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agentorange [Celluloid 12.01.11] movie news cult documentary

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Drafthouse Films, the distribution arm of the world-famous Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, acquired a new documentary called Electric Bogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films from world-wide sales agent Celluloid Nightmares. The best part? The film is coming from Mark Hartley who's last two docs Not Quite Hollywood and Machete Maidens Unleashed are two of my favourite cult film documentaries.

Now, if you were a video store lurker in the 80s and 90s like me, you know and would have seen Cannon's output. They pumped out a ton of action titles and essentially launched guys like Norris and Van Damme. Their films were instrumental in turning me into a weirdo and while Hartley's first two documentaries were great, it'll be awesome to see one about the cult films of my own era.

The Cannon Films doc will center on the story of two Israeli-born, movie-obsessed cousins, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, who in pursuit of the “American dream” launched the indie studio that would go on to produce over 120 exploitation films from 1979-1989 turning a renegade outfit into the proclaimed “seventh Hollywood major.”

While best known for their explosive ‘80s action fare (MISSING IN ACTION, DEATH WISH sequels), Cannon Films’ diverse and ambitious production output also included body-count slashers (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2), musicals and comedies (THE APPLE, BREAKIN’), science fiction and fantasy epics (MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, LIFEFORCE), martial arts classics (AMERICAN NINJA series, KICKBOXER), neo-noir crime thrillers (52 PICK-UP, 10 TO MIDNIGHT), art-house dramas (BARFLY, John Cassavetes’ LOVE STREAMS, Jean-Luc Godard’s KING LEAR), in addition to launching the careers of many future genre superstars like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme. “No other production organization in the world today,” proclaimed Roger Ebert in 1987, “has taken more chances with serious, marginal films than Cannon.”

The film is currently in pre-production in Australia with Producer Veronica Fury and Executive Producers XYZ Films (upcoming Sony Pictures release THE RAID). A theatrical release is being planned for late 2012 to coincide with a traveling roadshow retrospective of Cannon’s seminal films.


Dive into the Cannon oeuvre:
- Cannon Films video channel on YouTube

- Cannon Films Appreciation Society



More Cult Movie Docs:
- Order Not Quite Hollywood

- Order Machete Maidens Unleashed




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