Corman's World (2011)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Best movie of this year hands down!

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A documentary about legendary director/producer Roger Corman, covering his career of over 400 movies. Beside starting the career of many famous directors and actors (Jack Nicholson in particular), it shows the influence of his films on cinema and that even exploitation movies are OK as long as you like what you do and give the audience what they want.Watching this documentary really got me thinking that there's no huge difference between Roger Corman and Ed Wood: Both did "commando" low budget movies with minimum budget and shooting. So is it a matter of talent? Some of the scenarios described by the people involved really sound like scenes taken from "Ed Wood".This documentary features lots of clips from his entire career and interviews with lots of famous actors and directors.

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.

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.

-- www.Ramascreen.com --It's a Corman's World, we all just live in it! This is a docu feature that's just as rebellious as the the man himself. It gives us insight into the determination, the stubbornness, the pride, and the struggle of a filmmaker who takes chances and gambles, and is still kikin', who directly and indirectly influences independent filmmakers everywhere to be OK with and be passionate about making low budget movies as a way to stick it to the man!..Movies that has such weird titles like Little Shop Of Horrors, Monster From The Ocean Floor, or Dinoshark nowadays probably get laughed at by general audiences but did you know that those movies actually have strong fanbase?! There are some of us who can find something entertaining or artful about B-exploit horror and action flicks. And the man we need to thank for that is none other than Roger Corman. Director Alex Stapleton's documentary covers Corman's career and personal life extensively. The film works as a way to reintroduce Corman to today's generation who probably had no idea that The Fast And The Furious starring Vin Diesel was actually an updated version of Corman's old movie of the same title. The docu shows his early involvements with film industry, and it's clear from early on that even as one of the young story editors, Corman was not appreciated or credited for his contributions. So that part was more or less like a premonition of what his entire career, in the next 50 years plus, was going to be.Looking back now, the A-list celebs who at one point or another, starred in Corman's movies may be a bit embarrassed to admit that they started out that way but they themselves know that they wouldn't be where they are if it weren't for the chances that Corman took with them. The docu interviews such greats as Scorsese, De Niro, Nicholson, and Pam Grier. It's impressive how dedicated director Stapleton was to capture every Corman story possible from those who've crossed paths with or encountered him It's a 90-minute documentary but it goes by quickly because it's so engaging and you want to know more about this man named Roger Corman. Packed with archival footage of Corman's old movies, you'll laugh at how cheesy those movies were but in the back of your head, you know that you could watch these kinds of movies on a Saturday night with a huge bag of popcorn because that's the kind of occasion that those movies are made for.I now understand that 2 things kept Corman from advancing to the next level of filmmaking: Pride and bad luck. You'll see from this docu that there were opportunities that Corman could've taken but he chose not to because he was too proud and there were opportunities that almost fell on his lap but for some unknown cosmic reason, the projects went to other filmmakers and they became classic hits. I think as much as he'd like to be part of the A-list and be appreciated, he feels that low budget filmmaking is where he belongs, as painful as it is to be labeled King Of B. One interesting segment in the docu is about the arrival of Jaws and Star Wars, basically big Hollywood Studios perfecting and banking on the concepts and films that Corman had made for years before on a budget lower than $50,000. You feel sorry for the guy. I've been a Star Wars fan for as long as I could remember, but this docu feature gives me a different perspective, a different way of looking at the franchise. This docu ends with the 2009 Honorary Academy Award for Roger Corman which makes it like a cherry on top, The film is an honest portrait of persistence, you can't get a better example of a filmmaker who withstood mockery and became admired eventually.-- www.Ramascreen.com --