"They had a lot of good qualities. They fired you with enthusiasm, but they believed they owned you 365 days and nights of the year." -Barry Jenkins, Group Managing Director, the Cannon Group (UK) Ltd, talking about Golan-Globus

"Our only crime is that we love cinema. You don't see us at the Polo Lounge, on the tennis court or at parties. You see us at the office seven days a week." -Yoram Globus

More quotes: www.cannon.org.uk/quotes.htm

Lots more on the Grossman Festival (where Menahem Golan won a lifetime achievement award).

Some video @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScI6Up-e1h8

Yes, the site's not dead. Honest.

Apologies for the lack of updates (and stuff) and especially to those waiting on replies to emails.

I'll be reading (and answering!) all emails over the next week or so.

Hmmm.

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Posted: 28 January 2012

CANNON: THE MOVIE?

From Collinder.com

Well, very interesting reading! I've had dozens of emails from people saying they intended

to do something like this and it's great to see something really be made.

Distributor's site: http://drafthousefilms.com/film/electric-boogaloo

IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125501/

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Posted: 28 January 2012

CANNON 1970- A RECORD (LONG PLAYING TYPE)

I've found (and been sent -thanks!) some very strange Cannon stuff but I think this is the strangest:

 Click for larger

Yeah, a radio recording from 1970 with original Cannon helmers Dennis Friedland and Christopher Dewey on a 33RPM LP record. Not been able to hear it yet as I don't own a record player, alas. There's a transcript which I'll be scanning and uploading sometime.

Fascinating bit of history.

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CANNON'S FANDO

That's the first image I've seen of this old distribution from around 1969.

Fando y Lis (1968) @ IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061643/

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Posted: 29 January 2012

ELSEWHERE SOMEWHERE

And don't forget to have a read of Jeffrey Wells's That Cannon Stamp

Always a great read from a real Hollywood insider.

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Posted: 29 January 2012

More info @ http://en.grossmann.si

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-July 2011

With all the talk of the new Captain America, Pyun has released his 'Director Cut' of the original Cannon, Could Have Been and he's delved further into his past by releasing a Cyborg (1989) 'Director Cut' too. I don't know if his version of Captain America has anything to do with the MoD (manufactured on demand) version mentioned below from MGM in the USA -but there's supposed to be a Blu-ray -so I doubt it. It looks like he's picked up the rights for distribution outside the USA and even then very restricted distribution. I don't know, really.

Short interview with Pyun www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/GraphicCity/news/?a=40699

Albert Pyun www.pyun.com and what seems like a good independent blog http://pyuniverse.blogspot.com/

There's a new soundtrack CD release too of Cyborg (1989) www.howlinwolfrecords.com/storecyborg.html

Thanks to Johannes over at vandammefanz.com for the Cyborg (1989) heads up.

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-July 2011

WANTED: CAPTAIN AMERICA ARTICLE

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-July 2011

Some great images have been added to the Cinema Gallery -sincere thanks go to Andrew Woodyatt for allowing the site to reproduce his wonderful photographs. His Flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/sets/1113147 That image above is from Cannon's mainland Europe flagship cinema in Amsterdam. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of the cinema except on those placemats. Other additions are for Manchester and Stockport.

If you have a photograph of a Cannon cinema (or anything Cannon related)and would like to share it please get in touch:

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-July 2011

Cannon staff expressing themselves at the closure of their cinema in Newcastle upon Tyne

Thanks to Terry, the former cinema manager for the great photograph!

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CANNON CINEMAS -in the news

click for larger

This is a series of releases which are burned on computer AKA "Burned on Demand" or "Manufactured on Demand" (MOD) -not pressed retail discs as you'd normally get. A few interesting titles but from what I can gather the quality is not great.

Review of The Assisi Underground (1985)

www.thereviewspage.com/showreview.php?r_id=1185

Review of The Ambassador (1984) 

www.moviefreak.com/artman/publish/dvd_ambassador84.shtml

Very interesting to see Haunted Summer (1988) as that seems to have a lot of demand (I get questions about it often) so I would of imagined a 'real' DVD would have appeared. And it's nice to see the Cannon, Could Have Been, Captain America too!

www.amazon.com/mgmcollection

There's a press release here

...and in Italy, I see House of the Long Shadows (1983) has popped up too on DVD:

La Casa Dalle Lunghe Ombre

giusepperausa.it

Amazon www.amazon.it/dp/B0044JV1U6

Size: 590mm x 840mm. Not sure how that size of poster is described. -Update: Jörg tells me it's a "DIN A1".

Those are original posters I've bought and you can see many more in the site archive @ www.cannon.org.uk/posters.htm

If you have an original poster you'd like to donate to the site archive I'll add it with a thank you.

An interesting title because it was one of the last Cannon releases with "West Germany" -1990 is post reunification of course. More info on the 2 Germanys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germany

SPIDER-MAN: The Movie -CANNON, COULD HAVE BEEN

click image for YouTube video

Yes, thanks to former (he's been terminated) YouTube user EREZONE69 we now have a trailer for the aborted Cannon project -Spider-man! (that's my exclamation mark). Great promo and I'm sure there's a couple more around like this. There's a few on my YouTube of course.

Don't forget the Spider-Man page www.cannon.org.uk/spiderman.htm

Also featured on the promo reel:

Castaway

It Ate Cleveland (in MONSTERAMA®)

River of Death

Little Dorrit

Falklands: 100 Days

A Night of Love (released as Manifesto (1988) in most places)

A massive thank you to EREZONE69 for the promo and to Lionel for reminding me about it!

If you have any promos you'd like to share please get in touch:

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NITRO -CANNON, 1979

A real blast from the past from Cannon has been brought to my attention by one of the original producers -in a restored anniversary release on DVD www.americannitro.com

From the site:

It's always fascinating seeing old stuff like this.

Old Cannon poster:

Paragon USA VHS:

click for larger

Nice to see an official release now too as this has been heavily boot-legged.

American Nitro (1979) @ IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190238/

Thanks to Bill.

-July 2011

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I'll be answering my email in the next few days so if you're waiting on a reply look out!

Sorry, it can take a VERY long time to reply to email as I don't have the time. I have 68 emails to look at so give me a week to read and reply to 'em!

And thanks to Jack for the lovely bit of memorabilia and Mark S. Burger for more great archive material from the USA. If I've missed a thank you, it'll be coming once I read my emails.

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PROMO, AHOY!

click for larger

Yes, a Cannon promotional tankard for Polanski's Pirates (1986). Very strange. From Australia

I believe. Little video over at YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFTooEVfvPQ

Some more interesting promotional cards (kind thanks to Gus for these) for Cannon Screen Entertainment:

click for larger

I've never seen those before and I've put a UK VHS next to them to give you an idea of the dimensions. Very heavy cardboard and an exact copy of the VHS/Beta artwork as you can see.

Still smiling and looking great with it! A fab photograph.

Capone @ Ain't It Cool News has interviewed Menahem www.aintitcool.com/node/47497

Nothing really new there but it's always nice to get an update. There's mention of that Cannon retrospective and if anyone has an article they'd like posted on this site or linked to, LMK.

Thanks to Mark S. Burger for the heads up on this article!

FILM SOCIETY AT LINCOLN CENTER

That AICN interview reminds me to mention Golan-Globus's 2010 visit for a Q&A to the US as mentioned @

http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/cannon-films-presents-tough-guy-kitsch/Content?oid=1819414

2010 Los Angeles, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus     -Photo: Diary of a Lunatic Photographer

An excellent blog @ http://godlis.blogspot.com/2010/11/from-sublime-to-ridiculous-canon-films.html

More on the Q&A:

©2010 The Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com

If you have more info about that night or would like to post an article or images here

about it, please LMK.

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Thanks to Jérémie.

Thanks to Johannes over at vandammefanz.com for the images he sent. I'll add what I can on the next

JCVD Gallery update!

I'll be adding his sites URL over at Cannon Links too. If you have a link you think should be in there please let me know.

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NINJA UK

Menahem Golan's rare on DVD Enter The Ninja (1981) is getting a new release in the UK May 2011. Along with it we'll also get Sam Firstenberg's Revenge Of The Ninja (1983).

Distributed by Optimum. Revenge is already on DVD around the world.

Enter The Ninja (1981)

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1;-1&sku=48875

Revenge Of The Ninja (1983)

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1;-1&sku=49751

      Banned by the UK censor.

It'll be interesting to see what has been cut as these films have always been savagely censored and cut in the UK, removing anything to do with ninja killing implements and methology.

I note the BBFC say [about Enter] "Cuts required to two scenes of real animal cruelty (cock fighting) in accordance with BBFC Guidelines and policy" -this may mean they have indeed waived previous cuts to ninja weaponary.

The British Board of Censors weren't keen on Cannon's TTCM2 either banning it outright for

several years. The BBFC is a privately owned and run censor. They have pages covering these films:

Enter The Ninja (1981) www.bbfc.co.uk/BVF029511

Revenge Of The Ninja (1983) www.bbfc.co.uk/ATBVF021300

No mention of the cuts on those links as you have to search a bit harder here

If Optimum have given them the full (or fuller) versions I'm sure they'll be uncut as the BBFC have relaxed their rules somewhat on weapons as they seem to no longer believe people will copy what they see from ninjas and become ninjas themselves on the streets of the UK.

They are still banning films with pretend sexual violence of course (they recently made 49 cuts/alterations to A Serbian Film). A film I didn't like (because it was poor not violent). It may be crap but it deserves to be seen 'as is' so people will just have to import it. The BBFC seem to have promoted the film with their outdated views too.

www.optimumreleasing.com

I picked up the re-released Love Streams (1984) as distributed in France. Looks to be the same essentially as the previous release except this time there's no forced subtitles over the English language track and it's issued in a slim DVD case (the previous release was cardboard).

The distributor's site (like the previous Night and Day) has disappeared again www.cinemalta.com but the DVD is still around on eBay and Amazon. It features an excerpt from Cannon's I'm Almost Not Crazy of course so it's worth picking up.

The rights' distribution is handled by www.hollywoodclassics.com who hold quite a few Cannon titles.

I've finally uploaded all the Cannon posters I own www.cannon.org.uk/posters.htm

Mostly for UK and US cinemas but there's a handful from UK video rental stores too.

Not easy photographing and editing out the crap background of those but worthwhile I think.

Would have liked to have scanned them but you'd need a very large scanner for that.

You really only get a true idea of Cannon when you see all their promo artwork -good and bad- in one place like this gallery. Their promotional teams certainly knew how to get the most from their material at hand. Hopefully this gallery can be a bit of an archive.

If you'd like to send me a poster (ie a real one not an email image) I'll add it to that gallery with a thank you of course.

Thanks to Martin for the great photograph.

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Sadly this making of has been removed from YouTube at the behest of the copyright holder. I completely

understand they need to protect their property but there is no profit in my use and Google/YouTube

won't pay (I assume) so I see no harm in the video appearing and giving them some sort of promotion/advertising for their business. That particular clip is off a 20+ year old UK video cassette and there was no obvious copyright either (or I'd certainly not intentionally infringe it).

Cannon.org.uk is a site that is intended to support film-makers, producers and distributors. There's no money made here, there's nothing for sale and it's a fan-based project only.

I'm always happy to add copyright infomation and links to the source etc and I certainly never claim copyright on others' work.

Should anyone ever have concerns over copyright for anything on YouTube or this site contact me Contact Me

Cannon trailers www.youtube.com/user/CannonFilms