anyone else fans of the cannon group films? is there another production group that has as many good films.
if your a fan what are some of your favorites?
Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
Viva Cannon !
Well, Cannon also produced some.. well, let's just call them some not-so-great movies. But among the best they have produced are most definitely Runaway Train and Shy People, both directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy. And a personal favorite of mine is ofcourse Revenge of the Ninja.. but you all knew that, right ?
Practically anything you could possibly want to know about The Cannon Group can be found at :
masters of the universe as well, i went to see this one shortly after i turned 5 years old and i remember quite a bit about the event.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Terrific website. I agree that Cannon produced a bunch of things that you could technically call "films." But unlike other exploitation companies like New World and Crown, I don't think that there ever was any attempt by Cannon to make anything remotely artistic. To the two excellent Konchalovsky films, I'd only be able to add "Barfly," "52 Pick-Up," and "The Company of Wolves" as worthy Cannon films, but only "52 Pick-Up" was actually produced by the Go-Go boys of Golan and Globus.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
i love cannon films,they made some of the most memorable films of my youth.
i especially love - the young warriors,10 to midnight,avenging force,death wish 2,3,4,missing in action trilogy,american nija 2&3,delta force 1&2,over the top,cobra,bloodsport, etc. - infact there weren't many cannon productions i disliked.
[ 06. June 2012, 09:27: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
was going to post this in the 80s blu rays coming soon section but thought this thread is just as appropriate- coming 2nd of october 2012 to blu ray from warner brothers is the 25th anniversary edition of masters of the universe starring dolph lundgren.
Maybe the most important production company to me. I loved watching their movies back in the 80s and i still do.
Cannon.org.uk has listed 536 movies which are connected to Cannon group one way or another. I own 148 of them so i still have some work to do
They have produced many "art" films too, like Mascara (1987), which i didnīt like much (or maybe i just didnīt "get" it) but i still keep it in my collection because itīs a Cannon movie.
Cannon even produced the opera "Otello" which was directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
Anyone seen their 80s live action fairy tale films like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Red Riding Hood etc.?
My favorite Cannon films are:
Avenging Force (1986) Barbarians, The (1987) Bloodsport (1988) Borrower, The (1991) Breakinī (1984) Cobra (1986) Dangerously Close (1986) Death Wish II (1982) Death Wish 3 (1985) Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990) 52 Pick-Up (1986) Invasion USA (1985) Last American Virgin, The (1982) Lifeforce (1985) Making the Grade (1984) Masters of the Universe (1987) Missing in Action (1984) Murphyīs Law (1986) Ninja III: The Domination (1984) Rescue Me (1992) Revenge of the Ninja (1983) Runaway Train (1985) Shy People (1987) 10 to Midnight (1983) Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, The (1986) Thunder Alley (1985) Young Warriors (1983)
Posted by The Good Package (Member # 9492) on :
i thought frank langella was awesome in masters.
the cannon films are alot of fun for me, the majority of the time i find out ahead of time that its a cannon film i rarely end up dissapointed.
use wolf's head golden 30 weight, it will never let you down. same goes for cannon
Posted by Dutch Gannon (Member # 10167) on :
I don't know Crash, I think that there is an art to films that may not seem artistic on the surface. Bloodsport for instance is a great source of artisitic, and entertaining fight scenes which seemed like a lot of time went into them. I would say that those are more artistic than fight scenes today, where the camera work is so choppy you can't tell what's going on. So there is an art to making a fight compelling, and realistic, while all the while being able to see every move, in my opinion.
Some might look at films like Bloodsport, Masters of the Universe, and Delta Force and simply say they are just mindless action, explotation films, cashins on succesful cartoons or the ever increasingly popular term "cheesy". Someone once said that one man's cheese is another's treasure. But I like somthing my brother told me the other day better, "Cheesiness is the Romanticism of a genera" That is what I feel is lacking from cinema today Romance. Not just lovers in a love story romance but romanticizing generas, actions, locations, professions, and more. Films today seem to want to take out the romanticisms. Look at Batman 89 compared to the Dark Knight. Practicality is draining the fun for one out of stuff, like the Bond sereis for instance. But for another if one were to look at things too pracitcally films like The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly would never have been made. That's why I feel explotation films, in their own way are an art. Canno produced alot of these great films, maybe a little too cheesy in some parts, but then agian, maybe thats not all that bad.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
I like exploitation films a lot too, but for the tremendous output of product, Cannon just can't hold a candle to New World or even Crown or AVCO Embassy, which produced way fewer films, but a higher percentage of really good films. For example, to me almost all of the early New World output is just superb, some of the best exploitation films ever: the nurse films, the women-in-prison stuff, Death Race 2000, Humanoids from the Deep, Jackson County Jail, Eat My Dust, Android, Piranha, Hollywood Boulevard, The Evil, The Velvet Vampire, Rock and Roll High School, Heathers, and on and on... Cannon's stuff, while sporadically interesting, just can't compare.
Posted by The Good Package (Member # 9492) on :
atomik, i like cobra too
Posted by The Good Package (Member # 9492) on :
new world did hellraiser as well didnt they?
Posted by noikz (Member # 1000) on :
King Soloman's Mines is another decent Canon flick.
[ 21. July 2012, 04:16: Message edited by: noikz ]
Posted by The Good Package (Member # 9492) on :
i just seen on imdb where there is a documentary in the works about cannon films, with interviews from van damme, chuck norris, and golan-globus
sounds good
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
The documentary is going to be done by Mark Hartley who did the terrific documentaries on Australian and Filipino exploitation films. It should be great. Posted by Zigyma7ik (Member # 12351) on :
The Blood on Satan's Claw 1970.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
That's a good one. I always think of it as a Tigon Film, but it was released by Cannon in the U.S.
Posted by WolfmansGotNards (Member # 5910) on :
So many good flicks, pretty much everything on aTomiK's list is gold.
Especially Ninja III: The Domination. Now excuse me while I pour some V8 on myself.
Posted by Zigyma7ik (Member # 12351) on :
^ I'm still waiting for that one on DVD.
Posted by The Good Package (Member # 9492) on :
bloodsport is more than a film, its a way of life
Posted by Zigyma7ik (Member # 12351) on :
^ Ray Jackson is the embodiment.
Posted by Rob@80s (Member # 13270) on :
Avenging Force and Death Wish IV really do make me laugh harder than most films that were actually made as comedies. Totally crazed 80s bad guy villains lol (the same guy right?)
Forgot Cannon were also behind Shy People. That is quite a serious British drama, with a nice cast. I have got some of these films somewhere mentioned above, but never got round to viewing them (like Runaway Train and Dangerously Close).
Ninja III is a total classic. Boy, do I wish I had that in 1080p. Must've wrecked about 3 tape versions over the years hehe. Of course, same girl who was in the Breakdance films, so sweet and friendly... who knew? Posted by Lovers with Cassie (Member # 7794) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Good Package: New World did Hellraiser as well, didn't they?
The Good Package, that is accurate. New World Pictures were responsible for Hellraiser.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
american ninja is actually getting the blu ray treatment here in the uk later on this year and they've actually started to release a lot of the 80s cannon hits stateside to blu ray such as
52 pick up dangerously close revenge of the ninja enter the ninja hero and the terror avenging force river of death breakdance 1&2 etc.
i'm sure american warrior was the original uk title upon cinema release if i remember right, i think i remember seeing it reviewed on the bbc film program film 85 http://youtu.be/0vJTZfeIAc0 or what ever year it was with barry norman,used enjoy that show with him presenting it.
got to admit i definetly prefer the ninja in the title as to the warrior,american ninja's definetly got more of a ring to it.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
firewalker starring chuck norris and louis gossett jr is coming to blu ray in the us april the 21st 2015.
would have prefered invasion usa,delta force 2 or the hitman myself.
chuck norris fans (myself included) are going to have a good year,already annouced are - hero and the terror,an eye for an eye and now firewalker.
[ 14. April 2016, 07:54: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
dangerously close (1986) comes out on blu ray tomorrow for the first time ever,it never actually ever got a dvd release.
fans have had to make do with the vhs up till now.
also released tomorrow to blu for the first time ever is the 1980 cannon films slasher - new years evil.
this was also a lot of fun,i have an old vhs of it!
Posted by JCU (Member # 2851) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Good Package: anyone else fans of the cannon group films? is there another production group that has as many good films.
if your a fan what are some of your favorites?
The 1980's would be nothing without Cannon.
I'm also reminded of Carolco.
Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
Orion Pictures and The Hemdale Film Corporation were at the top of their game during the same period, but none will be so fondly remembered as The Cannon Group.
Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
quote:Originally posted by the young warrior: dangerously close (1986) comes out on blu ray tomorrow for the first time ever,it never actually ever got a dvd release.
fans have had to make do with the vhs up till now.
I'm happy with those first reviews for the Dangerously Close blu-ray.
A couple of months ago i had pre-ordered Moontrap, which was also released by Olive Films, but by the time it came out there were some less than favorable reviews (mostly focussing on the god-awful video-quality).. and i was like : ,..Oh nooooooooo..'
Last month Olive released La Belle Captive (1983) which i had set my eyes on ever since it was first announced, but instead of pre-ordering it, i waited for the first reviews to hit the internet.. just in case. It turned out to be a winner though, so i did order it as soon as i read it was a good-quality disc.
But those Olive discs aren't exactly the cheapest of the bunch, so i've become a bit more careful, yet i couldn't resist pre-ordering Dangerously Close, and hoping it would turn out fine.
Now that the first reviews are up, i feel confident i'm gonna be happy with this one as soon as it comes in.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
Your right johnny Olive films aren't exactly cheap,plus there never overloaded with extras,come to think of it I only just ordered an olive blu release the other day and that was night of the demons 2.
I got an old full screen DVD release of it and the picture quality looks like its been mastered of an old vhs.
I was a bit short of funds but I still ordered night of the demons 2 blu ray because I've been not only wanting it for a while but I've also got a gut feeling it's soon going to go out of print.
Because olive have just finished there deal with paramount pictures who own the rights for night of the demons 2,plain clothes,ticks etc.
If you look at olive films online us sale a few of these titles are missing from it.
Heard about the moontrap transfer fiasco,I've got a gut feeling johnny 88 films in the UK have planned a moontrap blu ray release at some point.
[ 25. February 2015, 04:50: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Last time i heard they were releasing Moontrap on dvd only.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
"After just completing his training at a ninja school, an army vet travels to the Phillippines and finds himself battling a land grabber who wants his war-buddy's property. He must also fight his rival." (IMDb)
Watched Enter the Ninja (1981) last night and i have to say that it was a small disappointment. The film stars Franco Nero, Susan George, Alex Courtney, Sho Kosugi and Christopher George as the baddie Venarius. Thereīs not much ninja action at all in the film and the comedy elements just put me off. Zachi Noy (from the Lemon Popsicle films) is one of the Venariusī helpers and the dialog between those two guys are like straight from Police Academy flicks Also, Nero canīt do karate at all. I know that this is not one of those films you should overanalyze but i canīt help it. Cannon classic? Far from it.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
I love Franco Nero, one of the all-time great screen bad***es, but he's miscast here. I think that Revenge of the Ninja with Sho Kosugi is my favorite of the series because it's goofy fun.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
[ 25. July 2015, 04:28: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
I've become addicted to letterboxd lately!
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
I might pitch to Cannon my Days of Rain Man idea. They are always willing to experiment with obscure movies Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
quote:Originally posted by Bernie_Lomax: I might pitch to Cannon my Days of Rain Man idea. They are always willing to experiment with obscure movies
and if they say yes to that one bernie try your luck with this - stallone training raymond babbitt to be the next light weight boxing champion of the world.
Raymond could be sponsored by kmart.
"Fighting out of the red corner in his Kmart underwear raymond Babbitt"
[ 27. July 2015, 19:27: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
https://youtu.be/6WgV5A0lDKA - nearly a 1 hour long documentary on cannon films in 1986,check out at 49 minutes - the kids delta force assault set with knife,grenade,machine gun etc. also menahem golan talking about christopher reeve and street smart at 19 minutes,51 minute mark a party cannon put on at there new head quarters in l.a which had over 2000 guests included charles bronson and chuck norris.
menahem golan definetly seemed the complete opposite to his cousin and business partner yoram globus being a lot louder and more outspoken.
at the end of the day i suppose no matter what they were like they gave us some seriously fun films!
[ 15. September 2015, 03:14: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
talking of charles bronson who ever knew that he done a xmas album Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
The xmas album must be a collectorīs item! It wouldīve been fun to see Bronson in Delta Force but he didnīt want to split the leading role with Norris.
Bronson stuff from Olive Films, october 27th:
Messenger of Death (1988) & Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989)
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
i like both of those bronson outings,kinjite is probably bronson's "tightrope" a bit more sleazy than his norm,actually i don't know about that as nearly all of his films were pretty sleazy
messenger of death is definitely different to how it's portrayed "the vigilante is back - with a vengeance!" makes you think your getting another bronson action fest ala death wish 3,4 but really it's nothing of the sort!
still makes for a welcome change of pace and i've always quite enjoyed - messenger of death.
have any of you guys ever checked out this 1986 cannon films women in prison flick - the naked cage as i was wondering if it's anygood?
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
It seems that The Naked Cage never reached scandinavia which is a shame. It was written and directed by Paul Nicholas. Loved his ī83 film Chained Heat. I also have Julie Darling (also ī83) but havenīt watched it yet.
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
I watched Electric Boogaloo. A documentary about Cannon films. I can't for the life of me figure out why they gave it this title?
They sure made some absolutely terrible movies. some were good but a very high percentage of movies that were total trash.
Posted by JCU (Member # 2851) on :
quote:Originally posted by Bernie_Lomax: I watched Electric Boogaloo. A documentary about Cannon films. I can't for the life of me figure out why they gave it this title?
Fantastic documentary to be sure! These guys dipped their money in just about every genre or so it seems.
Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
Yay, that documentary is on Film4 this Friday!
Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
That was super fun. I need to see The Go-Go Boys now!
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
quote:That was super fun. I need to see The Go-Go Boys now!
Cowboys... who almost immediately went against their own movie making ethos. Thank god for them!
Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
Tehehe!
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Watched this lesser known Cannon/Golan-Globus film Haunted Summer (1988).
"Based on the infamous Summer of 1816 when Mary Shelley wrote "Frankenstein", it chronicles the mind games and manipulations that were the halmarks of the intense and neurotic relationships that existed among Byron, Shelley, Mary, and her step-sister Claire Clairmont" (IMDb)
Philosophical discussions, mind games, sex and various narcotics at Villa Diodati, Lake Geneva. The main cast did a good job in this one, especially Philip Anglim, Eric Stoltz and Alice Krige. The story is not really that special but i liked the atmosphere and the excellent score, composed by Christopher Young, helps a lot. In the end, thereīs not much nudity at all if you count out completely naked Stoltz jumping in a stream Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
quote:Originally posted by aTomiK: Watched this lesser known Cannon/Golan-Globus film Haunted Summer (1988).
Hey, isn't that the exact same story as Ken Russell's Gothic (1986) ? An American remake perhaps ?
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Yeah, i believe it is. I havenīt got Gothic but it would be interesting to see another version.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
I've never seen Gothic but would like to,Crimes Of Passion is getting the Arrow Blu Ray treatment soon.
That's a great movie!
UK bargain label 101 FILMS has just released Firewalker to Blu Ray this week gone and it is one that i have watched a few times over the years but when it comes to trying to remember anthing memorable from it my mind draws a complete blank!
Is It Rubbish?
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Itīs rubbish in the purest form Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
So that's why I can't hardly remember it whatsoever,you would have thought with the Raiders Of The Lost Ark inspired storyline and with the likes of Norris,Gossett and veteran director J Lee Thompson on board plus the fact that it had Cannon Films behind it that it would have been a blast!
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Yeah, I remember seeing Firewalker in a theatre back when, and realizing that the Go-Go boys and Cannon had burned me once again. In that very good recent documentary on Cannon Films, they make a point that Golan and Globus had this completely out-of-touch mentality about what U.S. audiences wanted. Ripoffs of bigger and better studio pictures are not necessarily bad, but the Cannon guys seemed to think that if you had a couple of big stars, a film that was in focus, and a good poster, that's all you needed to get people in the seats. And for a while, that strategy worked with some of the Bronson and Norris films. But soon audiences wised up and realized that if it came from Cannon, there was an extremely high probability it wasn't going to be good. I know a lot of folks exalt these films--and Cannon did make a few good ones--but at the time, AVCO Embassy and New World were putting out far better, classier products that actually were artistic and didn't rely on established stars and cynicism.
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
I remember quite liking Firewalker... but also can't remember anything about it.
Crash, what did AVCO release? Didn't New World release stuff on video as EV? I recall some pretty good stuff from EV.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
EV (Entertainment In video) were great Logan they did put out some really awesome flicks,can you remember this opening logo from there 80s output - http://youtu.be/IGF9SZV2VDM
I've got a feeling EV mostly distributed just out of the UK because I can never recollect seeing any titles released by them overseas!
Avco/Embassy were cool as well,I remember in the UK they distributed John Carpenters Escape From New York,The Fog and the original The Howling.
[ 15. April 2016, 17:55: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
AVCO Embassy was the U.S. distributor for almost all of the great 80s horror films: Phantasm, The Fog, Escape from New York, The Howling, Prom Night, Scanners, as well as Eddie and the Cruisers, This is Spinal Tap, and The Sure Thing. I think New World released stuff to home video as New World.
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
Ah - Avco / Embassy is 'Embassy' to me - the logo on that video box was instantly recognisable - 'The Howling' is definitely one I associate with it.
I get EV/ New World mixed up a lot because they were releasing the same sort of movies (quality wise) at the same time. I know that NW released things like 'House', and that EV released things like 'Troll', but for some reason I feel like the companies were connected. Maybe Young Warrior is right and EV were just releasing some NW movies in the UK under licence or something.
I miss the days of those indie companies, even if we did get suckered in a lot by the amazing cover art on their video boxes for films which turned out to be turnips.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
EV distributed both House movies in the UK for New World Pictures as well as I believe Ghost Town,Freeway (1988),Space Raiders (1983) and The Wrong Guys,there's probably a few others of note as well.
They had some really cool releases!
[ 17. April 2016, 15:12: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
See - I was sure House was New World! This is confusing! Still, at least it made me watch House again...
Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
The Cannon Film Guide vol. 1, 1980 - 1984
This book, the first of three volumes, came out last summer.. just thought it might be worth mentioning ! Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Thanks, Johnny! I will get that as well as the two other Austin Trunick books Teen Movie Hell and Heavy Metal Movies!
Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
More Cannon related news :
The Go-Go Boys ; The Inside Story of Cannon Films (2014) coming to blu-ray in July !
Posted by thenodfather (Member # 8732) on :
What I can think of that I've seen:
American Ninja series Revenge Of The Ninja Ninja III Avenging Force Invaders From Mars Cobra Over The Top Mannequin Seize the Day Down Twisted Superman IV: The Quest for Peace Going Bananas Bloodsport Cyborg Kickboxer Lambada Rescue Me
Posted by TheHoff (Member # 37515) on :
quote:Originally posted by thenodfather: What I can think of that I've seen:
American Ninja series Revenge Of The Ninja Ninja III Avenging Force Invaders From Mars Cobra Over The Top Mannequin Seize the Day Down Twisted Superman IV: The Quest for Peace Going Bananas Bloodsport Cyborg Kickboxer Lambada Rescue Me
Seen most of them, I'd have to check my collection to see which, memory isn't what it used to be but I do sadly remember Superman IV but wish I didn't Posted by thenodfather (Member # 8732) on :
Poor Superman IV, it does get a lot of flack Posted by Johnny Roarke is reckless (Member # 9826) on :
Second volume of The Cannon Film Guide is available now !
It only covers a mere three year period ('85-'87), but as we all know these were Cannon's most productive years, and therefore the book is almost twice as thick as the previous volume with over 1000 pages !
Again, it's a chronological film-by-film overview with lots of fun trivia scattered throughout each chapter.
For example, Sylvester Stallone's old semi-truck from Over The Top (1987) was used again the following year in the Charles Bronson action film Messenger Of Death, made a third appearance (complete with the 'Hawk Hauling' logo still visible) in The Wizard (1989), and turned up yet again in Tank Girl (1995).. Quite a career !
Essential for any 80s movies fan !
Posted by TerdNthePoolGGB (Member # 9818) on :
Hey that looks awesome Johnny! Thanks for the heads-up.
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