Though the cinematic conception of Planet Krypton as a world founded on crystal technology may be credited to Star Wars designer John Barry, it may come as a surprise that the final designs for Superman’s alien mechanisation were rendered by the man most famous for the iconic look of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Despite their infamy, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind insisted on hiring the best of the best across the industry for their productions and the late Harry Lange, now forever known as ‘The man who saw the future’ was no exception.
Credited as an ‘Astronautics Consultant’ for Richard Lester’s Superman II, German born Hans Kurt Lange (bottom pic, holding the astronaut helmet he designed for 2001) was solely responsible for the interior/exterior work on the Artemis II space capsule set (third pic) realised with such authenticity it could’ve passed as a real spacecraft –
“I’d seen real hardware at Cape Canaveral and in NASA’s research laboratories and hangars, so I knew what the equipment had to look like. A piece of board with blue squares stuck on it may do for TV, but not when you want to do something on a Cinerama screen. It had to be absolutely perfect. I kept that idea in my following films: Star Wars, Superman, James Bond…”
While comparisons between the earth-based hardware in II, Kubrick’s classic and Moonraker evidently bear Lange distinctive style, it is the Kryptonian computers/memory banks (first & second pic) that are standout examples of fantasy art elegantly realised. While the console (second pic) could easily be the basis of Superman’s computer in the Fortress Of Solitude revised for Superman II, one wonders if he was involved uncredited as early as Donner’s original movie as this lot of illustrations from his estate (in auction this month by Propstore) clearly show a bank of computers mounted in the arch of Lex Luthor’s underground hideaway…
Read Harry’s obituary from the UK Independent here…
Presenting the first of a series of posts coming to you directly from an exclusive tour of the Propstore Of London!
The editors of SUPERMANIA, A Tribute To Christopher Reeve and the No Wires Facebook page came together this past week and were given unprecedented access to the huge archive of original props and material currently on display/for sale at the UK office. Though the facility is a fanboy paradise in its own right (with treasures from decades of movie magic too numerous to even list here) we had been granted special permission to examine one of the showcase pieces of the Propstore collection – an original and authentic Superman costume.
It was during the walkaround of one of the Propstore’s many storage areas when Sebastian Columbo noticed something familiar stood high on a wooden shelf nestled anonymously among other pieces such as the Alien Queen maquette and simply stated ‘Boots’. I asked one of the helpful assistants to fetch the items down for us to see and once the cloud of dust had dissipated, sure enough we all stood in wonder looking at the costume pieces shown above.
Unconvinced at first due to the zips being visible on the rear, I peeked inside and instantly noticed the faded inscription inside reading ‘Stamp’, then noticed the label dangling from the left boot (second pic) and it was confirmed – we were looking at General Zod’s original boots.
As we had been given permission to photograph the Superman costume I asked if the boots could come along too, which our guide (General Manager Tim) was happy to arrange. Later as we were snapping away Alexei paused to look at the boots and noticed something odd – ‘They’re red’ he kept saying. Convinced Superman’s cape was reflecting on the black PVC I suggested we took them out into the daylight for a better look…
The debate regarding the Phantom Zone villain’s all-black uniforms really opened up with the release of Superman II, The Richard Donner cut where during some scenes, the shiny accoutrements of the trio’s costume indeed seemed to be metallic red. SUPERMANIA can confirm that incredibly, in a similar fashion to the Superman’s costume’s ability to change colour with light, General Zod’s boots follow the same principle. I have no idea how this was achieved but as the (third & fourth) pics show, Yvonne Blake’s customary alchemy is still in full effect…
Our sincere thanks go to Tim, Stephen and the Propstore crew for their kindness and generosity. View the official listing for the boots here – as of this writing, they are still available to own…
Part two of the feature taken from UK ‘Photoplay’ Magazine with the impressive gallery (for the time) showcasing a rare pic of Margot Kidder from an independent photo shoot, (bottom right) in character as Lois Lane in a Superman sweater.
Margot would do more of these sittings (with increasing degrees of raunchiness) for use in various adult publications. Her interview (third pic down) is a curious insight foreshadowing what was to come in later life. Thankfully in true Lois Lane fashion Margot overcame her demons to be the success she is today…
The bumper 80 Page May 1981 issue of the elaborately titled “The New Photoplay – Movies & Video, The Cinema & Home Screen Monthly” was a real treat for Superman fans.
Shown above is the cover and part one of the feature devoted to the theatrical release of Superman II in the UK with full page photographs (The main colour portrait revealing itself decades later to be taken from a deleted scene shot by Richard Donner) and reference to a (not particularly insightful) review. Part two of the article to follow with more pics and a candid interview with leading lady Margot Kidder…
The Propstore Of London has struck again with another fine piece of cinematic history, this time from the opening scene of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut where Lois Lane seeks to prove Superman’s identity by way of a sketch.
The above is one of the few ‘clean’ versions of this prop as Margot Kidder would be required to draw her Clark Kent over Superman’s picture with marker take after take (as shown in the contact sheet supplied!). Its a little known fact that the Daily Planet newspaper mockups were headlines & pics assembled around real news stories of the time/gibberish and that only the covers (and inserts when required) were produced wrapped around the London Evening Standard for filler.
Due to the obvious fragility of these pieces they are steadily becoming more scarce. I had the opportunity to purchase one of the above years ago (at a fraction of the price its commanding now) but because I didn’t recognise it from any of the films I passed – Imagine the head-slapping moment when the Donner Cut finally emerged and the prop gets the most amount of screen time in the series…
