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.
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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.
Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
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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.
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.
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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 didn´t like much (or maybe i just didn´t "get" it) but i still keep it in my collection because it´s 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) Breakin´ (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) Murphy´s 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)
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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
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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.
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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.
Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
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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
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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. Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
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Zigyma7ik
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The Blood on Satan's Claw 1970.
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That's a good one. I always think of it as a Tigon Film, but it was released by Cannon in the U.S.
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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.
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Zigyma7ik
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^ I'm still waiting for that one on DVD.
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bloodsport is more than a film, its a way of life
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Zigyma7ik
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^ Ray Jackson is the embodiment.
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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? Posts: 22 | Registered: Sep 2012 | Site Updates: 0
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Lovers with Cassie
Remembering when Mel Gibson was young....
Member # 7794
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.
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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.
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