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35-453: Fred Olen Ray (born September 10, 1954) is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter of more than 200 low-to-medium-quality feature films in many genres, including horror , science fiction , action / adventure , erotic thrillers , crime dramas , and holiday films. Ray is the head of Retromedia, which releases DVDs of both his own productions and archival films. He has also worked for other well-known independent studios and on

70-492: A 35 mm film longer than 1,600 metres (5,200 ft), which is exactly 58 minutes and 29 seconds for sound films . The term feature film came into use to refer to the main film presented in a cinema and the one which was promoted or advertised. The term was used to distinguish the longer film from the short films (referred to as shorts) typically presented before the main film, such as newsreels , serials , animated cartoons , live-action comedies and documentaries . There

105-479: A "Living Legend Award" at the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival . In 2019, he produced and released, Boggy Creek: The Series with director Henrique Couto at the helm. TV Movies TV Series Feature films A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature ), also called a theatrical film , is a narrative film ( motion picture or "movie") with

140-420: A DVD company called Retromedia. Ray made a film called Bikini Airways "on a lark and it did really well", said Ray. This led to a series of Bikini films. In 2007, he reflected on his career: Money is always a barrier. The more they give you, the more they expect, so you're always caught short, regardless. I don't think anything I've done was ever budgeted properly for what was expected of me, but that's just

175-487: A Nation (1915) was the first American feature film. The most prolific year of U.S. feature production was 1921, with 682 releases; the lowest number of releases was in 1963, with 213. Between 1922 and 1970, the U.S. and Japan alternated as leaders in the quantity of feature film production. Since 1971, the country with the highest feature output has been India, which produces a thousand films in more than twelve Indian languages each year. In 1927, Warner Bros. released

210-739: A Nation (1915). The notion of how long a feature film should be has varied according to time and place. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , the American Film Institute and the British Film Institute , a feature film runs for more than 40 minutes, while the Screen Actors Guild asserts that a feature's running time is 60 minutes or longer. The Centre National de la Cinématographie in France defines it as

245-484: A director because that was the fastest way to get a film made on the independent side of things." Ray succeeded in raising money for a low-budget horror film, Scalps (1983), which featured cameos from Carroll Borland and Forrest J. Ackerman . The Tomb (1986) starred Cameron Mitchell and John Carradine . Ray switched to action films with Armed Response (1986), which starred David Carradine and Lee Van Cleef . Ray had affection for this movie because "it had

280-483: A family originally from West Virginia . As a teenager, he regularly read Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. Being a fan of horror and science fiction films such as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and the AIP movies of the 1950s and 1960s, Ray started making his own movies at the age of fourteen. At age seventeen, he self-published three issues of the amateur fantasy-film fanzine, Dagon in 1972. After serving in

315-512: A few occasions for major Hollywood studios. He has been cited as an inspiration for many independent filmmakers. He loaned a 16 mm camera to Quentin Tarantino so he could make My Best Friend's Birthday . Aside from his work in the film industry, Ray was also a professional wrestler . His wrestling name was Fabulous Freddie Valentine . Ray was born September 10, 1954, in Wellston, Ohio , to

350-419: A great cast and was one of the first times I had more than two nickels to rub together." He then turned to science fiction: Deep Space (1987) and Cyclone (1987). Beverly Hills Vamp (1988) was a horror comedy with Eddie Deezen . Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988) was made in only a few days and turned out to be a big hit. Less popular was The Phantom Empire (1988). After Alienator (1989) he

385-501: A group of teenagers who find him without knowing his past. Alienator was originally set for release between May and August in 1989. Prism Entertainment announced in November 1989 to release the film along with Time Troopers in late December. Prism later released the film on February 8, 1990. On March 19, 2013, the film was released on DVD by Shout! Factory as part of a two-disc "Action-Packed Movie Marathon" set, which contains

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420-520: A running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term feature film originally referred to the main, full-length film in a cinema program that included a short film and often a newsreel . Matinee programs, especially in the US and Canada, in general, also included cartoons , at least one weekly serial and, typically, a second feature-length film on weekends. The first narrative feature film

455-485: A short film series. Early features were mostly documentary-style films of noteworthy events. Some of the earliest feature-length productions were films of boxing matches, such as The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (1897), Reproduction of the Corbett-Jeffries Fight and The Jeffries-Sharkey Fight (1899). Some consider the 100-minute The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight to be the first documentary feature film, but it

490-434: A total of four films. On June 13, 2017, the film was released on Blu-ray by Scream Factory , featuring a commentary track by director Fred Olen Ray. From contemporary reviews, "Lor." of Variety reviewed the AIP video cassette on November 18, 1989. "Lor." declared the film to be a "tongue-in cheek sci-fi thriller geared towards home video fans with a soft spot for the old stars and old-fashioned serials." "Lor." noted

525-469: A universal standard, to make the technologies more compatible with each other and more user friendly. Shooting movies on digital also led to new technologies for distributing films. Titan A.E. , released in 2000, was the first feature film to be released for viewing over the internet. Digital distribution changed the ways people received and watched media. It also gave viewers access to huge amounts of online content on demand. Alienator The film

560-531: Is more accurately characterized as a sports program as it included the full unedited boxing match. In 1900, the documentary film Army Life was produced by Robert Paul . It was a programme of 33 short films, with a total running time of around 75 minutes, following the training of British soldiers. Inauguration of the Australian Commonwealth (1901) ran for 35 minutes, "six times longer than any previous Australian film", and has been called "possibly

595-656: Is ten times harder than it is to make a big-budget show where you're surrounded by a gang of super-talented people. Budgetary constraints notwithstanding, Ray has, on occasion, been able to attract A-list actors to appear in his films. Two-time Academy Award nominee Peter Fonda played Marshal Kane in the 2010 Ray film, American Bandits: Frank and Jesse James . While Golden Globe Awards winner Christian Slater appeared in Ray's 2012 film Hatfields and McCoys: Bad Blood . One reviewer described American Bandits as perhaps "the most boring Jesse James film ever made". In 2017, he received

630-617: The United States Navy , Ray began working at a local television station in Orlando, Florida . He first appeared in a small role in the 1975 film Shock Waves , which starred Peter Cushing and John Carradine . Ray then began directing independent films during his free time using station equipment, starting with The Brain Leeches (1978) produced on a budget of $ 298. Ray also co-wrote the screenplay with political essayist Brad Linaweaver , and

665-483: The Family II (1996), Inferno (1997), Hybrid (1997), and The Shooter , which has been referred to as Ray's best film. Dear Santa (1998) was a family film and Billy Frankenstein (1998) was a comedy. In 2001, he made the film, Critical Mass . He later said he was a " Critical Mass kind of guy. I like to shoot things and blow stuff up. I also like comedies. Don't like erotic thrillers." He established

700-553: The documentary With Our King and Queen Through India (1912), filmed in Kinemacolor and Oliver Twist (also 1912). The first American features were Oliver Twist , From the Manger to the Cross , Cleopatra and Richard III (all 1912). Actor Frederick Warde starred in some of these adaptations. The first Asian feature was Japan 's The Life Story of Tasuke Shiobara (1912),

735-486: The first Indian feature was Raja Harishchandra (1913), China 's first feature film was Zhang Shichuan's Nan Fu Nan Qi (1913), the first South American feature was Brazil 's O Crime dos Banhados (1913), and the first African feature was South Africa 's De Voortrekkers (1916). By 1915, over 600 feature films were produced annually in the United States. It is often incorrectly cited that The Birth of

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770-556: The first feature-length documentary made in Australia". American company S. Lubin released a Passion Play titled Lubin's Passion Play in January 1903 in 31 parts, totaling about 60 minutes. The French company Pathé Frères released a different Passion Play in May 1903, The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ , in 32 parts, totaling 44 minutes. Defined by length, the first dramatic feature film

805-412: The first feature-length film with sound, The Jazz Singer , whose audio track was recorded with a proprietary technology called Vitaphone . The film's success persuaded other studios to go to the considerable expense of adding microphones to their sets, and scramble to start producing their own " talkies ". One of the next major advancements made in movie production was color film . Even before color

840-543: The late 1990s. In 2002, George Lucas ' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones became the first major studio film shot primarily on digital video. The ability to instantly play back footage and quickly transfer footage to computers for editing helped to speed up post-production time. Digital film making was given a big boost in 2005 when the Digital Cinema Initiative created a guide for manufacturers to create

875-416: The nature of the business, I guess. There certainly are films I did because there was a paycheck attached. It's a working man's world and it doesn't pay to get too idealistic about things like directing low-budget movies if you have a family to think about. I usually try to find something that interests me in each and every project. It's not really possible to phone it in. Making a film with no money or schedule

910-405: The success of that film, Ray decided to move to Hollywood to be close to the film industry. He was interested in working in make-up and special effects, "probably from all of those years of reading Famous Monsters magazine", he later said. He found out "it soon became apparent that you would always be between jobs and I was looking for something that would actually earn me a living. I think I became

945-449: The two later collaborated on additional films. Ray's next film was shot on a budget of $ 15,000. Lessons learned from The Brain Leeches allowed Ray to keep production cost to a minimum, while using the bulk of the budget to attract a recognized Hollywood name to the project. Alien Dead was shot featuring an elderly Buster Crabbe , cinema action hero of the 1930s and 1940s, and star of three Flash Gordon serials from 1936 to 1940. With

980-522: Was a complex, time consuming, and expensive process that many movie studios were not eager to try. One of the early adopters of the three-strip process was Disney . Some of the most notable films Technicolor processed with three-strip were The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind . Digital Video (or DV) has quickly changed how most films are made. First used to create special effects and animated movies, digital cameras became more common on film sets in

1015-471: Was a hit and Ray would make others in that genre, including Inner Sanctum 2 , Mind Twister (1994) and Possessed by the Night (1994). Evil Toons (1992) was a comedy-horror, then he co-directed another with Wynorski, Dinosaur Island (1994). Witch Academy (1994) was the last of his "scream queen" movies. After Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold (1995), he made Fugitive Rage (1996), Friend of

1050-467: Was a possibility in movies, early film makers were interested in how color could enhance their stories. Early techniques included hand tinting : painting each frame by hand. Cheaper and more widely used was toning : dying the film in a single color, used in many films in the 1920s. The film processing lab Technicolor developed the Three-Tone coloring technique that became the standard for color film. It

1085-535: Was described by Leonard Maltin and confirmed by Fred Olen Ray to be a "semi- remake " of the 1957 film The Astounding She-Monster . Robert Clarke , who starred in that film, also appears in Alienator . Kol, an alien criminal, escapes from a spaceship into the woods of an American suburb . The commander of the spaceship dispatches "the Alienator"—a deadly gynoid , to capture Kol. She relentlessly pursues Kol and

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1120-465: Was no sudden increase in the running times of films to the present-day definitions of feature-length; the "featured" film on a film program in the early 1910s gradually expanded from two to three to four reels. Early features had been produced in the United States and France, but were released in individual (short film) scenes. This left exhibitors the option of playing them alone, to view an incomplete combination of some films, or to run them all together as

1155-564: Was reunited with Deezen for Mob Boss (1990), another comedy. He entered sword and sorcery movies with Wizards of the Demon Sword (1991) and made the more popular Bad Girls from Mars (1991). During this time he published a book he had written, The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors (1991). Ray co-directed Scream Queen Hot Tub Party (1991) with Jim Wynorski , shot in one day. Ray moved into erotic thrillers with Inner Sanctum (1991) starring Tanya Roberts . It

1190-665: Was the Australian 60-minute film The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906). Similarly, the first European feature was the 90-minute film L'Enfant prodigue (France, 1907), although that was an unmodified record of a stage play; Europe's first feature adapted directly for the screen , Les Misérables , came from France in 1909. The first Russian feature was Defence of Sevastopol in 1911. Early Italian features included L'Inferno (1911), Quo Vadis? , The Last Days of Pompeii (1913) and Cabiria (1914). The first UK features were

1225-423: Was the 60-minute The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906, Australia). Other early feature films include Les Misérables (1909, U.S.), L'Inferno , Defence of Sevastopol , The Adventures of Pinocchio (1911), Oliver Twist (American version), Oliver Twist (British version), Richard III , From the Manger to the Cross , Cleopatra (1912), Quo Vadis? (1913), Cabiria (1914) and The Birth of

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