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Phallus in Wonderland | 
 enlarge | Actor: Gwar
Studio: Metal Blade
Category: DVD
List Price: $17.98
Buy New: $15.99
You Save: $1.99 (11%)
New (41) Used (8) from $10.89
Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 29828
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 34049
UPC: 039843404997
EAN: 0039843404997
ASIN: B000ZBEN0M
Theatrical Release Date: 1992
Release Date: January 8, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Pre-Order (0-0 Business Days)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 The Music is More Than Worth It June 27, 2008
To get straight to the point- the production values for most of this video are horribly cheap and amateur. Most of the visuals look like stuff a bunch of fresh-out-of-college drama majors cooked up on a shoestring budget. Which is, er, exactly what this is really.
So long as you understand exactly what you're getting into with this video, you're going to have a blast. The skit segments in-between songs create a sort of overarching story that the songs all take place in, which is exactly what GWAR's live shows are intended to do. The story is essentially the band's take on the censorship they experienced during this time. The element where the police capture the Cuttlefish and present it in court is a dramatization of real events- GWAR was harassed by cops in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Cuttlefish was confiscated over obscenity charges. Other topics covered include advertising ("Have you seen me?") and the Church (via the character of Father Bohab).
If you're at all familiar with the period in the band's history, there are some delightful bits here for nostalgia's sake alone. Retired villains like Edna P. Grabbo are in full force, and the big battle royale against the villains takes place in a wrestling wring, exactly like the band used to do it live. You also get to see Gor-Gor, which is always a treat.
Non-fans wanting a start into the mythos of the band should probably start elsewhere, as most of this video is just too low-budget to be enjoyable unless you already know what's going on and can pick up all the references. Highly recommended or fans and collectors- cranking up the volume and listening to "Gor-Gor" is worth the price alone.
 GWAR at their most creative, before the drugs took hold... February 15, 2008
Parasitical scum, you die so easily
But you always used to sicken me
Your will enslaved you grovel for more
Soon your bowels will litter the floor
Cannibalistic depravity
Bereft of all humanity
A fitting feast of abject insanity
A dark curtain before the last calamity
 Eh. June 30, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love GWAR but I thought this video was pretty weak. I've watched it like 3 times, and I usually skipped the skits and watched the amazing four videos on it. Bo-ring.
GWAR IS WAY WAY BETTER THAN THIS GAY EMO CRAP January 5, 2005
4 out of 17 found this review helpful
I am so glad there is a band like this they really rock and i really hate emo so this movie is awesome
anyone who doesnt like gwar can [...] it becuz they are emo [...] and have no taste in musik all they do is [...] throw them in the slave pit
 Music good, production values low December 10, 2004
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I first heard about GWAR a decade or so ago from a friend of mine who considered them an amazing phenomenon. Since I'm quite selective about the heavier types of music that I listen to, I didn't follow up on his advice to check them out. Over the years, I would occasionally hear some arcane reference to this group, but still never got around to giving them a listen. A recent rental excursion--not one of my world famous expeditions but darn close--saw me stumbling over a disc for "Phallus in Wonderland." Sounds interesting, I thought, and then I saw the GWAR tag and decided to finally see what this band looked and sounded like. Uh, wow...I think. There really aren't many words to describe a band that arrives on stage dressed up as gruesome looking monsters in enormous foam rubber suits. The band members have names like Balsac The Jaws of Death, Beefcake The Mighty, Flattus Maximus, Gusher Jizmax, Oderus Urungus, and Slymenstra Hymen. Just so you know, that last band member is the sole woman in the group. At least GWAR is an equal opportunity employer. "Phallus in Wonderland," directed by Judas Bullhorn (!) and Distortion Wells (!!), also introduces us to band manager Sleazy P. Martini. If all of this nonsense isn't enough to grab your attention, wait until you watch the disc.
"Phallus in Wonderland" breaks down into two parts. The first, and probably the most important part, is the music. Lots of GWAR songs here to sink your teeth into, including "Crack in the Egg," "Have You Seen Me," "The Road Behind," "Gor-Gor," "Ham on the Bone," and "The Morality Squad." Most of these tunes aren't bad at all, and they also aren't as heavy as you would think. One song, "The Road Behind," mocks Guns 'n Roses by having one of the band members decked out in attire (including a bandana) highly evocative of lead singer Axl Rose. Another music video spotlights kids rebelling against the hegemony of their parents in particularly brutal fashion. One video shows the scurrilous effects of consumerism in the form of a nauseating cereal commercial. As you can guess, the thematic tone of the songs is typical for this type of band: they blast religion, heap scorn on rampant consumerism (even as the band members profit from it), excoriate moral crusades, mock war, and criticize the legal system. In other words, the lyrics contain nothing you haven't heard before from countless other bands that think they corner the market on satire and social criticism. What's different with "Phallus in Wonderland" is the presentation--you've never seen criticism delivered this way before.
The second part of the DVD tells a story about GWAR arriving in America to stomp out moral crusaders. According to the tale, the United States government seized the Cuttlefish--actually a body part of one of the male band members--in order to launch an obscenity investigation. The prosecutor for the case is one Edna Granbo, an elderly, shrill lady whose penchant for fighting the culture wars knows no bounds. With the help of several authoritarian figures, including a superhero like figure referred to as Corporal Punishment, Granbo plans on destroying the destructive influence of bands like GWAR for all time with the help of her vaunted Morality Squad. This organization also receives assistance from Father Bohab, a religious crusader on a mission to quash rock music. Predictably, the members of GWAR express extreme anger at the behavior of the government/moral crusade alliance. They fly into the country from their base in Antarctica (!) to retrieve the Cuttlefish, and in the process battle the forces of Granbo and Bohab. During the course of the video, we see the courtroom trial of the Cuttlefish, watch GWAR engage in pitched combat with The Morality Squad, and witness the dinosaur Gor-Gor lay waste to a large metropolis.
I'll give GWAR credit; they made a DVD that isn't easy to forget. Although the production values are often laughable due to their crudeness, the imagery is so disgusting that it leaves an impression anyway. All sorts of nasty behaviors are on full display, none of which I can describe in detail on a public forum. In particular, the revelations about Father Bohab's true character almost made me turn this thing off. I initially thought that since all of the characters are puppets or people dressed in what are essentially puppet outfits, it wouldn't be disturbing. Wrong. Jim Henson must be rolling over in his grave regarding the antics depicted in this video. Think a low rent version of Peter Jackson's "Meet the Feebles" and you'll have some idea of what you'll see in "Phallus in Wonderland." If GWAR's stage shows are anything remotely similar to what I saw on this DVD, heaven help us. You would be lucky to get out of the concert hall with your life!
A question I asked after watching "Phallus in Wonderland" is whether I would go out and buy one of GWAR's albums. Well, I haven't, but probably not because of the low production values of this video. In fact, as far as the music went I generally liked what I heard. At least their songs don't consist of inarticulate screeching and roaring set against an impenetrable wall of sludge--I easily understood most of the lyrics here. My problem is that I'm simply getting too old for this stuff. I may check out a few other GWAR DVDs if I run across them in the future, but in the interim I'll stick to listening to decidedly mellower music.
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