I thought I'd end my defense of the "pre-renaissance" superhero films with the most controversial of the three – Roger Corman's Fantastic Four. If you're reading this column, you probably have some sense of the troubled history of this "lost" film, and while it has been endlessly derided over the years, it has also gained a reputation as a sincere, honest effort that is far and away a cut above most of its contemporaries, and I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment.
A little background: sometime in the '80s German producer Bernd Eichinger secured the film rights to the Fantastic Four for on behalf of Neue Constantin Films, of which he was chairman. Among the more notable films he produced were the Neverending Story and the Name of the Rose. Of course, he expected to mount a big budget extravaganza featuring Marvel's First Family, but he was about 20 years too early.
Visual effects were not nearly advanced enough to adequately translate their…fantastic abilities to the screen, and no studio was willing to bankroll such a risky venture. At the time, unless your name was Batman, your best hope was a straight to video B-film, like Captain America or The Punisher.
In 1992, Constantin realized his option on the FF was about to expire so he hastily brought the property to Roger Corman who told him he could shoot a film for $1 million. I've always been a fan of Corman, especially his Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price, but his name was synonymous with schlock, so no one held out any hope this would be much good.
The fan press covered the production pretty heavily, and there was a sense that the production team was determined to do the best they could with the resources at their disposal. I was looking forward to it in a way that I was not with Cap or Punisher. A trailer was released on Concorde/New Horizons VHS releases and (given what they were working with) it didn't look half bad to me.
However, at the 11th hour, the plug was pulled. The film was finished and they were in the midst of publicity for a limited theatrical release when Avi Arad (producer of future hits like Spider-Man and X-Men) paid Corman not to release it. Corman likely recouped his production costs and then some, so what did he care?
I really felt bad for director Oley Sassone and his entire team. They were really hoodwinked by the machinations of a producer who never intended for the film to be released. All he wanted to do was hang on to the rights until the inevitable moment when a big budget studio film would come to fruition (about a decade later). Sure enough, he was listed in the credits of the 2005 "Fantastic Four" film.
Of course, the fact that the film was never meant to be shown made it a Holy Grail amongst collectors. At least, the other stuff was eventually released legitimately. In this case, the rumor was the original negative would be burned.
I immediately hit the conventions in hopes of securing a copy and within six months to a year I had secured a copy. I really enjoyed it and I can remember watching it repeatedly in those first few weeks. As expected, it was cheap and cheesy, but it had heart and an earnest quality that transcended the budget. It deserved a better fate.
Over the years, the film was endlessly sold and traded between collectors and eventually uploaded to You Tube where the entire world saw it. Of course, there are many people who can't see through the effects and occasional cheeseball dialogue (there are a number of cringe-worthy moments I grant you), but it has garnered quite a following in the last two decades (it didn't hurt that the two "blockbuster" FF films were equally cheesy on ten times the budget).
Next year, a documentary about the film will be released entitled, "Doomed," and the producers created a fund-raising Kickstarter campaign to help with the effort. I donated a small amount because I for one want to hear the whole, unvarnished story, and it looks as though they have pinned down most of the major players.
About four years later, "Blade" was released and it was damn good. Two years later, the ball really got rolling with "X-Men," which opened the door to dozens of great (and not-so-great) comic book adaptations.
Don't get me wrong – I don't long for the old days, but I am nostalgic about them. Finding each of these films in the pre-Internet era felt like a great mystery being solved or the resolution of a great quest. Twenty years ago, I could never conceive of a time when superhero films would dominate the summer landscape. And looking back on these cheesy classics makes me eternally grateful for what we have today.
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