A loving tribute to the King of the B’s, Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel is a biographical documentary of Roger Corman, the man who has produced over 400 movies and helped launch the careers of many top Hollywood talents, including Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Ron Howard, John Sayles, Joe Dante, James Cameron, Jack Nicholson, Gale Anne Hurd, James Horner, and Robert De Niro. Highly recommended.
Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel
Studio: Anchor Bay
US BD Release Date: March 27, 2012
Original Theatrical Release Year: 2011
Rated: R (for some violent images, nudity, and language)
Running Time: 89 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English)
Subtitles: English (SDH), Spanish
Movie: 4.5 out of 5
Where would Hollywood be if Roger Corman never made movies? Although some would like to say we’d be better off if films such as Humanoids From The Deep, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Galaxy of Terror, Carosaur, and Sharktopus had never been made, the truth is that without Corman, Francis Ford Coppola would never have gotten his start with Dementia 13, Martin Scorsese with Boxcar Bertha, Ron Howard with Grand Theft Auto, Joe Dante with Piranha, and Jonathan Demme with Caged Heat. In addition, we would likely never had been introduced to such diverse actors as Jack Nicholson (The Cry Baby Killer, Little Shop of Horrors), Robert De Niro (Bloody Mama), Sylvester Stallone (Capone), William Shatner (The Intruder), Pam Grier (Big Doll House), and Sandra Bullock (Fire On The Amazon). And let’s not forget about the early visual effects work by James Cameron (Battle Beyond The Stars).
Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel, a documentary written and directed by Alex Stapleton, tells the story of one of the most prolific and successful film producers through the use of new and archival interviews with Corman, and many of the talent who either worked with him (Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Peter Fonda, Irvin Kershner, Bruce Dern, Peter Bogdanovich, Dick Miller, Mary Woronov) or idolized him (Eli Roth, Paul W.S. Anderson), as well as film journalists (Todd McCarthy). The film begins on location in Puerta Vallarta, during the shoot of Corman’s made-for SyFy movie Dinoshark, and the film’s star, Eric Balfour (Haven, 24), sums up the low-budget cheapness by first believing the reason the walkie-talkies are not always working having something to do with electro-magnetic interference in the area that they are filming in, then realizes the walkie-talkies are actually children’s toys.
As Jack Nicholson says in the film, “By mistake he actually made a good picture every once in a while.” And there are some wonderful stories told in this film. Nicholson tells how The Terror was made over a weekend using the same sets from The Raven. Dick Miller tells how, with a shortage of available actors on the set of Apache Woman, he ended up playing two roles in the film where one shot and killed the other. Roger Corman, his brother Gene, and William Shatner talk passionately about making the civil rights film The Intruder in the south in the early 1960s, financed independently by the Corman’s, and their disappointment with the film’s financial failure despite it’s critical success.
The mid-1970s were the start of a turning point for Corman’s New World Pictures when the major studios found success with genre films such as Jaws and Star Wars, similar to what New World was churning out but with bigger budgets and wider releases. The decline of the Drive-In theater didn’t help, either, with Corman having to release his films either direct to the home video market or to the growing cable television networks.
The film also features some of the last on-camera interviews with David Carradine, Irvin Kershner, and George Hickenlooper. Some of the interviews are filmed in some odd locations. Ron Howard is interviewed during a walk to the cemetary, Jonathan Demme in the back seat of a car, Bruce Dern during a hair cut. However, most are filmed in fairly typical locales such as screening rooms, living rooms, and offices. My only complaint with the film is that it was too short. I wanted to hear more stories from the film makers Corman helped to launch. Perhaps a sequel is in the works?
Video: 4 out of 5
Anchor Bay’s 1080/24p transfer, in the intended 1.78:1 aspect ratio using the AVC codec, is what it is. Mixing recent interview and behind-the scenes footage with archival interviews (including The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, Late Night With David Letterman, Tomorrow With Tom Snyder) and film clips from various sources, the image quality varies. Do not be alarmed when the movie begins with major dirt and scratches, as they are intentional. With the recent interviews, contrast is decent, detail is very good, and flesh tones are accurate and consistent.
Audio: 3 out of 5
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack does what it needs to do. This is a dialogue-driven film, and the dialogue is clear and understandable, directed out of the center channel. Most of the film clips are in mono, with the left, right, surrounds and LFE used mostly for music and atmospheric effects.
Special Features: 3 out of 5
Extended Interviews (HD, 13:10): Essentially the best of the deleted interview segments, with Eli Roth, Penelope Spheeris, Jim Wynorski, Ron Howard, and Martin Scorsese. Unfortunately, there are no chapter stops, and it would have been nice if the individual filmmaker could have been chosen from the menu, or at the very least the film maker had been identified with a title card.
Special Messages To Roger (HD, 15:15): Various subjects who were interviewed are asked to say something special to Roger Corman, with often amusing results. The subjects include Joe Dante and Alan Arkush, Peter Bogdanovich, David Carradine, Jonathan Demme, Peter Fonda, Pam Grier, George Hickenlooper, Ron Howard, Gale Anne Hurd, and Eli Roth. Unfortunately, there are no chapter stops, and it would have been nice if the individual filmmaker could have been chosen from the menu, or at the very least the film maker had been identified with a title card (especially since some did not appear in the finished film).
Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:06): A very entertaining trailer that gives you a good sense of what this movie is like.
Overall: 4.5 out of 5
Although I felt the running time was a bit brief and felt it could go on for at least another 30 minutes or more, Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel is a must-see and highly recommended for anyone who loves the movies.
