We really started this blog back in September of 2017 on a whim. There was no expectation that we'd do anything after a couple of episodes of Cannon Cruisers but get bored and move on to something else. It is what tends to happens, after all. Nonetheless, we're still here and still making episodes after half a decade! Even now it's kind of hard to believe Cannon Cruisers is still going. It's been quite a run so far, and neither of us expected to get this far.
When Cannon Cruisers started, there wasn't much discussion online about Cannon Films as we thought there should be. You can check back around 2017 and see for yourself how barren the topic was for discussion. That is one of the advantages of internet discussion, after all. Things have changed in such a short time. Five years, apparently, makes a very big difference. Now there are entire books about Cannon Films, the company's classics (and not-so classics) are being re-released by the likes of Kino Lorber, Vinegar Syndrome, and Shout Factory, almost all the time, and there are many other podcasts and series discussing the company.
As I said, this is quite the turnaround in such a short time.
None of this was really going on back then, which should be a sign of how much things have changed, and how the cinematic landscape and the perception around the 1980s and 1990s era of filmmaking has altered. What was once seen as an ironic joke at best, has now become accepted reality. I've always maintained the true Golden Age of b-movies (and the silver age of film in general) was the mid-1970s though mid-1990s, and I hope if Cannon Cruisers has done anything, it is make a case for that being obviously true. We have covered somewhere around 250 films since we've started, not all great, not all bad, but all that highlight the era as something far different than the one we live in today and with an identity all of its own. This time period has much to offer viewers even today, a quarter of a century removed from the last new Cannon product put out on a video store shelf. Not bad for what was once since as a long running joke by Gen X hipsters!
There is a spark and spirit here that we couldn't quite understand or miss until enough time had passed and we looked into it ourselves. Now it is undeniable.
As an aside, I have the second volume of the Cannon Film Guide, but haven't bothered to do a review since there is little reason to. If you've seen my review of volume 1, it is still relevant for volume 2. There is is just more book this time to cover more films. After this release, there is only one more volume left, to cover Cannon's final films into the 1990s, and I highly recommend this series as the best source on a company that is finally getting its due. The books are not padded, either, there is simply that much information about this era that has never been properly explored before. As I said, the landscape has changed a lot over the last five years, and I couldn't be happier about it. This is explicitly the opposite of how we used to think of this period. It isn't quite so disposable, after all. Turns out we've missed quite a bit.
We're now about to go into 2023, and on the road to finishing up our eighth (!) season. There isn't much left on the Cannon front to cover after that. We're planning on wrapping up this season in a big way, and then, after that, who knows. We'll probably wind it down to periodic episodes or something of the like. Nonetheless, I think 2022 was the last year of weekly Cannon Cruisers episodes. 2023 will be when we finish off this last full season and move on. There just isn't much more material to sustain us keeping our weekly schedule, even one we haven't really deviated on since near the beginning of the series. Considering how much Cannon we've covered, I'm sure you understand.
All of that aside, I just want to repeat how thankful we are that we're still going, and that you're still listening! It's been a long road, with many episodes, on a subject we knew would be interesting but we're sure anyone wanted to join us on. Since we've started, we've definitely grown in our appreciation of both Cannon Films and the art of film in general, finding both new favorites and greater understanding of the ones we liked in the first place. It's been a ride. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to do this at all!
Even though the last few years were rough for everybody, and it looks like that might continue a bit longer, at least we still have entertainment and art to take us to that higher level above the mundanity and the down times closing in. There is always something to aim for, and even the fun and the silly movies can help remind us of that. Who knows what tomorrow holds, but at least we can make it there in the first place. Art is truly a gift.
Thank you again for five years! Please stick with us until the end. We've still got a few more tricks up our sleeve before we wrap it up! Just wait until you see what we've got coming down the pipeline. We came in swinging, and we're going to go out the same way! Not too dissimilar from Cannon Films themselves, actually.
Have a happy New Year and wonderful Christmas season! See you in 2023!
