Far East Finds…

Hot from SuperFan Alex Serpa comes these pristine vintage Japanese VHS video tapes in original cases –

Though in NTSC format Alex reliably informs me “The picture quality on the tapes is amazing … for VHS that is – surpassing any of the British/U.S. VHS. The print is so clear and the colors vibrant”.

Many thanks to Alex for sharing this find and be sure to check out his incredible quartet of websites devoted to the Superman movie series…

 

The Quest For Prints…

Happy new year SUPERMANIAc’s – My one resolution for 2012 is to remain dedicated to bringing you the best of Super-ephemera and what better way to start than a picture exclusive?

These scarce 8×11 images are a combination of studio portraits, behind the scenes and deleted scenes from Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. From the top – one of a rare series of studio portraits never before seen in its entirety, an on-set candid of Christopher Reeve holding a taxi aloft, between takes on location in Milton Keynes, England, and a shot from the excised scene where Nuclearman II elevates cars during the Metropolis street battle.

More to come!

 

Up And Away In MK…

Rare global press coverage from the shooting of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, the first (and last) of the series to be made entirely on location in England.

The cast & crew had assembled in the sports grounds of the Woughton campus of the Sir Frank Markham School in Milton Keynes, England. in late 1986 to shoot the closing moments of the picture under the direction of Sidney J. Furie. The facility had apparently been chosen due to the school being one of the few with American Football on the curriculum and used in return for a new set of kit for the team.

Ironically, the scene was excised entirely from the final cut of the film and thought lost until its final discovery and release (in workprint form) in the Deluxe Edition DVD from 2006. From the top – article from Weekend magazine UK, double-page spread from Spain, oversized article from the Australasian Post and Japanese pictorial.

Thanks to SuperFan Chris King for the assembly of these scans of my original articles! Click on images for larger size…