Cannon Films’ 1986 Promo Reel Is a Time Capsule of Pure Movie Awesomeness

Although it was originally founded in 1967 to release English-dubbed Swedish porn films, Cannon Films came into its own in 1979 when it was sold to Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. Throughout the ’80s, Cannon Films became synonymous with “B”-grade action movies like Chuck Norris’ Invasion U.S.A. (1985) and helped usher in the “ninja craze” that swept America in the early-to-mid ’80s with Enter the Ninja (1981) and Ninja III: The Domination (1984).

Cannon also capitalized on breakdancing’s popularity with 1984’s Breakin’ and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, made forays into superhero films with Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), and worked with stars like Jackie Chan (1987’s The Armour of God) and Sylvester Stallone (1986’s Cobra). Basically, if you were a kid in the ’80s and you saw a film at the video rental store that looked awesome, Cannon Films probably had a hand in it.

The company, which shut down in 1994 after several big flops, lawsuits, and bankruptcy, was famous for their promotional efforts — something that’s immediately clear with this promo reel for 1986’s American Film Market. It’s nothing but 100% pure hype, boasting “major filmmakers, major stars, major motion pictures,” and features such films as Over the Top, Superman IV, Masters of the Universe, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.

Several of the films mentioned (e.g., La Brava, Spider-Man, Citizen Joe, It Ate Cleveland) never actually got made, while others (e.g., Housekeeping, Captain America) were ultimately produced by other companies, sometimes with different cast and crew. In any case, this promo reel makes them all look like 1986’s hottest titles using little more than a few stills, killer music, and some awesome narration from the likes of Peter Cullen and Don LaFontaine.