Perfect Storm
Tootsie
Hitch
Crocadile Dundee
National Treasure
Air Force One

[trickfred]

There is a seperate thread for movie suggestions, you might want to put them there instead:

http://rifftrax.com/smf/index.php?topic=6.0

[Rooser]

Zachs I think even you are being too broad. If you really wanted to introduce the mainstream to the idea, you'd probably have to pick on a popcorn movie that was released no earlier than 2005. With a few exceptions, the only movies that people seem to remember for longer than 2 years are the sci-fantasy-action ones, and they only get remembered by geeks. Most comedies and dramas just don't seem to retain general interest for very long, even when they are really good.

T5E is the only movie done so far that even remotely has any "people still watch this sometimes" value and even then, it's almost 10 years old now, so nobody really watches it anymore anyway. Even people like me who actually like the movie haven't contemplated watching it for about 5 years.

And most of the movies you listed are older than 1997.

No, if they really want to attract mainstream audiences they need to riff films that your average mouth-breather still watches. Like "13 going on 30" or "Doom."

[mrbasehart]

I agree that it's not the best of the rifftrax, but it is perhaps the one people will pick up first, due to the availabilty of the movie and the fact that it's the newest film Mike's riffed.  Without thinking of the quality of the individual rifftrax, I would've probably picked Fifth Element first as well.

[Tarantulas]

Passion of the Christ

Now you want to cheese off the Catholics?!?!  You're killing me dude. 

[LadyKenobi]

Oh...we're used to being cheesed off.  We've spent two thousand years being cheesed off, largely at one another.  That's what the priest said when he dumped the water over my head thirty years ago-- "Prepare to be cheesed off, kid."  A RiffTrax won't hurt us none

[Rube_Maroon]

I'm with you guys. Riffing for Jesus 2006!

[nateface]

I usually try to expose people to MST3K as a first choice, but don't think The Fifth Element is that bad for "first blood" (ooooh, another good choice
for ripping.  Stallone lends himself well to being riffed).  I still think it's more important to train people how to watch, and not what to watch.

[starfighter]

  Has there been any mention yet of what Rifftrax will do when they attempt a movie that also has an expanded edition...Star Wars, any Lord of the Rings, etc.  I would think most people involved enough to be paying for Rifftrax would be the ones who waited to buy the expanded versions, but would they offer it in two versions to cover both versions of the movie??
   And how about director's cuts? Bladerunner just popped into my head.

[trickfred]

  Has there been any mention yet of what Rifftrax will do when they attempt a movie that also has an expanded edition...Star Wars, any Lord of the Rings, etc.  I would think most people involved enough to be paying for Rifftrax would be the ones who waited to buy the expanded versions, but would they offer it in two versions to cover both versions of the movie??
   And how about director's cuts? Bladerunner just popped into my head.

LOTR has been discussed in various threads - they'll probably do whatever DVD set is most common/cheapest, which would probably be theatrical (but we can still hope and beg for the extended!).

...And Blade Runner would be a good movie to do, but I don't think you can still get anything but the Director's Cut anymore, so that would probably be a safe bet (at least, I've never seen a copy of it on DVD that wasn't the Director's Cut...).