Menahem Golan
Encyclopedia
Menahem Golan is an Israel
i director
and producer
. He has produced movies for such stars as Sean Connery
, Sylvester Stallone
, Chuck Norris
, Jean-Claude Van Damme
, and Charles Bronson
, and was known for a period as a producer of comic book-style movies like Masters of the Universe
, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
, Captain America, and his aborted attempt to bring Spider-Man
to the silver screen. Using the pen name of Joseph Goldman, Golan has also written and "polished" film scripts. He was co-owner of Golan-Globus
with his cousin Yoram Globus
.
Golan produced about 200 films, directed 44, won 8 times the Violin David Awards and The Israel Prize in Cinema.
and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
, and filmmaking at New York University
. During the Israeli War of Independence he served as a pilot in the Israeli Air Force
. Golan is married and has three children.
in Tel Aviv
. After completing his studies in theater direction, he staged plays in Israel. He gained experience as a filmmaker by working as an assistant to Roger Corman
.
As a director, Golan is probably most known for his 1977 film Operation Thunderbolt (Mivtsa Yonatan), about the Israeli raid on Entebbe airport
in Uganda. He also produced the 1978 film Eskimo Limon
(Lemon Popsicle), spawning many sequels and an American remake named The Last American Virgin
.
In 1979, he did an adaptation of an Isaac Bashevis Singer
novel entitled The Magician of Lublin
. Golan was responsible for the 1980 musical The Apple, an unusual moral fable with a rock-disco soundtrack which appears on a number of lists of all-time-worst movies, but has developed a following as a cult film
.
Golan's production company The Cannon Group produced a long line of movies during the 1980s and early 1990s, such as Delta Force
, Runaway Train
, and some of the Death Wish
sequels. In 1986, Cannon was taken over by Pathe Communications. Golan produced several comic book
-style movies in the latter half of the 1980s, perhaps most notably Masters of the Universe
, based on the toys of the same name and inspired by the comics work of Jack Kirby
. In 1987, Cannon gained infamy after their U.K.-based production of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
failed in theaters and provoked a negative backlash from fans. In 1989 Golan resigned from Cannon, and by 1993 it had folded. Immediately following Cannon's collapse, Golan became head of 21st Century Film Corporation
and produced several medium-budget films.
Golan was hoping to film Spider-Man
in 1986 at Cannon studios in United Kingdom
, and shoot the exteriors in Tel-Aviv, Israel. Dolph Lundgren
was envisioned as the Green Goblin
and Spider-Man creator Stan Lee
was approached to cameo as J. Jonah Jameson
. Golan struggled for years to produce the Marvel Comics
character, but failed after 21st Century Film Corporation went bankrupt and folded in 1996 (along with Carolco Pictures
, another production company that had agreed to help Golan finance the film). Sony Pictures eventually got the Spider-Man rights and produced the first film in 2002. In 2002 he released his adaptation of Crime and Punishment
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He has produced movies for such stars as Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
, Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
, Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
, and Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
, and was known for a period as a producer of comic book-style movies like Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe (film)
Masters of the Universe is a 1987 science-fiction fantasy film based on the toy line by the same name. The movie stars Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor...
, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is a 1987 superhero film directed by Sidney J. Furie. It is the fourth film in the Superman film series and the last installment to star Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel. It is the first film in the series not to be produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, but...
, Captain America, and his aborted attempt to bring Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
to the silver screen. Using the pen name of Joseph Goldman, Golan has also written and "polished" film scripts. He was co-owner of Golan-Globus
Golan-Globus
The Cannon Group Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced a distinctive line of low-to-medium budget films from 1967 to 1993...
with his cousin Yoram Globus
Yoram Globus
Yoram Globus Yoram Globus Yoram Globus (born 21 October 1941 in Tiberias, Israel, is an Israeli director and producer who is most famous for his association with Cannon Films Inc., a company he ran with his cousin Menahem Golan....
.
Golan produced about 200 films, directed 44, won 8 times the Violin David Awards and The Israel Prize in Cinema.
Biography
Menahem Golan (Globus) was born on May 31, 1929, in Tiberias, then Mandate Palestine. He studied directing at the Old Vic SchoolBristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Laurence Olivier in 1946, is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organisation securing the highest standards of training in the performing arts, and is an associate school of the Faculty of Creative Arts of the University of the...
and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
, and filmmaking at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. During the Israeli War of Independence he served as a pilot in the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
. Golan is married and has three children.
Directing and film career
Golan started out as an apprentice at Habima TheaterHabima Theater
The Habima Theatre , is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv.-History:...
in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. After completing his studies in theater direction, he staged plays in Israel. He gained experience as a filmmaker by working as an assistant to Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
.
As a director, Golan is probably most known for his 1977 film Operation Thunderbolt (Mivtsa Yonatan), about the Israeli raid on Entebbe airport
Operation Entebbe
Operation Entebbe was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Special Forces of the Israel Defense Forces at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976. A week earlier, on 27 June, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and...
in Uganda. He also produced the 1978 film Eskimo Limon
Eskimo Limon
Eskimo Limon is a 1978 Israeli cult film directed by Boaz Davidson which led to a series of sequels.- Original film :Eskimo Limon was first released on February 11, 1978, starring Yftach Katzur , Jonathan Sagall , Zachi Noy and Anat Atzmon...
(Lemon Popsicle), spawning many sequels and an American remake named The Last American Virgin
The Last American Virgin
The Last American Virgin is a 1982 American coming-of-age film, a remake of the Israeli film Eskimo Limon .After the success of the original and several sequels, writer/director Boaz Davidson re-teamed with producers Golan-Globus to attempt to re-create the same success in the United States....
.
In 1979, he did an adaptation of an Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer – July 24, 1991) was a Polish Jewish American author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978...
novel entitled The Magician of Lublin
The Magician of Lublin (film)
The Magician of Lublin is a 1979 film co-written and directed by Menahem Golan. The film is based on The Magician of Lublin by Isaac Bashevis Singer. The title song The Magician was performed by Kate Bush.-Plot:...
. Golan was responsible for the 1980 musical The Apple, an unusual moral fable with a rock-disco soundtrack which appears on a number of lists of all-time-worst movies, but has developed a following as a cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
.
Golan's production company The Cannon Group produced a long line of movies during the 1980s and early 1990s, such as Delta Force
The Delta Force (film)
The Delta Force is a 1986 American action film starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin as leaders of an elite squad of Special Forces troops based on the real life U.S. Army Delta Force unit. It was directed by Menahem Golan and featured Martin Balsam, Joey Bishop, Robert Vaughn, Steve James, Robert...
, Runaway Train
Runaway Train (film)
Runaway Train is a 1985 film about two escaped convicts and a female train worker who are stuck on a runaway train as it barrels through snowy desolate Alaska. It stars Jon Voight as Oscar "Manny" Manheim, Eric Roberts as Buck, John P. Ryan as Associate Warden Ranken and Rebecca De Mornay as Sara...
, and some of the Death Wish
Death Wish (film)
Death Wish is a 1974 crime thriller film loosely based on the novel Death Wish by Brian Garfield. The film was directed by Michael Winner and stars Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, a man who becomes a vigilante after his wife is murdered and his daughter is sexually assaulted by muggers.The film was...
sequels. In 1986, Cannon was taken over by Pathe Communications. Golan produced several comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
-style movies in the latter half of the 1980s, perhaps most notably Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe (film)
Masters of the Universe is a 1987 science-fiction fantasy film based on the toy line by the same name. The movie stars Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor...
, based on the toys of the same name and inspired by the comics work of Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
. In 1987, Cannon gained infamy after their U.K.-based production of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is a 1987 superhero film directed by Sidney J. Furie. It is the fourth film in the Superman film series and the last installment to star Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel. It is the first film in the series not to be produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, but...
failed in theaters and provoked a negative backlash from fans. In 1989 Golan resigned from Cannon, and by 1993 it had folded. Immediately following Cannon's collapse, Golan became head of 21st Century Film Corporation
21st Century Film Corporation
Not to be confused with 20th Century Fox Film Corporation21st Century Film Corporation was a small-scale theatrical distribution company formed sometime in the early 1970s as a production company and distributor.-History:...
and produced several medium-budget films.
Golan was hoping to film Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
in 1986 at Cannon studios in United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and shoot the exteriors in Tel-Aviv, Israel. Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, director, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the movie action hero stereotype including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.A graduate in chemical...
was envisioned as the Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
and Spider-Man creator Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
was approached to cameo as J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...
. Golan struggled for years to produce the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character, but failed after 21st Century Film Corporation went bankrupt and folded in 1996 (along with Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures
Carolco Pictures, Inc., Carolco International N.V., or Anabasis Investments was an American independent film production company that, within a decade, went from producing such blockbuster successes as Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the first three movies of the Rambo series to being bankrupted by...
, another production company that had agreed to help Golan finance the film). Sony Pictures eventually got the Spider-Man rights and produced the first film in 2002. In 2002 he released his adaptation of Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment (2002 film)
Crime and Punishment is a 2002 film adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel of the same name. The film starred Crispin Glover and Vanessa Redgrave and was directed by Menahem Golan.-Plot:...
.
Awards and commemoration
- In 1999, Golan was awarded the Israel PrizeIsrael PrizeThe Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
for his contribution to cinema. - * In 1994 Golan was awarded the Ophir Prize of the Israeli Film Academy for his Lifetime Achievement.
- The movie theater in the Azrieli buildingAzrieli CenterAzrieli Center is a complex of skyscrapers in Tel Aviv. At the base of the center lies a large shopping mall. The center was originally designed by Israeli-American architect Eli Attia, and after he fell out with the developer of the center David Azrieli , completion of the design was passed on to...
in Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
bore the name of the Golan-GlobusGolan-GlobusThe Cannon Group Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced a distinctive line of low-to-medium budget films from 1967 to 1993...
company. It was closed in 2008.
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients