History
It was originally produced on videotape as an NBC television special that would have aired in place of SNL during one of its live breaks. Because of some of the racier elements of the show, NBC declared it inappropriate for the network (in the wake of a ratings slump they experienced at the time) and promptly canceled it.
Shortly thereafter, independent studio New Line Cinema acquired the rights to Mondo Video, and converted the videotape master to 35mm film for theatrical release. To pad the program to feature length, filmmaker Walter Williams created a special Mr. Bill Show episode, combining footage from his past Mr. Bill shorts from SNL with new wraparound scenes, to present at the head of the film as a short subject. Also, cowriter Mitchell Glazer stated in the DVD's audio commentary that many scenes were added to pad the film's runtime to the required 90 minutes for theatrical releases.
The film would eventually be seen on television, albeit on pay cable and syndication with several cuts, such as the non sequitur "Dream Sequences". It would also show up on home video in the early 1980s through Mike Nesmith's Pacific Arts label.
In January 2009, it was released on DVD by Shout! Factory. The DVD release mutes the infamous "My Way" segment (see below), and removes Mr. Mike's lead-in to the "Church of the Jack Lord" segment due to the inability of Shout! Factory to get the rights to use the Hawaii 5-O theme song.
Read more about this topic: Mr. Mike's Mondo Video
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—D.H. (David Herbert)
“A man will not need to study history to find out what is best for his own culture.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
—John Adams (1735–1826)