Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2012)
89%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: NA
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
If you’re looking for a documentary that celebrates the absolute insanity of Cannon Films, then Electric Boogaloo is the perfect choice. From the gratuitous anecdotes to the spectacularly trashy clips, this film will leave you laughing, screaming, and squirming – sometimes all at once. It’s a romp through the insalubrious depths of the straight-to-video bin of your local 1980s video rental establishment, and it’s essential viewing for anyone who grew up knowing that the Cannon logo meant something ‘special’. Sure, it may not be the most structured documentary out there, but who needs structure when you’re having this much fun?
Production Company(ies)
Zazen Produções
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles County, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1984
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Oct 13, 2015
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
Electric Boogaloo, Cannon Films, documentary, Mark Hartley, Veronica Fury, Brett Ratner, Robert Forster, Sybil Danning, Bo Derek, Tobe Hooper, Molly Ringwald, Mariel Hemingway, Brooke Shields, Olivia d’Abo, Marina Sirtis, R-rated, schlock films, B-movie, rise and fall, clips, interviews, trashy, straight-to-video, 1980s, video rental, Hollywood, bad example, shysters, structure, horror movies, MCU, Netflix, TV shows, anticipated movies, anticipated TV, renewed, cancelled, worst horror movies, critic reviews, audience reviews, Tomatometer, box office, budget, reviewed by
Worldwide gross: $15,101,131
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $44,221,072
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,393
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,822,363
US/Canada gross: $15,101,131
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $44,221,072
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,129
US/Canada opening weekend: $2,921,030
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $8,553,735
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 998
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Mariel Hemingway – Self
Brooke Shields – Self
Olivia d’Abo – Self
Bo Derek – Self
Marina Sirtis – Self
Mark Hartley – Director, Writer
Veronica Fury – Producer
Brett Ratner – Producer
Director(s)
Mark Hartley
Writer(s)
Mark Hartley
Producer(s)
Veronica Fury, Brett Ratner
Film Festivals
Toronto
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (48) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (4)
It is, as per usual for Hartley, a giddy, lightning-paced celebration of cheerfully terrible movies.
May 28, 2016
Jason Bailey
Flavorwire
TOP CRITIC
[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.
June 11, 2015
Ryan Gilbey
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
Offers a cornucopia of spectacularly trashy clips that will leave you laughing, screaming and squirming – sometimes all at once.
June 7, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
What it does offer are some wildly colourful, jaw-dropping anecdotes from their friends and collaborators about their working methods.
June 4, 2015
Geoffrey Macnab
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Fortunately, in the hands of the documentary film-maker Mark Hartley, the result is a romp through the insalubrious depths of the straight-to-video bin of your local 1980s video rental establishment.
June 4, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Wendy Ide
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Well, there’s a bizarre fascination to it all.
June 4, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
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’.
March 21, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Niall Browne
Movies in Focus
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.
July 5, 2020 | Rating: B
Brent McKnight
The Last Thing I See
Electric Boogaloo is a great in-depth look at one of the strangest studios that was not only churning out films, but filling video store shelves, with a brand of insanity or madness that has yet to be seen since.
May 29, 2020
Dan Tabor
Cinapse
This is a thorough and respectful documentary – Cannon Films undeniably taught Hollywood a lesson through bad example, but whether they were ahead of their time or shysters is left open.
May 10, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Bertie Archer
One Room With A View
While the documentary’s scattershot approach makes it less examination, more vivid highlight reel, there is no denying Electric Boogaloo’s abiding fodness for its subject matter.
April 5, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
James Luxford
CineVue
It isn’t a bad thing Hartley’s main concern is with having a good time, but there seems to be less attention to detail when it comes to the overall structure.
November 13, 2018
Stephen Saito
Moveable Fest…
Plot
A developer tries to bulldoze a community recreation center. The local breakdancers try to stop it.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary features interviews with actors such as Robert Forster, Sybil Danning, Bo Derek, and Tobe Hooper.
Mark-Hartley.jpg
