Des ovnis, des monstres et du sexe - Le cinéma selon Roger Corman

Hail! Hail! King of the B's

Cannes favourite 'Corman's World' is a heart-warming portrait of one of the true greats of American independent cinema, the champion of outlaws, freaks and fools and the master of the macabre. All the more touching as numerous interviews and testimonies paint a picture of a curious man indeed: not a dark twisted soul but a warm and genteel man with a wonderfully warped and fertile imagination.

What's more astonishing is the dazzlingly array of aspiring filmmakers and actors he mentored during the 60's and 70's. Reading like a Who's Who's of the golden age of the American auteur, Peter Bogdanovich, Peter Fonda, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Ron Howard, Robert De Niro and David Carradine, amongst many others, all pay tribute here, including a tearful Jack Nicholson.

Beginning in the 50's as a story analyst at 20th Century Fox, Corman moved into writing, eventually selling scripts to fund his own productions for the burgeoning American Independent Pictures. His debut 'Monster From the Ocean Floor' in 1954 was the start of a prolific production output, with increasing forays into directing, notably 'Little Shop of Horrors' shot in only 2 days!

Corman really made his mark in the 60's. A series of classic Edgar Allan Poe adaptations featuring the splendidly cast Vincent Price define his legacy but the maverick Corman was often making use of down time and vacant sets to pursue other projects during this period. Most notable was the 1963 piece of Gothic absurd-ism, 'The Terror', using sets from 'The Raven'. Proceeding with barely plot, nor script, a shoe string cast including Nicholson and an ageing Boris Karloff, the disparate visions of four different directors contributed to this chaotic opus, including a young Francis Ford Coppola and even Nicholson, who recalls this curious episode.

The 60's also saw critical acclaim for Corman, tackling themes such as racism in the segregated south in 'The Intruder' and counter culture movements in the 'The Wild Angels' and 'The Trip' but the 70's heralded changes for Corman and he looks back on this era with a hint of melancholy. With the release of 'Jaws' and then 'Star Wars' the big studios finally caught up with the B's. Schlock horror from the deep and invaders from space were now big budget and Corman was once more an outsider and destined for the straight-to-video market in the coming decade but before taking a back seat, Corman's masterstroke was to spot the black comedy of the rubber shark and raise the stakes with 'Piranha' in 1978.

The denouement sees Corman still active today, well into his eighties, on the set of the self-explanatory gore-fest 'Dinoshark'. His output has barely abated since the 70's but he takes an increasingly hands-off executive role these days. He remains ever philosophical, contented and visibly touched by the receipt of an honorary Academy Award in 2009. His calm and collected bizarre genius is deeply uplifting and I'd recommend anyone take a trip into Corman's World.

Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011)

**** (out of 4)

Exceptionally well-made and entertaining documentary taking a look at the career of Roger Corman, the man who turned out some of the cheapest but most successful films out there but perhaps more importantly are the number of talented people he gave jobs to. You can see how much Corman done for others just by seeing the number of people who turned out to be interviewed for this film. Just a few of the names include Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese, Joe Dante, David Carradine, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert DeNiro, Paul W.S. Anderson, Gene Corman, Jonathan Hale, Dick Miller, John Sayles, Bob Burns, Jonathan Demme, William Shatner, Polly Platt, Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Pam Grier and others. Considering how many films Corman has been involved with over the decades it's really amazing how much they got into this 90-minute movie. The documentary is broken into various periods including Corman's directing years, the "young" talent taking over, the exploitation of the 70s, JAWS and STAR WARS killing business and then the home video market. Fans of Corman and all the filmmakers he discovered are really going to enjoy all of the stories here. When I heard they were making a documentary on Corman I was a little worried that they wouldn't be able to capture everything but the filmmakers actually do that. I was really shocked at how much information they crammed into the picture and it was great hearing from so many people that you don't normally get to hear from. With this I'm really thinking of Nicholson who simply doesn't do many interviews. He talks about his first film THE CRY BABY KILLER, makes fun of THE TERROR and eventually breaks down when talking about what Corman means to him. Even Bogdanovich finally talks about his early work including Corman buying a Russian movie and then hiring him as "director" to add a few scenes with women. There are countless clips shown throughout the movie and by the time it's over you really want to go out and rent all of them to enjoy all over again. CORMAN'S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A Hollywood REBEL is an excellent look at low-budget filmmaking and the man who pretty much invented his own genre.

If anyone ever made a movie about you, you'd wish it was made like this. I'm pretty sure Roger Corman himself is happy about the end result. It's a mix, where you are treated to the past and the present (of course the present is the past, at the time you'll be able watch this, but you get what I mean) of Corman body of work. New and old collaborators are there to be interviewed.

At the end there is a special treat, though I guess fans will know this (actually should know this), before watching the movie. But to newbies or people not as aware to Corman (like myself) this works wonders. You really start to respect the man. And while it is rose tinted most of the time, it also involves some controversial material in it too. Still this is here to celebrate a man and that is what it does

definitely enjoyed the DVD however if you are looking at it to try and come up with some good ideas for which old school grindhouse movies to watch then it might not offer a whole lot of suggestions. What it does do however is offer a very informative view on how roger corman came to be. Its more of a biography concerning his film career opposed to concentrating on his filmography. I'd say i developed more of a respect for roger corman after seeing how he struggled and pulled all his resources together to slowly build up his huge body of work, especially after my respect for him seemed to be recently faltering do his garbage additions to the sci fi channel (im looking at you sharktopus). With that said i did come away with a few new movies to add to my watch list ie, wild angels, big bird cage(i know i know i should have seen this by now), bloody mama, and the trip. All in all it was very informative and entertaining and held my attention throughout. Nothing much in the way of special features though, i guess the whole movie is basically one big special feature.

If you are my age or perhaps a bit older, than there's an excellent chance you've seen several of Roger Corman's films. If you are a young whippersnapper, then perhaps you haven't. Regardless, he is an important man who all people who consider themselves to be cinemaphiles should know, as his track record of successful movies is unique. While he rarely had a decent budget, again and again, he managed to squeeze as much into the film as he could--and usually made them very entertaining. Some of the films are patently silly--such as his 1950s horror films--yet they are usually entertaining. Some of them are socially significant--and yet they are usually entertaining. The bottom line is that the films he produced or directed are NEVER dull. Bad, often...but dull, never!

This film is a tribute to the man and his films. You'll see a lot of his actors and directors from years past (mostly not all that famous, but Jack Nicholson and Ron Howard are interviewed as well) as well as his wife--who helped produce many of his films. In addition, there are LOTS of clips. Overall, a very well made tribute film--one that infuses the viewer with enthusiasm for his work. Lovingly made, the part that surprised me the best was seeing Nicholson tear up when talking about the man! Well worth seeing and a must for any film student, as they could learn from his tight-fisted example!

By the way, of all the clips they showed, the best of these films must be "The Intruder" (with William Shatner). Surprisingly, this is one of the only one of almost 400 films Corman made that LOST money!!