Corman's World

The content of Stapleton’s documentary fully corresponds to the subtitle of another, significantly juicier look into the backstreets of Hollywood – Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream. The erstwhile rebel was appropriated as their spiritual father by mainstream actors, producers and directors, who comprised the system against whose products Corman’s films were defined. Corman himself views this disgrace – made doubly irritating by the awarding of an Oscar for a lifetime of filming busty actresses, severed limbs and carnivorous fauna – with emotion. Why not grant him that, to have a comparably uncompromising pragmatist among American filmmakers. Though I doubt that he would have made his delightful trash flicks, which are so much more entertaining than anything of the like that is now passed off in all seriousness as top-tier genre movies, with the vision of an Oscar and cultural enrichment of his homeland in his head. With respect to its subject matter, the documentary is not very “nasty” as such; with the exception of a brief interlude, it shamelessly omits the essential historical and social context, and during the moments when stories from filming replace personal impressions, it becomes quite slow, but it still serves well for basic orientation and if you have at least a slight weakness for exploitation trash flicks, you will likely end up wanting to get your hands on a few of Corman’s films and spend a pleasant weekend with them. 65% (02.10.2012)

I like Roger Corman's work, as well as his approach to directing. It works because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to do it for so long. Cheap movies, but at the same time he was instrumental in launching big names throughout Hollywood. Thanks to that, he became a great person. Yes, the documentary adores him, but this is a man who deserves it. (26.01.2015)