Stephanie Rothman Movies
Director Stephanie Rothman was the first female to be awarded the Director's Guild of America fellowship while she was studying in the University of Southern California Department of Cinema in the '60s. Upon graduating, Rothman began doing second unit work at AIP and New World Studios for Roger Corman on his low-budget exploitation films. Her first film, also an exploitation film, was It's a Bikini World (1966). It was not an auspicious entry into the world of commercial cinema. However, with her subsequent five films, her reputation as a stylish, politically conscious filmmaker began to grow. In her 1970 film, The Student Nurses, produced by Corman for his recently established New World studios and co-written by Rothman, differed from other exploitation films in several regards: it depicted women in leading roles, parodied the genre at every turn, and covered issues like rape and abortion. In the late '60s Rothman and her husband Charles Swartz founded Dimension Pictures. Her next film, The Velvet Vampire (1971), while not as commercially successful as The Student Nurses, has become a cult hit. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Rothman did not move into mainstream cinema. Her last picture was The Working Girls in 1974. It was also the last picture from Dimension Studios, which dissolved after it was released. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The stars have aligned in an ominous sign, and as a legion of malevolent monsters descends upon New York City to wage war against humanity, the only thing that stands between humankind and certain destruction are four wisecracking turtles with a flair for martial arts and a hearty appetite for pizza. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's "heroes in a half-shell" return to defend the world against an interstellar threat that comes just once every 3,000 years in a computer-animated action comedy that marked the final film role of Japanese screen legend Mako -- here providing the voice of the eternally wise Master Splinter. Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar lends her voice to the role of the turtles' technical-services worker, April; Fantastic Four's Chris Evans assumes the role of hockey-loving crimefighter Casey Jones; Memoirs of a Geisha star Zhang Ziyi steps in as villainous Foot Ninjas leader Karai; and Star Trek: The Next Generation captain Patrick Stewart voices malevolent tech industrialist Max Winters -- a mortal man whose hunger for profit and power may spell doom for all humanity. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar, (more)
A pair of naïve young girls learn that even the most insignificant actions can have lasting consequences in this music-driven take on teen culture starring Anne Hathaway and Bijou Phillips and directed by two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple. Influenced by the hip-hop thug lifestyle and seeking to explore life outside of their insulated, culturally homogenized suburb, pretty young teenagers Allison (Hathaway) and Emily (Phillips) set their sights on East L.A. to experience the "gangsta" lifestyle firsthand. By the time the pair meet some true-life Latino gang-bangers and realize just how far out of their element they really are, it may already be too late to turn back. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- R
Three mammarous carhops team up to save their fast-food drive-in from financial ruin in this low-budget exploitation outing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Buhrman, Sterling Frazier, (more)
- 1977
- R
Piper Laurie (the mother in the horror film Carrie) appears here as the mother of a deranged deaf-mute girl. The mom runs a drive-in theater which shows mostly horror films. The girl is deranged because she is possessed by the spirit of her long-dead dad, a gangster who was gunned down by the mob. The vengeful spirit uses his daughter to gain vengeance on his assassins, many of whom now work at the drive-in. One by one the mobsters bite the dust as the demonized little girl extracts revenge for her deceased daddy. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Piper Laurie, Stuart Whitman, (more)
- 1975
In this sexy comedy, three luscious women try to make an honest living in male-dominated LA. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- R
After female prisoners arrive at an island prison full of male convicts, they are brutalized and fight back in an attempt to set up a more democratic system. This exploitative drama includes performances of Tom Selleck and Roger E. Mosley of television's Magnum P.I. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- R
Victoria Vetri, who has also acted under the name of Ahna Capri, stars in Group Marriage. The plot is inherent in the title of this combination sex farce and social satire. Six affluent young couples decide to live together for economy's sake. They also decide to exchange mates now and then, just to remain up-to-date with contemporary mores. Soon, however, all 12 participants realize that monogamy has its charms, too. Featured in the cast of Group Marriage is the late, great Claudia Jennings, whose ample physical attributes are shown to excellent advantage. The film also stars comedian Milt Kamen, who evidently had a few extra bills to pay that week. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Diane (Celeste Yarnall), glamorous and wealthy denizen of nightclubs, lusted after by men and women, is a vampire. With the aid of dark glasses and wide-brimmed hats, she can venture out even in the daytime. She drains a horde of victims, including a biker, a mechanic and the mechanic's girlfriend, before she lures Lee (Michael Blodgett) and his wife Susan (Sherry Miles) to her mansion in the desert. Lee, who at first succumbs to her charms, panics when he finds the servant drained of blood, and tries to persuade Susan to leave with him. She is under the vampire's spell at the time, though, and refuses to leave. When Susan finds her husband's dry corpse, however, she does try to escape. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
The first in producer Roger Corman's quintet of "Nurse" movies, this exploitation outing, despite its meager $120,000 budget, is surprisingly good as it chronicles the romantic and professional travails of a group of nurses. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elaine Giftos, Karen Carlson, (more)
- 1967
In this beach romp, a surfin' lothario falls in love with a bikini-clad beauty, but she doesn't dig him until he dons glasses and poses as his bookish brother, Herbert. Music is provided by the Gentrys, the Toys, the Animals, and the Castaways. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Shot on a miniscule $50,000 budget, and including footage from a 1959 Russian film that was later purchased by Roger Corman, this science fiction feature finds a tiny planet slowly dying. With the inhabitants in danger of perishing, some kind-hearted astronauts bring a green-blooded female alien back to Earth. The extraterrestrial shows her gratitude by going wild for human blood in the fashion of a blood-sucking vampire. John Saxon, Basil Rathbone and Dennis Hopper are some of the actors sentenced by their vindictive agents to appear in this 1966 film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, (more)
- 1966
This low-budget vampire quickie is distinguished mainly by the presence of director Stephanie Rothman, who emerged from Roger Corman's New World Pictures (for whom she directed the exploitation classic The Student Nurses) to become an acclaimed feminist filmmaker. The piecework story incorporates footage shot by original director Jack Hill, combined with incongruent elements from a Yugoslavian supernatural thriller titled Operation Titian which Corman obtained for a song, tied loosely together by new vampire material shot by Rothman. This may partially explain why the ancient Slavic vampire featured in the film decides to possess the body of a cheesecake photographer in California, who then murders his models in the name of Art. As one might imagine, this is pretty difficult to follow, but there are some good performances -- particularly from William Campbell as the haunted shutterbug -- and some fairly suspenseful scenes. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
