Fantastic Four (1994)

[phantom stranger]

With the pending release of a new documentary on the unreleased film, I thought it would be appropriate to give the movie it's own thread.

This film has gotten a lot of hate over the years but I think it has a certain charm to it. And in many respects, it's more faithful to the comics than the movies that followed. 

Having viewed the trailer, it's clear that the cast and crew were really striving to create a faithful interpretation.

[greggbray]

^ Love it.  I remember watching the film after a friend purchased a copy at comic-con.  'Direct to Bootleg.' 

I remember half way through, one of our cohort gasped, exacerbated by boredom, 'is this thing going to end, or am i going to die?'

I'm not sure if I wished it were better or worse--its biggest crime (and there were quite a few) was that it was on the boring side. 

[The Joker]

Love documentaries, and looking very much forward to this one.

Though, with this upcoming doc, I wonder if the 1994 FF film will possibly get a official release? I have a DVD copy, but the quality is pretty bad, and I've seen clips online that appear to have atleast much better video quality. Actually, I'm going to a Wizardworld convention pretty soon (first time attendee) and have had the thought of being on the look out for this, but not so much if there's any possibility of this getting some sort of official release....

[phantom stranger]

Though, with this upcoming doc, I wonder if the 1994 FF film will possibly get a official release?

I was wondering the same thing. I believe this is the only Marvel movie to have never had an official release.

All of their other output, ranging from the 70's Spider-Man TV series to the equally reviled 1990 Captain America movie have gotten a release of some sorts, although with Spidey it was only VHS.

[The Joker]

I was wondering the same thing. I believe this is the only Marvel movie to have never had an official release.

All of their other output, ranging from the 70's Spider-Man TV series to the equally reviled 1990 Captain America movie have gotten a release of some sorts, although with Spidey it was only VHS.

The only other one I can think of is the Doctor Strange TV movie from the 1970's. Perhaps Marvel/Disney is waiting on the big budget Doc Strange movie to come out before they give the go-ahead on that one...

[Edd Grayson]

I've watched this one and, special effects aside, it's better than the new ones put together. Better cast, better performances, true to the comics.

[The Joker]

Given the scarcity of Fantastic Four threads, and since this doesn't really require a brand new topic of discussion, I am just going to throw this in here.

FLASHBACK 1996: Wizard Magazine casts a Fantastic Four movie.

[thecolorsblend]

This is one of the few times I ever almost completely disagreed with Wizard's fancasting. Irons as Doom? I'll buy that. Franz as The Thing? Sign me up.

But the rest? I just don't see it. I didn't see it back then and I certainly don't see it now. Mark Harmon just couldn't be the best possible choice for Reed Richards at that time. And Brando as Galactus? That literally never made sense to me. And this is not to speak of the wacky crap that probably would've happened on the set considering Brando's Nineties behavior.

The fact that it apparently never occurred to anybody from Wizard in 1996 to fancast Leonard DiCaprio as the Human Torch or Rebecca De Mornay as Alicia Masters tells me everything I need to know about where their heads were at.

As to Galactus... if I'm being honest, Frank Langella was my best idea. That's not an easy one to cast. And after Masters Of The Universe, it's fair to doubt that Langella would've been interested in a property like this. But hey, it's fancasting, the actors HAVE to say yes. So, Langella would've been my pick for a mid-Nineties FF film.

[The Joker]

With Brando as Galactus, I can only theorize that Wizard assumed that a Brando association with FF would do for the film what he did for "Superman The Movie". Unfortunately, it's just a half cooked notion. As this was 1996, and not 1978. Also, by this time, as stated in the "Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau" documentary, even New Line Cinema was leary of hiring Brando to play Dr. Moreau. Stating that he was a "big name", but not a "big draw". Unfortunately, Brando's hiring also was around the same time his daughter committing suicide, and it's illustrated in the documentary that he was pretty much mentally checked out on set, and was only there for a paycheck, and to cause mischief (not to the Val Kilmer extent but still). With cast members noting that Brando seemed to have a strident and vocal distaste for his own profession.

So yeah, with Brando as Galactus in the '90's, best that never happened.

With Frank Langella, off subject, but both me and a friend of mine agree that he really should have been brought on to voice Skeletor in the recent MOTU Revelation revival. Said friend of mine is a much bigger He-Man guy than I am, weirdly I remember the toys more than the cartoon continuity, but we're both familiar with the '80's Cannon movie, and Langella has been pretty consistent in saying that Skeletor was one of his favorite roles in his career. A role he took due to, I believe, his son or kids being big He-Man fans at the time. Not unlike the reasoning Raul Julia accepted the part of M. Bison in 1994's "Street Fighter" movie.

I can't say my friend was really impressed with "MOTU Revelation", and I've yet to watch it, but again, we both agree that Langella would have been a nice nod to the Dolph '80's Cannon movie, and more audibly pleasing to listen to than a Skeletor that sounds Joker-lite with Mark Hamill (or Hobgoblin-lite for that matter).