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 low-budget cult films including some which are adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.
A B movie, or B film, is a type of low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, somewhat similar to B-sides in the world of recorded music. However, the production of such films as "second features" in the United States largely declined by the end of the 1950s. This shift was due to the rise of commercial television, which prompted film studio B movie production departments to transition into television film production divisions. These divisions continued to create content similar to B movies, albeit in the form of low-budget films and series.
The Big Red One is a 1980 American epic war film written and directed by Samuel Fuller, and starring Lee Marvin alongside an ensemble supporting cast, including Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Siegfried Rauch, Bobby Di Cicco, and Kelly Ward.
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies. Independent films are sometimes distinguishable by their content and style and how the filmmakers' artistic vision is realized. Sometimes, independent films are made with considerably lower budgets than major studio films.
The Fast and the Furious is a 1954 American crime drama B movie starring John Ireland and Dorothy Malone, co-directed by Ireland and Edward Sampson.
The Trip is a 1967 American psychedelic film released by American International Pictures, directed by Roger Corman and written by Jack Nicholson. It was shot on location in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, the Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California, over three weeks in March and April 1967. Peter Fonda stars as a young man who experiences his first LSD trip.
Battle Beyond the Stars is a 1980 American space opera film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, and starring Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, George Peppard, John Saxon, Sybil Danning and Darlanne Fluegel. Intended as a futuristic "Magnificent Seven in outer space", the screenplay was written by John Sayles with the score by James Horner and special effects designed by filmmaker James Cameron. The film was theatrically released by Corman's New World Pictures and was a moderate box office success, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.
The Wild Angels is a 1966 American independent outlaw biker film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Made on location in Southern California, The Wild Angels was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 1960s counterculture. It inspired the biker film genre that continued into the early 1970s.
The Terror is a 1963 American independent horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson, the latter of whom portrays a French officer who is seduced by a woman who is also a shapeshifting devil.
Cirio Hermoso Santiago was a Filipino film producer, director and writer. He used the screen names Cirio Santiago, Cirio H. Santiago, Leonardo Hermoso, and Leonard Hermes.
Gas-s-s-s is a 1970 post-apocalyptic black comedy film produced and released by American International Pictures.
Hollywood Boulevard is a 1976 American satirical exploitation film directed by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante, and starring Candice Rialson, Paul Bartel, and Mary Woronov. It follows an aspiring actress who has just arrived in Los Angeles, only to be hired by a reckless B movie film studio where she bears witness to a series of gruesome and fatal on-set accidents. The film blends elements of the comedy, thriller, and slasher film genres.
She Gods of Shark Reef is a 1958 B-adventure film directed by Roger Corman that was partially filmed on location in Kaua'i back to back with Naked Paradise in 1956. The film was distributed in 1958 by American International Pictures as a double feature with Night of the Blood Beast.
The 1950s mark a significant change in the definition of the B movie. The transformation of the film industry due to court rulings that brought an end to many long-standing distribution practices as well as the challenge of television led to major changes in U.S. cinema at the exhibition level. These shifts signaled the eventual demise of the double feature that had defined much of the American moviegoing experience during Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s. Even as the traditional bottom-of-the-bill second feature slowly disappeared, the term B movie was applied more broadly to the sort of inexpensive genre films that came out during the era, such as those produced to meet the demands of the burgeoning drive-in theater market.
New Concorde (NC) is an American Los Angeles, California based film distribution company founded by Roger Corman. NC got its start in 1983 when Corman formed the production and distribution Concorde-New Horizons (CNH) as one of the first production companies to develop and take advantage of video as a distribution tool.
Five Guns West is a 1955 Western film set during the American Civil War directed by Roger Corman. It was Corman's first film as director although he had already made two as producer. It was the second film released by the American Releasing Company, which later became American International Pictures.
Atlas is a 1961 peplum film directed by Roger Corman and starring Michael Forest and Frank Wolff. It was filmed in Greece. Corman called it "my last attempt to do a big picture on a low budget." Writer Charles B. Griffith said "Atlas was a mess. It was a doomed project. "
Death Race 2050 is a 2017 American political satire action direct-to-video film directed by G.J. Echternkamp, and starring Manu Bennett, Marci Miller and Malcolm McDowell. It is a sequel to the 1975 film Death Race 2000. Both films were produced by Roger Corman, who described the film as "a car-racing picture with some black humor."
The Territory is an 2022 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Alex Pritz. It follows a young Indigenous leader of the Uru-eu-wau-wau people fighting back against farmers, colonizers and settlers who encroach on a protected area of the Amazon Rainforest. Filmed on location in Brazil from 2018 to 2020, the film utilizes almost exclusively on-the-ground, primary source material, including footage produced directly by the Uru-eu-wau-wau. Darren Aronofsky serves as a producer under his Protozoa Pictures banner.
Fire of Love is a 2022 independent documentary film about the lives and careers of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft. Directed, written, and produced by Sara Dosa, the film had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2022, where it won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award. It was released on July 6, 2022, by National Geographic Documentary Films and Neon. It received acclaim from critics, and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 95th Academy Awards.
