But it wasn't always like this. In fact, super-hero films used to be a rare beast - and a good super-hero film was a miracle. Don't believe me? Take a look at some of these TV and movie attempts at bringing our heroes to life. Oh the pain....
I don't think this Justice League pilot ever aired...at least I'm praying it didn't.
I had the misfortune of seeing this execrable FF movie many years ago, when a friend bought a bootleg tape of it while three of us were at a Star Trek convention. Later that night, after a long dinner at a Mexican restaurant where the waitress had a black eye, we plopped down in the hotel room and watched this thing, in stunned disbelief. None of us could ever make out a word Doom said.
An Italian Red Skull? That pretty much tells you all you need to know about this one. Yeesh.
Wow, J'onn Jonzz really needs to lay off the oreos.
ReplyDeleteYep, all walking in the steps of Cathy Lee Crosby's Wonder Woman..
ReplyDeleteAnd Howard the Duck.
These are so bad they're actually... well, they're just BAD.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit it, but if I was like 10 or 11 years old I probably would have loved that Justice League movie. Although those must have either been the bravest, or (more likely) the most desperate actors alive. Some people should be legally barred from wearing spandex.
They've shown the JLA pilot a couple of times in Britain, on that legendary home of quality drama Channel 5. Maybe there's something wrong with me but I enjoyed it. It was good fun.
ReplyDeleteThe Captain America one truly is dire. I seem to remember that, for some reason, Captain America was pretty much a non-speaking part.
Captain America would have worked best in 1966/67. I can't understand why they never tried it with the success of Batman.
ReplyDeleteYep,as Steve said, that Justice League movie has been shown on teevee here in the UK. I think I've seen it a couple of times - weirdly, it has these interludes with the characters talking to camera as if being interviewed (sort of similar to When Harry Met Sally).
ReplyDeleteI've never seen that Fantastic Four film,but it doesn't look any worse than the last two FF films :)
When I was 14 we had the "awesome" "Legends of the Super Heros" specials, which featured the Justice League against a spate of villains, led by Mordru as I recall.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legends_of_the_Superheroes
I *loved* the show at the time because ANY appearance of my comic-based super heros on the screen was a cause for celebration, regardless of the quality.
I'm sure I would feel the same way about these movies if I were still kid/teenager.
The cap costume isn't haf bad and the red skull mask is very good. Can't complain about the Dr Doom mask/costume either. The rest of the stuff (FF costumes, Thing, Atom, etc) in these clips are atrocious!!
Good fun!
I tend to agree with Terence - given how generally lousy the post-2000 FF films are, the 'original' just seems par for the course (I actually have a bootleg copy laying around somewhere but haven't got around to watching it yet...)
ReplyDeleteThat Capt. America film intrigues me - I've heard nothing good about it, but still, can it be worse than than those two made-for-TV Cap movies made in the late '70s? Even when I was a kid I thought those were disappointing, and kind of boring.
Terence:
ReplyDeleteAgreed on the FF.. I thought the FF costumes in the Corman film were fine. I didn't like the Alba FF films much at all with all the miscasting and they should have set them back in the early 60s. The Thing outfits looked too rubbery in both renditions.
David:
ReplyDeleteYes, an early 60s setting with a Kirby design would have worked much better. Perhaps with the apparent success of the X-Men: First Class film (ain't seen it)the FF franchise could be re-booted with an Atom Age setting. With a whole new cast (definitely no Alba).