King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen

Greetings again from the darkness. "That's not the way it's done." Larry Cohen admits to having heard those words many times over the years, but in fact, it's an accurate description of his 6 decade career as a Producer-Director-Writer. Filmmaker Steve Mitchell serves up a biopic and career retrospective of Mr. Cohen, and kicks it off with Cohen fan director JJ Abrams telling a story about the IT'S ALIVE prop baby and crossing paths with the man himself.

Larry Cohen might be described as a schlock movie maker known only to those who are drawn to B-movie horror films. But that would be an injustice to the man who sold his first script at age 17, was the creative force behind numerous TV series, and has been a successful screenwriter for the films he directed, and many he didn't. Walking us through a mostly chronological order of his life and career are Mr. Cohen himself, as well as numerous other industry folks ... plus his current and ex-wife.

Mr. Cohen relays a story about his grandfather's wish to play the banjo, and how that story convinced young Larry that we was going to do what he wanted to do, and not be talked out of it. That turned into the mantra for his life and career. We learn that he was a talented and creative writer who only began making movies himself because he tired of other directors and producers messing up his work. Typically working with a very limited budget, Mr. Cohen mastered the art of guerilla filmmaking - "stealing scenes" when he had no authorization or permit to film. This includes a clip of Andy Kaufman joining an NYPD parade whilst dressed in full uniform. He also regularly filmed at his own house ... a beautiful home originally built by William Randolph Hearst.

Filmmaker Mitchell generates a treasure trove of inside stories from such recognizable figures as actor Yaphet Kotto, who explains how BONE and BLACK CAESER started the Blaxploitation boom; legendary make-up and effects artist Rick Baker describing the IT'S ALIVE baby; actor Michael Moriarty speaks in reverent tones about his multiple collaborations with Cohen; Fred Williamson sparks a battle of egos in recollections of events; and Traci Lords, James Dixon, both of Cohen's wives, Mick Garris, Eric Roberts, and Robert Forster all add their flavor to the lore of working with Larry Cohen. Directors Joe Dante and Martin Scorsese speak to his influence and how credible the work is viewed by other filmmakers.

Even more fascinating stories are presented as Cohen talks about working with the great film composer Bernard Hermann, and then the shock of losing his friend to an unexpected early passing. The Betty Ford story is also quite funny in how it relates to Cohen getting THE SECRET FILES OF J EDGAR HOOVER filmed at Quantico and at Hoover's home. There are also segments about Cohen's work with two cinematic legends - Sam Fuller and Bette Davis. Not many can match this diverse list throughout their career, and Larry Cohen just seems to accept it as doing what needs to be done.

He is described as "the master of the premise" as he has no shortage of fresh ideas, and his name would likely be more well-known were he more interested in self-promotion. Instead, he concentrated on projects that were entertaining and profitable, and importantly, filled with social commentary and humor. His process of writing scripts in long-hand or dictating into a handheld recorder contrasts with today's technology, but it has not been detrimental to his daily writing. It's hard to know if this film works better as a treat for fans of Cohen's work or as an education for those unfamiliar. Mr. Cohen jokes that one film is not enough time to share all of his experiences. On second thought, he's not joking.

**Note: Larry Cohen's younger sister was Ronni Chasen, the Hollywood publicist who was shot dead at a Beverly Hills traffic light in 2010.

King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen (2017)

**** (out of 4)

Excellent documentary that takes a look at the career of screenwriter and director Larry Cohen. The documentary comes in just shy of two hours and it features interviews with the man himself as well as Martin Scorsese, Rick Baker, John Landis, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Robert Forster, James Dixon, Eric Roberts, Megan Gallagher, Michael Moriarty, Traci Lords, Daniel Pearl, Nathaniel Thompson, Yaphet Kotto and Fred Williamson.

KING COHEN is a terrific documentary for fans of Cohen and if you're not familiar with Cohen's work then there's no question that you're going to be curious about after watching this. It's really great that there are so many definitive documentaries being made about these types of filmmakers and especially since they're all getting up there in age. If you're familiar with the work of Cohen then there's no question that you're going to love the behind-the-scenes stories to his films as well as his life.

I think some of the greatest stuff presented here is the discussion about his early television work. I'm sure a lot of people have seen his credits at various sites but I doubt too many know some of the stories. What's great is that Cohen is on hand to discuss these early television programs and we get some terrific stories about them. Once the movie stuff comes along then you get even more details from Cohen as well as the other filmmakers paying their respects and discussing what made his films work and especially on their budget.

There are a lot of really great stories told here but some of the best deal with Cohen and his ability to steal scenes without getting permits. We learn about why he does this and we get some great stories including one dealing with Q THE WINGED SERPENT. The majority of the film's that he directed are covered and that includes WICKED STEPMOTHER with Bette Davis. We finally get to hear what really happened on the set of that picture that had Davis walk off and eventually badmouth Cohen. Other great stories include the production of ORIGINAL GANGSTAS as well as some dealing with Cohen's anger at what some director's did to his screenplays.

All in all, KING COHEN is a really great documentary that gives you a terrific insight into the filmmaker and his movies.

This was a film that I was immediately intrigued by when some of the podcasts I listen to had the chance to see this when it was making its festival rounds. I knew who Larry Cohen was, because my father had his film The Stuff on VHS. It was a film I didn't fully grasp as a child, but still one that I have nostalgia for having it seen it all those years ago. The official synopsis for this is a feature length documentary acclaimed work and eclectic career of maverick filmmaker Larry Cohen.

As the synopsis states, this film follows the career of Cohen. We learn about where he grew up and how he got his start in the movie industry. At the time of watching this film, I had seen some of his works and some of them I had seen without realizing it, so it is fun to learn more about a guy that I'm a fan of.

What I like about the structure of this documentary is that we learn about his early career as a writer and how that was his break into the industry through television shows. It was amazing to me how nice of a guy Cohen is, even thought the executives were screwing him out of money he probably was entitled to. It really inspires me to see a guy who despite things not necessarily going his way, his hard work still paying off.

This really picks up for me when Cohen decides to shift to directing. He is really one of the original guerilla filmmakers. Things that he did and got away with when not having permits and shooting in New York had me in awe as well as laughing. This works even more for me since I have worked on an independent feature length film and some shorts. Seeing what he could do with such small budgets is quite amazing.

Even more than that, I'm a big fan of seeing interviews and learning about the making of films. Many of the ones in this film I haven't seen yet, but after watching this they are going on my 'To See List' I have going. I knew that Cohen had done horror films, but I had no idea about the spy/crime thrillers or the blacksxploitation films he did. Having such a range of what he could produce is crazy to me as an inspiring writer. The film does interview and give the background story of pretty much every film he directed. It also does this for films that he produced or wrote as well. They brought in as many cast and crew member as they could. Not everything that he says meshes with what others say, but I do like the film got both perspectives.

The documentary really does focus on his works, but what I liked as well is that we got to really learn about Cohen as a man. Those he worked with pretty much only had good things to say about him and his works are lower in budget, but what he could pull off was great. Hearing about the great things he would do for those around him and trying to help those he could was what really touched about Cohen. Even his ex-wife is a part of the documentary and she really only had good things to say about him as well. As a cinephile, what he produced in the films is great, but knowing the true story behind it and how great a person he is makes it even better for me.

I would say this documentary is very well done. They got so many people from his films and those he worked with to appear in this documentary. That is part of a testament to how great of a person he is that they would be willing. I also like that we get film historians and experts as well to give some idea of the significance of some things to add just another layer to this film.

Now with that said, this is a shorter review as documentaries are a little bit harder to talk about it. This is very well made and the stories that are shared in this are interesting. It runs almost two hours long, but I had to admit, it doesn't feel like it. There is so much knowledge and information that it flies past. I would definitely say that if you are a fan of Cohen, his films or just interested in hearing stories behind the scenes of how films are made, I would recommend this. It is even more interesting that he did most of his work outside of the Hollywood model, which is even more interesting for independent filmmakers. I would say this is a good documentary and worth a viewing.

Since reading Kim Newman's magnificent Nightmare Movies book,I've been interested in learning more about the late auteur Larry Cohen. Looking down the list of titles on Shudder,I stumbled on a doc that I could not find anywhere else, dedicated to Cohen.

View on the film:

Skipping past his childhood with just a few comments and photos, director Steve Mitchell bites into juicy archive footage of the TV shows Larry Cohen got his start on, with insightful narration over the clips capturing Cohen's ability to see a job opening, along with a growing desire to break out of the restrictions placed on TV programs at the time.

Opening with J.J. Abrams talking about his memories of meeting him as a teenager, Mitchell gathers a excellent selection of interviewees to discuss Larry Cohen's impact, from Martin Scorsese on the way Cohen shot New York in, to fellow indie genre director, the super cool Fred Williamson talking about the push and pull relationship they had when working together.

Covering each era of his TV/film works with archive footage and behind the scenes clips, Mitchell's extended interview with the film maker goes into his gleeful guerilla style film making, in some cases coming up with scenes on the spot! Featuring a touching tribute to the last time he met Bernard Herrmann, Steve Mitchell in turn presents a delightful tribute to the unique career of Larry Cohen.

There's nothing earth shattering here, just a nice look at a career of interesting movies. You don't really get much in the way of behind the scenes info for all of them, but the stories you do get are fun. Sort of breezes by, but it will make you want to track some of the movies down, so it's a win for that.