Menahem golan

Born on May 31, the fateful year of 1929, in Tiberias, which is now part of Israel,  Menahem Golan studied theater directing at the Old Vic School and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, in the British capital, and later enrolled in film. at New York University.

After serving in the Israeli army as a helicopter pilot during the 1948 war, he premiered several plays on stages in his country, and worked as an assistant to director Roger Corman . He made his debut as a filmmaker with El dorado (1963) , a drama at the service of Topol. He achieved great success as a director in Israel with Operation Lightning , from 1977, a reconstruction of the true story of the hijacking of a French plane, where several Jews were taken hostage. After the success of the comedy Lemon Polo , he made the leap to Hollywood.

Once in the mecca of cinema, he acquired with his cousin, Yoram Globus, for half a million dollars, the production company Canon Group, with which they launched to produce low-budget films. They found the formula for success when they financed I am Justice , the second part of El justiciero de la ciudad , again with Charles Bronson , a film so profitable that it became the model to follow.

From that moment, Golan and Globus almost specialized in action without much expense, nor too much quality. They launched Chuck Norris to fame  in titles such as Delta Force , directed by Golan himself, and the deadpan Michael Dudikoff , with the saga beginning with The American Warrior . These titles barely had an impact in the cinemas, but they were all the rage in the first video stores, where they found their audience. Also noteworthy is I, the Falcon , where Golan directed Sylvester Stallone. “If you make a movie in Hollywood that has a beginning, middle and end, for less than five million dollars, you have to be an idiot to lose money,” is the producer’s most remembered phrase.

But Golan and Globus also had artistic ambitions, so at the same time, they launched themselves to carry out quality projects, such as The Train to Hell , by the prestigious Andrei Konchalovsky , nominated for three Oscars. They also supported Corrientes de amor , by John Cassavettes , Otello (1986) , starring Plácido Domingo, Barfly , by Barbet Schroeder , which had a highly autobiographical script by Charles Bukowski himself , and the unclassifiable King Lear (1987) , by Jean -Luc Godard .

After several failed investments such as the purchase of the record label and electronic consumables company Thorn Emi, the financial problems of the Canon Group began. This caused the budget of Superman IV, in search of peace , which was going to be a blockbuster, to be cut in half, in full filming, which led to a huge box office failure, ending the saga starring Christopher Reeve .

Productions like Masters of the Universe , with Dolph Lundgren , and Blood Contact , with a young Jean-Claude Van Damme , grossed less than expected, so Cannon went bankrupt in 1989, ending up bought by Pathé. In addition, Golan ended up distancing himself from his partner, Globus, and decided to become independent, forming his own company, 21st Century Film Corporation, which was only in operation for a few years.

In 1992, Menahem Golan settled again in Israel, from where he continued working as a producer of local titles. Married, the filmmaker had three children.