Roger Corman

Production

Roger Corman

Born 1926-04-05 · Detroit, Michigan, USA

Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", “The King of The B’s”, "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of the more than 500 features directed or produced by Corman were low-budget films that later attracted a cult following, such as The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), The Intruder (1962), X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes (1963), and the counterculture films, The Wild Angels (1966) and The Trip (1967). House of Usher (1960) became the first of eight films directed by Corman that were adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and which collectively came to be known as the "Poe Cycle". In 1964, Corman became the youngest filmmaker to have a retrospective at the Cinémathèque française, as well as in the British Film Institute and the Museum of Modern Art. He was the co-founder of New World Pictures, the founder of New Concorde and was a longtime member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2009, he was awarded an Academy Honorary Award "for his rich engendering of films and filmmakers". Corman was also famous for handling the U.S. distribution of many films by noted foreign directors, including Federico Fellini (Italy), Ingmar Bergman (Sweden), François Truffaut (France) and Akira Kurosawa (Japan). He mentored and gave a start to many young film directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Peter Bogdanovich, Joe Dante, John Sayles, and James Cameron, and was highly influential in the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He also helped to launch the careers of actors like Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, and William Shatner.

Acting credits

The Godfather Part II poster
8.6

In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

The Godfather Part II

1974

Apollo 13 poster
7.5

The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.

Apollo 13

1995

Looney Tunes: Back in Action poster
6.4

Fed up with all the attention going to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck quits Hollywood, teams up with recently-fired stuntman Damien Drake Jr. and embarks on a round-the-world adventure, along with Bugs and The VP of Warner Bros. Their mission? Find Damien's father, and the missing blue diamond... and stay one step ahead of The Acme Corp., who wants the diamond for their own purposes.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

2003

Scream 3 poster
6.0

As bodies begin dropping around the Hollywood set of STAB 3, the third film based on the gruesome Woodsboro killings, Sidney and other survivors are once again terrorized by another Ghostface killer.

Scream 3

2000

Philadelphia poster
7.7

Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

Philadelphia

1993

The Howling poster
6.6

After a bizarre and near fatal encounter with a serial killer, a newswoman is sent to a rehabilitation center whose inhabitants may not be what they seem.

The Howling

1981

The Silence of the Lambs poster
8.3

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

The Silence of the Lambs

1991

Rachel Getting Married poster
6.3

A young woman who has been in and out from rehab for the past 10 years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.

Rachel Getting Married

2008

The Manchurian Candidate poster
6.5

Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw, now a vice-presidential candidate, is the hero he remembers him being. As Marco's doubts deepen, Shaw's political power grows, and, when Marco finds a mysterious implant embedded in his back, the memory of what really happened begins to return.

The Manchurian Candidate

2004

Body Bags poster
6.2

A horror anthology containing three stories: a female college student working a graveyard shift is terrorized by a serial killer; a hair transplant goes horribly wrong; and a baseball player loses an eye and gets a new one from a recently executed murderer.

Body Bags

1993

Swing Shift poster
5.6

In 1941 America, Kay and her husband are happy enough until he enlists after Pearl Harbor. Against his wishes, she takes a job at the local aircraft plant where she meets Hazel, the singer from across the way. The two soon become firm friends and with the other girls become increasingly expert workers. As the war drags on, Kay finally dates her trumpet-playing foreman and life gets more complicated.

Swing Shift

1984

Memory: The Origins of Alien poster
6.4

The untold origin story behind Ridley Scott's Alien - rooted in Greek and Egyptian mythologies, underground comics, the art of Francis Bacon, and the dark visions of Dan O'Bannon and H.R. Giger. A contemplation on the symbiotic collaborative process of movie-making, the power of myth, and our collective unconscious.

Memory: The Origins of Alien

2019

Nightmares in Red, White and Blue poster
6.5

An exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.

Nightmares in Red, White and Blue

2009

Sharktopus poster
4.1

The U.S. Navy's special group "Blue Water" builds a half-shark, half-octopus for combat. But the sharktopus escapes and terrorizes the beaches of Puerto Vallarta.

Sharktopus

2010

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story poster
6.8

At 89 years old, Stan Lee's name appears on more than one BILLION comics in 75 countries in 25 languages. Arguably the most recognized name in comics, Stan Lee has co-created over 500 legendary pop culture characters including Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Iron Man, Thor and The Hulk. Stan continues to create new material and entertain fans of all ages with fantastic stories and characters in all areas of entertainment. With Great Power: the Stan Lee Story, explores the vivid life and imagination of Stan Lee, from the early days of his Depression-era upbringing through the Marvel Age of Comics and beyond! The film uncovers original transcripts, illustrations, photographs and stories of Lee's fascinating journey from his early years at Timely Comics and World War Two, the comic book industry's censorship battle of the 1950's led by Dr. Fredric Wertham, the dawn of Marvel Comics and the legendary characters Stan co-created, to his current company POW! Entertainment.

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

2010

Extraordinary Tales poster
6.5

Five tales by Edgar Allan Poe come to life thanks to a pictorical style animation, five tales that exude madness, pestilence, murder and torture.

Extraordinary Tales

2015

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood poster
7.1

The chronicle of the mind-blowing journey that was Hollywood during the seventies; the true and gripping story of the last golden age of American cinema, an exalted celebration of creativity and experimentation; but also of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll: a turbulent and dark tale of ambition, envy, betrayal, hatred and self-destruction.

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood

2003

Still Screaming: The Ultimate Scary Movie Retrospective poster
7.7

A year in the making, Still Screaming is the definitive documentary on the making of the iconic Scream movies. Dive into the fascinating success story of the classic trilogy with on-set footage and photos, and dozens of brand new interviews with cast and crew from all the films including Wes Craven, Neve Campbell, Liev Schreiber, Henry Winkler, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Parker Posey, Scott Foley and many others. Written and Directed by Ryan Turek and Produced by Anthony Masi.

Still Screaming: The Ultimate Scary Movie Retrospective

2011

The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault poster
NR

THE AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE VAULT is a 2-disc, 500-minute odyssey that collects eight feature-length VHS mixtapes from the crackpots at AGFA—including two that have only ever been available theatrically.

The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault

2020

No artwork available
8.0

illustrates how directors pushed boundaries and altered the art of filmmaking during the turbulent, swinging 1960s. Narrated by Woody Harrelson, "Reel Radicals" features clips from such seminal films as Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967); Mike Nichols' "The Graduate" (1967); Dennis Hopper's "Easy Rider" (1969); John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962); Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" (1964) and "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968); John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy" (1969); Richard Brooks' "Elmer Gantry" (1960) and "In Cold Blood" (1967); and Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night" (1967) and "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968). Frankenheimer, Jewison, Hopper, Schlesinger, Penn, Buck Henry, Paul Mazursky, Roger Corman and Arthur Hiller are among the filmmakers who discuss the decade.

Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film

2002

Cannonball poster
5.6

Coy "Cannonball" Buckman and his blazing red Pontiac enter the Trans-America Grand Prix, an underground road race spanning the continent in which there are no rules, no speed limits and no heed for the law. En route, Buckman jockeys with an international ensemble of racers for a $100,000 purse. But there are none more important than Cade Redman, his direct competition for a guaranteed spot on the elite Modern Motors racing team.

Cannonball

1976

Martin Scorsese, the Italian-American Master poster
8.1

Martin Scorsese is the unchallenged master of the cinematic quest for Italian-American identity. He has etched the cinematic image of the Sicilian mafiosi and the reality of America with incredible actors like DiCaprio and De Niro.

Martin Scorsese, the Italian-American Master

2024

A Decade Under the Influence poster
7.9

A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.

A Decade Under the Influence

2003

Dinoshark poster
4.2

A baby dinoshark evolves into a ferocious predatory adult, terrorising tourists and locals offshore from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Dinoshark

2010

Behind the camera

Death Race poster
6.3

Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event.

Death Race

2008

The Trip poster
5.8

After his wife leaves him, a disillusioned director dives into the drug scene, trying anything his friend suggests.

The Trip

1967

The Trip poster
5.8

After his wife leaves him, a disillusioned director dives into the drug scene, trying anything his friend suggests.

The Trip

1967

Big Bad Mama poster
5.7

Circumstances force a mother and her two daughters to get into bootlegging and bank robbing, and travel across the country pursued by the law.

Big Bad Mama

1974

Abduction poster
6.1

A man steps out of a park fountain in Ho Chi Minh City with no recollection of who he is or where he came from. As he wanders through the city, piecing together clues to his past, he is relentlessly pursued by mysterious figures.

Abduction

2019

Frankenstein Unbound poster
5.9

The ultimate weapon, claimed to be safe for mankind, produces global side-effects including time slides and disappearances. The scientist behind the project and his car are zapped from the year 2031 to 1817 in Switzerland where he meets Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and others.

Frankenstein Unbound

1990

Frankenstein Unbound poster
5.9

The ultimate weapon, claimed to be safe for mankind, produces global side-effects including time slides and disappearances. The scientist behind the project and his car are zapped from the year 2031 to 1817 in Switzerland where he meets Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and others.

Frankenstein Unbound

1990

Frankenstein Unbound poster
5.9

The ultimate weapon, claimed to be safe for mankind, produces global side-effects including time slides and disappearances. The scientist behind the project and his car are zapped from the year 2031 to 1817 in Switzerland where he meets Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and others.

Frankenstein Unbound

1990

The Little Shop of Horrors poster
6.3

Seymour works in a skid row florist shop and is in love with his beautiful co-worker, Audrey. He creates a new plant that not only talks but cannot survive without human flesh and blood.

The Little Shop of Horrors

1960

The Little Shop of Horrors poster
6.3

Seymour works in a skid row florist shop and is in love with his beautiful co-worker, Audrey. He creates a new plant that not only talks but cannot survive without human flesh and blood.

The Little Shop of Horrors

1960

The Little Shop of Horrors poster
6.3

Seymour works in a skid row florist shop and is in love with his beautiful co-worker, Audrey. He creates a new plant that not only talks but cannot survive without human flesh and blood.

The Little Shop of Horrors

1960

Galaxy of Terror poster
5.3

As a lone spaceship proceeds on its long voyage across space, the crew are surprised to encounter a strange pyramid form. Surprise turns to horror as one by one, they discover that their darkest nightmares are all starting to become real. The pyramid has to be behind it all somehow, but how can they save themselves from its influence?

Galaxy of Terror

1981

Shogun Assassin poster
6.9

A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.

Shogun Assassin

1980

The Masque of the Red Death poster
6.6

A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.

The Masque of the Red Death

1964

The Masque of the Red Death poster
6.6

A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.

The Masque of the Red Death

1964

The Haunted Palace poster
6.7

A man and his wife claim the mansion of his warlock ancestor burned alive in 1765.

The Haunted Palace

1963

The Haunted Palace poster
6.7

A man and his wife claim the mansion of his warlock ancestor burned alive in 1765.

The Haunted Palace

1963

Death Race 2050 poster
4.3

The year 2050 the planet has become overpopulated, to help control population the government develops a race. The Death Race. Annually competitors race across the country scoring points for killing people with their vehicles.

Death Race 2050

2017

The Pit and the Pendulum poster
6.8

In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.

The Pit and the Pendulum

1961

The Pit and the Pendulum poster
6.8

In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.

The Pit and the Pendulum

1961

Tales of Terror poster
6.7

Three stories adapted from the work of Edgar Allen Poe: 1) A man and his daughter are reunited, but the blame for the death of his wife hangs over them, unresolved. 2) A derelict challenges the local wine-tasting champion to a competition, but finds the man's attention to his wife worthy of more dramatic action. 3) A man dying and in great pain agrees to be hypnotized at the moment of death, with unexpected consequences.

Tales of Terror

1962

Tales of Terror poster
6.7

Three stories adapted from the work of Edgar Allen Poe: 1) A man and his daughter are reunited, but the blame for the death of his wife hangs over them, unresolved. 2) A derelict challenges the local wine-tasting champion to a competition, but finds the man's attention to his wife worthy of more dramatic action. 3) A man dying and in great pain agrees to be hypnotized at the moment of death, with unexpected consequences.

Tales of Terror

1962

Big Bad Mama II poster
4.8

Wilma McClatchie and her daughters return to a life of crime and vow vengeance against the evil land baron who foreclosed on their home.

Big Bad Mama II

1987

Forbidden World poster
5.3

In the distant future, a federation marshal arrives at a research lab on a remote planet where a genetic experiment has gotten loose and begins feeding on the dwindling scientific group.

Forbidden World

1982