#cannon films

[theactioneer]

Invasion USA (Joseph Zito, 1985)

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Scott Leva as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the unproduced Spider-Man the Movie - Cannon Films (c. 1987)

[cinematicwasteland]

[vintagegeekculture]

"Hercules" (1983).

[thefugitivesaint]

Sho Kosugi, ''Shadowland Magazine'', Vol. 1, #5, 2012 Source

If you weren't a child of the 80s, you probably don't remember how ninja crazy the 80s were. There were dozens of (mostly cheaply produced) ninja films and Sho Kosugi was involved in many of them (he starred in, I believe, 20 films and a few TV shows, primarily 'The Master'). He's skilled in multiple different forms of martial arts and became a source of inspiration for people interested in ninjitsu, aikido, and karate. As a young lad, I loved his Cannon ninja films, 'Enter the Ninja', 'Revenge of the Ninja' and 'Ninja III: The Domination'. Kosugi is probably why I took karate lessons and read Black Belt magazine and thought the ninja aesthetic was cool (I was 8 when 'Enter the Ninja' came out in 1981 so what the hell did I know?) I was inspired, having come across this piece on Kosugi, to revisit some of those ninja films from the 80s. Do they hold up? They do not. Did I have fun watching any of them? Some. It also depends on what you mean by "fun?" In hindsight, many of the films that were part of the "ninjamania" of the 80s were textbook examples of Orientalism. Most offered superficial understandings of "eastern" ideas and of the martial arts involved even when helmed by skilled martial artists. The acting was usually laughable. The plots were thin at best. It was all about the action scenes but, unfortunately, most of the films could barely deliver. At least Kosugi's films were relatively decent on the action front (for the time). I came across a piece discussing the making of the film 'Ninja III: The Domination' that you might want to watch if you've ever felt the inclination to see that film (or rewatch it). (I actually never caught how much 'Ninja III' lifted from 'Flashdance' for instance.) Not much else to add to this barely thought out entry.

[videoevil]

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (Cannon Promo Reel 1986)

[omercifulheaves]

Cannon Films was pretty infamous for whipping up pre-sale artwork to pitch movies when all they had was a title and maybe an actor attached (or maybe they would just slap an actors name onto it without their knowledge). Apparently before it became Albert Pyun's bizarre cyberpunk Mad Max / Fist of the North Star spaghetti western starring the Muscles From Brussels, they were pitching Cyborg as some kind of Judge Dredd / Robocop knock off. Even used the same font as the latter movie.

[brokehorrorfan]

Mondo will release a Bloodsport 24x36 screen print by Gian Galang today, May 17, at 1pm EST. Priced at $80, it's limited to 185 and is expected to ship in September.

Read on for a statement from the artist:

For me, no image distills '80s one-on-one martial arts combat more perfectly than a Van Damme flying kick to the face. Trying to depict this with as much impact as possible, I painted Dux from a low angle, soaring over the crowd and blasting out of frame through Chong Li's face. I split the composition in half with diagonal speed lines, emphasizing the iconic clash that inspired a generation of fighting games and the sport of mixed martial arts.

[tvneon]

[itcanbefilmed]

I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes - The Man and His Work (Michael Ventura, 1984)

[schlock-luster-video]

On January 27, 1984, House of the Long Shadows debuted in Indianapolis, Indiana.

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone - Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987)

[cinematicwasteland]

[vintagegeekculture]

Chuck Norris was originally slated to star in American Ninja and some early publicity material had him in the role. The film ultimately starred Michael Dudikoff. 

[cinemacouture]

Alien from L. A. (1988, dir. Albert Pyun)

[laboitediabolique]

Theatrical poster for the limited US release of Robotech the movie, July 1986. A much maligned film, but rarely seen by it's detractors, this film is a rather scrambled edit of Megazone 23 and coupled with edits of footage of various episodes of Southern Cross. Despite claims the film was a box office bomb, in it's test market run in Dallas, Texas, it did exceptionally well despite it's run being limited to daytime matinee screenings in most theatres. However, financial issues plagued it's distributor Cannon Films. Cannon also did not understand the core market of the franchise. When teens and young adults showed up to screenings rather than children (which they expected the film to appeal to and had already bought TV commercial airtime during children's TV shows to market to), they panicked and pulled the film from distribution. Due to internal issues, the film was never remarketed or retooled for wider distribution. It was eventually released on home video in English in the UK and Belgium (with Dutch subtitles) and on laserdisc in English in the Netherlands, again with Dutch subtitles.