Robert Forster - Narrator
John Landis - Himself
Allison Anders - Herself
Elijah Drenner (Director)
I love movies about movies. American Grindhouse is a documentary about a classification of movies known as Grindhouse or Exploitation films. When I think of an Exploitation flick I usually harp back to the gritty movies of the 70's. Movies with titles like "Caged Heat", "Blackula", "Hell is for Children" and "The One Arm Swordsman". Exploitation movies generally were made with little to no budget. They were largely directed, produced and written by independent film makers in a time when "indy films" meant something. It meant you were on your own. There was no one to market your movie. There was no Harvey Wienstien or Miramax to distribute your picture. If you were and independent film maker you went out on the road and played you movie at every screen, theater, picnic and side of a barn that would let you.
An Exploitation movie was a movie that had something to exploit. Women, African Americans, Teens, etc. The films were made fast and cheap. They were made outside of the studio system and shown in smaller, cheaper theaters. This way they could completely avoid censorship boards like the MPAA. Therefore they could show nudity, gore, sex, violence, you name it. They more taboo the better.
The term "Grindhouse" has duel meanings. The first meaning comes from the theaters that would show exploitation films. These theaters would run a film for a weekend then put a new movie in the next weekend. These films (and film makers) would travel from town to town. Because of the theaters high turnover they really cranked out the movies. Cranked out....Grinded them out....Grindhouse. The second meaning comes from the content of the movies. Like I said, they were not afraid to show nudity or even sex. Where in a burlesque show you might get a lap dance (grinding) "Grindhouse" referred to a theater where naked women could be seen. Often time the actresses were active burlesque dancers.
I could have told you all this before seeing American Grindhouse. I am in no way an expert on these films, but I have seen quite a few of them and the history of American Cinema has been an interest of mine for some time. Along with all its ugly spots. The documentary is basically a collection of talking heads that were either directed related to the Grindhouse movement, or film historians in some sense. I particularly enjoyed listening to John Landis talk about Grindhouse films. He is knowledgeable on the subject and he has razor sharp wit. Robert Forster was a good narrator. He of course stared opposite of Pam Grier in QT's Jackie Brown. A film that owes a lot to Grindhouse cinema.
In the 90's and 00's there was a small Grindhouse revival. Quentin Tarintino and Robert Rodriguez teamed up for a double feature called Grindhouse. RR directed the campy yet redux of grindhouse cinema called Planet Terror. QT however I feel created a true Grindhouse picture with Death Proof. An homage to slasher flicks and mussel car pictures. I think that Death Proof could have played right next to any of that era's movies without notice.
All in all the documentary was serviceable. I was able to add a few movies to my Netflix queue that the movie talked about. I was surprised at how many of the films I had seen. The doc also went deeper into the history of indy film than I knew about. If any of these topics hold any interest to you, then I would recommend American Grindhouse. I give the flick ★★★. I watched this movie that is in select theaters now on Netflix Watch Instant. Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.
