The world recently said farewell to Roger Corman, the legendary B-movie producer, writer, director, and performer who passed away at the well-lived age of 98. Corman completely revolutionized the film industry, not only with his independent spirit and penchant for low-budget fare, but also serving as a launchpad for some of cinema's greatest creatives, including Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron, Jack Nicholson, and Penelope Spheeris, and that's just scratching the surface.
Known by many for his hundreds of produced films, Corman was also a well-decorated director in his own right, helming 55 films before his death. Corman dabbled in any and all genres, with comedy, drama, horror, exploitation, monster, sci-fi, sexploitation, gothic, and action all well-represented throughout his filmography. In honor of the King of B-movies and one of the most prolific filmmakers of all time, here are his 10 best films as a director, ranked.
Known by many for his hundreds of produced films, Corman was also a well-decorated director in his own right, helming 55 films before his death. Corman dabbled in any and all genres, with comedy, drama, horror, exploitation, monster, sci-fi, sexploitation, gothic, and action all well-represented throughout his filmography. In honor of the King of B-movies and one of the most prolific filmmakers of all time, here are his 10 best films as a director, ranked.
- 5/17/2024
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Last year, legendary filmmaker John Carpenter teamed up with Shout! Factory to host a kaiju movie marathon called Masters of Monsters, which consisted of the original Godzilla film, Rodan; Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, and The War of the Gargantuas. That marathon was re-run earlier this month. Now the folks at Far Out magazine have dug up a 1996 article from Film Comment magazine in which Carpenter named The War of the Gargantuas as “the ultimate Japanese monster movie” – and included it on a list of his seventeen favorite “guilty pleasure” movies. It’s a fun list, so we have it included below, with thanks to this site.
Carpenter started out the Film Comment guilty pleasures article by saying, “I wasn’t raised a Catholic, so guilt never played much of a role in my life. We Methodists don’t worry about guilt all that much. In terms of cinema, however, guilt has always been very important.
Carpenter started out the Film Comment guilty pleasures article by saying, “I wasn’t raised a Catholic, so guilt never played much of a role in my life. We Methodists don’t worry about guilt all that much. In terms of cinema, however, guilt has always been very important.
- 11/7/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Thursday, May 27th would be Vincent Price’s 110th Birthday! Price was born here in St. Louis on this date in 1911 and is the most iconic movie star to hail from our city. Price, who died October 25th 1993, was also a gourmand, author, stage actor, speaker, world-class art collector, raconteur, and all-around Renaissance man. Vincent Price was simply one of the most remarkable people of the 20th Century. Ten years ago we had the opportunity to celebrate his 100th birthday and St. Louis was the place to do it. Vincentennial, The Vincent Price 100th Birthday Celebration, an event that lasted through much of the Spring of 2011. The following year Vincentennial won two coveted Rondo Awards, one for “Best Fan Event” and a second for myself as “Monster Kid of the Year” for directing the event. The Rondo Awards are prestigious Fan Awards given out annually for the year’s best horror-related stuff–movies,...
- 5/24/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Roger and Gene Corman’s first ‘The Filmgroup’ production is a slick little programmer that belies its drive-in monster movie heritage: the trim tale is no minimalist effort, but a well-developed drama sourced in the twin drives to succeed and stay young. This deluxe edition contains both the Theatrical and TV versions, plus a Tom Weaver commentary that tells the incredible true-crime tale of Corman’s impressive leading lady Susan Cabot.
The Wasp Woman
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1959 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 63 min. / Street Date October 30, 2019 / 27.99
Starring: Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Barboura Morris, William Roerick, Michael Mark, Lynn Cartwright, Frank Gerstle, Bruno VeSota, Roy Gordon, Carolyn Hughes, Frank Wolff, Philip Barry, Gene Corman, Roger Corman, Lani Mars (Kinta Zertuche).
Cinematography: Harry Neumann
Film Editor: Carlo Lodato
Art Direction: Daniel Haller
Original Music: Fred Katz
Written by Leo Gordon, Kinta Zertuche
Produced and Directed by Roger Corman
Roger Corman is much more than an exploitation specialist.
The Wasp Woman
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1959 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 63 min. / Street Date October 30, 2019 / 27.99
Starring: Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Barboura Morris, William Roerick, Michael Mark, Lynn Cartwright, Frank Gerstle, Bruno VeSota, Roy Gordon, Carolyn Hughes, Frank Wolff, Philip Barry, Gene Corman, Roger Corman, Lani Mars (Kinta Zertuche).
Cinematography: Harry Neumann
Film Editor: Carlo Lodato
Art Direction: Daniel Haller
Original Music: Fred Katz
Written by Leo Gordon, Kinta Zertuche
Produced and Directed by Roger Corman
Roger Corman is much more than an exploitation specialist.
- 1/12/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman
Happy 9oth Birthday to a legend! Roger Corman has directed more than 50 low-budget drive-in classics, produced and/or distributed 450 more, and helped the careers of hundreds of young people breaking into the industry. A partial list: Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Irvin Kershner, Monte Hellman, Peter Bogdanovich, Gail Ann Hurd, James Cameron, Jonathan Kaplan, Joe Dante, Robert Towne. Considering Corman’s own films, Jonathan Demme has stated. “Roger is arguably the greatest independent filmmaker the American film industry has seen and probably ever will see.” And he’s still going strong, currently producing the upcoming actioner Death Race 2050. We Are Movie Geeks has taken a look at Corman’s career and here are what we think are the ten best films that he has directed:
Honorable Mention. The Premature Burial
The Premature Burial (1962) is the ‘odd man out’ among the...
Happy 9oth Birthday to a legend! Roger Corman has directed more than 50 low-budget drive-in classics, produced and/or distributed 450 more, and helped the careers of hundreds of young people breaking into the industry. A partial list: Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Irvin Kershner, Monte Hellman, Peter Bogdanovich, Gail Ann Hurd, James Cameron, Jonathan Kaplan, Joe Dante, Robert Towne. Considering Corman’s own films, Jonathan Demme has stated. “Roger is arguably the greatest independent filmmaker the American film industry has seen and probably ever will see.” And he’s still going strong, currently producing the upcoming actioner Death Race 2050. We Are Movie Geeks has taken a look at Corman’s career and here are what we think are the ten best films that he has directed:
Honorable Mention. The Premature Burial
The Premature Burial (1962) is the ‘odd man out’ among the...
- 4/5/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Though producer Roger Corman’s contributions to independent cinema are arguably unparalleled, the enduring quality of his directorial efforts is another story. By the end of the 1950s, Corman had directed about two dozen of his own films in roughly five years, many of these derivative genre efforts rivaling the quality of Ed Wood. But 1959 found Corman trying to switch things up a bit, and he delivered two of his more flavorful works. Besides unleashing the Susan Cabot headliner The Wasp Woman (which remains a fun, eccentric commentary on feminine standards of beauty), Corman would skewer the pretentiousness of self-important artists and the hypocrisy of what defines art in A Bucket of Blood, a much more salacious title than the material warrants. Written by Charles B. Griffith, (who would go uncredited next to Corman on his The Little Shop of Horrors a year later), the film is an early lead...
- 12/29/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Coleen Gray in 'The Sleeping City' with Richard Conte. Coleen Gray after Fox: B Westerns and films noirs (See previous post: “Coleen Gray Actress: From Red River to Film Noir 'Good Girls'.”) Regarding the demise of her Fox career (the year after her divorce from Rod Amateau), Coleen Gray would recall for Confessions of a Scream Queen author Matt Beckoff: I thought that was the end of the world and that I was a total failure. I was a mass of insecurity and depended on agents. … Whether it was an 'A' picture or a 'B' picture didn't bother me. It could be a Western movie, a sci-fi film. A job was a job. You did the best with the script that you had. Fox had dropped Gray at a time of dramatic upheavals in the American film industry: fast-dwindling box office receipts as a result of competition from television,...
- 10/15/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
We've heard of movie marathons that last all day…10-, 12-hour events, but this is ridiculous! The Boston Sci-Fi Festival runs from February 10-20, but the really cool thing for fans is The 'Thon, the 24-hour film festival that caps off the event. Now that's a lot of sci-fi!
Described as "the coolest sleepover you'll ever attend," The 'Thon runs a dozen or more films and will completely inundate your brain with science fiction. Follow this link to get more info or purchase your tickets to The 'Thon.
About The 'Thon
The 37th Boston Science Fiction Festival, which is believed to be the world's oldest genre festival, continues with a 10-day run which started February 10, 2012. The Gort, the annual award, is given out for Best Feature and Best Short. This year they're adding a Steampunk category for Feature and Short as well.
The festival concludes with The 'Thon, which started...
Described as "the coolest sleepover you'll ever attend," The 'Thon runs a dozen or more films and will completely inundate your brain with science fiction. Follow this link to get more info or purchase your tickets to The 'Thon.
About The 'Thon
The 37th Boston Science Fiction Festival, which is believed to be the world's oldest genre festival, continues with a 10-day run which started February 10, 2012. The Gort, the annual award, is given out for Best Feature and Best Short. This year they're adding a Steampunk category for Feature and Short as well.
The festival concludes with The 'Thon, which started...
- 2/16/2012
- by Doctor Gash
- DreadCentral.com
Assuming you have a humongous front door or outstanding insurance, Thursdays in June will be good night to pull your car into the living room, park it in front of your flatscreen, turn the channel to TCM, and try to relive the golden age of drive-in monster movies as TCM is loading its schedule this month with nothing but classic old school monster movies.
As if Turner Classic Movies wasn't already a fantastic channel as is (they're airing the 1977 Jaws with claws cult classic Grizzly this Friday at 2:00 Am Et), every Thursday in June they'll be running all-night Atomic Age monster movie marathons. From Godzilla to Harryhausen, from classics like The Thing from Another World to not-so-classics like Creature from the Haunted Sea to bad movie greatness like The Giant Claw... Here's TCM's own press release:
It came from the drive-in! The al fresco movie theater, a rage of the 1950s and '60s,...
As if Turner Classic Movies wasn't already a fantastic channel as is (they're airing the 1977 Jaws with claws cult classic Grizzly this Friday at 2:00 Am Et), every Thursday in June they'll be running all-night Atomic Age monster movie marathons. From Godzilla to Harryhausen, from classics like The Thing from Another World to not-so-classics like Creature from the Haunted Sea to bad movie greatness like The Giant Claw... Here's TCM's own press release:
It came from the drive-in! The al fresco movie theater, a rage of the 1950s and '60s,...
- 6/1/2011
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
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Roger Corman was in St. Louis last weekend as Guest of Honor at Vincentennial, the Vincent Price 100th Birthday Celebration here in St. Louis, the city of his birth. Corman had directed Price in the series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptions in the 1960′s and was our first choice as a special guest for the event. Last Saturday, May 21st, we screened a 35mm print of Tomb Of Ligeia (1965) at the spacious Hi-Pointe Theater preceded by an on-stage interview with Corman moderated by Tim Lucas, editor of Video Watchdog magazine. This discussion centered on Corman’s collaborations and friendship with Vincent Price. On Sunday May 22nd, we brought Corman back for a second interview, this time discussing his overall career as a director and producer of over 500 films. Corman spoke candidly about his start in show biz and the rigors of ultra-low budget filmmaking.
Roger Corman was in St. Louis last weekend as Guest of Honor at Vincentennial, the Vincent Price 100th Birthday Celebration here in St. Louis, the city of his birth. Corman had directed Price in the series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptions in the 1960′s and was our first choice as a special guest for the event. Last Saturday, May 21st, we screened a 35mm print of Tomb Of Ligeia (1965) at the spacious Hi-Pointe Theater preceded by an on-stage interview with Corman moderated by Tim Lucas, editor of Video Watchdog magazine. This discussion centered on Corman’s collaborations and friendship with Vincent Price. On Sunday May 22nd, we brought Corman back for a second interview, this time discussing his overall career as a director and producer of over 500 films. Corman spoke candidly about his start in show biz and the rigors of ultra-low budget filmmaking.
- 5/30/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman
Celebrated producer and director Roger Corman will be in St. Louis this weekend to help kick off the Vincentennial Vincent Price Film Festival. We Are Movie Geeks has decided to take a look at the directing career of the man known as .King of the B.s’, a Hollywood legend who.s discovered so much talent and gave so many future directors and actors their starts, that he has to be considered a one-man movie industry. Since we just posted the Top Ten Best of Vincent Price last week and included three of the eight Corman/Price collaborations in that list, we decided to leave off the films he made with Price this week and focus on other films that he directed. Roger Corman will be at the Hi-Pointe Theater at 1005 McCausland Ave. in St. Louis on Saturday May 21 to speak...
Celebrated producer and director Roger Corman will be in St. Louis this weekend to help kick off the Vincentennial Vincent Price Film Festival. We Are Movie Geeks has decided to take a look at the directing career of the man known as .King of the B.s’, a Hollywood legend who.s discovered so much talent and gave so many future directors and actors their starts, that he has to be considered a one-man movie industry. Since we just posted the Top Ten Best of Vincent Price last week and included three of the eight Corman/Price collaborations in that list, we decided to leave off the films he made with Price this week and focus on other films that he directed. Roger Corman will be at the Hi-Pointe Theater at 1005 McCausland Ave. in St. Louis on Saturday May 21 to speak...
- 5/18/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
While other releases in the Shout! Factory’s Roger Corman’s Cult Classics focus on his producing credits, the recent Sci-Fi Classics showcases three of his early directorial works. Oh, he also produced all three, worked with the writers on the scripts and even pitched the projects to investors. Like many directors today, when you call something a "Corman film", it’s because he’s influenced the project from the start.
First up is Attack of the Crab Monsters, which manages to be quite effective despite its ludicrous premise. A group of scientists arrive on a remote Pacific island to study the effects of fallout from recent nuclear testing in the Pacific. They also want to discover what happened to the first team, which disappeared without a trace.
It’s not long before mysterious things start to happen. A sailor is pulled out of the water without his head, the...
First up is Attack of the Crab Monsters, which manages to be quite effective despite its ludicrous premise. A group of scientists arrive on a remote Pacific island to study the effects of fallout from recent nuclear testing in the Pacific. They also want to discover what happened to the first team, which disappeared without a trace.
It’s not long before mysterious things start to happen. A sailor is pulled out of the water without his head, the...
- 1/31/2011
- by Chris McMillan
- Planet Fury
Encino, CA - While Charles Nelson Reilly is beloved for his time on Match Game, there’s more to this actor than Dumb Dora answers. He was the toast of Broadway with roles in Hello Dolly and Bye, Bye, Birdie and won the Tony for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Later in life he directed several plays on the Great White Way. While many actors sum up their lives in thick tomes, Charles created a one-man show. He was a stage performer so this was the best way to distill his experiences for an audience. The Life of Reilly captures his final performance before his passing in 2007.
After playing the festival circuit and a limited theatrical release, Life of Reilly is finally out on DVD, Blu-ray and iTunes. You can take Charles every where. In edition to the feature film, there’s tons of bonus features including...
After playing the festival circuit and a limited theatrical release, Life of Reilly is finally out on DVD, Blu-ray and iTunes. You can take Charles every where. In edition to the feature film, there’s tons of bonus features including...
- 1/21/2011
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Hey Fiends! Happy Monday! Got another list of flicks on the format of your choice.
Roger Corman’s Cult Classics Triple Feature (Attack of the Crab Monsters / War of the Satellites / Not of This Earth)
Format: DVD
———————————–
Three Films Produced And Directed By Honorary Academy Award Recipient And King Of B-Movies, Roger Corman: With All New Film Transfers From The Negative!
In Attack Of The Crab Monsters, a group of scientists become marooned on an island while investigating the disappearance of researchers who were looking into atomic activity in the Pacific. They quickly fall prey to giant, mutant crustaceans that have the ability to absorb the minds of their prey. Starring Russell Johnson (Gilligans Island), Richard Garland and Mel Welles (Little Shop Of Horrors).
An alien comes to Earth, masquerading as a human, to scout our planet for a new blood source in Not Of This Earth. He needs...
Roger Corman’s Cult Classics Triple Feature (Attack of the Crab Monsters / War of the Satellites / Not of This Earth)
Format: DVD
———————————–
Three Films Produced And Directed By Honorary Academy Award Recipient And King Of B-Movies, Roger Corman: With All New Film Transfers From The Negative!
In Attack Of The Crab Monsters, a group of scientists become marooned on an island while investigating the disappearance of researchers who were looking into atomic activity in the Pacific. They quickly fall prey to giant, mutant crustaceans that have the ability to absorb the minds of their prey. Starring Russell Johnson (Gilligans Island), Richard Garland and Mel Welles (Little Shop Of Horrors).
An alien comes to Earth, masquerading as a human, to scout our planet for a new blood source in Not Of This Earth. He needs...
- 1/18/2011
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
Does claustrophobia set in easily for you? Then you may want to steer clear of the video aisles of your favorite stores as last year's intense buried alive flick (starring the future Green Lantern) is coming on home.
Being that this is another light week release wise, you don't have too many other options. That is unless you're in the mood for high speed chases featuring coffin-looking vehicles that could end up causing just as much anxiety.
Or maybe you'd just like to find comfort in another Roger Corman fest from a kinder, gentler era - a triple treat that has nothing to do with coffins. Yay!
Buried (Blu-ray Review)
Directed by Rodrigo Cortés
Starring Ryan Reynolds, and the voices of Samantha Mathis, Erik Palladino, José Luis García Pérez, Robert Paterson, Stephen Tobolowsky
Paul Conroy is not ready to die. But when he wakes up six feet underground with no...
Being that this is another light week release wise, you don't have too many other options. That is unless you're in the mood for high speed chases featuring coffin-looking vehicles that could end up causing just as much anxiety.
Or maybe you'd just like to find comfort in another Roger Corman fest from a kinder, gentler era - a triple treat that has nothing to do with coffins. Yay!
Buried (Blu-ray Review)
Directed by Rodrigo Cortés
Starring Ryan Reynolds, and the voices of Samantha Mathis, Erik Palladino, José Luis García Pérez, Robert Paterson, Stephen Tobolowsky
Paul Conroy is not ready to die. But when he wakes up six feet underground with no...
- 1/17/2011
- by kwlow
- DreadCentral.com
In 2010 Shout! Factory delivered us stellar editions of some truly classic Roger Corman films. The best part? They have no signs of slowing down in 2011! That's right, kids, five more flicks are on the way on January 18th that are bound to bring a smile to your horror-loving face!
From the Press Release
Roger Corman’S Cult Classics: Sci-fi Classics Triple-feature Collector’S Edition 2-dvd Set
In Attack Of The Crab Monsters, a group of scientists become marooned on an island while investigating the disappearance of researchers who were looking into atomic activity in the Pacific. They quickly fall prey to giant, mutant crustaceans that have the ability to absorb the minds of their prey. Starring Russell Johnson (Gilligan’s Island), Richard Garland and Mel Welles (Little Shop Of Horrors). Attack Of The Crab Monsters is a Roger Corman Production. Produced and directed by Roger Corman; screenplay by Charles B. Griffith.
From the Press Release
Roger Corman’S Cult Classics: Sci-fi Classics Triple-feature Collector’S Edition 2-dvd Set
In Attack Of The Crab Monsters, a group of scientists become marooned on an island while investigating the disappearance of researchers who were looking into atomic activity in the Pacific. They quickly fall prey to giant, mutant crustaceans that have the ability to absorb the minds of their prey. Starring Russell Johnson (Gilligan’s Island), Richard Garland and Mel Welles (Little Shop Of Horrors). Attack Of The Crab Monsters is a Roger Corman Production. Produced and directed by Roger Corman; screenplay by Charles B. Griffith.
- 11/19/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Character actor Richard Devon was a familiar face in films and television from the early 1950s. He was often cast as desperados and gangsters in western and crime films. He was also noted for his roles in a handful of Roger Corman cult classics in the 1950s. Devon was featured as Satan in the supernatural tale of past lives, The Undead (1957), with Pamela Duncan and Allison Hayes. He was King Stark of the Grimolts in the campy The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957), with Abby Dalton and Susan Cabot, and was the alien possessed Dr. Pol Van Ponder in the sci-fi feature War of the Satellites (1958) with Cabot and Dick Miller.
Devon worked his way through drama school in Los Angeles, performing chores in lieu of paying tuition. He also worked in early local television, and played a recurring...
Devon worked his way through drama school in Los Angeles, performing chores in lieu of paying tuition. He also worked in early local television, and played a recurring...
- 3/24/2010
- by Jesse
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
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