…And we’re back to posting good old-fashioned retrospectives on vintage memorabilia – in this case something that may truly be unique as another copy of this has yet to emerge (to my knowledge) since 1988 –
Superman’s 50th anniversary was a big deal for both DC Comics and parent company Warner Bros. Although Superman IV: the Quest For Peace, (released only the year before but initially meant to coincide with festivities) had not performed to expectations, there was nonetheless great anticipation surrounding its transfer to home video. Indeed, WHV had initiated a new line of affordable ‘classic’ films under the ‘Superheroes’ banner to celebrate – including all four Superman movies, plus Supergirl, and even Santa Claus, The Movie.
Featuring a cover with all-new artwork (artist unknown) with the tagline ‘You’ll believe a man, a girl, and a reindeer can fly!”, this collaboration between Hollywood Nites, Cannon Films and WHV housed a copy of the 94-minute version of Superman IV, complete with ‘For Promotional Purposes Only’ in a black bar across the bottom of the screen for the duration of the film. Of course, the retail versions did not carry this over and the whole run of Superman Movies would be both released separately and later collected in their very own boxset for the bargain price of £34.99 (Approx. £121 in today’s money).
Just how this particular cassette found its way into the market after it served its initial purpose remains a mystery – regardless, it remains a key piece of both early VHS promotion and Superman movie history besides being a highlight of the CapedwonderEurope collection…
The greatest Superhero theme of all time?
Though there have been many claims to the title, almost fifty years later, John Williams Magnum Opus continues to resonate all around the world as the definitive soundtrack for all things Super and heroic.
This inescapable conclusion is also obviously not wasted on current Superman Movie director James Gunn, who, even with the budget granted for any music at his disposal, still opted for adapting Williams score for his latest cinematic outing (as did Bryan Singer in 2006).
As for what actually makes The Superman March so utterly compelling, so thrilling, so enduring, the debate rightly goes on – but what is arguably more fascinating is what it means to people personally. The memories, the nostalgia, all transcend anything merely constituting ‘music from a film’.
No, just like the movie itself, the Theme From Superman is a cultural landmark, instantly recognisable and has already stood the test of time. A shame then, that the phenomenon of the Super Hero theme seems to be all but at an end. Could it be that filmakers/composers are so aligned with the views above that they have simply stopped trying? Indeed, only Danny Elfman’s score for Batman (1989) comes close in terms of both impact and resonance, while the much-missed Jerry Goldsmith’s cues for Supergirl (1984) are a fond memory (like so many of the other themes of the ’80’s)
For the millennials, however, one struggles to pinpoint a strong musical accompaniment to associate with your favourite comic-book hero. Only veteran composer Alan Silverstri (Back To The Future) with his stirring theme for the Avengers arguably manages to conjure up the kind of memorable hum-along theme tunes of old. This is only one, amazingly, in a period of over 25 years and countless Superhero pictures with no real theme or march to speak of. This includes Hans Zimmer’s meandering work for Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, which occasionally borders on brilliance with a singular theme, but like so much of his work, gets buried in indulgence.
So from what must be a bygone age, lets remind ourselves of just what a phenomenon the music from Superman The Movie was, with this small collection of 45rpm singles from all countries all over the globe – indeed, there are over 20 variations of this one single alone – and we may never see its like again…
Today marks Christopher Reeve’s 71st Birthday, in the year he posthumously (and somewhat controversially) returned to our screens in his most famous role. However polarizing his brief appearance in The Flash may have been, its nonetheless fascinating to see just how passionate both fandom and the moviegoing public remain about the late actor, almost two decades after his passing.
Indeed, Reeve’s Superman seems destined to live on through other mediums as we approach the 45th anniversary of the original Superman The Movie, such as the sequel to DC Comics hugely successful Superman’78, new licensed merchandise, a set of hyper-realistic statues coming from JND Studios and even a cover of LIFE Magazine.
While all this is fine testimony to his enduring legacy as the definitive cinematic Man Of Steel, perhaps the best way to honour Reeve’s memory is to donate to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, dedicated to spinal cord research. As the Man himself famously once said – If you choose hope, anything is possible – and your contribution to a worthy cause is exactly the kind of humanitarian act we associate with our Forever Superman.
Rest in peace, ‘Toph.
SUPERMANIA is overjoyed to present this ‘new’ discovery shared by Superfan and YouTube legend Oliver Harper –
This Japanese extended trailer for Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (a.k.a ‘The Strongest Enemy’ translated from Japanese) not only contains all the scenes shown in both US and International trailers, but also extra footage from the deleted scenes featuring Lex and Lenny Luthor, the Pentagon and the Kremlin and the kiss shared between Clark Kent & Lacy Warfield. All this with Japanese text and the unique title card at the end.
Astonishing that after 35 years, finds like this are still being made – here’s to many more in the future..!
“We’re Gunslingers…And you don’t win every duel…”
On paper the notion seemed sound. He wasn’t Richard Donner (Or indeed Lester) but nevertheless a tenured Director with an impressive resume littered with some notable titles, The Ipcress File, The Entity and more recently cult sensation Iron Eagle. Moreover he was keen, available and as this particular project was now Christopher Reeve’s baby, a shoe-in after Wes Craven’s vision was met with Indifference.
Unfortunately Sidney J. Furie had it all against him. Taking on a franchise that had already derailed, its future now in the hands of easily the most notorious producers of the age and a star looking to dominate proceedings wherever possible. Superman IV: The Quest For Peace was always going to be somewhat insurmountable, but nobody could have foreseen just what twists and turns lay ahead.
Indeed, according to producer Michael Kagan ‘Nobody wanted to make a bad movie’ even though the script by Laurence Konner & Mark Rosenthal (with story input by Reeve) was considered to be in dire need of another draft. Reeve had already been served with a lawsuit from outraged would-be writers Barry Taft and Ken Stoller who claimed the Nuclear disarmament theme of the story was theirs. The case would eventually be thrown out but was the start of many obstacles to overcome. The Go-Go Boys, (having bought the series from the dejected Salkinds at a discount on a sunny afternoon in Cannes) were nothing if not keen to get the picture made and out to its built-in audience in order to help Cannon Films finance the 30plus projects shooting around the globe at the time.
In the above interview with Steven Simak taken from the Summer 1987 Issue of Galactic Journal Magazine, Furie at least seems to have a clear outlook, fighting for Margot Kidder to be reinstated and citing that heavy-handed auteurship (i.e. Dick Lester) could be detrimental to the truth of the character. Arguably the love-triangle described with the introduction of Mariel Hemmingway’s character that Furie seems so keen to explore were among the best scenes in a film otherwise consumed by the spectre of visual effects done on the cheap.
Details about the infamous test-screening were recently revealed by Visual Effects artist Harrison Ellenshaw, who stated that while he sat in with the audience, Furie patiently waited in a cafe across the road. When the showing, (and indeed, the rioting) was over, Ellenshaw reported back to Furie who allegedly asked ‘Was it that bad??’ Word soon got back to Warner Bros. who would issue a simple, yet damning directive before general release – ‘Lose two reels’.
The resulting cuts are well-documented but the fallout remains. The sub-plots, the runtime, the soundtrack. Clive Mantle’s entire part – the list goes on. At one time thought to be merely a rough cut, Ellenshaw did confirm the test screening was that of the full-length feature, warts & all – and despite long being thought destroyed, Warner Bros. have confirmed the print survived and is stacked among the multitude of cans rescued from the Pinewood Studios vault to facilitate the Richard Donner cut of Superman II.
So with all this information finally brought to light – and over three decades later – can there be closure on the enigma that is Superman IV? The choice, as ever, seems to rest with the fans. For all the furore that saw the eventual release of @thesnydercut people seem to forget that @releasethedonnercut was not only first, but revolutionary in terms of studios response to the DC fanbase. We (the Superman community) proved that it can be done. We know what it takes to be done. We also now have the benefit of knowing the footage exists so it could be done. I therefore beseech anyone with even the slightest interest in this film to make their feelings known to @warnerbros and @warnerarchive to #releasethefuriecut and see the full extent of his much-maligned vision. We owe it to ourselves as Superman fans but we also owe it to a Director who suffered the humiliation of having 45minutes cut from his picture, leaving an incoherent mess.
Alongside the campaign for the release, hopefully you will have heard my ramblings on the @thecapedwonderpodcast, #releasethefuriecut on Twitter, and the amazing restoration work done by @aaronprice. I will be writing a separate post on that topic shortly but meantime, all these efforts have not gone unnoticed by the man himself, who, at 88 is still going strong and recently posted in response to seeing what can be achieved with modern VFX with “This is wonderful – if only we had this kind of technology back then…”
