Frank Capra said, “There are no rules in filmmaking. Only sins. And the cardinal sin is dullness.” Roger Corman is never dull, probably because he has a maxim of his own: “the monster should kill somebody fairly early, then at regular intervals.”
These are some words of wisdom contained in Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel, whose star seems like less and less of a rebel now as guerilla filmmaking seems to be the order of the day in an era of declining box office takes and uncertainty.
The spectre of Roger looms large over this very site. We’ve reviewed and/or discussed the likes of Piranha, The Intruder, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School and are fans of the likes of The Dunwich Horror, The Pit and the Pendulum and the Masque of the Red Death.
Largely maligned/ignored in Hollywood, in 2010, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences finally got around to lauding the legend with an Academy Honorary Award at the inaugural Governors Awards.
Dubbed “eloquent, elegant and precise” by none other than Martin Scorsese, Corman’s output is outstanding: nearly 400 films produced.
The one-time Stanford engineer (he quit after four days), Roger got on-the-job training shooting the likes of Monster from the Ocean Floor and The Fast and the Furious and jump-started the careers of Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, Joe Dante and countless others, all of whom have nothing but kind things to say about the “King of the B’s.”
He did this all on the uber-cheap but you got great bang for your buck. We’re in his debt. This is an essential introduction to Corman.
***1/2 (out of 5)
Really Awful Movies 