Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel Reviews

At last Roger Corman gets the credit he deserves. The man is a pioneer, without him cinema wouldn't be what it is today, after all, you can't have A movies with B movies! Everyone comes together to sing his praises too, and so they should, most of them owe him their careers, most noticeably Jack Nicholson who actually breaks down in tears while talking of his friend, in one of the most surprising and genuinely touching moments in film I've seen for a while. It's not all B movie nonsense though, with films like The Intruder and the fact he helped directors like Fellini, Kurosawa and Bergman get their films shown in the US, he was a serious figure in the history of film making and cinema, fighting for what he believed in. Sure he missed out on some big successes but mostly it's because people have been ripping off his ideas for decades, something he seems to be doing in return, but that's Hollywood.

I'm so glad a documentary like this exists. It perfectly represents the brilliance of Corman's passion, in that he never gives up and makes movies for the sheer joy of it. By tackling films with low budgets, he always comes out on top. Best of all, his films were the starting blocks for many huge talents such as Jack Nicholson. When Nicholson talks, you feel nothing but love and respect, when he breaks down into tears it's truly an open and beautiful moment of a man who usually keeps his cool. In other areas we get anecdotes of just how cheaply Corman makes his movies and how he has inspired many directors since. Most interesting of all is when it talks about Corman's more serious projects such as The Intruder. It is certainly a celebration of Corman and his finest achievements, though I wish it had gone into more detail as to why he hasn't directed in over 20 years, and covered more of his recent outputs as producer. You have to see this if you love film, and you'll certainly have plenty to stick on your watchlist.

"Some men dream of conquering the world. Roger Corman created his own."

A documentary on DIY producer/director Roger Corman and his alternative approach to making movies in Hollywood.

REVIEW

Entertaining and informative. I loved all the clips from Corman's works, yet he is so prolific that this still only scratches the surface. It is interesting that the makers of this doc included quotes from those who have worked with Corman saying that the Academy doesn't award the sort of movies he makes (even though they are extremely popular) and then during the making of this doc Corman was honored with the lifetime achievement Oscar in 2009. The man has had a major influence in giving so many actors, writers and directors their start in Hollywood. It is obvious that all the stars who speak about their start in Corman's pictures love him. In a surprisingly heartfelt moment Jack Nicholson is even brought to tears. Corman has produced independently for decades, distributed several foreign language Oscar winners, and had to reinvent his company a number of times when drive-ins began disappearing, home video took over the market, and big budget blockbusters stole the type of genre flicks in which he used to specialize. Important for getting a fuller view of filmmaking history!

"Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel" is an inspiring and entertaining documentary about the films of Roger Corman made during his very long and productive career as director and/or producer, specializing in monster and exploitation films.(The interviewees are honest about their lack of quality and admittedly, I have not seen many of his early films. Most of which I have seen are from his New World Pictures period during the 1970's which were in a constant rotation on HBO when I was growing up, thus explaining a lot.) With his low budget films, he has not only given the start to many filmmakers and actors(many of whom require no introduction) but also provided an education as to how make films cheaply outside of the system.(Ironically, he has also featured actors on their way down, too. Whatever works.) Even as the distribution model has changed from drive-ins to straight-to-video to the Syfy channel, he has never stopped working, as footage here shows him working on "Dinoshark" in Puerto Vallarta.

Part of what makes his working outside the studio system so important is tackling the material they were unwilling to handle, starting with making films that appealed to the underappreciated youth market in the 1950's. While there was much nudity in his films, he also opened up opportunities for women to fire machine guns. That social conscience would reach its peak with "The Intruder"(which I now want to see) starring William Shatner in his first starring role, about school integration in the south when it was especially timely in 1962. Therefore, a constant refrain in the documentary is that Corman could have made the transition to more prestigious movies(like he did with his Poe adaptations) but that way requires money which leads to compromise which usually means the studios and a lack of control and there are enough cautionary tales on display here to fill a multiplex.

A fun and informative look at one-time Hollywood hack director, Roger Corman, who has lovingly been dubbed the King of the B's even though he has also had his fair share of highly respectable independent Hollywood hits such as Easy Rider and Hells Angels. Interviews with various former associates -- Jack Nicholson, Peter Bogdanovich, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Peter Fonda, Pam Grier -- help depict Corman as a man who loves what he still does. As a man with no film-school experience, Corman learned the trade onset and has made over 250 films over this career ... many horribly bad but some quite good. With the arrival of big-budget sci-fi spectales like Star Wars and high-dollar horror flicks like Jaws, Corman's film niche disappeared as his films were always made on a measly budget and audiences wanted bigger and better. Even with his diminished career, though, Corman's friends and family in the business have never lost respect for the visionary director. This was insightful and a hoot ... some of his films were unbelievable! I wish I could find some of them. You have to love it when a person gets to spend his/her entire life doing what it is he/she loves.

A solid transfer of an affectionate, surprisingly moving ode to an increasingly neglected pioneer of American cinema.

This was really good doc on Roger Corman's career and if you like the insider stories on Hollywood this is a must see. I was really surprised at how many huge stars worked with or worked for Corman and how Corman helped shape thier careers and genre.

Really fun documentary looking at the man's career, filled with some impressive talent that he has worked with over the years like Nicholson, Scorcese, De Niro, etc. It's amazing the career the man has had, though it sadly calls it quits right as we get into the VHS craze of the '80s, showing little footage from this era.

That criticism aside, it's a great film and recommended.

Pretty interesting but it annoys me when documentaries spend so much time having stars telling me why the "greats" are great instead of showing my why they excel at their craft.

A documentary about a career of probably the most famous exploitation producer-director Roger Corman featuring interviews with lots of recognizable actors, directors and producers who came out of Corman's school. Unfortunately, as entertaining and well put together as it is, it' just merely glances over the topic and never really goes in depth with anything, instead focusing on how many famous people it can feature. It's a nice piece for someone who isn't familiar with Corman and his work though, and I hope it leads to more people seeing some of the movies that he put out.
If you're not familiar with Roger Corman or the early exploitation scene I would say CHECK IT OUT just to see where a lot of Hollywood's talent of the last 30 years has started.

Conocer a Roger Corman es totalmente imprescindible para cualquier aficionado al cine y aqui podremos verle en todo su esplendor.

His name is legendary in the movie business. He has produced over four hundred films without ever losing a dime. He is responsible for discovering such talented actors and filmmakers as Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and many others. And now, his story is finally being told in CORMAN'S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL from director Alex Stapleton. We are talking about the great Roger Corman, commonly discredited as being the 'King of the B's' for his contributions to the low-budget, 'Do It Yourself' brand of monster movie that he helped to create throughout the 50s and 60s. As CORMAN'S WORLD stands to prove, Roger Corman was much more than just a cheap schlock peddler, but a trendsetter, a shrewd businessman, and a studio outlaw. From his earliest beginnings with films like MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR and THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS up through his most recent features like DINOSHARK, Stapleton looks to cover as much of Corman's expansive career as possible in the time allotted. While best known for his exploitation films, Stapleton also explores Corman's critical successes like THE INTRUDER, a progressive and provocative film about Southern racism that sadly proved to be his greatest commercial disaster. Corman explains first-hand how the failure of his finest film would shape his methods in the decades to follow, teaching him the importance of subtext in art.

The title, EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL, perfectly encapsulates Corman's guerrilla style of filmmaking. No permits, no supplies, no time, and no money -- these things were of no concern in the Corman School of learning. Great directors like Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, and Joe Dante were taught to think on their feet -- quite literally, in some cases. Stories of recycled set pieces, run-ins with the cops, and biker brawls come out as Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, and others recall their crazy experiences both on and off set. In the 50s, Corman fought the studios by delivering pure entertainment for audiences to enjoy, films that fought the establishment with their rebellious teen characters. By the late 60s and 70s, Corman broke new ground with THE WILD ANGELS and THE TRIP, embracing the counter-culture movement in an enlightening new way. CORMAN'S WORLD finally recognizes these bold and often dangerous undertakings, which paved the way for future classics like EASY RIDER.

Featuring archived interviews, classic clips, and tons of new footage taken with a wide range of entertaining personalities, CORMAN'S WORLD is an insightful and engaging documentary that film fans are sure to enjoy. The only place where Stapleton falls short is in humanizing his subject, and showing the man behind the movies. We only see brief glimpses into the real Roger Corman through interludes with the director and his wife. The film is otherwise a finely-edited and extensively-researched tribute to one of the greatest producers of all-time.

It really only seems to scratch the surface of what this could have been but it's still an interesting and eye opening look at a man that many write off.

This insightful documentary on the renowned low-budget speedy filmmaker Roger Corman is full of laughable moments, a great museum of Corman's works and inspirations.

It's nothing revolutionary, but for what it is, the really does everything right: Even pacing, great interviews from many Hollywood notables, and... It provides a comprehensive overview of Corman's portfolio, and doesn't make Corman out to be anything more than he is: a man with a perpetual smile and a filmmaker with little desire for artistic recognition.
*3/4*

One of the most profound documentaries I've ever seen. It's also beautifully choreographed. Alex Stapleton's "Corman's World" delivers a very dark point of view of Hollywood and what has become since the early days of Jaws and Star Wars. As a young filmmaker myself not even one single teacher in film school told me that Star Wars did in fact ruined independent filmmakers for quite some time, which is disappointing because the best films are independent, and it should stay that way. I encourage everyone to watch it if your passionate about film. God bless Corman the man!

A very depressing film. An intelligent and sensitive man, whose "type" didn't fit US ideas of manhood, vented ironic camp rage to a generation of mediocre middle class film school grads, all rebels without a clue. Corman is the product of the post McCarthy era, which left the Hollywood Left so cowed that veiled sarcasm and hedonism have been their only weapons, and feeble, pathetic ones they are. To regard this kind of petulant cynicism as heroic is just sad from whatever perspective.
Corman at one point speaks about the obscenity of bloated Hollywood budgets and salaries, and indeed I agree it is far more obscene than any content in his movies. This is a lesson which none of his glittering "alumni" felt compelled to address in their interviews, unsurprisingly. So to have multimillionaire directors, the likes of Demme and Howard, who command multimillion dollar budgets, talking about "sticking it to the man" and "independence" was stomach churning. They do have a lot to thank him for though...mostly the fact that his garbage will always make their garbage look really good.
More insidious was the unnecessarily extended commentary about the apparent incongruity between the man and his work, which was an interesting exposure of both the documentarians and the interviewees. That many of these filmmakers have largely perpetuated and strengthened the kinds of myths of masculinity and conformity which obviously fueled Corman's anger and rejection only goes to show how little understanding or consideration they have of his motivation. This documentary was more tragic than celebratory.
Corman is the Marquis de Sade of Pop Culture. Although I'm sure many would take this as a compliment, Sade was not admirable, he was just a shell of a man, crushed by the abhorrent and base nature of his society, deciding to go one further. These men, for all their ironic wit, only add to the nihilism, the apathy, and the suffering of society, and personally I think there are better alternatives.
Richard Matheson paid a moving tribute, the only one worth listening to that showed any insight, the rest of this documentary is swill. A couple of decades ago I used to call my youthful self a film buff; now I am loathed to admit I ever watch/ed movies, and this documentary, particularly the nauseating Oscar ceremony, really spells out why any person of conscience would feel the same.

A pretty great documentary on a great person in movie history. There are plenty of clips from Corman's films, although they don't talk too much on the film's he produced. There are many interviews with some of Hollywood's greatest stars that Corman helped bring into fame. It's filled with information about his films, and gives a great look at his career. This documentary is a blast.

This is definitely a must see. I love documentaries, especially of low budget filmmakers. They have such interesting stories to tell.