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The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

R16 | | Comedy | 4 November 1978 (Japan)
Trailer
2:22 | Trailer
A series of short, highly irreverent, and often tasteless skits.

Director:

John Landis
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Popularity
4,633 ( 445)

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marilyn Joi ... Cleopatra Schwartz (segment "Cleopatra Schwartz")
Saul Kahan Saul Kahan ... Schwartz (segment "Cleopatra Schwartz")
David Zucker ... Man (segment "His New Car") / Technician #2 (segment "Eyewitness News") / Grunwald (segment "Courtroom")
Marcy Goldman ... Housewife (segment "Household Odors")
Dulcie Jordan Dulcie Jordan ... Guest #1 (segment "Household Odors")
Gracia Lee Gracia Lee ... Guest #2 (segment "Household Odors")
Sheila Rogers Sheila Rogers ... Guest #3 (segment "Household Odors")
Joseph G. Medalis Joseph G. Medalis ... Paul Burmaster (segment "High Adventure") (as Joe Medalis)
Barry Dennen ... Claude LaMont (segment "High Adventure")
Colin Male ... Spokesman (segment "Argon") / Voice Overs
Ed Griffith Ed Griffith ... Host (segment "Danger Seekers")
Robert Starr ... Rex Kramer (segment "Danger Seekers")
Richard Gates Richard Gates ... Boy (segment "Eyewitness News") (as Rick Gates)
Tara Strohmeier ... Girl (segment "Eyewitness News") (as Tara Strohmeir)
Neil Thompson Neil Thompson ... Newscaster (segment "Eyewitness News")
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Storyline

Madcap spoof, a collection of comedy skits includes the Kung-Fu parody, "A Fistful Of Yen" and "Catholic School Girls In Trouble." Enjoy the future of movie-going with the "Feel-A-Round" theater experience. See a notable and highly respected actor as the clumsiest waiter in motion picture history. Watch such character as Cleopatra Schwartz and Big Jim Slade tickle your funny bone until it has to be removed surgically! Written by Edwin van Oorschot <info@edwinvanoorschot.nl>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

This movie is totally out of control!

Genres:

Comedy

Certificate:

R16 | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the second consecutive John Landis movie to feature a gorilla. One had been in Landis' first film, Schlock (1973). See more »

Goofs

During the "Fistful of Yen" sequence, the tour guide mentions that the tanks containing the chemicals for germ warfare can each hold "4000 cubic liters". The liter is already a unit of volume, so the phrase "cubic liters" doesn't really mean anything. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Newscaster: The popcorn you are eating has been pissed in. Film at eleven.
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Crazy Credits

The credits state that the cast is listed in order of appearance - and then starts with Cleopatra Schwarz (who appears about 2/3rds of the way through the film)! See more »

Alternate Versions

A version aired on Comedy Central (and perhaps on other channels) features a small variety of edits:
  • The 'Cleopatra Schwartz' sequence is censored heavily for language and nudity
  • During the closing sequence (where the teenagers are having sex on the couch, and the news crew is watching), the camera zoom is altered several times so that nothing but the teens' faces show. The zooms are awkward, and blatantly added.
  • The entirety of the 'Catholic School Girls In Trouble' scene is missing. It is listed in the credits, however.
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Connections

Spoofs Enter the Dragon (1973) See more »

Soundtracks

Soft Memories
(uncredited)
Music by James Kenelm Clarke
KPM Music Ltd
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User Reviews

The DVD of "Kentucky Fried Movie" Outshines "Airplane!"
24 January 2004 | by jberlin11797See all my reviews

In our millenial DVD culture, we demand plenty of extras and insights. "Kentucky Fried Movie," the little movie that could, delivers it. Regrettably, its successor "Airplane!" didn't. Both movies were made by the famous comedy moviemakers David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker, best known as ZAZ. "Kentucky Fried Movie," or KFM as it is known, was directed by John Landis, who went to big projects as "Animal House" and "The Blues Brothers." As a small movie, KFM would pave the way for the filmmakers successes. But in DVD terms, KFM did a much better job than "Airplane!" with extras aplenty. "Airplane!" only had a trailer and ZAZ's mediocre commentary track, which ZAZ did much better in KFM. As for KFM's extras, they included a hilarious 8-minute home movie which ZAZ proved to their relatives they were making a real movie in Hollywood, a clear-cut photo gallery, bios of ZAZ and John Landis, and the best commentary track they have done so far.

As for KFM, what makes this small movie so special? Although much of the movie is done tastelessly, it is fun tastelessness that everyone in it is enjoying it. There is a lot of nudity and foul language, but it had it's heart in the right place. And as for the cast, there are mostly unknown actors, and many of them are quite attractive and talented, with cameos by more famous actors such as the late Bill Bixby in a headache sketch, Donald Sutherland as a clumsy waiter in a sketch spoofing disaster movies, and "Leave it to Beaver" stars Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow kidding themselves as bickering brother jurors in the courtroom sketch.

This movie, I think, is the best spoof of pop culture I've ever seen, outdoing its predecessor "The Groove Tube," made 3years earlier than KFM and featuring bits by a then-unknown and pre-Saturday Night Live Chevy Chase. One of my favorite skits are "A.M. Today" with a gorilla rampaging the studio, scaring off everyone, while a calm anchorwoman (played by the lovely little-known actress Janice Kent)continues her duties of reporting the news. Another favorite is"Sex Records," with a black couple being instructed on lovemaking by a record until the woman is whisked away by a black muscleman, Yet another favorite is "Feel-A-Round," where a theatre usher listens to the dialogue of a movie, gets out his props to feel a movie goer, even scaring him with a knife when the actress announces she'll cut up her lover with a knife. Then there is the final skit where a newsman from TV has the power to peer into the living room of a young couple having sex, and his crew (well-played by ZAZ themselves) leer on. But the best sketch of all is "A Fistful of Yen," a 17-minute takeoff of Bruce Lee Movies featuring a lisping Karate champ fighting against the master despot Dr. Klahn, who wants to take over the world, and ends with the Hero in Dorothy drag spoofing "The Wizard of Oz."

If you like your DVDs, and of a low-budget movie, KFM delivers the goods. Hopefully, there will be a special edition of "Airplane!" in the future for fans of that movie who were disappointed in the DVD treatment of that great classic , but let's not hold our breaths. But for ZAZ fans, KFM was the best DVD work they have done so far, and it's a special edition in its own right, outshining and outselling "Airplane!" by a substantial margin.


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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Korean

Release Date:

4 November 1978 (Japan) See more »

Also Known As:

Kentucky Fried Movie See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$600,000 (estimated)
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
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