PodBill Just what I expected

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

gavin6942 Gory, Gory, Hallelujah! Take an outrageous ride through the wild world of exploitation films with this often-hilarious documentary.While this film does not cover the entire breadth of H. G. Lewis' life (it doesn't say much about his life before or after his movie heyday), it does cover a wide range of his best-known movies, from the "nudie cuties" to the gore films. We have Dave Friedman, Ray Sager, and plenty of fried chicken.Perhaps one of the most interesting parts is the inclusion of "Eye For an Eye", which actually looks like it may have been his best work. Will we ever see it released, even if it has to be severely edited and perhaps have a score added? I hope so.

Woodyanders This zippy and engrossing documentary covers the controversial career of trailblazing indie horror gore guru Herschell Gordon Lewis. Among the subjects covered are how Lewis started out as a school teacher and working in advertising, making nudie cuties, his partnership with the always folksy and rambunctious David F. Friedman, launching the splatter craze with "Blood Feast," Florida exploitation staple Bill Kerwin, the hopelessly wooden "acting" of Playboy Playmate Connie Mason, doing hired hack directorial assignments in the mid to late 1960's, putting plugs for fried chicken in his movies, and Lewis' well-deserved status as both a cult icon and brazen cinematic pioneer. Besides Lewis, who comes across as quite a modest and engaging fellow, we also get fun and illuminating interviews with drive-in cinema critic Joe Bob Briggs and Los Angeles times film critic Kevin Thomas, actors Mal Arnold, Jerome Eden, Ray Sagar, and Vincent Santo, noted adult photographer Bunny Yeager, trash flick historian Frank Henenlotter (who also co-directed), cinematographers Andy Romanoff and Steven Poster, and the ubiquitous John Waters. Loaded with a wealth of choice clips, outtakes, and behind-the-scenes footage, it's absolutely essential viewing for Herschell Gordon Lewis aficionados.

Michael_Elliott Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore (2010) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Very good documentary from director Frank Henenlotter (BASKET CASE) taking a look at the career of cult filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis. Even though the title draws attention to his horror films, the documentary covers his entire career, which includes nudies, educational shorts and just about any genre that was going against what Hollywood was making. Outside the first fifteen-minutes or so, this here is an incredibly entertaining and very funny documentary. I say it starts off somewhat weak simply because the exploitation genre has already had several documentaries done on it so nothing here is all that fresh or original. The film really picks up when we hit the nudie pictures but especially the horror movies. We get all sorts of interesting tidbits on BLOOD FEAST, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS and COLOR ME BLOOD RED including some cast members being interviewed. We also get to hear from the L.A. Times film critic who went into BLOOD FEAST not really knowing what to expect. As a fan of these films, it's was really fun getting to see all the outtakes as well as getting new interviews with some of the cast members. The documentary also does a nice job taking a look at what the director was doing after these films. The director himself is interviewed about the films as is David F. Friedman, Henenlotter, Jerome Eden, John Waters, Mal Arnold, Bunny Yeager and Joe Bob Briggs. Fans of exploitation and the director will certainly want to check this one out.

alanmora This film is truly one of the best documentaries I have ever seen! Not only does it give you the history of Herschell Gordon Lewis and his wide range of films but it also gives you a history of a form of film making that is basically a lost art today. Several sub generes of the exploitation film industry (which in itself is a dead art today)are covered when you talk about Lewis and his films including the "Nudie Cutie" films of the early 60's, The Biker Films, The "Roughies", and yes the film style Mr. Lewis invented with his 1962 classic "Blood Feast"...the "Gore" film! Between the film itself and the over 60 minutes worth of 'deleted' scenes included on the DVD version (which by themselves can be considered a separate movie)every single one of Mr. Lewis over 37 films are covered (save his latter efforts "Blood Feast 2" and "The Uh Oh Show"). There is even footage from rare Lewis films such as the never completed "Eye for an Eye" and "The Magical Land of Mother Goose". The film makers even go so far as to recreate footage from an "Eye for an Eye" by remastering it and adding a soundtrack so that Lewis enthusiasts can finally see, at least part of, this never before seen Lewis film. Many different Lewis alumni are interviewed for this film and there are some terrific segments featuring Lewis and his partner for many of his films, the great exploitationeer David F Friedman. In one of these scenes, the film makers completely recreate the town of "Pleasant Valley" from Lewis' notorious gore epic "2000 Maniacs". To top it all off the film is directed and produced by one of the greatest exploitation film makers in history...Frank Henenlotter ("Basket Case") and includes interviews with John Waters, both of whom were influenced to begin their careers by the work of Herschell Gordon Lewis. An excellent piece of work, well worth repeated viewings but you really have to have an appreciation and previous knowledge of Lewis' work to fully appreciate it!