The Cannon film studio, run by Israelian cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, is synonymous with the eighties – a time of superficial excess and bravado, rampant consumerism and neoliberalism. President Ronald Reagan like none other symbolises the political zeitgeist and Cannon Films almost seems to be the official propaganda service of the White House, with All American Heroes like Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson and Sylvester Stallone defending the Free World from the communist “Evil Empire”. Cannon also stood for a production model in which outright pulp films got blown up to blockbuster proportions. Ninjas, bodybuilders and bazookas take over the cinema screens, and JCVD gets moulded into a Hollywood film star. The bravado of the two Cannon directors had such a great impact on film production and marketing that its influence is still noticable in today’s film industry. Neatly divided between Cinema Nova and Cinematek, no less than 21 Cannon productions – the good, the bad and the worst of their colossal filmography – appeal to the ultimate “guilty pleasure” gut feeling.
Note that Tobe Hooper’s "Lifeforce" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" are also Cannon productions!