Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Graham Day and Niall Glynn, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.
So this week, Sidney J. Furie’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
It is a turbulant time in the life of Clark Kent. He finds himself considering selling the family farm. The Daily Planet has been brought out by an aggressive media conglomerate. A young boy has begun to question his faith in Superman, asking whether the Man of Steel can truly protect the world from the threat of nuclear annihilation. Tired of standing by as a passive observer, Superman decides to finally take action. However, an old enemy is lurking in the shadows, waiting to spring a trap of his own.
At time of recording, it was ranked 86th on the list of the worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.
Show Notes:
- Recorded 11th November 2021.
- Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, this episode was recorded remotely. We suspect, going forward that a lot of our episodes will be until the crisis resolves.
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace at The Internet Movie Database.
- The Bottom 100 at time of recording.
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- Read Graham’s reviews at Scannain.
- Hear Graham on Speaking Geek.
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- Damian Holbrook at TV Insider celebrates “Superman Day”, June 2020.
- Don Kaye at Den of Geek reports on plans to publish a trilogy of books recounting the history of Cannon Films, June 2020.
- Donald Clarke at The Irish Times reports on the lingering affection for the trashy B-movies of Cannon Films, May 2015.
- AFI Catalog offers a brief production history of Sueprman IV: The Quest for Peace.
- Siddhant Adlakha at Collider reports on the production difficulties during the making of Superman II, March 2021.
- Tony Sokol at Den of Geek looks at how Richard Lester turned Superman III into a Richard Pryor vehicle, June 2013.
- Janet Maslin reviews Superman III for The New York Times, June 1983.
- Keith Phipps reviews Supergirl for The A.V. Club, March 2002.
- Troy Peterson at Comic Book Resources looks at Christopher Reeve’s aborted cameo in Supergirl, January 2022.
- Michael Dwyer writes at The Irish Times about the absurdity of the Cannes Film Festival, where the Salkinds and Cannon Films intersected, May 1997.
- Jon Vinocur at The New York Times reports on the arrival of Cannon Films at the Cannes Film Festival, May 1984.
- Christopher Reeve talks to The Los Angeles Times about being convinced to return to the role in Superman IV, January 1987.
- Christopher Reeve acknowledges some of his frustrations with the Cannon Film Group in an interview with The Sun Sentinel, June 1987.
- Sidney J. Fury talks to Money Into Light about his life and career, February 2017.
- Jon Cryer talks to The A.V. Club about working on Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, May 2013.
- Jon Cryer talks to TV Line about taking the role of Lex Luthor on Supergirl to atone for his involvement in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, March 2019.
- Darren Franich at Entertainment Weekly looks back on how fandom rejected Adam West’s Batman, January 2022.
- Chris Haley at Comics Alliance discusses the enduring appeal of Silver Age Superman comics, December 2016.
- Eric Diaz at Nerdist looks back at what was happening in mainstream comics the year before the release of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was released, April 2021.
- Abraham Riesman at Vulture discusses how important 1986 was in reshaping mainstream comic books, October 2016.
- Radio Free Europe reports on the legacy and impact of Samantha Smith, August 2020.
- Lorraine Boissoneault at The Smithsonian Magazine looks at how Samantha Smith broke through the Iron Curtain, May 2018.
- Peter Ellenshaw talks to Superman Cinema about the development and test screening of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, April 2003.
- Anthony Gramuglia at Comic Book Resources reports on Christopher Reeve’s frustration with the budgetary limitations on Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, January 2021.
- Darren Mooney at The Escapist looks at the cynicism of Warner Bros.’ reshoots on Justice League, March 2021.
- Kim Masters at The Hollywood Reporter looks at the chaos around the production of Fant4stic, August 2015.
- Michael Wilmington at The Los Angeles Times reviews Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and places it in the context of its era, July 1987.
- Darren Mooney reviews Ghostbusters: Afterlife for The Escapist, November 2021.
- Jonathan Broxton discusses the soundtrack to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace at Movie Music U.K., August 2017.
- Bill Murray sings the Star Wars theme as Nick the Lounge Singer on Saturday Night Live, January 1987.
- Eddie Deezen at Mental Floss reports on Gene Roddenberry’s lyrics for the original Star Trek theme, July 2018.
- Michael Kmet at Star Trek Fact Check reports on the origins of “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations”, August 2013.
- Tim Appelo at The Hollywood Reporter looks at efforts to make Superman a citizen of the world, April 2011.
- Edward Helmore at The Guardian reports on attempts to move Superman away from “the American Way”, October 2021.
- Brian Cronin at Gizmodo reports on ten great excuses for Superman’s so-called “Superdickery”, May 2012.
- Austin Mutti-Mewse at The Guardian reports on the passing of actor William Hootkins, November 2005.
- Darren Mooney at the m0vie blog looks at the toxic nostalgia of Superman Returns, November 2017.
- Dominic Miller at Comic Book Resources looks back on the memory-wiping kiss at the end of Superman II, July 2021.
- Bill from Kill Bill, Vol. 2 discusses his interpretation of Clark Kent, April 2004.
- Sara Kettler at Biography looks back on the life-long friendship between Christopher Reeve and Robin Williams, May 2019.
- Daniel Aloi at The Cornell Chronicle looks back on Christopher Reeve’s time at Cornell University, November 2006.
- Clive Barnes at The New York Times reviews Christopher Reeve’s appearance with Katherine Hepburn in A Matter of Gravity, February 1976.
- Batman: The Animated Series mocks Joel Schumacher, October 1998.
- John Orguiola at ScreenRant looks at the tangled continuity between Superman II and Superman Returns, October 2020.
- Thaddeus Howze at Sci-Fi Radio looks at various attempts to explain Superman’s powers, October 2016.
- Duy Tano at Comics Cube looks back at John Byrne’s reinvention of Superman, Auguist 2011.
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Filed under: The Bottom 100 | Tagged: cannon films, christopher reeve, comic books, Comics, dark and gritty, eighties, fandom, gene hackman, goofiness, graham day, jon cryer, niall glynn, nuclear man, nuclear war, sidney j. furie, silliness, silver age, superman, The 250, The Bottom 100 |
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