Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

R

2014

1 hr. 46 min.

Documentary

List

92%

49 Reviews

Tomatometer

82%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Robert Forster, Sybil Danning, Bo Derek, Tobe Hooper and others help filmmaker Mark Hartley recount the rise and fall of Cannon Films, the studio behind such schlock films as "The Apple" and "King Solomon's Mines."

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Critics Consensus

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films pays tribute to the titular studio with an affectionate look back that's arguably more entertaining than much of Cannon's own B-movie product.

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MARCO C

this documentary is amazing, full of amazing movies.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/14/21

Full Review

PEter R

Very interesting account on how a lot of iconic movies were made. Also how things work behind the scenes

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/02/20

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Audience Member

In many ways more accomplished and better crafted than the bevy of schlock under discussion, this enthusiastic documentary both celebrates the "it's more important to just get it done than to get it done well" attitude of the Go Go Boys and their ilk without ignoring their ignoble practices.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

sean l

Even if you don't think you know Cannon Films, you know Cannon Films. They're the low-budget, rapid-fire movie studio who filled out countless VHS rental shelves throughout the 1980s. Under their banner, Chuck Norris became the king of the B action movie. Charles Bronson blasted his way through three Death Wish sequels. Jean-Claude Van Damme fell into overnight stardom. The studio specialized in schlock, there's no two ways about it. Schlock and imaginative, bold, blunt promotional artwork with only a loose connection to the movie itself. Yet, because they were so anxious to flood the market, Cannon was also something of an artistic paradise. So long as a director came in under budget and on time, they'd usually have carte-blanche. Naturally, this led to some wild swings and misses (like 1980's The Apple, a self-professed science fiction / comedy / musical that defies explanation), but that freedom also bore fruit that wouldn't have otherwise existed (see 1984's open-hearted urban snapshot Breakin'). It's an interesting paradox, and a tempting what-if story, considering the studio's ultimate demise after a ruinous series of big budget mainstream efforts. Remember Superman IV or Masters of the Universe? These guys still wish they could forget. A fun target for a documentary, with a surprising cache of familiar names hanging around to reminisce about the murkier portions of their respective filmographies, but it feels incomplete without either of the head honchos present to share the serious dirt. They, of course, caught wind of the film's pending release and raced to create their own, competing, retrospective.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

lots of information on a film company I was not familiar with, but i had watched several of their films. Its an interesting documentary, but does drag on after a while.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A look behid the rise and fall of the fairly legendary Cannon Films label, this is loaded with great stories and trivia about the company and its biggest stars. If you were an action movie fan in the '80s, this is highly recommended. Give that mother a day in court!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

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Mark Hartley

Director

Molly Ringwald

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Mariel Hemingway

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Brooke Shields

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Olivia d'Abo

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Bo Derek

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

It is, as per usual for Hartley, a giddy, lightning-paced celebration of cheerfully terrible movies.

May 28, 2016

Full Review

Ryan Gilbey

New Statesman

[Director Mark Hartley] has assembled a lively collection of clips and interviews that gives the Cannon story definition and shape, without stinting on the gratuitous anecdotes.

Jun 11, 2015

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

Offers a cornucopia of spectacularly trashy clips that will leave you laughing, screaming and squirming - sometimes all at once.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 7, 2015

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Sometimes, the best documentaries are about losers, accidental stardom, hubris, and horrible people.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 14, 2022

Full Review

Niall Browne

Movies in Focus

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films is essential viewing for those who grew-up in the 1980s, knowing that the Cannon logo meant something 'special'.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 21, 2021

Full Review

Brent McKnight

The Last Thing I See

If you're like me, you grew up on a steady diet of Cannon Films. That iconic logo showing up before a movie was a sign that you were about to experience something, maybe not necessarily something good, but something to behold certainly.

Rated: B

Jul 5, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Robert Forster, Sybil Danning, Bo Derek, Tobe Hooper and others help filmmaker Mark Hartley recount the rise and fall of Cannon Films, the studio behind such schlock films as "The Apple" and "King Solomon's Mines."

Director: Mark Hartley
Executive Producer: Nate Bolotin, Todd Brown, Jeff Harrison, Hugh Marks, James Packer
Screenwriter: Mark Hartley
Production Co: RatPac Documentary Films
Rating: R (Some Drug Use|Language|Graphic Nudity|Strong Sexual Content|Violence Including Rape)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016