Nonureva
Really Surprised!
Logan
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Dalbert Pringle
Always remember - If what you're viewing on screen becomes unbearable to watch, just keep telling yourself - "It's only a movie... It's only a movie... It's only a movie..." Duh!.... Call me a monkey's uncle, but I had always thought (until today) that the term "Grindhouse" referred to those exploitation films that were exclusively from the 1960s & 70s.But after viewing this fairly enlightening documentary on the subject, I am now being told that "Grindhouse" films actually go all the way back to the very first time (1894?) when some bloke with a half-baked perversion in his head picked up a movie camera and recorded "that forbidden thing" on film. (Tsk. Tsk) Anyways - Whether it's bona-fide "Grindhouse", or not, this here documentary sure covered a lot of ground in film history, and it definitely brought my attention to a number of totally "taboo" films out there that I'd sure like to view for myself, such as - Maniac (1934), Mom & Dad (1945) and Scum Of The Earth (1963), to name but a few.From perversion for profit; to scandalous sensation; to challenging censorship; to teenage rampage, and beyond - American Grindhouse is a documentary that's certain to pique the interest of more than just fans of exploitation films.*Note of Warning!" - This documentary contains not only film clips of nudity, but, it also shows the graphic depiction of childbirth, as well.
SnoopyStyle
It's a far ranging exploration of the exploitation cinema. It takes a history trip from the beginning of film all the way to today. It doesn't really try to limit the scope, and skims through 100 years. It features several talking heads. The most famous of the experts is director John Landis.This serves as a general documentary of the fringe movie world. The best thing is all the clips of these old movies. The talking heads aren't digging too deep but are generally well informed. Robert Forster does a good job as the narrator. His gruff voice isn't the normal narration but somehow fits the subject matter. This is a steady march through history categorizing all the major movements hitting the big moments. The best interviews are the actual participants who are talking about their own movies. The doc does grind down as the movie has nowhere to go with the arrival of porn. I guess that's another doc. The final section of Hollywood trying to rip off the grindhouse isn't quite as compelling. As a general doc, it hits most of the big points.
gavin6942
A documentary about the history of exploitation movies, from the silent movie era to the 1970s.This film covers it all: from the earliest Edison films, to the pre-code days (who knew the 1920s were so raunchy), to the story of "Freaks" and the end of Tod Browning's career.With interviews from John Landis, Joe Dante, and William Lustig, you have it all: the importance of H. G. Lewis (despite his questionable talent, as Landis points out), and the world of Larry Cohen and his "no permits" approach to renegade movie making.If nothing else, the story of "Ilsa" and how the director got involved is priceless. That film has achieved such cult status -- it is probably known by far more people than who have ever actually seen it.
Hellmant
'AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE': Four Stars (Out of Five) A documentary on the history of exploitation films, which are as old as film itself. As the movie points out as soon as man had the power to keep a video recording of things the first thing we naturally wanted to do was record something exploitative. The film is directed by Elijah Drenner (in his feature film debut) and written by Drenner and Calum Waddell. It features interviews with such legendary exploitation filmmakers as John Landis, Joe Dante, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Jack Hill, Larry Cohen, Don Edmonds and many more. The film is narrated by Robert Forster.The movie follows the history of exploitation film from the turn of the century, when film was invented, to present day and displays a decade by decade examination of it. It intercuts clips from various movies with interviews from different filmmakers, critics and actors discussing them. Some of the earlier clips are the most interesting and shocking. It examines the effects of various things on the industry, like the Motion Picture Production Code as well as the 'Grindhouse' theaters themselves. 'Grindhouse' theaters were movie theaters that almost solely showed exploitation films and usually stayed open all day and night. They were named after the run down burlesque theaters on 42nd Street in New York City. The film follows the history of 'Grindhouse' theaters and the exploitation film industry all the way to it's near extinction in the mid 70's when movies like Steven Spielberg's 'JAWS' finally blurred the lines between indie exploitation and Hollywood films and made exploitation 'B' movies a mainstream excepted thing.The movie is extremely interesting and educational. It's also very entertaining and never dull. It moves at a remarkably fast pace and finishes in a very quick 80 minute running time. There are a few movies and filmmakers I'm surprised they never touched on, especially considering some of the ones they did, which makes me feel the film is not as complete a film history lesson as it could have been (but then again no movie possibly could be). It is only 80 minutes like I said and I'm sure there were budget restraints as well (It is a very low budget movie itself). The interviews are outstanding and the clips shown are as shocking and disturbing as any movie I've seen. Which makes you wonder if the documentary itself isn't exploitation filmmaking.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcXJ6wkPwN0
