Most movie-goers arent familiar with Albert Pyun, and many of those who are consider him to be a hack and a laughingstock. The guy who churned out multiple movies in a single weekend, had a fetish for Cyberpunk aesthetics and female bodybuilders, and spent his entire career making straight-to-video movies ranging from mediocre to outright disastrous.
Many of those things are true, but Pyun was no laughingstock; he was an inspiration. He was someone who kept making movies long after most would have thrown in the towel, simply because he loved making movies. In spite of failure after failure, a complete lack of budget, and no hope of making significant money or breaking through in the industry, he just kept chugging along and doing his thing. He just kept making movies. He absolutely loved cinema and the process of making movies, and he never seemed to so much as consider quitting or giving it up. It was just who and what he was; he was a film-maker.
There is something very inspirational about a person ignoring any and all critiques, overlooking numerous past failures and scarce future opportunities, suffering failure after failure... and just continuing to do what they love, critics and failures be damned. That was Pyun. He had a very brief brush with mainstream success with Jean-Claude VanDamme's "Cyborg" (although even that was drastically changed by the studio), but it soon became apparent that it wasnt meant to be, and that he would never belong to the mainstream of the movie-making world. And yet he persevered, building his own little cinematic world (comprised of 44 movies!) and following his own unique, bizarre vision.
This book briefly chronicles his entire filmography, with a short breakdown of each movie and what was taking place behind the scenes. From his greatest success (Cyborg, Nemesis) to his greatest failures (Captain America, pretty much everything in the last third of his career), he never abandoned hope or changed his style or compromised. If you are interested in the process of making movies, independent film-making, B movies, etc, then there is a lot to love here. If you are a Pyun fan (surely there are more out there), this is a must-have. I was already a fan of Pyun, in spite of his movies' many and massive flaws. But reading about his struggles, obstacles, and ultimate perseverance, I was inspired and motivated. Here is a chronicle of someone who was determined to keep doing what he loved, no matter how many times he failed or how many obstacles were placed in his path. That, to me, is beautiful and inspirational.
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2023
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Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2019
Top reviews from other countries
Michael Wood
An entertaining and inspiring look into the career of a tireless filmmaking maverick.
Reviewed in Canada on October 8, 2020
Michael Wood
Reviewed in Canada on October 8, 2020
Anyone who grew up heavily entrenched in the VHS to early-DVD era has probably seen a handful of Pyun’s films without even realizing it. His inadherence to any particular genre (or Hollywood scheduling/budgeting standards) meant that his oeuvre may be unfairly remembered by most for its quantity over quality. But, behind that quantity of output lies the story of a big-hearted maverick determined to keep making movies despite setback after setback, and forming positive relationships with cast and crew over the years who would continue to show up for Albert time and again. Several of his most-frequent collaborators are interviewed here, and all have such respect for Albert’s kindness and work-ethic, even if they knew they weren’t making anything close to Oscar gold.
Decloux chronicles Albert Pyun’s entire filmography in a series of short chapters - one per film - and refreshingly doesn’t just heap-on praise throughout, but pulls no punches in terms of describing things that didn’t quite work and the behind-the-scenes reasons as to why. He'll even get into the distribution of each film, its DVD release (if at all), commentaries, and other ephemera beyond a usual filmography book. This was my favourite career-spanning book since Vern’s “Seagalogy”. If you’re already a fan of Pyun's films, this book will flesh out the highs and lows of his phenomenally interesting career even further. If you’re not yet a fan, this book may make you want to check out more of the work of Albert Pyun, the "little engine that could” of the film industry.
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Adam Bishop
An amazing book written by famed Canadian film maker (Impossible Horror, Teddy Bomb) Justin Decloux.
Reviewed in Canada on August 24, 2019
Adam Bishop
Reviewed in Canada on August 24, 2019
This 175+ page book contains over 40 reviews, movie bios, and full black and white photos. As well as an interview with composer/sound designer Tony Riparetti.
If you're a fan of The Sword and the Sorcerer, Cyborg, or Cannon's Captain America then your very existence has not yet been fulfilled until you have this book in your possession.
At the end of the day I can only give this book 5 out of 5 stars but I truly give it 9 out of 10 Will Sloan impressions.
Justin Decloux, the author, also has directed Impossible Horror, and Teddy Bomb, both available on Bluray/DVD. Also be sure to listen to Justin Decloux and his very own hetero life-mate Will Sloan on the Important Cinema Club podcast as well as other podcasts they host.
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yckmd_
A Comprehensive and Encyclopedic Compendium of all things Pyun.
Reviewed in Canada on July 29, 2019
yckmd_
Reviewed in Canada on July 29, 2019
It strikes a wonderful balance between being informative (we learn exactly how driven a filmmaker Pyun was from day 1,) conversational (Justin is knowledgeable and personable which ensures a breezy, entertaining read) and opinionated (Justin lets you know the straight-dope on whether a Pyun joint is worth your time or not.)
Overall... it's GREAT!
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