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

Now 90 years old, Roger Corman (aka. King of the B-Movies) has been in the film-making business for close to 60 years now.

Through film clips, stills, and interviews with colleagues, relatives, etc., etc., this 90-minute documentary gives the viewer a fairly realistic look at the overall history of Roger Corman's career, first as a low-budget film director, then as a low-budget film producer.

Throughout his many years in the business Corman has given struggling, young actors (such as William Shatner and Robert De Niro) and budding, young directors (such as Martin Scorsese and James Cameron) a big, helping hand in their chosen field of work.

Needless to say - Corman is one man who is certainly owed a helluva lot of thanks in gratitude from countless people who went on to notable success in the movie business as either actors, producers and directors.

All-in-all - I think this documentary was quite entertaining, especially from the standpoint of getting to see some hilarious film clips from a number of Corman's cheesier horror movies and brutally bad, teen exploitation pictures which were all standard Drive-In fare from the 1950s and 60s.

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.

Believe it or not... I have watched the documentary feature on life and works of this man with smiles and tears throughout. Smiles at my realization how crazily, madly, and fiercely independent Mr. Roger Corman has proudly been and how fascinating his ups and downs in his film life must have been. The man's integrity and strength deserve admiration at all levels. It can never be easy to go against an establishment for decades and to remain self-fulfilled, commercially successful, and happily married. Worse, the very establishment or Hollywood itself has to succumb when it unanimously gives him an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Tears at a life of man denied his rightful place for a very, very long time. He gives birth to the likes of Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Jonathan Demme, Jack Nicholson, and the almost endless list of names in the 285 films he makes, and yet the father has been treated almost as an embarrassment by the children because most of his works are of exploiting nature. I find it greatly unfair and very sad. It is true that Mr. Corman himself may never have craved for meaningless glory and praises, but can't we be a little stronger and award courage and human free spirits as opposed to those bricks in the wall? I think it is appropriate for Jack Nicholson to cry during the interview because, I believe, of such hard truth. In fact, this film shows several people who look back and rediscover, after all, their deep love and gratitude to Roger Corman. It is amusing to see many of these film celebrities cracking, smilingly while doing it, at a mere mention of Mr. Corman's name, as if they feel slightly ashamed of failing early on to realize his genuine values, personal goodness and morality code, and the real contribution of him to their very lives. They almost think of him now as a father whom they disgust, ridicule, and make fun of in their previous lives. Now they know all too well from whom they obtain their secrets of success. Roger Corman is a wonderful subject matter of this wonderful, and unpretentious, film about a man who is strictly his own among the devious crowd.

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 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