Mark Hartley’s account of the rise and fall of the maverick founders of Cannon Films is getting rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Meanwhile Eddie Martin’s documentary on the rise and fall of star skateboarders Tas and Ben Pappas has been hailed by one leading US critic.
Umbrella Entertainment is planning event screenings of Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, with Q&As hosted by Hartley, at the Dendy Newtown and Cinema Nova Melbourne in October.
Martin’s All This Mayhem, which has just been nominated for best feature doc at the AACTA Awards, has grossed $136,000 since its launch on limited screens in July via eOne.
Variety’s Scott Foundas rated Hartley’s film as “faster, sleeker and more out-of-control (in a good way)” than Israeli director Hila Medalia’s The Go-Go Boys, which premiered in Cannes.
Electric Boogaloo “ambles anecdotally through the legend of the late Menahem Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus with generous archival footage, film clips and an assemblage of more than 80 talking heads — actors, writers, directors, editors and studio execs who, if anything, seem emboldened by the lack of Golan and Globus’s official participation in the project,” said Foundas.
“Sure to be a fest favourite, Hartley’s docu should also spur much Cannon revivalism on the repertory and cinematheque circuits.”
Twitch Films’ James Marsh described the film as being in equal parts reverent and dumbfounded in its depiction of the maverick Hollywood outsiders.
“Bottling the same level of ravenous reportage for Cannon's bountiful output as Hartley pumped into his Ozploitation expose Not Quite Hollywood, he again creates a roller coaster ride that is as crude, cocky and shamelessly entertaining as the films themselves,” Marsh opined.
“Hartley's fast-paced MTV-style approach, stitched together through a myriad film clips, interviews and anecdotes from key collaborators, filmmakers and stars perfectly mirrors the Cannon ethos of high-energy, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants filmmaking that saw Golan and Globus produce over 200 feature films in a single decade."
The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck reviewed All This Mayhem, which is in limited release in the US via FilmBuff.
“Eddie Martin’s engrossing documentary chronicling the dramatic rise and fall of Australian skateboarding champions Tas and Ben Pappas quickly joins the ranks of such noteworthy skatingboarding-themed films as Dogtown and Z-Boys, only the story it has to tell is much more dramatic,” said Scheck, who regards the subject as a prime candidate for feature dramatisation.
“The film benefits greatly from the wealth of archival footage at the director’s disposal, including thrilling footage of the brothers in their prime skateboarding days; home movies depicting their subsequent behavioural excesses; and past and present interviews with many of the key players involved, including a now repentant Tas who became a born-again Christian while in prison…The footage is superbly assembled by editor Chris King, who delivered similarly stellar work in such previous documentaries as Exit Through the Gift Shop and Senna.
“Transcending its specialised sports milieu with its compelling riches to rags tale, All This Mayhem should be required viewing for all young aspiring athletes.”