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.
**** (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.