If you were going to the movies in the 80s then no doubt you were aware of Cannon Films. Founded by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, they made their mark on Hollywood by making some of the biggest films of the time without the help of major Hollywood studios. They were outsiders who came in and pulled some of the top talent at the time into their films and made millions in the process. With over 300 films to the company’s credit you would think they’d still be busy. But that’s not the case.
Filmmaker Hilla Medalia takes a look at the duo from their beginnings to the eventual collapse of their studio. Using a combination of archival footage, film clips and current interviews with both men she gets to the heart of the company and what happened, never giving ground to easy questions and searching for answers. In doing so we get a better grasp of the two men and what they actually achieved.
Menahem, the elder of the two, was already making movies in Israel when the decided to join forces. This led to a series of successful films in Israel that were eventually released in the US as well. Deciding to take the risk of being major film producers the pair moved to the US, bought out the struggling Cannon Pictures company and made history. Working out of a small office they negotiated some of the biggest deals of the time.
Their string of hits included most of the early films of Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme. They brought Sylvester Stallone in on a few films. The same with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Menahem was the one overseeing the productions being made and Yoram was the money man, able to find the resources to get these films made.
But they had different ideas of where they wanted to go. Menahem headed more towards making numerous money making films without worry about if there was money to make them or not. Yoram wanted to make more prestigious films in an effort to rise about the exploitative films they had been making. These included films like FOOL FOR LOVE by Sam Shepherd and RUNAWAY TRAIN by Andrey Konchalovsky.
A few bad films and some bad investments led to disaster for the cousins to the point of them not talking to one another. It also led to the downfall of the company they had created. That might seem like you’re being told the entire story but it is just the bare bones. It is the meat surrounding those bones that makes this documentary both entertaining and informative.
If you grew up loving those films and seeing the Cannon Film banner at the beginning of a film then you’ll want to check this one out. For me I enjoyed it from start to finish be it the interviews, the film clips, the trailers clips and more that are on hand. And once it’s over my guess is, like me, you’ll be looking to see if some of the movies discussed are in your collection to be pulled out and watched again. Alongside the titan of the business Golan and Globus deserve more recognition. Perhaps this film will lead to that happening.
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