Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel

Last updated

Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel
Corman's World poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Alex Stapleton
Written byAlex Stapleton
Produced byAlex Stapleton
Starring Roger Corman
Jack Nicholson
Martin Scorsese
CinematographyPatrick Simpson
Release dates
  • January 21, 2011 (2011-01-21)(Sundance) [1]
  • March 27, 2012 (2012-03-27)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel is a 2011 documentary film directed by Alex Stapleton about the life and career of filmmaker Roger Corman.

Contents

Interviewees

Release

Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. [2]

It made its television debut on A&E. [3]

It was released on DVD on March 27, 2012. [4]

Reception

It received mostly positive reviews from critics, with a score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. [5]

Den of Geek awarded it a score of 4 out of five, saying "Most of all, Corman’s World paints a portrait of a filmmaker who, although not without flaw (his penny-pinching mode of operation didn’t always work in his favour), has earned a great deal of respect and fondness from those who’ve spent any time on set with him." [6]

The Observer said "Instead of the subtitle "Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel", this film could as easily be called "The Rebellion of a Hollywood Exploiter" for the way it records the ingenuity, daring and innovation that went into his productions and drove him to create his own studio and distribution company", but was critical of the fact that several of Corman's more acclaimed films were overlooked. [7]

The A.V. Club awarded it a score of B−, saying "Corman’s World establishes its subject as a fascinating contradiction, a madman with the calm, soothing, rational manner of the sanest man in the world. " [8]

The New York Times called it an "affectionate and informative documentary", praising both Corman's appearance in the film and its approach it his work. [9]

The London Evening Standard was more critical, calling it "A frustrating documentary about a frustrating man." [10]

The Hollywood Reporter praised the documentary, saying "Funny, quick-paced and stuffed with well-known interviewees, it naturally has far better niche theatrical prospects than anything its subject has produced lately." [11]

Dread Central awarded it a score of four and a half out of five, saying "It’s as inspiring as it is informative, and is a great tribute to a living legend." [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Corman</span> American film director, producer, and actor (born 1926)

Roger William Corman is an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and “The King of Cult”, he is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works that have an already-established critical reputation, such as his cycle of low-budget cult films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov is a Russian-Kazakh film director, producer, screenwriter, and tech entrepreneur. He is best known for the fantasy epic Night Watch (2004) and action thriller Wanted (2008), as well as for pioneering screenlife films: Unfriended (2015), Searching (2018) and Profile (2021). He founded Baselevs, a production company that earned a spot among the 2021 World's 10 Most Innovative Companies in Video, according to Fast Company.

<i>Red State</i> (2011 film) American independent horror thriller film

Red State is a 2011 American independent horror thriller film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Michael Parks, John Goodman, Michael Angarano, Melissa Leo, and Stephen Root.

<i>Catfish</i> (film) 2010 documentary film

Catfish is a 2010 film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. It involves a young man, Nev, being filmed by his brother and friend, co-directors Ariel and Henry, as he builds a romantic relationship with a young woman on the social networking website Facebook. The film was a critical and commercial success. It led to an MTV reality TV series, Catfish: The TV Show. The film is credited with coining the term catfishing: a type of deceptive activity involving a person creating a fake social networking presence for nefarious purposes.

Jared Moshe is an American-born director, screenwriter and producer of independent films. He wrote and directed the feature Westerns Dead Man's Burden (2012) and The Ballad of Lefty Brown (2017). He has also produced the features Destricted (2006), Kurt Cobain: About a Son (2006), Low and Behold (2007), Beautiful Losers (2008), Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011), and Silver Tongues (2011).

<i>Project Nim</i> (film) 2011 film by James Marsh

Project Nim is a 2011 documentary film directed by James Marsh. It tells the life story of a chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky, who was the center of a research project that was mounted in the 1970s to determine whether a primate raised in close contact with humans would develop a limited "language" based on American Sign Language.

<i>The Ambassador</i> (2011 film) 2011 Danish film

The Ambassador is a 2011 Danish documentary film created and directed by Danish filmmaker and journalist Mads Brügger. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, ultimately losing to The House I Live In.

<i>Last Weekend</i> (2014 film) 2014 American film

Last Weekend is a 2014 American comedy/drama film starring Patricia Clarkson, Zachary Booth, and Joseph Cross. The film premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival on May 2, 2014. In May, the film was acquired for theatrical release and iTunes/VOD on August 29, 2014 by IFC/Sundance Selects. The film will also open the Provincetown International Film Festival on June 18, 2014. Last Weekend was filmed entirely on location in Lake Tahoe, California. It was the first feature film in thirteen years to be shot entirely in the area.

<i>The Battered Bastards of Baseball</i> 2014 documentary film

The Battered Bastards of Baseball is a 2014 documentary film about the Portland Mavericks, a defunct minor league baseball team in Portland, Oregon. They played five seasons in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, from 1973 through 1977. Owned by actor Bing Russell, the Mavericks were an independent team, without the affiliation of a parent team in the major leagues. The title is from a line in Jim Bouton's 1970 book Ball Four: "Us battered bastards of baseball are the biggest customers of the U.S. Post Office, forwarding-address department."

<i>Dinosaur 13</i> 2014 American film

Dinosaur 13 is a 2014 American documentary film directed and produced by Todd Douglas Miller. The film premiered in competition category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2014.

<i>Last Days in Vietnam</i> 2014 film by Rory Kennedy

Last Days in Vietnam is a 2014 American documentary film written, produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014.

<i>Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead</i> (film) 2015 film by Douglas Tirola

Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Douglas Tirola. The film is about National Lampoon magazine, and how the magazine and its empire of spin-offs changed the course of comedy and humor.

<i>Rebel in the Rye</i> 2017 American film

Rebel in the Rye is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed and written by Danny Strong. It is based on the book J. D. Salinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawenski, about the life of writer J. D. Salinger during and after World War II. The film stars Nicholas Hoult, Zoey Deutch, Kevin Spacey, Sarah Paulson, Brian d'Arcy James, Victor Garber, Hope Davis, and Lucy Boynton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandre O. Philippe</span> Swiss film director

Alexandre O. Philippe is a Swiss film director best known for the documentary films Doc of the Dead, The People vs. George Lucas, and the 2017 post-modern documentary examination of the Psycho shower scene directed by Alfred Hitchcock entitled 78/52 which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Philippe is Creative Director and co-owner of Denver-based Cinema Vertige and his most recent commissioned work for the City of Denver garnered four Heartland Emmy Awards.

<i>Shirkers</i> 2018 documentary film by Sandi Tan

Shirkers is a 2018 British-American documentary film by Singapore-born filmmaker Sandi Tan about the making of an independent thriller featuring a teenage assassin set in Singapore. It premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in January and won the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award, making her the second Singapore-born filmmaker after Kirsten Tan to win an award at the festival. It was also nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Documentary.

<i>Wild Wild Country</i> 2018 documentary series

Wild Wild Country is a Netflix documentary series about the controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho), his one-time personal assistant Ma Anand Sheela, and their community of followers in the Rajneeshpuram community located in Wasco County, Oregon, US. It was released on Netflix on March 16, 2018, after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. The title of the series is drawn from the Bill Callahan song "Drover", which features prominently in the final episode, and it also echoes the comments of Jane Stork about first seeing the ranch, shown at the beginning of episode 2: "it was just so wild, so rugged, but vast—really wild country".

<i>Knock Down the House</i> 2019 documentary film by Rachel Lears

Knock Down the House is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Rachel Lears. It revolves around the 2018 congressional primary campaigns of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin, four progressive Democrats endorsed by Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress who ran in that year's midterm elections.

<i>Time</i> (2020 film) 2020 American film

Time is an Academy Award-nominated 2020 American documentary film produced and directed by Garrett Bradley. It follows Sibil Fox Richardson, fighting for the release of her husband, Rob, who was serving a 60-year prison sentence for engaging in an armed bank robbery.

<i>Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street</i> 2021 American documentary film

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is a 2021 American documentary film directed by Marilyn Agrelo. Inspired by the book Street Gang by Michael Davis, the film chronicles the history of the children's television program Sesame Street and the artists, writers, producers, and educators who created it.

Alex Stapleton is an American director, showrunner, and executive producer of documentary feature films and unscripted television.

References

  1. https://www.sundance.org/pdf/film-guide/2011/out-of-competition-films.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  2. Staff, T. H. R. (23 January 2011). "SUNDANCE REVIEW: Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. Barton, Steve (26 March 2012). "Exclusive Interview: Producer Stone Douglass on Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel". Dread Central. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  4. Stapleton, Alex, Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel , retrieved 5 August 2022
  5. Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel , retrieved 5 August 2022
  6. jbindeck2015 (20 February 2012). "Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel review". Den of Geek. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  7. "Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel – review". the Guardian. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  8. "Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel". The A.V. Club. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  9. Scott, A. O. (15 December 2011). "The King of the B-Movie and His A-List Following". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  10. "Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel". Evening Standard. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  11. 1/23/2011, DeFore, John "SUNDANCE REVIEW: Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel" (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sundance-review-cormans-world-exploits-74772) The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 March 2016
  12. Jinx (16 April 2012). "Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (Blu-ray / DVD)". Dread Central. Retrieved 5 August 2022.