Roger Corman
Encyclopedia
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies
. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe
, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for his body of work. Corman has occasionally taken minor acting roles in such films as The Silence of the Lambs, The Godfather Part II
, Apollo 13
and Philadelphia
. A documentary about Roger Corman's life and career entitled Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel premiered at Sundance in 2011.
Corman has been a mentor to young film directors including Francis Ford Coppola
, Martin Scorsese
, Ron Howard
, Peter Bogdanovich
, Jonathan Demme
, James Cameron
, Curtis Hanson
, John Sayles
, and many others. He has also helped launch the careers of actors including Jack Nicholson
, William Shatner
, Peter Fonda
, Dennis Hopper
, Talia Shire
and Robert De Niro
.
, the son of Anne (née High) and William Corman, an engineer. His brother, Eugene Harold Corman, has also produced numerous films, sometimes in collaboration with Roger. Corman went to Beverly Hills High School
and then to Stanford University
to study industrial engineering. While at Stanford, Corman enlisted in the V-12 Navy College Training Program
. After the end of World War II
, Corman returned to Stanford and received a degree in industrial engineering
.
More interested in film, Corman found work at 20th Century Fox
initially in the mail room. He worked his way up to a story reader. The one property that he liked the most and provided ideas for was filmed as The Gunfighter with Gregory Peck. When Corman received no credit at all he left Fox and decided he would work in film by himself. Under the GI Bill, Corman studied English Literature at Oxford University. He then returned to Los Angeles, beginning his film career in 1953 as a producer and screenwriter and started directing films in 1955.
(1955). In his early period, he produced up to nine movies a year. His fastest film was perhaps The Little Shop of Horrors
(1960), which was reputedly shot in two days and one night. Supposedly, he had made a bet that he could shoot an entire feature film in less than three days. Another version of the story claims that he had a set rented for a month, and finished using it with three days to spare, thus pushing him to use the set to make a new film. (This is a variation of the story behind 1963's The Terror, much of which was filmed in two leftover days with Boris Karloff
and Jack Nicholson
after The Raven
, which featured them both, wrapped with two days to spare.)
In addition to producing and directing films for American International Pictures
(AIP), Corman also partially funded other low budget films released by other film companies. In 1959 Corman founded Filmgroup with his brother Gene, a company producing or releasing low budget black and white films as double feature
s for driven-ins and action houses. When Corman saw that black and white double features were not as successful as colour films, Corman returned to AIP with Filmgroup ceasing operation in 1962.
Corman's greatest acclaim as a director came with his Edgar Allan Poe
Series of the 1960s. Based on the works of Poe, initially made through American International Pictures
, and mostly in collaboration with writer/scenarist Richard Matheson
, these films included House of Usher
(1960), The Pit and the Pendulum
(1961), The Premature Burial
(1962), Tales of Terror
(1962), The Raven
(1963), The Haunted Palace
(1963), The Masque of the Red Death
(1964), and The Tomb of Ligeia
(1964). All but The Premature Burial
starred Vincent Price
. He also worked with set designer Daniel Haller
and cinematographer Floyd Crosby
on each film. Others who joined him include cameraman and later director Nicholas Roeg, writers Robert Towne
and Charles Beaumont
, and movie stars Ray Milland
, Basil Rathbone
, Hazel Court
, Jack Nicholson
, Barbara Steele
, Debra Paget
, and Peter Lorre
. After the film version of The Raven was completed, he reportedly realized he still had some shooting days left before the sets were torn down and so made another film; The Terror
(1963) on the spot with the remaining cast, crew and sets.
He also directed one of William Shatner's
earliest appearances in a lead role, with The Intruder
(1962). Based on a novel by Charles Beaumont
, the film, made for approximately USD
$80,000, has become famous for its treatment of segregation
and civil rights.
The late 1960s saw Corman and his films give a voice to the counter-culture of the time. In 1966, Corman made the first biker movie with The Wild Angels
. It starred Peter Fonda
and Nancy Sinatra
, and opened the 1966 Venice Film Festival. In 1967, The Trip, written by and starring Jack Nicholson, began the psychedelic film craze of the late 1960s and was the American entry at Cannes that year. Joan Didion said she went to see Wild Angels because, "there on the screen was some news I was not getting from the New York Times. I began to think I was seeing ideograms of the future."
In 1970, Corman founded New World Pictures which became a small independently owned production/distribution studio, making many cult films such as Women in Cages
(1971), Death Race 2000
(1975), Rock 'n' Roll High School
(1979), Galaxy of Terror
(1981), Children of the Corn
(1983), and the Joe Dante
film Piranha (1978). Corman's distribution side of New World brought many foreign films to mass audiences in the United States for the first time, including the works of Ingmar Bergman
, François Truffaut
, Federico Fellini
, and Akira Kurosawa
. In a ten-year period, New World Pictures won more Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film than all other studios combined. Corman eventually sold New World to an investment group in 1983, and later formed Concorde Pictures and later New Horizons.
Corman's penultimate film as director was 1971's Von Richthofen and Brown
(he had always wanted to make an aviation movie, being a pilot himself). He then returned to directing once more with 1990's Frankenstein Unbound
. In total, Roger Corman has produced over 300 movies and directed more than 50.
In 2009, Corman produced and directed alongside with director Joe Dante
the web series
"Splatter" for Netflix. The protagonist of the film is portrayed by Corey Feldman
, and the story talks of the haunting tale of rock-and-roll legend Johnny Splatter. He also started contributing trailer commentaries to Dante's web series
Trailers From Hell
.
Corman most recently produced the 2010 films Dinoshark
and Dinocroc vs. Supergator
for the Syfy
cable television channel. Dinoshark premiered on March 13, 2010. Sharktopus
, his latest Syfy production, had premiered in September 2010.
In 1964, Corman was the youngest producer/director to be given a retrospective at the Cinémathèque Française
, as well as retrospectives at the British Film Institute
and the Museum of Modern Art
.
In 1998, he won the first Producer’s Award ever given by the Cannes Film Festival
.
In 2006, Corman received the David O. Selznick Award from the Producers Guild of America
. Also in 2006, his film Fall of the House of Usher was among the twenty-five movies selected for the National Film Registry
, a compilation of significant films being preserved by the Library of Congress
.
In 2010, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
awarded Corman with an Academy Honorary Award
at the inaugural Governors Awards
, on November 14, 2009.
In 2010, writer and actor Mark Gatiss
interviewed Corman for his BBC documentary series A History of Horror
, of which the second half of the second episode focuses on Corman.
In 2010, Corman was inducted into the Beverly Hills High School
Hall of Fame.
, Martin Scorsese
, Ron Howard
, Peter Bogdanovich
, Armondo Linus Acosta
, Jonathan Demme
, Donald G. Jackson
, Gale Anne Hurd
, Carl Colpaert
, Joe Dante
, James Cameron
, John Sayles
, Monte Hellman
, Paul Bartel
, George Armitage
, Jonathan Kaplan
, George Hickenlooper, Curtis Hanson
, Jack Hill
, Robert Towne
, Michael Venzor and Timur Bekmambetov
. Many have said that Corman's influence taught them some of the ins-and-outs of filmmaking. In the extras for the DVD of The Terminator
, director James Cameron refers to his work for Corman as, "I trained at the Roger Corman Film School." The British director Nicolas Roeg
served as the cinematographer
on The Masque of the Red Death
. Cameron, Coppola, Demme, Hanson, Howard and Scorsese have all gone on to win Academy Awards. Howard was reportedly told by Corman, "If you do a good job on this film, you'll never have to work for me again."
Actors who obtained their career breaks working for Corman include Jack Nicholson
, Peter Fonda
, Bruce Dern
, Michael McDonald
, Dennis Hopper
, Talia Shire
, and Robert De Niro
. David Carradine
, who received one of his first starring film roles in the Corman-produced Boxcar Bertha
(1972) and went on to star in Death Race 2000
, later noted: "It’s almost as though you can’t have a career in this business without having passed through Roger’s hands for at least a moment."
Many of Corman's protegés have rewarded him with cameos in their films, including The Godfather Part II
, The Silence of the Lambs, Apollo 13
, and as recently as Demme's 2008 film Rachel Getting Married
.
to release new DVD and Blu-ray editions of Corman productions under the name Roger Corman's Cult Classics
. The releases have concentrated on 1970s-1980s films he produced through New World rather than directed. These titles include Rock N Roll High School, Death Race 2000
, Galaxy of Terror
, Forbidden World
, and Piranha, with additional titles continuing to be released.
B movies (The exploitation boom)
The 1960s and 1970s mark the golden age of the independent B movie, made outside of Hollywood's major film studios. As censorship pressures lifted in the early 1960s, the low-budget end of the American motion picture industry increasingly incorporated the sort of sexual and violent elements long...
. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for his body of work. Corman has occasionally taken minor acting roles in such films as The Silence of the Lambs, The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the...
, Apollo 13
Apollo 13 (film)
Apollo 13 is a 1995 American drama film directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan and Ed Harris. The screenplay by William Broyles, Jr...
and Philadelphia
Philadelphia (film)
Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington...
. A documentary about Roger Corman's life and career entitled Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel premiered at Sundance in 2011.
Corman has been a mentor to young film directors including Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
, Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
, Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
, Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
, James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, Curtis Hanson
Curtis Hanson
Curtis Lee Hanson is an American film director, film producer and screenwriter. His directing work includes The Hand That Rocks the Cradle , L.A...
, John Sayles
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
, and many others. He has also helped launch the careers of actors including Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
, Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
, Talia Shire
Talia Shire
Talia Shire is an American actress most known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather films and Adrian Balboa in the Rocky series.-Personal life:...
and Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
.
Early life
Corman was born in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, the son of Anne (née High) and William Corman, an engineer. His brother, Eugene Harold Corman, has also produced numerous films, sometimes in collaboration with Roger. Corman went to Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly is part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District and located on on the west side of Beverly Hills, at the...
and then to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
to study industrial engineering. While at Stanford, Corman enlisted in the V-12 Navy College Training Program
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
. After the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Corman returned to Stanford and received a degree in industrial engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
.
More interested in film, Corman found work at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
initially in the mail room. He worked his way up to a story reader. The one property that he liked the most and provided ideas for was filmed as The Gunfighter with Gregory Peck. When Corman received no credit at all he left Fox and decided he would work in film by himself. Under the GI Bill, Corman studied English Literature at Oxford University. He then returned to Los Angeles, beginning his film career in 1953 as a producer and screenwriter and started directing films in 1955.
Career
Corman began to direct films in the mid-1950s, including Swamp WomenSwamp Women
Swamp Women was one of the first films directed by Roger Corman. This adventure/crime/horror film follows undercover police officer Lee Hampton who joins three female convicts and escapes from prison. The escape is part of a larger plot to uncover a cache of diamonds hidden deep within the swamps...
(1955). In his early period, he produced up to nine movies a year. His fastest film was perhaps The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. The film's concept is thought to be based on a 1932...
(1960), which was reputedly shot in two days and one night. Supposedly, he had made a bet that he could shoot an entire feature film in less than three days. Another version of the story claims that he had a set rented for a month, and finished using it with three days to spare, thus pushing him to use the set to make a new film. (This is a variation of the story behind 1963's The Terror, much of which was filmed in two leftover days with Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
and Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
after The Raven
The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
, which featured them both, wrapped with two days to spare.)
In addition to producing and directing films for American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
(AIP), Corman also partially funded other low budget films released by other film companies. In 1959 Corman founded Filmgroup with his brother Gene, a company producing or releasing low budget black and white films as double feature
Double feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...
s for driven-ins and action houses. When Corman saw that black and white double features were not as successful as colour films, Corman returned to AIP with Filmgroup ceasing operation in 1962.
Corman's greatest acclaim as a director came with his Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
Series of the 1960s. Based on the works of Poe, initially made through American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
, and mostly in collaboration with writer/scenarist Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
, these films included House of Usher
House of Usher (film)
House of Usher is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price, Myrna Fahey, and Mark Damon: the story is about a New England family cursed with madness, criminal conduct, and debauchery...
(1960), The Pit and the Pendulum
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film)
The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film directed by Roger Corman, starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, and Luana Anders. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. Set in 16th century Spain, the story is about a young...
(1961), The Premature Burial
The Premature Burial (film)
The Premature Burial is an American International Pictures horror film, directed by Roger Corman and starring Ray Milland, screenplay by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell based upon the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.-Cast:...
(1962), Tales of Terror
Tales of Terror
Tales of Terror is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone; it is the fourth in a series of adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories directed by Roger Corman and released by AIP.-Plot:...
(1962), The Raven
The Raven (1963 film)
The Raven is a B movie horror-comedy produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. Part of a series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations produced by Corman through American International Pictures, the film was written by...
(1963), The Haunted Palace
The Haunted Palace
The Haunted Palace is a 1963 horror film released by American International Pictures, starring Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr., and Debra Paget in a story about a village held in the grip of a cult. The film was directed by Roger Corman, and is usually listed as one in his series of eight films...
(1963), The Masque of the Red Death
The Masque of the Red Death (film)
The Masque of the Red Death is a 1964 British horror film starring Vincent Price in a tale about a prince who terrorizes a plague-ridden peasantry while merrymaking in a lonely castle with his jaded courtiers. The film was directed by Roger Corman; the screenplay by Charles Beaumont and R...
(1964), and The Tomb of Ligeia
The Tomb of Ligeia
The Tomb of Ligeia is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd in a story about a man haunted by the spirit of his dead wife and her effect on his second marriage. The screenplay by Robert Towne was based upon the tale "Ligeia" by American...
(1964). All but The Premature Burial
The Premature Burial
"The Premature Burial" is a horror short story on the theme of being buried alive, written by Edgar Allan Poe and published in 1844 in The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. Fear of being buried alive was common in this period and Poe was taking advantage of the public interest...
starred Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
. He also worked with set designer Daniel Haller
Daniel Haller
Daniel Haller is an American film and television director, production designer, and art director. Haller studied at the renowned Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles....
and cinematographer Floyd Crosby
Floyd Crosby
Floyd Delafield Crosby, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer.Crosby was born and raised in West Philadelphia, the son of Julia Floyd and Frederick Van Schoonhoven Crosby...
on each film. Others who joined him include cameraman and later director Nicholas Roeg, writers Robert Towne
Robert Towne
Robert Towne is an American screenwriter and director. His most notable work may be his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown .-Film:...
and Charles Beaumont
Charles Beaumont
Charles Beaumont was a prolific American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres. He is remembered as a writer of classic Twilight Zone episodes, such as "The Howling Man", "Miniature", and "Printer's Devil", but also penned the...
, and movie stars Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
, Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
, Hazel Court
Hazel Court
Hazel Court was an English actress best known for her roles in horror films during the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early life:...
, Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, Barbara Steele
Barbara Steele
Barbara Steele is an English film actress. She is best known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. Her breakthrough role came in Italian director Mario Bava's Black Sunday , now hailed as a classic.Steele starred in a string of horror films, including The Horrible Dr...
, Debra Paget
Debra Paget
Debra Paget is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:Paget was born in Denver, Colorado...
, and Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
. After the film version of The Raven was completed, he reportedly realized he still had some shooting days left before the sets were torn down and so made another film; The Terror
The Terror (1963 film)
The Terror is an American horror film produced by Roger Corman, and famous for being filmed on leftover film sets from other AIP productions, including The Haunted Palace...
(1963) on the spot with the remaining cast, crew and sets.
He also directed one of William Shatner's
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
earliest appearances in a lead role, with The Intruder
The Intruder (1962 film)
The Intruder is a 1962 American film directed by Roger Corman, after a novel by Charles Beaumont, starring William Shatner. Also called Shame in US release, and The Stranger in the UK release...
(1962). Based on a novel by Charles Beaumont
Charles Beaumont
Charles Beaumont was a prolific American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres. He is remembered as a writer of classic Twilight Zone episodes, such as "The Howling Man", "Miniature", and "Printer's Devil", but also penned the...
, the film, made for approximately USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$80,000, has become famous for its treatment of segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
and civil rights.
The late 1960s saw Corman and his films give a voice to the counter-culture of the time. In 1966, Corman made the first biker movie with The Wild Angels
The Wild Angels
The Wild Angels is a 1966 Roger Corman film, made on location in Southern California. The Wild Angels was made three years before Easy Rider and was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 1960s counterculture...
. It starred Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
and Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
, and opened the 1966 Venice Film Festival. In 1967, The Trip, written by and starring Jack Nicholson, began the psychedelic film craze of the late 1960s and was the American entry at Cannes that year. Joan Didion said she went to see Wild Angels because, "there on the screen was some news I was not getting from the New York Times. I began to think I was seeing ideograms of the future."
In 1970, Corman founded New World Pictures which became a small independently owned production/distribution studio, making many cult films such as Women in Cages
Women in Cages
Women in Cages is a 1971 film in the women in prison sexploitation sub-genre, co-produced by Roger Corman and directed by Gerardo de León. It was prominently featured in the Planet Terror portion of the 2007 film Grindhouse....
(1971), Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000 is a 1975 cult action film directed by Paul Bartel, and starring David Carradine, Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone. The film takes place in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment...
(1975), Rock 'n' Roll High School
Rock 'n' Roll High School
Rock 'n' Roll High School is a 1979 musical comedy film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Allan Arkush, and featuring the Ramones.The film starred P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, and Clint Howard...
(1979), Galaxy of Terror
Galaxy of Terror
Galaxy of Terror is a 1981 science fiction/horror film produced by Roger Corman and directed by Bruce D. Clark. It stars Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Robert Englund, Ray Walston, Zalman King, Grace Zabriskie and Sid Haig...
(1981), Children of the Corn
Children of the Corn
"Children of the Corn" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 1977 issue of Penthouse, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.- Plot summary :...
(1983), and the Joe Dante
Joe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....
film Piranha (1978). Corman's distribution side of New World brought many foreign films to mass audiences in the United States for the first time, including the works of Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
, François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
, Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
, and Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
. In a ten-year period, New World Pictures won more Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film than all other studios combined. Corman eventually sold New World to an investment group in 1983, and later formed Concorde Pictures and later New Horizons.
Corman's penultimate film as director was 1971's Von Richthofen and Brown
Von Richthofen and Brown
Von Richthofen and Brown also known as The Red Baron, is a film directed by Roger Corman, and starring John Phillip Law and Don Stroud as the titular characters....
(he had always wanted to make an aviation movie, being a pilot himself). He then returned to directing once more with 1990's Frankenstein Unbound
Frankenstein Unbound
Frankenstein Unbound is a 1990 horror movie based on Brian Aldiss' novel of the same name. This film was directed by Roger Corman, returning to the director's chair after a hiatus of almost twenty years.- Cast :...
. In total, Roger Corman has produced over 300 movies and directed more than 50.
In 2009, Corman produced and directed alongside with director Joe Dante
Joe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....
the web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
"Splatter" for Netflix. The protagonist of the film is portrayed by Corey Feldman
Corey Feldman
Corey Scott Feldman is an American film and television actor. He became known during the 1980s, with roles in the Hollywood films Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Goonies, Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream, Gremlins and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
, and the story talks of the haunting tale of rock-and-roll legend Johnny Splatter. He also started contributing trailer commentaries to Dante's web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
Trailers From Hell
Trailers From Hell
Trailers From Hell! is a web series featuring trailers from cinema classics ranging from silent comedy to the splatter flicks of the 1980s, with a particular focus on horror and exploitation films. Trailers are accompanied by commentaries from Hollywood screenwriters, producers and directors...
.
Corman most recently produced the 2010 films Dinoshark
Dinoshark
Dinoshark is a 2010 low budget Syfy horror film. It was shown on Syfy on March 13, 2010-Background:The film premiered on Syfy on the evening of March 13, 2010 before 2 million viewers...
and Dinocroc vs. Supergator
Dinocroc vs. Supergator
Dinocroc vs. Supergator is a 2010 television film that premiered on Syfy on June 26, 2010. This is one of David Carradine's final performances. The film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 12, 2011.-Plot:...
for the Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
cable television channel. Dinoshark premiered on March 13, 2010. Sharktopus
Sharktopus
Sharktopus is a 2010 American science fiction film directed by Declan O'Brien, starring Eric Roberts. It is a Syfy production.-Plot:The U.S. Navy commissions a group known as "Blue Water" to genetically engineer a half-shark, half-octopus for combat. During a demonstration off of Santa Monica, the...
, his latest Syfy production, had premiered in September 2010.
Remembrances and awards
His autobiography, titled How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime (ISBN 0-306-80874-9), documents his experiences in the film industry.In 1964, Corman was the youngest producer/director to be given a retrospective at the Cinémathèque Française
Cinémathèque Française
The Cinémathèque Française holds one of the largest archives of films, movie documents and film-related objects in the world. Located in Paris, the Cinémathèque holds daily screenings of films from around the world.-History:...
, as well as retrospectives at the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
and the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
.
In 1998, he won the first Producer’s Award ever given by the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
.
In 2006, Corman received the David O. Selznick Award from the Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America is a trade organization representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 4,700 members of the producing establishment worldwide...
. Also in 2006, his film Fall of the House of Usher was among the twenty-five movies selected for the National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
, a compilation of significant films being preserved by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
In 2010, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
awarded Corman with an Academy Honorary Award
Academy Honorary Award
The Academy Honorary Award, instituted in 1948 for the 21st Academy Awards , is given by the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to celebrate motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards, although prior winners of...
at the inaugural Governors Awards
Governors Awards
The Governors Awards presentation is an annual award ceremony hosted by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center. Three awards, the Academy Honorary Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and the Irving G. Thalberg...
, on November 14, 2009.
In 2010, writer and actor Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
interviewed Corman for his BBC documentary series A History of Horror
A History of Horror
A History of Horror is a 2010 three-part documentary series made for the BBC by British writer and actor Mark Gatiss...
, of which the second half of the second episode focuses on Corman.
In 2010, Corman was inducted into the Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly is part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District and located on on the west side of Beverly Hills, at the...
Hall of Fame.
"The Corman Film School"
A number of noted film directors worked with Corman, usually early in their careers, including Francis Ford CoppolaFrancis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
, Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
, Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
, Armondo Linus Acosta
Armondo Linus Acosta
Armondo Linus Acosta aka Armand Acosta and Armando Acosta is an American-born award-winning film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, producer and designer who in recent years is best known for his motion picture "Romeo.Juliet."...
, Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
, Donald G. Jackson
Donald G. Jackson
Donald G. Jackson was an American filmmaker who is often referred to in the media as the Ed Wood of the video age...
, Gale Anne Hurd
Gale Anne Hurd
Gale Anne Hurd is an American film producer and screenwriter.-Early life:Hurd was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Lolita and Frank E. Hurd, an investor. She grew up in Palm Springs, California and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A...
, Carl Colpaert
Carl Colpaert
Carl Colpaert is an American film director and the founder of Cineville, a production and distribution company based in Los Angeles.-Background:...
, Joe Dante
Joe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....
, James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, John Sayles
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
, Monte Hellman
Monte Hellman
Monte Hellman is an American film director, producer, and film editor.Hellman is among a group of directing talent mentored by Roger Corman, who produced several of the director's early films...
, Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...
, George Armitage
George Armitage
George Armitage is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer who got his start as part of the stable of up-and-coming filmmakers who broke into the business thru Roger Corman's New World Pictures...
, Jonathan Kaplan
Jonathan Kaplan
Jonathan Kaplan is an American film producer and director.Kaplan was born in Paris, France. He is the son of film composer Sol Kaplan and actress Frances Heflin; the nephew of actor Van Heflin. He is the brother of actresses Nora Heflin and Mady Kaplan...
, George Hickenlooper, Curtis Hanson
Curtis Hanson
Curtis Lee Hanson is an American film director, film producer and screenwriter. His directing work includes The Hand That Rocks the Cradle , L.A...
, Jack Hill
Jack Hill
Jack Hill is an U.S. film director, noted for his work in the exploitation film genre. Despite this, several of Hill's later films have been characterized as feminist works.Hill was born in Los Angeles...
, Robert Towne
Robert Towne
Robert Towne is an American screenwriter and director. His most notable work may be his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown .-Film:...
, Michael Venzor and Timur Bekmambetov
Timur Bekmambetov
Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov is a Kazakh-born director, producer and screenwriter who has worked on films and commercials. He is mostly popular for the Russian film Night Watch and its sequel Day Watch , and the American film Wanted .-Early life:Bekmambetov was born on June 25, 1961 in the...
. Many have said that Corman's influence taught them some of the ins-and-outs of filmmaking. In the extras for the DVD of The Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
, director James Cameron refers to his work for Corman as, "I trained at the Roger Corman Film School." The British director Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
served as the cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
on The Masque of the Red Death
The Masque of the Red Death (film)
The Masque of the Red Death is a 1964 British horror film starring Vincent Price in a tale about a prince who terrorizes a plague-ridden peasantry while merrymaking in a lonely castle with his jaded courtiers. The film was directed by Roger Corman; the screenplay by Charles Beaumont and R...
. Cameron, Coppola, Demme, Hanson, Howard and Scorsese have all gone on to win Academy Awards. Howard was reportedly told by Corman, "If you do a good job on this film, you'll never have to work for me again."
Actors who obtained their career breaks working for Corman include Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...
, Bruce Dern
Bruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
, Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (actor)
Michael James McDonald is an American actor, writer, comedian, and director, best known for starring in the sketch comedy show MADtv. McDonald joined the show during the fourth season and remained in the cast until the end of the thirteenth and penultimate season, having become the...
, Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
, Talia Shire
Talia Shire
Talia Shire is an American actress most known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather films and Adrian Balboa in the Rocky series.-Personal life:...
, and Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
. David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
, who received one of his first starring film roles in the Corman-produced Boxcar Bertha
Boxcar Bertha
Boxcar Bertha , director Martin Scorsese's second film, is a loose adaptation of Sister of the Road, the fictionalized autobiography of radical and transient Bertha Thompson as written by Ben Reitman...
(1972) and went on to star in Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000 is a 1975 cult action film directed by Paul Bartel, and starring David Carradine, Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone. The film takes place in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment...
, later noted: "It’s almost as though you can’t have a career in this business without having passed through Roger’s hands for at least a moment."
Many of Corman's protegés have rewarded him with cameos in their films, including The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the...
, The Silence of the Lambs, Apollo 13
Apollo 13 (film)
Apollo 13 is a 1995 American drama film directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan and Ed Harris. The screenplay by William Broyles, Jr...
, and as recently as Demme's 2008 film Rachel Getting Married
Rachel Getting Married
Rachel Getting Married is a 2008 drama film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin and Debra Winger. The film was released in the U.S. to select theaters on October 3, 2008. The film opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival. The film also...
.
| Name | First Corman film | Year | Credited as |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Armitage George Armitage George Armitage is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer who got his start as part of the stable of up-and-coming filmmakers who broke into the business thru Roger Corman's New World Pictures... |
Gas-s-s-s Gas-s-s-s Gas-s-s-s is a 1971 motion picture produced and released by American International Pictures. It was producer Roger Corman's final film for AIP, before leaving to found his own New World Pictures... |
1971 | writer, associate producer, cast member |
| Timur Bekmambetov Timur Bekmambetov Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov is a Kazakh-born director, producer and screenwriter who has worked on films and commercials. He is mostly popular for the Russian film Night Watch and its sequel Day Watch , and the American film Wanted .-Early life:Bekmambetov was born on June 25, 1961 in the... |
The Arena The Arena (2001 film) The Arena is a direct-to-video film from producer Roger Corman on the subject of female gladiators. It is a remake of the 1974 The Arena with Pam Grier... |
2001 | director |
| Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola... |
Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women is a science fiction film directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The film is an adapted version of Curtis Harrington's Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, which in turn is adapted from the Russian 1962 feature Planeta Bur by Pavel Klushantsev... |
1968 | director, cast member |
| James Cameron James Cameron James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor... |
Battle Beyond the Stars Battle Beyond the Stars Battle Beyond the Stars is a Roger Corman-produced science fiction film, directed by Jimmy T. Murakami and released in 1980. The film, intended as a "Magnificent Seven in outer space," is a pastiche of The Magnificent Seven, the Western remake of Akira Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai... |
1980 | art direction, visual effects |
| Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors... |
Battle Beyond the Sun Battle Beyond the Sun Battle Beyond the Sun is a 1959 Soviet science fiction film directed by Mikhail Karyukov and Aleksandr Kozyr. It tells of the "space race", with the USSR forced into competing with the USA to become the first nation to colonize Mars. Roger Corman acquired the film for US distribution and hired a... |
1962 | director (scenes in American version) |
| Joe Dante Joe Dante Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content.... |
Hollywood Boulevard | 1976 | co-director, editor |
| Jonathan Demme Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop... |
Angels Hard as They Come | 1971 | writer, producer |
| Curtis Hanson Curtis Hanson Curtis Lee Hanson is an American film director, film producer and screenwriter. His directing work includes The Hand That Rocks the Cradle , L.A... |
The Dunwich Horror The Dunwich Horror (film) The Dunwich Horror is a 1970 B-movie from American International Pictures directed by Daniel Haller and produced by Roger Corman. The film was based on the short story of the same name by H.P. Lovecraft with a script co-written by future Academy Award winning director Curtis Hanson. This was the... |
1970 | co-writer |
| Monte Hellman Monte Hellman Monte Hellman is an American film director, producer, and film editor.Hellman is among a group of directing talent mentored by Roger Corman, who produced several of the director's early films... |
Beast from Haunted Cave | 1959 | director |
| Jack Hill Jack Hill Jack Hill is an U.S. film director, noted for his work in the exploitation film genre. Despite this, several of Hill's later films have been characterized as feminist works.Hill was born in Los Angeles... |
The Terror The Terror (1963 film) The Terror is an American horror film produced by Roger Corman, and famous for being filmed on leftover film sets from other AIP productions, including The Haunted Palace... |
1963 | writer |
| Ron Howard Ron Howard Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years... |
Grand Theft Auto Grand Theft Auto (film) Grand Theft Auto is a 1977 American comedy chase film directed by Ron Howard. It was Howard's directorial debut and features himself as Sam Freeman and Nancy Morgan as Paula Powers in the leading roles... |
1977 | director, co-writer |
| Gale Anne Hurd Gale Anne Hurd Gale Anne Hurd is an American film producer and screenwriter.-Early life:Hurd was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Lolita and Frank E. Hurd, an investor. She grew up in Palm Springs, California and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A... |
Humanoids from the Deep Humanoids from the Deep Humanoids from the Deep is a 1980 science fiction monster movie, starring Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, and Vic Morrow. Roger Corman served as the film's Executive Producer, and the film was distributed by his New World Pictures. It was directed by Barbara Peeters... |
1980 | production assistant |
| Jonathan Kaplan Jonathan Kaplan Jonathan Kaplan is an American film producer and director.Kaplan was born in Paris, France. He is the son of film composer Sol Kaplan and actress Frances Heflin; the nephew of actor Van Heflin. He is the brother of actresses Nora Heflin and Mady Kaplan... |
Night Call Nurses | 1972 | director, editor |
| John Sayles John Sayles John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"... |
Piranha | 1978 | writer |
| Martin Scorsese Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation... |
Boxcar Bertha Boxcar Bertha Boxcar Bertha , director Martin Scorsese's second film, is a loose adaptation of Sister of the Road, the fictionalized autobiography of radical and transient Bertha Thompson as written by Ben Reitman... |
1972 | director |
| Robert Towne Robert Towne Robert Towne is an American screenwriter and director. His most notable work may be his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown .-Film:... |
Last Woman on Earth Last Woman on Earth Last Woman on Earth is an American science-fiction film produced and directed by Roger Corman. It tells the story of three survivors of a mysterious apocalypse which appears to have wiped out all human life on earth. The screenplay is by Robert Towne, who also appears in the film billed as... |
1960 | writer, cast member |
Partial filmography
Director- Five Guns WestFive Guns WestFive Guns West is a 1955 Western film set during the American Civil War directed by Roger Corman....
(1955) - Swamp WomenSwamp WomenSwamp Women was one of the first films directed by Roger Corman. This adventure/crime/horror film follows undercover police officer Lee Hampton who joins three female convicts and escapes from prison. The escape is part of a larger plot to uncover a cache of diamonds hidden deep within the swamps...
(1955) - It Conquered the WorldIt Conquered the WorldIt Conquered the World is a 1956 American science fiction film about an alien from Venus trying to take over the world with the help of a disillusioned human scientist. It was directed by Roger Corman, written by Lou Rusoff , and starred Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, and Sally...
(1956) - Not of This EarthNot of This Earth (1957 film)Not of This Earth is a 67-minute, 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film written by Charles B. Griffith and Mark Hanna. It was produced and directed by Roger Corman for Los Altos Productions and distributed by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation....
(1957) - Attack of the Crab MonstersAttack of the Crab MonstersAttack of the Crab Monsters is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film, written by Charles B. Griffith and produced and directed by Roger Corman via Los Altos Productions, on contract for distribution by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. The plot follows a scientific expedition...
(1957) - The UndeadThe Undead (film)The Undead is a 1957 horror film directed by Roger Corman starring Pamela Duncan, Richard Garland, Allison Hayes, and Val Dufour. It follows the story of prostitute Diana Love who is put into a hypnotic trance by psychic Quintis , thus causing her to regress back to a previous life...
(1957) - The Wasp WomanThe Wasp WomanThe Wasp Woman is a science fiction film produced and directed by Roger Corman which was completed in 1959...
(1959) - A Bucket of BloodA Bucket of BloodA Bucket of Blood is a 1959 American comedy horror film directed by Roger Corman. It starred Dick Miller and was set in beatnik culture. The film, produced on a $50,000 budget, was shot in five days, and shares many of the low-budget filmmaking aesthetics commonly associated with Corman's work....
(1959) - House of UsherHouse of Usher (film)House of Usher is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price, Myrna Fahey, and Mark Damon: the story is about a New England family cursed with madness, criminal conduct, and debauchery...
(1960) - The Little Shop of HorrorsThe Little Shop of HorrorsThe Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. The film's concept is thought to be based on a 1932...
(1960) - Last Woman on EarthLast Woman on EarthLast Woman on Earth is an American science-fiction film produced and directed by Roger Corman. It tells the story of three survivors of a mysterious apocalypse which appears to have wiped out all human life on earth. The screenplay is by Robert Towne, who also appears in the film billed as...
(1960) - Creature from the Haunted SeaCreature from the Haunted SeaCreature from the Haunted Sea is a 1961 Horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a parody of spy, gangster, and monster movies , concerning a secret agent, XK150 , who goes under the code name "Sparks Moran" in order to infiltrate a...
(1961) - The Pit and the PendulumThe Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film)The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film directed by Roger Corman, starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, and Luana Anders. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. Set in 16th century Spain, the story is about a young...
(1961) - The Premature BurialThe Premature Burial (film)The Premature Burial is an American International Pictures horror film, directed by Roger Corman and starring Ray Milland, screenplay by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell based upon the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.-Cast:...
(1962) - The IntruderThe Intruder (1962 film)The Intruder is a 1962 American film directed by Roger Corman, after a novel by Charles Beaumont, starring William Shatner. Also called Shame in US release, and The Stranger in the UK release...
(1962) - Tales of TerrorTales of TerrorTales of Terror is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone; it is the fourth in a series of adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories directed by Roger Corman and released by AIP.-Plot:...
(1962) - XX (1963 film)X is a 1963 science fiction/horror motion picture.Directed by Roger Corman from a script by Ray Russell and Robert Dillon, X stars Ray Milland as Dr. James Xavier. A world renowned scientist, Dr. Xavier experiments with X-ray vision and things go horribly wrong...
(1963) - The Haunted PalaceThe Haunted PalaceThe Haunted Palace is a 1963 horror film released by American International Pictures, starring Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr., and Debra Paget in a story about a village held in the grip of a cult. The film was directed by Roger Corman, and is usually listed as one in his series of eight films...
(1963) - The RavenThe Raven (1963 film)The Raven is a B movie horror-comedy produced and directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. Part of a series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations produced by Corman through American International Pictures, the film was written by...
(1963) - The TerrorThe Terror (1963 film)The Terror is an American horror film produced by Roger Corman, and famous for being filmed on leftover film sets from other AIP productions, including The Haunted Palace...
(1963) - The Masque of the Red DeathThe Masque of the Red Death (film)The Masque of the Red Death is a 1964 British horror film starring Vincent Price in a tale about a prince who terrorizes a plague-ridden peasantry while merrymaking in a lonely castle with his jaded courtiers. The film was directed by Roger Corman; the screenplay by Charles Beaumont and R...
(1964) - The Tomb of LigeiaThe Tomb of LigeiaThe Tomb of Ligeia is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd in a story about a man haunted by the spirit of his dead wife and her effect on his second marriage. The screenplay by Robert Towne was based upon the tale "Ligeia" by American...
(1964) - The Secret InvasionThe Secret InvasionThe Secret Invasion is a 1964 Eastmancolor war film directed by Roger Corman that was filmed in Yugoslavia. In World War II, convicts are recruited by the Allies for an extremely hazardous mission...
(1964) - The Wild AngelsThe Wild AngelsThe Wild Angels is a 1966 Roger Corman film, made on location in Southern California. The Wild Angels was made three years before Easy Rider and was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 1960s counterculture...
(1966) - The St. Valentine's Day MassacreThe St. Valentine's Day Massacre (film)The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is a 1967 gangster film based on the 1929 Chicago mass murder of seven members of the Northside gang, directed against George "Bugs" Moran by Al Capone...
(1967) - The TripThe Trip (1967 film)The Trip is a cult film released by American International Pictures, directed by Roger Corman, written by Jack Nicholson, and shot on location in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California in 1966...
(1967) - Bloody MamaBloody MamaBloody Mama is a 1970 low budget film very loosely based on the story of Ma Barker. It was directed by Roger Corman and starred Shelley Winters in the title role, depicted as a corrupt mother who encourages and organizes her children's criminality. The film featured an early appearance by a young...
(1970) - Gas-s-s-sGas-s-s-sGas-s-s-s is a 1971 motion picture produced and released by American International Pictures. It was producer Roger Corman's final film for AIP, before leaving to found his own New World Pictures...
(1971) - Von Richthofen and BrownVon Richthofen and BrownVon Richthofen and Brown also known as The Red Baron, is a film directed by Roger Corman, and starring John Phillip Law and Don Stroud as the titular characters....
(1971) - Frankenstein UnboundFrankenstein UnboundFrankenstein Unbound is a 1990 horror movie based on Brian Aldiss' novel of the same name. This film was directed by Roger Corman, returning to the director's chair after a hiatus of almost twenty years.- Cast :...
(1990)
Roger Corman's Cult Classics
In 2010 Roger Corman teamed up with Shout! FactoryShout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
to release new DVD and Blu-ray editions of Corman productions under the name Roger Corman's Cult Classics
Roger Corman's Cult Classics
Roger Corman's Cult Classics is a collection of DVD and Blu-ray Discs of films produced by Roger Corman. It began as a collaboration in 2010 between Roger Corman's New Horizon Pictures and Shout! Factory...
. The releases have concentrated on 1970s-1980s films he produced through New World rather than directed. These titles include Rock N Roll High School, Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000 is a 1975 cult action film directed by Paul Bartel, and starring David Carradine, Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone. The film takes place in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment...
, Galaxy of Terror
Galaxy of Terror
Galaxy of Terror is a 1981 science fiction/horror film produced by Roger Corman and directed by Bruce D. Clark. It stars Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Robert Englund, Ray Walston, Zalman King, Grace Zabriskie and Sid Haig...
, Forbidden World
Forbidden World
Forbidden World, originally titled Mutant, is a 1982 cult classic science fiction/horror film. The screenplay was written by Tim Curnen, from a screenstory by R.J. Robertson and Jim Wynorski. It was co-edited and directed by Allan Holzman, who had edited Battle Beyond the Stars two years earlier...
, and Piranha, with additional titles continuing to be released.
External links
biography at New Horizons PicturesNew Concorde
New Concorde is a Los Angeles, California based film distribution company founded by Roger Corman. NC got its start in 1983 when Corman formed the production and distribution Concorde-New Horizons as one of the first production companies to develop and take advantage of video as a distribution...
- Roger Corman bibliography (via UC Berkeley)
- Roger Corman biography on (re)Search my Trash
- Roger Corman at Senses of Cinema
- Roger Corman 1974 Interview
- New Horizons company website