In 2004, three years after the all-too-brief resurgence created by the Superman : The Movie Special Edition and its abandoned worldwide cinematic re-release, the prospect of any unseen footage emerging from the sequels still seemed laughably unlikely –
Though major plans by Warner Bros. were in fact already underway to collate all the footage for the four movies to present the Ultimate Collection on DVD, (and, Indeed, the ambitious Richard Donner Cut) there was still a firm belief across the fan community that most, if not all footage, from Superman IV especially, was forever lost.
And then, out of nowhere, the efforts of a SuperFan (as ever) paved the way to enforce the belief that anything is possible. In this short archive ‘Making Of’ video (top) captured and restored by Alex Serpa, more from the production of Superman IV was revealed in four minutes that had been for 20 years previously. From the opening storyboard to the on-set footage of the Nuclearman II battle at Elstree Studios, (filmed on December 10th 1986) the footage is sweetened even further by the insights of Christopher Reeve.
Showing the confrontation and first revelation of dialogue between Superman and Nuclearman I, the brief action was more than enough to restore faith that somehow, somewhere, one day the deleted scenes would be found…
Rare stills above from the set to correspond with the scenes shown in the video courtesy of Alexei Lambley-Steel and Matt Derby. Many thanks to Alex Serpa for the use of his awesome video!
SUPERMANIA presents more never-before-published pages from the Big Red Book of storyboards chronicling Superman IV: The Quest For Peace –
These pink revisions pencilled by Martin Asbury dated 13th November 1986 were faithfully translated from page to screen on the backlot of Elstree Studios in 1987, go here to see a collage of rare behind the scenes and publicity photographs showcasing a finished scene that was inexplicably deleted from US theatrical prints…
Another SUPERMANIA behind the scenes exclusive, this time from the Moon set at London’s Elstree Studios during the shooting of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace in 1986 –
Second-unit director Christopher Reeve presides over the setup for Superman’s visit to the site of the lunar landing having just disposed of his foe Nuclearman. In what was originally conceived and written as an epic, climactic battle between titans, this sequence, like so many more before it, would be compromised by budgetary restrictions. Though the action was well-staged the spectacle would be hindered by the black drapes in the background masking the stage wall.
Many of these oversights (such as wire removal) would be fixed by Warner Brothers for the Deluxe Edition Blu-ray release in 2011 but even back in 1987 audiences were shocked by the quality of the effects compared with previous entries.
Click here for a fascinating insight into the shooting of the scene from a recently restored Entertainment Tonight segment where Reeve speaks candidly about his aspirations for the finished film between clips of him directing in costume. However noble and sincere the intentions were to put the series back on track, reallocation of the budget to the plethora of other films on Cannon Films list would kill off the Superman saga and ultimately, the company itself just a few years later…
July 6, 1987By J.J. SMITH, United Press International…
The Smithsonian Institution has launched a new exhibit that does not leap tall buildings at a single bound but does take up more room than a telephone booth — a celebration of Superman, “America`s most famous alien.”
“Superman: Many Lives, Many Worlds” opened to the public June 24 at the National Museum of American History.
“Superman is like other people that came to this nation,” said museum curator Carl Scheele. “He`s the essence of the great immigrant tradition.”
The collection, which is part of the Nation of Nations entertainment exhibit and runs until June 1988, showcases Superman memorabilia spanning 50 years, including:
*A Superman costume worn by George Reeves in the 1950s TV series, and one worn by Christopher Reeve in the soon to be released Superman IV.
*Original copies of Action Comics #1, and Superman# 1, which sold in 1938 for 10 cents each. The comics, in mint condition, are now valued at $25,000 and $18,000 respectively, according to Overstreet Comics Price Guide.
*An original screenplay by Mario Puzo for the 1978 film Superman: The Movie.
*An original radio script and recordings of the 1940’s radio broadcasts.
*A storyboard from one of 17 Superman cartoons published in the 1940’s.
*A special edition of Superman comics that was published during World War II and was used as a teaching device for enlisted men who could not read.
*A short film that traces the history of Superman, including clips from the TV series, the movie serials, the cartoons and the latest motion pictures.
Mingling among the stars of Superman IV (Jon Cryer, Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve) above was Uber-artist John Byrne, riding high on the current Superman run having secured his place in comics history with ‘Man Of Steel’. He recounts;
“I met Christopher Reeve twice, that was fun. I met him at DC and we talked about the fourth movie. And then for the 50th Anniversary there was a big show down at the Smithsonian. I went down for that because they invited me. He came over and introduced himself to me ‘Hi – I’m Christopher Reeve, we met at the DC Offices’ – and I chatted with Margot Kidder for a while because we were bonding on being Canadians…”
Were you fortunate enough to attend this event? Please share your memories here. SUPERMANIA extends its thanks to SuperFans Lynn Arave for sharing the outstanding photos above from his Blog Of Steel and Sammy Gomez for his great contributions to this post..!
Happy new year to all from SUPERMANIA as the mission to bring you rare and unseen ephemera from the classic film series continues anew!
We launch 2014 proper with unpublished stills provided courtesy of an old friend of the site who once again has been kind enough to share these all-new discoveries from his archive. Longtime followers of SUPERMANIA may recall the fascinating set of images provided by ‘Parkstreetparrot’ who was fortunate enough to be tipped off about the shooting of a new movie taking place on the final unopened stretch of what was to become the M25 London orbital motorway in the UK.
The new colour prints above show the filmmaking process with more clarity than ever as stars Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Jon Cryer and crew confer between setups for Superman IV: The Quest For Peace.
According to the source, word had spread fast that location shooting was taking place out in the open with minimal security so the British press had made a beeline to the site. By this time, convinced he had enough material to sell to the press himself, the source left the scene only to miss the shooting of Superman flying off with Lex getaway car! This would be the scoop that made all the papers the following day…
