Who saw this in cinemas back in 87?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
bozo_500 — 12 years ago(October 18, 2013 03:20 AM)
Who saw this back in the day? What are your memories - the anticipation of seeing it in the weeks/days before, the actually seeing it and how much a big deal was it where you were back then, the crowds, audience etc and after coming out of the cinema what were your thoughts and in the days/weeks that followed..
TQFP was a VERY big deal to me back in 87 - there hadnt been a new superman in AGES (as a kid time passes much slower so 4 years felt more like 10 years) there was no internet and i didnt have any money to buy magazines like Starlog so the first i knew of a superman IV was when i walked past the Cannon cinema (UK) and saw this poster in those plastic cases outside (note the superior crystal font:)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8154/7678329200_bfa4d8747c_b.jpg
as a huge huge fan of the series having seen II (my first time in a cinema) and III (& STM on tv only) i couldnt believe it..I had no idea they were making another let alone it being due out soon (i remembered Reeve having stated several times hed never do another after III in articles and tv interviews) . It just didnt make any sense!! how could i not know about this!?.
Initially I excitedly thought it was showing right there and then and was preparing to go in and see it but realised there was a 'Coming Soon' banner under the poster. I think I had to go in the cinema and ask when it was coming out and was told it was about a couple of months away and being really disappointed it was so long (think I remember being really annoyed thinking it was stupid to show the poster so long in advance).. So the wait was agony ..like waiting for xmas only wanting it more and when it eventually came out i saw it 4 times at the cinema (the most times id been to see any superman movie! each of the rest bar STM just saw once..maybe saw III twice I dunno) and thought it was amazing - the best one of all 4!
it was exciting, new, fresh, it was non stop action packed (even more than II - to which it felt like a true sequel)- it had a powerful scary supervillain (like the 3 villains but as one), there were fights in space (a first!) and on the moon (nice call back to II), superman got his ass kicked loses his powers and nearly dies (again similar to II), Lex was back and we got to see the fortress again (first time since II), the new Nuclear Man music was awesome..
i knew something was up with the FX as they seemed to reuse the same shot of a turquoise coloured superman flying toward the camera (crazy fact - SIV had the same budget as 'Aliens' the year before!)but it didnt affect my enjoyment one bit - neither did the whole Milton Keynes setting or the massive cuts - i had no idea about all that.
i had no idea it was reviled and was a flop (i mean i knew it wasnt as big a hit as star wars but i mustve thought it'll have been at least as big as the previous ones) i bought all the stuff - the Starlog poster magazine, the DC comic (which both confused me as there was a whole other Nuclear Man!)
http://www.supermaniv.com/Superman_IV_Merchandise/Superman_IV_Poster_Magazine/Superman_IV_Poster_Magazine_COVER.html
http://www.supermaniv.com/Superman_IV_Comic_Adaptation_Spanish/Superman_IV_Comic_Adaptation_English/Superman_IV_Comic_Adaptation_English_COVER.html
(seeing those on display in the window of the comic store I would go to was such a thrill)
I searched for a novel (as I had the SIII one) but couldn't find one. Years later I found it in a 2nd hand bookstore:
http://supermaniv.com/S4_Novelization/Superman_IV_Novel_COVER.html
i remember being quite disappointed there were no action figures
So back then in my mind it went best to worst - IV, II, III and lastly STM which i didnt like much as I thought it was abit long, the Krypton and Smallville bits were quite talky/boring to a kid as was the whole Supes and Lois romance, Lex was like an Adam West Batman villain, there wasnt that much action aside from it turning into a 70s disaster movie, no supervillains and there wasnt any fighting! (But now I obviously appreciate it for the classic it is)
the question i was asking myself after IV was would Superman V (due in a couple of years with an all new cast joining Reeve according to the newspapers) be even more enjoyable than IV?!
it was a question id have to wait 20 years to be answered (just like superman promised at the end of TQFP).and the answer was a resounding NO!! -
engle_james — 12 years ago(December 05, 2013 09:49 AM)
I was probably 15 or 16 at the time, and I was fairly excited about it. Part 3 had kind of dampened my enthusiasm, but I was excited when I heard that Lois and Lex were returning. I thought the opening credits were decent, but once that shot came of Christopher Reeve flying in the sky with all the realism of Captain Marvel in the Shazam! series, I knew the movie was in trouble. When some friends asked me about it, I told them it was pretty bad.
I just watched this again, for the first time listening to the commentary by writer Mark Rosenthal, and I was amazed that he blamed the entire movie's faults on the budget. Yes, the effects were horrible, but even good f/x couldn't save this poorly written mess. I did enjoy having Mariel Hemingway on board as potential competition for Lois Lane, but this was definitely a sad ending. -
Soupful — 11 years ago(May 27, 2014 03:24 AM)
^ This @Doom,
I had read and followed in all STARLOG/Fantastic Films ect of Supe 4 from 1985 into late 1987 of "Superman IV"s pre-production into actual production and post of unbtil release.
It bombed very badly from late July/early August 87 in US/UK/CAN but we didnt get it in Sydney, Australia until boxing day December 26th, 1987.
The articles and reviews were scathing, harsh and unforgiving of editing/SPFX/story/short run time length ect proved 'true' and accurate however I hoped wasnt as bad. Was indeed poor and I was embarrassed because I insisted myself & partner, my sister and hers and group of mutual friends go along and see opening day. We were all major dissapointed and let down.
I did like the "NO NUKES" theme and message of peace during Regan/SDSI 'Star wars' missle defense program cold-war propoganda era and that of Superman and school kid Jeremy asking for intervention, Daily Planet hostile-sleasy Corporate takeover of Editor Perry White's beloved Daily Planet and Lois/Superman's relationship maturing from lovers to trusted friends and allies but that'sit! THE the rest of it all just sucked big time even Gene Hackman's return as Lex Luthor with 'fool' nephew Lenny.
"Nothing is as it seems, nothing is just one thing and nothing is ever just over there" -
freezedawg98 — 12 years ago(February 03, 2014 10:56 AM)
I saw this movie at the Metrocenter Cinema 4 in August 1987 in Jackson, MS. I thought it was great at the time, but then again I was 11 years old in the summer of 1987. It really wasn't that big of a deal to most people I knew. By 1987, most kids I knew had quit watching the Superman films. I think the quality of Superman III and Supergirl being well below Superman I and II had dampened interest by 1987 as well. Jaws IV had suffered the same fate, by the way.
If Cannon had made enough money to make Superman V, it would have been made on the cheap like Superman IV and would have probably been worse. I will say that I have fond memories of Superman IV due to Christopher Reeve's performance. He gave a great effort in a film with horrible editing and substandard special effects. -
sparkvark111 — 11 years ago(May 11, 2014 11:22 PM)
I saw this at the theater once. I should have known how bad it was going to be, especially after I heard Cannon was going to be a part of this. After the Salkind's fired Richard Donner, it was all downhill from there.
"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people." -
rggkjg1 — 11 years ago(August 02, 2014 06:33 PM)
the disappointment I felt leaving the theater on opening day for man of steel had to have no doubt been the same exact feeling many felt after seeing superman 3 and 4 in the theater. I know now what many went through since introductory and repeat disappointment vhs/dvd viewings doesn't even compare to the level of disappointment as seeing a let down for the first time in the theater in it's original theatrical run.
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NinjaFOXForce — 11 years ago(March 14, 2015 02:11 PM)
I saw it with my dad at a theater in San Diego, I remember there was a music video for Madonn'a "Who's that Girl" played before the movie. I heard laughter from the audience in the theater but I had no idea as to what, I was 5 at the time
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