We’re big fans of Cannon Films here at JoBlo and Arrow in the Head, specifically of the 1979 to 1993 era during which the company was being run by producers Menachem Golan and Yoram Globus. This year’s 38th Jerusalem Film Festival will be hosting a tribute to Cannon Films, Golan, and Globus and have curated a selection of films with the aid of Quentin Tarantino.
Eight Cannon Films will be presented in 35mm at the festival, and on August 26th Tarantino will be leading a panel discussion about the history of the company ahead of screenings of The Ambassador and a double feature of Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects and The Naked Cage. Other Cannon Films screening at the festival include The Delta Force, Death Wish 4, and 10 to Midnight.
Festival director Dr. Noa Regev and artistic director Elad Samorzik had this to say about the tribute:
We are certain Mr. Tarantino will offer interesting and fascinating insights into the unique characteristics of Cannon Films, their groundbreaking production methods, and the new opportunities they created for young filmmakers at the beginning of the 1980s.”
In addition to the films mentioned above, other classics released by Cannon Films during the Golan and Globus era include the American Ninja films, Death Wish 2 and 3, Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, Ninja III: The Domination, the Missing in Action trilogy, The Last American Virgin, Avenging Force, Breakin’ and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, Exterminator 2, Invasion U.S.A., The Company of Wolves, Runaway Train, Cobra, Over the Top, Masters of the Universe (well, some of us consider it to be a classic), Bloodsport, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, among others.
I watched many of those movies over and over when I was a little kid, so I’ve been very glad to see the amount of love and appreciation that has been directed toward Cannon Films in recent years.
The 38th Jerusalem Film Festival will run from August 24th to September 4th, screening 200 films from 50 countries.