A SUPERMANIA exclusive courtesy of Jim Lynn and his fantastic blog VHISTORY, from tape 222 of his vast archive of 3000 vintage VHS recordings comes this long-thought-lost footage from the making of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace.
Barry Norman’s Film (insert year) was a British institution on the BBC for decades and pre-internet, arguably the best source for all things Cinema. Despite his famously sardonic presentation style it was clear Norman had an enduring affection for the Superman series as evidenced by this excellent location report from Film ’87, presented here for the FIRST time on the internet with never-before-seen onset footage.
The basis for Norman’s report is how Christopher Reeve had come back to the franchise after controversially (at the time) declaring ‘Never again’ during part III. Reeve’s comments in the interview are hilariously contradicted by a clearly embittered Margot Kidder, nose firmly out of joint having been thought of as too old to resume her role as Lois Lane. While Reeve is clearly happy indulging himself with his second-unit direction/story contribution and comparing his latest co-star (Mariel Hemmingway) to Ingrid Bergman, Kidder’s opinion about being sidelined is ironically at odds with her part in the finished film as the love story between Superman & Lois had not been given greater emphasis since Superman II…
I remember this well and have often looked for it on the web to no avail. Many thanks for posting.
Hi James –
You’re welcome, it was a pleasure to see again myself and even more so to post and preserve. Any behind the scenes footage from Superman IV is exciting due to the lack of the customary ‘Making Of’. Maybe one day it will all be collated and we’ll get one, who knows..?
I enjoy how Margot isn’t holding back. Good stuff. Thanks for posting.