King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen (2017) Reviews

• Interesting look at a pioneer in the industry

  david_rudy_lee2018-12-24

  This was a film that I was immediately intrigued by when some of the podcasts I listen to had the chance to see this when it was making its festival rounds. I knew who Larry Cohen was, because my father had his film The Stuff on VHS. It was a film I didn't fully grasp as a child, but still one that I have nostalgia for having it seen it all those years ago. The official synopsis for this is a feature length documentary acclaimed work and eclectic career of maverick filmmaker Larry Cohen. As the synopsis states, this film follows the career of Cohen. We learn about where he grew up and how he got his start in the movie industry. At the time of watching this film, I had seen some of his works and some of them I had seen without realizing it, so it is fun to learn more about a guy that I'm a fan of. What I like about the structure of this documentary is that we learn about his early career as a writer and how that was his break into the industry through television shows. It was amazing to me how nice of a guy Cohen is, even thought the executives were screwing him out of money he probably was entitled to. It really inspires me to see a guy who despite things not necessarily going his way, his hard work still paying off. This really picks up for me when Cohen decides to shift to directing. He is really one of the original guerilla filmmakers. Things that he did and got away with when not having permits and shooting in New York had me in awe as well as laughing. This works even more for me since I have worked on an independent feature length film and some shorts. Seeing what he could do with such small budgets is quite amazing. Even more than that, I'm a big fan of seeing interviews and learning about the making of films. Many of the ones in this film I haven't seen yet, but after watching this they are going on my 'To See List' I have going. I knew that Cohen had done horror films, but I had no idea about the spy/crime thrillers or the blacksxploitation films he did. Having such a range of what he could produce is crazy to me as an inspiring writer. The film does interview and give the background story of pretty much every film he directed. It also does this for films that he produced or wrote as well. They brought in as many cast and crew member as they could. Not everything that he says meshes with what others say, but I do like the film got both perspectives. The documentary really does focus on his works, but what I liked as well is that we got to really learn about Cohen as a man. Those he worked with pretty much only had good things to say about him and his works are lower in budget, but what he could pull off was great. Hearing about the great things he would do for those around him and trying to help those he could was what really touched about Cohen. Even his ex-wife is a part of the documentary and she really only had good things to say about him as well. As a cinephile, what he produced in the films is great, but knowing the true story behind it and how great a person he is makes it even better for me. I would say this documentary is very well done. They got so many people from his films and those he worked with to appear in this documentary. That is part of a testament to how great of a person he is that they would be willing. I also like that we get film historians and experts as well to give some idea of the significance of some things to add just another layer to this film. Now with that said, this is a shorter review as documentaries are a little bit harder to talk about it. This is very well made and the stories that are shared in this are interesting. It runs almost two hours long, but I had to admit, it doesn't feel like it. There is so much knowledge and information that it flies past. I would definitely say that if you are a fan of Cohen, his films or just interested in hearing stories behind the scenes of how films are made, I would recommend this. It is even more interesting that he did most of his work outside of the Hollywood model, which is even more interesting for independent filmmakers. I would say this is a good documentary and worth a viewing.

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• Terrific Documentary on Cohen

  Michael_Elliott2018-08-31

  King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen (2017) **** (out of 4) Excellent documentary that takes a look at the career of screenwriter and director Larry Cohen. The documentary comes in just shy of two hours and it features interviews with the man himself as well as Martin Scorsese, Rick Baker, John Landis, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Robert Forster, James Dixon, Eric Roberts, Megan Gallagher, Michael Moriarty, Traci Lords, Daniel Pearl, Nathaniel Thompson, Yaphet Kotto and Fred Williamson. KING COHEN is a terrific documentary for fans of Cohen and if you're not familiar with Cohen's work then there's no question that you're going to be curious about after watching this. It's really great that there are so many definitive documentaries being made about these types of filmmakers and especially since they're all getting up there in age. If you're familiar with the work of Cohen then there's no question that you're going to love the behind-the-scenes stories to his films as well as his life. I think some of the greatest stuff presented here is the discussion about his early television work. I'm sure a lot of people have seen his credits at various sites but I doubt too many know some of the stories. What's great is that Cohen is on hand to discuss these early television programs and we get some terrific stories about them. Once the movie stuff comes along then you get even more details from Cohen as well as the other filmmakers paying their respects and discussing what made his films work and especially on their budget. There are a lot of really great stories told here but some of the best deal with Cohen and his ability to steal scenes without getting permits. We learn about why he does this and we get some great stories including one dealing with Q THE WINGED SERPENT. The majority of the film's that he directed are covered and that includes WICKED STEPMOTHER with Bette Davis. We finally get to hear what really happened on the set of that picture that had Davis walk off and eventually badmouth Cohen. Other great stories include the production of ORIGINAL GANGSTAS as well as some dealing with Cohen's anger at what some director's did to his screenplays. All in all, KING COHEN is a really great documentary that gives you a terrific insight into the filmmaker and his movies.

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• PopCultureThoughtsCom

  popculturethoughts2019-03-25

  Larry Cohen's filmography as director, writer and/or producer (depending on the project) covers everything from effective, socially progressive B-horror movies like "The Stuff" and "It's Alive, " to a variety of television shows like "The Invaders" and "NYPD Blue" that were blessed with inventive, fertile concepts. Therefore, it's not surprising that this documentary about his career covers a tremendous amount of ground, but it's impressive that director Steve Mitchell manages to keep the focus on Cohen himself throughout it all, because Cohen advocates for himself and for his work better than anyone else could. Mitchell highlights Cohen's personality via clear-eyed and candid conversations, and there are plenty of entertaining interviews with the likes of Michael Moriarty (of "The Stuff" and "Q: The Winged Serpent") and Laurene Landon (of "Maniac Cop"), who speak eloquently on the impact of his oeuvre, not to mention several well-selected shots from Cohen's filmography. It's not likely to hold much interest for non-genre fans, but its intended audience will absolutely love it.

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• YOU KNEW BUT NEVER KNEW

  kirbylee70-599-5261792018-09-15

  When it comes to famous directors there are names that are so well remembered that when you hear that director has a new movie coming out that's enough to get you ready to buy a ticket. Alfred Hitchcock was a director like that. Martin Scorsese is one like that. And for some Larry Cohen is that type of name as well. If the name doesn't sound familiar to you, you might be surprised to learn that you've seen one of his movie. Or a movie he scripted. Or a TV show he scripted or created. If you don't believe me consider these items on his resume. He created the Chuck Connors series BRANDED and the sci fi series THE INVADERS. He wrote episodes of SURFSIDE 6, THE DEFENDERS, CHECKMATE, THE FUGITIVE and THE RAT PATROL. As a director he made movies like BLACK CAESAR, HELL UP IN HARLEM, IT'S ALIVE and its two sequels, GOD TOLD ME TO, FULL MOON HIGH, Q, THE STUFF, SPECIAL EFFECTS, A RETURN TO SALEM'S LOT and THE AMBULANCE. I'm guessing at least one of those items is something you've watched. But Cohen was never what you would call a mainstream Hollywood director. Instead he was part of the independent scene where creativity was more important that kowtowing to studio bigwigs who more often than not didn't have a clue as to what people really enjoyed seeing. With his New York City background Cohen was more inclined to do things his way and like most auteurs he was able to do this with style and panache, shooting without permits, filming off the cuff and changing things up on the fly to make the best movie he possibly could. The films credited to his name prove he was more than capable of doing so. KING COHEN: THE WILD WORLD OF FILMMAKER LARRY COHEN is a loving tribute to Cohen, a documentary about his life and his films. Director Steve Mitchell combines an array of interviews with Cohen himself, his wives, his crew members and his contemporaries in the film business. Here again are names you will know like John Landis, Martin Scorsese and Joe Dante and names you will not recall like Paul Glickman, Daniel Pearl and David Schow. Each one contributes their own bits and pieces of the life and films of Cohen. Cohen himself is as interesting and inventive in his moments on screen as his films make him out to be. He jokes while walking down a hallway at a film convention that no one recognizes him in spite of the films he's done. He reflects on his films like they were his children which they are in a way. He talks about the obstacle put in his way by producers and how he made his way around those to create some great movies. The structure of the film is easy to follow beginning with an introduction to Cohen and overview moving on to the story of his early life and going into television. From there he moves into films and his beginnings in low budget filmmaking set the stage for what was to come later. Each film he made is discussed with clips from each alongside interviews with cast and crew from those films. If you can find a director with people willing to speak kindly about him after all these years that in itself is a compliment. While watching and listening to each of these films and the stories of what went on behind the camera it makes you want to search you shelves for any films of his that you have on hand, to go back and watch them with a different perspective. But it also reminds you of how much fun you had watching the film the first time you saw it and to have that desire to sit back and watch it through those eyes as well. My first exposure to Larry Cohen that I can honestly recall was his film IT'S ALIVE. I'd booked it on campus at Ball State. I'd heard of it but it never played anywhere I had a chance to see it. The look of the film was a bit fuzzy (it was a well-used 16mm print after all), it didn't have the high tech camera wizardry that many Hollywood films had but at the same time I thought this is incredible. This movie has more going for it than so many that came out at the same time. It gave us not just a solid story but a new monster to add to the list of so many that had come over the years without being just another retread of the same ones we'd seen before. After that I knew when a Cohen movie came out and I had access to it I wanted to see it. Watching this film and learning move about Cohen makes you want to get to know him too. He seems like such a nice guy, friendly and jovial. He seems like someone who would be fun to sit with and talk about his career and what he thinks about movies. I don't know that I could say that about a lot of directors. I think some would be too caught up in themselves or discuss film using technical terms and fifty cent words where a simple word would be enough. Cohen seems like a regular guy who just loves making movies. One can only hope that he continues making films. The movie ends showing him at home working on new scripts, post it notes covering a wall with ideas. That's how creative minds work. He doesn't seem at all to be 77 years old but he is. He jokes in the final moments of the film that you can't tell his story in one film. I just hope he's right and that many more Cohen films are made while I look forward to PART TWO. I can't recommend this movie enough for both movie fans and those who just like watching movies. Then go find a copy of IT'S ALIVE.

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• My Review Of "King Cohen"

  ASouthernHorrorFan2018-08-09

  The documentary is a classic cut for cut recollection of a truly unique and paramount figure in modern cinema. Larry Cohen if a frontiersman for the independent film community and "King Cohen" establishes this fact with informative and entertaining biography and interviews. The most value to this film comes in the form of first person accounts from Mr. Cohen himself offering back story to some truly monumental cult classic film and television projects given to us from his sheer genius of creativity. "King Cohen" keeps with the standard documentary format, but still manages to be compelling and entertaining beyond your typical shtick seen in DVD extras, or basic documentary styles. With a fangasm worthy amount of first person accounts and anidotes from Larry about his work, plus the exploration and acknowledgement of the volume of his genre-bending films, "King Cohen : The Wild World Of Filmmaker Larry Cohen" is a great documentary, one truly a long time coming - and decades in the making...and it's about time!

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