Posts tagged New World Pictures
THE ARENA: Swords & Sandals, Drive-In Feminist Style
Jan 26th
One of the great things about producer Roger Corman was that he was willing to let women tackle the kind of cinematic fare that was usually left to men. Part of it was commercial calculation: he knew that women were underrepresented in genre fare and that both women and men would get a charge from More >
FLY ME: The Head-Spinning Thrill Of Devil-May-Care Schlock
Jan 25th
One of the magical experiences in schlock filmmaking is seeing a throwaway film that catches you off-guard with its sense of adventure. Even if a film is ground out purely for profit motives, it can be exhilarating if the right blends of energy, guttersnipe invention and likeable cast members are involved. Fly Me is a More >
COVER GIRL MODELS: A Final Shoot For The Three Girl Sex Soap
Jan 24th
Combining sex and soap opera material served New World Pictures well during their early years. Starting with The Student Nurses, they stumbled onto a formula — build an ensemble around three young women willing to shed their clothes, give each a soap opera style plot thread of their own and spice it up every reel More >
MINDWARP: Corman’s New World In A “Just The Facts” Style
Dec 8th
Roger Corman played a big role in the direction of popular cinema during the 1960’s and 1970’s. As a result, there a number of biographies available (including an autobiography from Corman himself). However, in-depth accounts of his time running New World Pictures — the bedrock of his reputation as a career-starting mogul — are surprisingly More >
Schlock-Wire: Brace Yourself For Shout Factory’s LETHAL LADIES COLLECTION VOL. 2 In January
Nov 2nd
Shout! Factory dished up a nice surprise last month with the Lethal Ladies Collection, a triple-shot of New World Pictures titles with a “chicks kick ass” theme. Anyone who enjoyed it will be glad to hear they will be getting a second helping at the end of January when they release Lethal Ladies Collection Vol. More >
TOO HOT TO HANDLE: A Final Bow For A Ruling Couple Of The Grindhouse
Oct 27th
Knowing the films of Cheri Caffaro and her director Don Schain is the kind of thing that separates the veterans from the newcomers in the world of exploitation film. This onetime wife/husband duo rocked the b-movie world during the first half of the 1970’s with a string of films built around the character of Ginger, More >
FIRECRACKER: Topless Kung Fu Is Sweeter The 2nd Time Around
Oct 25th
If a story worked once, it will work again. Look at the world of remakes, reboots and reimaginings that dominate popular cinema today and you’ll see that plenty of executives believe in this showbiz principle. However, this strategy is old as Hollywood itself and has been followed by everyone from the major studios to the More >
TNT JACKSON: Topless Blaxploitation Kung-Fu Pandemonium!
Oct 24th
A b-movie doesn’t have to be “good” in the conventional critical sense to inspire affection in fans of the form. TNT Jackson is a notable example of this principle in action. This blaxploitation-meets-kung-fu genre-blend was made by profilic Filipino director Cirio Santiago, a filmmaker notorious for cranking out drive-in fare as quickly as possible. His More >
THE VELVET VAMPIRE: Feminist Horror Minus The Feminism And Horror
Sep 28th
Stephanie Rothman was a unique talent in 1970’s b-movie cinema. She was a female director at a time when it was virtually impossible for a woman to get a break in that distinctly masculine profession. She further distinguished herself by carving out her own niche in the tough world of exploitation film, finding success as More >
LADY FRANKENSTEIN: Strange Desires Meet Drive-In Feminism In The Laboratory
Sep 26th
Lady Frankenstein is one of the more unusual films to emerge from New World Pictures during its formative years. Rather than tackle then-current exploitation themes popular in the early 1970’s like women in prison movies and biker flicks, it harkened back to the kind of gothic horror elements that Roger Corman explored in his Edgar More >
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