Electric Boogaloo - Blu-ray

Film: Anyone who grew up in the 80s and was a regular guest in the then still flourishing video stores knows them all too well: the trash films by Cannon. Apart from a few real highlights, cheaply produced action and horror films dominated the oeuvre of cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. After the two had earned a lot of money with the Popsicle films, which were very popular in Germany, they wanted to multiply it in Hollywood. And so they had films made in a hurry, which in their opinion were completely in line with the public's taste. Quality played a subordinate role, the main thing was a lot of action and sex. While many of these films were commercial flops, the producing duo did create some real box office hits and made actors like Michael Dudikoff, Chuck Norris or Jean Claude van Damme into real stars.

The rise and fall of Cannon Films is traced in the extremely entertaining documentary Electric Boogaloo. Starting with the enormous, but also controversial success of Popsicle, to the first productions in Hollywood, to very special sales strategies that constantly brought new money into the coffers of Cannon Films, the various stages of the company's history are discussed. Of course, the two makers in the background, but especially Menahem Golan are the focus of interest. It is almost impossible to believe the methods he used to sell films on the international market that didn't even exist yet or were never supposed to exist, in order to secure the financing of more and more new machinations. The many clips from these films are extremely amusing, especially from today's point of view, but are also guaranteed to evoke a lot of nostalgia in video store kids.

The film also lives from the fact that all interviewees speak very openly and completely unadorned about the productions. What you learn here about Sharon Stone on the set of the Quatermain films, for example, what the interviewees have to tell about the Stallone film Over the Top or how the flop of the fourth Superman film is explained, is simply refreshingly honest, extremely entertaining and also extremely interesting. A very special story is the making of a film about the great Lambada hype, which illustrates very well how many a Cannon film has been directed and that very few films were really about quality.

But the documentary also makes it very clear that the production company has also produced some really good works. Runaway Train or Lifeforce - Deadly Menace are undoubtedly really good films that you'll want to watch again immediately after enjoying the documentary. Overall, Electric Boogaloo is an ironic as well as revealing look behind the scenes of the movie business. A film for anyone interested in Hollywood and for all nostalgics who want to travel back once again to the wonderful times of video store trash fare of the 80s and 90s. Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The sound is on a good level for a documentary, with interviews, voice-over commentary and the music setting the tone here. Surround fireworks should therefore not be expected. Since the film makes use of a lot of archival footage, qualitative sacrifices have to be made again and again in terms of image sharpness. Here and there there is also a little dirt, which is not surprising given the age of some trailers, archive footage from filming and older interview recordings. The actual interviews, on the other hand, are pleasing with good overall sharpness and a cohesive color scheme. Overall, there is for the technical implementation a satisfied: good!

Extras: As a bonus, the Blu-ray has some cut and extended sequences (about 13:15 min.) to offer, among which there are also some very worth seeing moments (such as on the development of a Spider-Man film). Other brief featurettes deal with attempts to imitate Menahem Golan (approx. 0:50 min.), Mark's T-shirt collection (approx. 0:41 min.), and a reading from Roy & John's favorite review (approx. 1:30 min.). There's also a wonderful collection of trailers from the Cannon Films trove (approx. 51:41 min.), the trailer for the documentary, and an Easter Egg. This is particularly amusing, as it's a promo reel (approx. 14:47 min.) advertising films that were never made (including Cannon's Spider-Man or La Brava with Dustin Hoffman). Good!

Conclusion:Electric Boogaloo is an extremely entertaining documentary about the rise and fall of the Cannon Films production company. With plenty of bite and lots of nostalgia, the film takes viewers back to the golden era of video store trash fare. It's a movie that's just plain fun to watch. The Blu-ray presents the whole thing in appealing picture and sound quality. The bonus material lets with an extensive trailer show once again the very special pearls from the house of Cannon Films review. Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp