DVD Review: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS (2014)

ELECTRIC BOOGALOO:  THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS
Written & Directed by  Mark Hartley
Distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

  If you watched a lot of VHS tapes back in the 1980's, there is no doubt you at some point ran across a Cannon Films tape.  Cannon was one of the most popular labels back in the height of the VHS popularity.  This new documentary, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO is a comprehensive look at the rise and fall of Cannon Films.  Here is a brief synopsis of the film from the Warner Brothers website:

  Director Mark Hartley takes us on a hilarious thrill ride through the masterworks of Yoram Globus and the late Menahem Golan, two movie-obsessed immigrant cousins who became Hollywood's ultimate gate-crashers. With hair-trigger randomness, these cousins of chaos churned out a breathtaking cavalcade of hits and misses, made movies out of posters, released a sequel before the original film, botched plots, bounced checks and burned careers - and in so doing, changed the way movies were made and marketed.

  Cannon Films was responsible for some great films back in the 1980's, including MISSING IN ACTION,  DEATH WISH 2,  SUPERMAN IV, THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN, LIFEFORCE, and CYBORG just name a few.  It was very interesting to see how they got the ideas for some of these movies, some of which were almost direct remakes of foreign films.   It was neat getting to see some trailers and clips from these old films, as well as hear about their production issues and problems told straight from the people that were involved.    I saw a lot of films I recognized, but also saw quite a few films I was unfamiliar with.  One of these was a Cannon Film called THE APPLE, which was supposed to be an epic Rock Opera.  Turns out it was a complete flop, but from the scenes showed in this movie, it looked to be one of those "so bad, it's good" type of films.  Needless to say I had to find a copy of this film!  I found a reasonably priced DVD of THE APPLE on ebay.  I can't wait to check it out! 

For a hint at what you will see in ELECTRIC BOOGALOO, check out these clips from the DVD courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment:

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ELECTRIC BOOGALOO is available now on DVD from Warner Bros.  The DVD contains over 25 minutes of deleted scenes and over 30 minutes of trailers!

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

 
 

Check out the trailer for the new film doc, MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED

MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED was written and directed by Mark Hartley, the man that brought us the great documentary on Aussie exploitation films, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD.

Here is the basic plot of this new documentary from the film's Imdb page:

Karate-kicking midgets! Paper-mache monsters! Busty babes with blades! Filipino genre films of the '70s and '80s had it all. Boasting cheap labour, exotic scenery and non-existent health and safety regulations, the Philippines was a dreamland for exploitation filmmakers whose renegade productions were soon engulfing drive-in screens around the globe like a tidal schlock-wave! At last, the all-too-often overlooked world of drive-in filler from Manilla gets the Mark Hartley (NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD) treatment in Machete Maidens Unleashed! This is the ultimate insiders' account of a faraway backlot where stunt men came cheap, plot was obsolete and the make-up guy was packing heat! Machete Maidens Unleashed! features interviews with cult movie icons Roger Corman, Joe Dante, John Landis, Sid Haig, Eddie Romero and a large assembly of cast, crew and critics, each with a jaw-dropping story to tell about filmmaking with no budget, no scruples, no boundaries and - more often than not - no clothes. Strap yourselves in - and join us for a non-stop Filipino femme-fest, all the way from the jungles of the Pacific via the trash cans of the critics!

This film had me at Karate-kicking midgets! Check out the trailer for what looks to be another great exploitation film doc!!

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer