Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2015)

Love this movie for the overview of one of my favourite schlock companies and while they do a good job of talking to everyone, the lack of Chuck Norris's and Charles Bronson's words (tough since he's dead) means you miss out on some alternative insights. I think a detailed book is in order. Or maybe a three hour cut of the movie that allows for more exploration into some of the crazy making of stories and lets more people talk. Still love the movie, just wish there was more here.

Writer/director Mark Hartley delivers one of the most entertaining, enthralling and genuinely hilarious documentaries of the decade with his 2014 release "Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films." In many ways a loving tribute to the iconic and infamous studio that rose to fame in the 1980's with its schlocky and exploitative releases before fizzling out in the early 90's, the documentary is filled with heart, soul and laughs. Containing interviews with dozens of figures associated with the brand in addition to numerous clips and scenes from various Cannon releases, "Electric Boogaloo" is as informative as it is amusing.Much of the film's focus is placed on Israeli cousins Menahem Golan (a struggling filmmaker) and Yoram Globus (the money-man), whom purchased the company in 1979 and started it down the path that would eventually lead to both it's meteoric rise and sudden fall. They were the main driving force behind the company and their story is one for the ages. They're the sort-of duo who might serve as inspiration to some while being a cautionary tale to others, as they were clearly passionate and loved what they did, but made many poor choices and were often less than honorable. Wisely, Hartley doesn't approach the subject matter with any sort-of agenda, and instead lets his various interview subjects discuss the cousins and the films they worked on with their own personal views and recollections. Which makes it weirdly poignant in a way when you see some talking fondly about their experiences with Golan and Globus while others condemn them.I highly admired the production of this documentary, and I definitely think this should be a must-watch for college film analysis and production classes. While the bulk of the movie is simply talking- head style interviews intercut with film clips and stock-footage, it's never anything less than enthralling thanks to Hartley's keen direction and pitch-perfect sense of editing. While it might move a bit too quickly for some, I think it does a remarkable job at setting and maintaining just the correct sense of urgency and flow. It's very much a "get in, get it done and move out" affair, and we're doled out just enough information about just enough key events in Cannon History to neither feel uninformed or overwhelmed. The interview subjects run the gamut and include everyone from Cannon film directors, to studio associates who were responsible for distributing their films to the various actors and actresses who have appeared in Cannon films. Unfortunately, Golan and Globus are nowhere to be found, and their addition to the film would have been invaluable.While I cannot give it a perfect score due to a few minor nitpicks I have with the production and final product, I can say with some certainty that "Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films" is amongst my favorite films of the past several years. It's never anything less that engaging and entertaining, and there's a lot to be learned over the 100 or so minute run-time. The story of Golan and Globus, and indeed Cannon films at large is one of the more fascinating and strange tales to emerge from Hollywood's varied and often sordid history, and it makes for one hell of a fun film.I give "Electric Boogaloo" a very strong 8 out of 10.

As 'Electric Boogaloo' tells it, Cannon Films was established by two Israeli wheeler-dealers, who came to the United States, established a film production company, and managed to make a huge quantity of low budget, low class movies before eventually their wild ambition caught up with them and they ran out of money. What makes the story more interesting is that this ambition was not just to establish a film-making giant, but also to make movies of at least some distinction: but a combination of unavoidable financial constraints and an inherent belief they could do it on the cheap inevitably sank their grander ambitions. This could make for a riveting film, but in fact, all we get are a succession of clips coupled with talking heads asserting ad nauseam just quite how crazy the company was. How do you actually make a low budget movie? How did the company stay in business for as long as it did, when (according to what we're told), its every film was a disaster? What is the evidence that the founders did, as we're repeatedly told, genuinely love cinema in spite of their abysmal product? We never really learn these facts. Instead, 'Electric Boogaloo' promotes a legend of Cannnon in a way that the studio's own bosses (whose talent for self-promotion is repeatedly attested to) might have envied. In fact, there's an irony here: asked to participate, the two of them made their own movie (and true to their past record, made it first). Without their involvement, there's a hole at the heart of the film they chose to spurn. Although based on the evidence presented here, I'm not sure I'd expect too much of their own effort, either.

In the late 70s through the 1980s, Cannon films churned out a huge number of films...mostly extremely low-budgeted, schlock at that. So, if you remember a terrible but exciting movie from this era, there's a very good chance it was made by the geniuses(?) behind this studio, Mecahem Golan and Yoram Globus. And their films often were designed to appeal to the lowest sorts of audiences--with ample nudity, violence and tasteless scripts. A sampling of their products include the "Happy Hooker" franchise, all the "Death Wish" sequels, Chuck Norris films, Ninja films and the worst picture of the era, "The Apple" (my favorite bad film of all time). This film is the Golan-Globus story which explains their pairing, the growth of the studio as well as its eventual demise.It's actually very interesting that this film about Cannon is much better and much more enjoyable than any of the studio's films! It's told by many insiders...though Golan and Globus themselves did not participate in the making of the film because they reportedly are working on their own documentary on the subject (though Golan recently passed away)!