CORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL (Alex Stapleton). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NNN
Less a profile of B movie producer/director Roger Corman than an act of worship, Corman’s World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel takes a chronological journey through the legacy of a legend.
Corman’s lusty, cheesy films dominated drive-ins and grindhouses from the 1950s through the 70s – and conquered home video and cable in subsequent decades. Along the way, he gave significant breaks to the likes of Francis Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Joe Dante, Pam Grier, Peter Fonda, William Shatner and some hippie named Jack Nicholson.
Documentarian Alex Stapleton takes a pretty conventional approach. This is really just a collection of talking heads and film clips, arranged in chronological order. But when the stories are as good as the ones here – and told by the likes of Nicholson, Grier, Scorsese and Fonda – substance easily trumps style.
