American Grindhouse

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American Grindhouse

2010

1h 20m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

75%

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8 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

The shameless and shocking origins of exploitation film.

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Chuck Bowen

Slant Magazine

American Grindhouse seems to miss the irony of what the recent proliferation of faux-exploitation films actually partially represents.

Rated: 2/4

Feb 7, 2011

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Mike Hale

New York Times

In its academic approach, American Grindhouse is like sex ed: the lecture gets tedious, but it's worth sitting through for the pictures.

Rated: 2.5/5

Feb 4, 2011

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Mark Holcomb

Village Voice

Nitpicky enough to please film-history nerds but lively in a way that should tickle the merely curious.

Feb 1, 2011

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Jordan M. Smith

IONCINEMA.com

American Grindhouse has a host full of key players to fill out the story, but at only 82 minutes, the film doesn't have time to dawdle on each interesting individual.

Rated: 2.5/5

Nov 21, 2020

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Brian Orndorf

BrianOrndorf.com

Traces the history, excesses, and glory of unsavory cinema, providing a magnificent education in the process, communicating the nuances and traditions of a brand often disregarded as forgettable schlock.

Rated: A-

Aug 4, 2011

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Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

Highly recommended viewing not only for grindhouse fans but for anyone with an interest in film history.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 21, 2011

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Topher S

An ordinary look at the various Grindhouse genres

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/25

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Audience Member

Informative, well done

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Audience Member

Manages to touch on everything in exploitation cinema from Edison to 'Hostel', but that's sort of the film's drawback, too -- it doesn't go in-depth into much. Still, with its abundance of great clips and interviews, 'American Grindhouse' makes a good primer for the uninitiated, and a fun look back for aficionados.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

Cool history lesson, but not much else going on.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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Audience Member

A fascinating look into cinema's notorious genre, 'American Grindhouse' is a must-see for movie and pop culture lovers. From obscure titles to more mainstream releases, filmmakers and historians discuss this (for better or worse) essential contribution to the art of filmmaking.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

More sex, gore and exploitation than your average R rated flick. And it's a documentary. Excellent information for us cinefiles. Grindhouse history from Edison to pre-code era to present day. Educational!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Elijah Drenner

Director

Robert Forster

Narrator

Allison Anders

Actor

Judith M. Brown

Actor

Larry Cohen

Actor

Joe Dante

Actor

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Synopsis

The shameless and shocking origins of exploitation film.

Director: Elijah Drenner
Producer: Elijah Drenner
Screenwriter: Elijah Drenner, Calum Waddell
Production Co: Lux Digital Pictures
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 13, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.6K
Runtime: 1h 20m

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