American Grindhouse (2010)

A documentary about the history of exploitation movies, from the silent movie era to the 1970s.

Director:

Elijah Drenner

Writers:

Elijah Drenner, Calum Waddell

Stars:

Robert Forster, Eric Schaefer, Eddie Muller

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Forster	...	Himself - Narrator (voice)
Eric Schaefer	...	Himself - Film Historian
Eddie Muller	...	Himself - Film Historian
John Landis	...	Himself - Director, Animal House
Kim Morgan	...	Herself - Film Historian
Fred Olen Ray	...	Himself - Director, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers
Allison Anders	...	Herself - Director, Mi Vida Loca
Joe Dante	...	Himself - Director, Gremlins
Herschell Gordon Lewis	...	Himself - Director, Scum of the Earth
Jeremy Kasten	...	Himself - Director, Wizard of Gore
William Lustig	...	Himself - Director, Maniac Cop
Lewis Teague	...	Himself - Director, Cujo
David Hess	...	Himself - Actor, The Last House on the Left
Bob Minor	...	Himself - Actor, Foxy Brown
Jack Hill	...	Himself - Director, Coffy & Foxy Brown

Storyline

This documentary explores the hidden history of the American Exploitation Film. The movie digs deep into this often overlooked category of U.S. cinema and unearths the shameless and occasionally shocking origins of this popular entertainment.

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Plot Keywords:

men's magazine | exploitation film | monster movie | soft porn | nazi exploitation | 

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Taglines:

Giving Audiences What They Want Since the Dawn of Motion Pictures.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 March 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Американский грайндхаус

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$986, 4 February 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,529, 6 February 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lux Digital Pictures,End Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Amero, Pam Grier, and Harry H. Novak were all approached to be interviewed in this documentary, but turned said offers down.

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Connections

Features Dracula (1931)

User Reviews

Good general documentary on movie fringe

It's a far ranging exploration of the exploitation cinema. It takes a history trip from the beginning of film all the way to today. It doesn't really try to limit the scope, and skims through 100 years. It features several talking heads. The most famous of the experts is director John Landis.

This serves as a general documentary of the fringe movie world. The best thing is all the clips of these old movies. The talking heads aren't digging too deep but are generally well informed. Robert Forster does a good job as the narrator. His gruff voice isn't the normal narration but somehow fits the subject matter. This is a steady march through history categorizing all the major movements hitting the big moments. The best interviews are the actual participants who are talking about their own movies. The doc does grind down as the movie has nowhere to go with the arrival of porn. I guess that's another doc. The final section of Hollywood trying to rip off the grindhouse isn't quite as compelling. As a general doc, it hits most of the big points.