Superman III
 | The neutrality of this article is disputed. |
| Superman III | |
|---|---|
 Original movie poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Lester |
| Written by | Comic Book: Jerry Siegel Joe Shuster Screenplay: David Newman Leslie Newman |
| Produced by | Ilya Salkind Pierre Spengler |
| Starring | Christopher Reeve Richard Pryor Jackie Cooper Marc McClure Annette O'Toole Annie Ross Pamela Stephenson Robert Vaughn Margot Kidder |
| Cinematography | Robert Paynter |
| Edited by | John Victor-Smith |
| Music by | Ken Thorne John Williams (Themes) |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates | June 17, 1983 |
Running time | 125 min. |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $39,000,000 |
Superman III (originally titled Superman vs. Superman), is a 1983 superhero film that was the third of four movies in the Superman film series based upon the long-running DC Comics superhero produced between 1978-1987.
Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, and Margot Kidder are joined by new cast members Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn, and Richard Pryor. The film was the last Reeve/Superman film produced by Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind. It was followed by Supergirl in 1984 and the non-Salkind sequel Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987.
The film was less successful than the first two Superman movies, both financially and critically, but was still the fifth highest grossing film of 1983. Many fans of the series complained that there was too much emphasis on a comedic storyline, the main villains weren't as strong as other villains in the franchise, and that Christopher Reeve essentially was put behind Richard Pryor in cast. Following the release of this movie Pryor signed a deal with Columbia Pictures worth $40,000,000. [1]
Series producer Ilya Salkind claims that he originally wrote a treatment for this film that included Brainiac, Mister Mxyzptlk, and Supergirl, but Warner Bros. did not like it. [2]
Taglines:
- The world's super hero in his toughest adventure yet!
- Superman vs. the king of computerized crime!
Plot
In this third installment, unemployed ne'er-do-well Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) discovers a talent for computer programming. After embezzling large amounts of money from the company payroll (a technique known as salami slicing, in which fractions of a cent are diverted to a private bank account), Gorman is brought to the attention of his employer, Ross Webster. Webster (Vaughn), a wealthy man who runs a large conglomerate called Webscoe Industries, is obsessed with the computer's potential in aiding him in his schemes for world domination. Joined by his sister Vera and his "psychic nutritionist", Lorelei Ambrosia, Webster blackmails Gorman into helping him.
Meanwhile, Clark Kent has convinced his newspaper into allowing him to return to Smallville for his high school reunion. En route, Kent's bus is delayed by a chemical plant fire. After transforming into Superman, it is revealed that there is a far more serious danger than the fire itself, for the plant houses many vials of Beltric acid which, when heated, will emit toxic clouds of vapor that will eat through virtually anything and cause a major disaster. After the fire department's water supply fails, Superman flies to a nearby lake, freezing it with super breath. The fire is extinguished when Superman drops the frozen block of ice on the plant, which melts into precipitation.
In Smallville, Clark is reunited with childhood friend Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole, who would later play Martha Kent in Smallville). Lana is now a divorcee with a young son named Ricky (Paul Kaethler). Although Clark and Lana begin to share affection for each other, Lana's former boyfriend Brad (Gavan O'Herlihy), a former jock and Clark's childhood bully and now an alcoholic security guard, is still vying for her attention.
Back in Metropolis, Webster attempts to monopolize the world's coffee crop. Infuriated by Colombia's refusal to do business with him, he orders Gorman to command an American weather satellite, Vulcan, to create a hurricane to decimate the nation's entire coffee crop. However, Superman flies into the eye of the hurricane, neutralizing it and saving the year's harvest. Perceiving Superman as a threat to his plans, Webster then orders Gorman to use his computer knowledge to create synthetic Kryptonite after remembering Lois Lane's Daily Planet interview from Superman, during which Superman identified it as his only weakness.
After scanning the coordinates of Krypton's former location via satellite and locating a floating chunk of kryptonite in outer space, the computer's results show a small percentage of an unknown component. Desperate, Gus substitutes tar after glancing at his cigarette pack to complete the compound.
Lana convinces Superman to make a personal appearance at her son's birthday party; however, the event becomes a community welcoming for the Man of Steel. Gus and Vera, disguised as an Army general and a WAC officer, give Superman the chunk of ersatz Kryptonite as a gift, and are dismayed to see that it appears to have no effect on him. However, the compound begins to produce symptoms similar to Red and Black Kryptonite. Superman becomes selfish, which causes him to delay in rescuing a truck driver from his jackknifed rig and to question his own self-worth. As the Kryptonite takes effect, Superman becomes depressed, angry, and casually destructive, committing petty acts of vandalism such as blowing out the Olympic torch and straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Emboldened now that Superman is seemingly out of commission, Webster next sets his sights on controlling the world's oil supply. With Gus' help, he commands oil tankers to divert from their present courses and rendezvous in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. When one tanker captain refuses to obey the computer's orders, Webster recruits Lorelei to request the now wanton Superman to damage the ship, causing a massive oil spill. America undergoes a catastrophic gas shortage; although Gus begins to see the true effects of his work for Webster, he distracts himself by presenting Webster with crude plans for "the ultimate computer", which is quietly assembled in a remote canyon in Utah.
Superman sullenly assuages his depression with a drinking binge, but is overcome by guilt and has a nervous breakdown. After nearly crash-landing in a junkyard, he splits into two personas: the evil, selfish Superman and the moral, righteous Clark Kent. The evil Superman and Clark Kent, the embodiment of Superman's remaining good qualities, engage in an epic battle. Although Clark is initially overpowered by his alter ego, he eventually takes the upper hand, feverishly strangling his evil identity until he fades from sight.
Superman, back to his old self, first uses his super breath to reverse the oil spill he created and then flies off to confront Webster and his accomplices. After defending himself from an MX missile, he does battle with Gorman's supercomputer, which, after attempting to suffocate him, severely weakens the Man of Steel with a ray of real Kryptonite. Gorman, guilt-ridden and horrified by the prospect of "going down in history as the man who killed Superman", manages to destroy the deadly laser with a fire axe and Superman flees. The computer begins to malfunction, becoming self-aware, defending itself against Gus, and draining power from nearby electrical towers, causing massive blackouts. Ross and Lorelei are able to escape from the control room, but Vera is sucked into the main entrance of the computer and transformed into a cyborg. Empowered by the supercomputer, Vera attacks her brother and his girlfriend with beams of energy, which weaken and immobilize them.
Superman returns with a small vial of acid from the chemical plant from earlier in the film. The intense heat emitted by the supercomputer causes the acid to turn volatile, destroying the machine and turning Vera back to normal. Superman flies away with Gus, leaving Webster and his cronies to face the authorities. After dropping Gus off at a West Virginia coal mine, where he gives him a job reference, Superman returns to Metropolis and reunites with Lana Lang, who has decided to relocate to the big city and finds employment as Perry White's new secretary.
Cast
Box office
The total domestic box office gross (not adjusted for inflation) for Superman III was $59,950,623.[3] Thus, it was considered a major financial disappointment, since the first two movies each grossed over $100 million domestically. Besides a considerably poor feedback from the audience themselves, what also likely hurt the box office performance was the fact that Superman III was released during the same summer as the Star Wars sequel Return of the Jedi and two James Bond films: Octopussy and Never Say Never Again.
In July 1983, ITV showed the Royal Premiere of Superman III. This show included interviews with actors in the film who had flown to London for the United Kingdom and European premiere. Some clips from the film were shown, including where Superman is flying Gus to the coal mine and explaining how he used the acid to destroy the supercomputer, thus revealing the ending of the film.
Critical reaction
A frequent criticism of Superman III was the inclusion of comedian Richard Pryor, whose broad slapstick scenes were felt to overshadow the film's plot. [4] Pryor, who initially came to fame in the 1970s as a profane observational comedian, had a string of hits in the late '70s and early '80s such as Stir Crazy and The Toy (ironically directed by Richard Donner). After appearing on The Tonight Show, telling Johnny Carson how much he enjoyed seeing Superman II, the Salkinds were eager to cast him in a prominent role in the third film.[5]
Audiences also saw Robert Vaughn's villainous Ross Webster as an uninspired fill-in for Lex Luthor,[6][7] Gene Hackman, along with Margot Kidder (Lois Lane), was angry with the way the Salkinds treated Superman director Richard Donner, retaliating by refusing to reprise the role of Lex Luthor entirely [citation needed](though he would later be persuaded to come back for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987, with which the Salkinds had no connection). After Margot Kidder publicly criticized the Salkinds for their treatment of Donner, the producers "punished" the actress by reducing her role in Superman III to a brief cameo.[8][9]
In his commentary for the 2006 DVD release of Superman III, Ilya Salkind denied any ill will between Margot Kidder and his production team and refuted the claim her part was cut for retaliation. Instead, he said, the creative team decided to pursue a different direction for a love interest for Superman, believing the Lois & Clark relationship had been played out in the first two films (but could be revisited in the future). With the choice to give a more prominent role to Lana Lang, Lois' part was reduced for story reasons. Salkind also denied the reports about Gene Hackman being upset with him, stating that Hackman didn't return due to prior commitments[citation needed].
Fans of the Superman series also placed a great deal of the blame on director Richard Lester.[10] Richard Lester made a number of popular comedies in the 1960s - including The Beatles' classic A Hard Day's Night - before being hired by the Salkinds in the 1970s for their successful Three Musketeers series, as well as Superman II. Lester broke tradition by having Superman III open with a prolonged slapstick sequence with difficult-to-read titles (the first two movies opened up in outer space with big and bold credits). Fans[weasel words] believed that Lester, unlike Donner, had little knowledge or, more importantly, respect[11] for the Superman legacy and legend. In fact, Richard Donner was supposedly fired because he wouldn't follow the Salkinds' vision of Superman being campy (a la the Batman television series starring Adam West).[citation needed] Superman III is commonly seen as more or less a goofy (albeit uneven) farce rather than a grand adventure picture like the first two movies.[12]
The film's screenplay, by David and Leslie Newman, was also criticized.[13][14], . When Richard Donner was hired to direct the first two films, he found the Newmans' scripts so distasteful that he hired Tom Mankiewicz for heavy rewrites. Since Donner and Mankiewicz were no longer attached to the franchise, the Salkinds were finally able to bring their "vision" of Superman to the screen and once again hired the Newmans for writing duties.
Film critic Leonard Maltin said of Superman III that it was an "appalling sequel that trashed everything that Superman was about for the sake of cheap laughs and a co-starring role for Richard Pryor."
Despite such harsh criticisms, Superman III was praised for Reeve's performance of a corrupted version of the Man of Steel, particularly the spectacular junkyard battle between this newly-darkened Superman and Clark Kent.[15] It has also been praised as a true Richard Lester film, as opposed to Superman II, which bears little of Lester's signature. It is generally accepted that while the film was inferior to its predecessors, it was still significantly superior to the universally-derided 'Quest for Peace', which followed four years later.
Soundtrack
As with the previous sequel, the musical score was composed and conducted by Ken Thorne, using the Superman theme and most other themes from the first film composed by John Williams, but this time around there is more original music by Thorne than the Williams re-arrangements. To capitalize on the popularity of synthesizer pop, Giorgio Moroder was hired to create songs for the film (though interestingly enough, their use in the film is minimal.)
The track listings on the soundtrack album are as follows:
- Main Title (The Streets of Metropolis) 5:23
- Saving The Factory-The Acid Test 6:09
- Gus Finds a Way :58
- The Two Faces of Superman 2:50
- The Struggle Within-Final Victory 4:16
- Rock On - Marshall Crenshaw 3:35
- No See, No Cry - Chaka Khan 3:18
- They Won't Get Me - Roger Miller 3:20
- Love Theme - Helen St. John 3:14
- Main Title March - Giorgio Moroder 4:20
Extra footage
Superman III was released on June 17, 1983 with a running time of 123 minutes in the United States and 117 minutes in the United Kingdom. The extended cut was first shown on ABC in 1985 with an extra 20 minutes of added footage (thus, making the running time 143 minutes). Just like with the previous two Superman movies, the television edition of Superman III was produced by Alexander Salkind's company. Until recently, this version had been distributed in American television syndication as part of Viacom's Superman syndication package which also features Supergirl and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (full rights have since reverted to Warner Bros.). In the United Kingdom, the extended version has been shown about two or three times in the late 1980s.
Cultural references
The computer program that Gus Gorman created, which took the fractions of cents left over from financial transactions and interest compounding and transferred them to a dummy account, is actually a reasonable way to steal if security has been compromised. Most people do not manually balance their own books, and would thus not notice the missing penny. At large data centers for banks and credit unions, Unisys mainframes have a validation program which checks explicitly for this exploit.
This aspect of the film has been one of the most referenced aspects in popular culture. In the 1999 film Office Space, the characters use the same computer program that Gus Gorman used to make himself rich. They even mention how "they did it in Superman III" and claim it's "an underrated movie, actually".
The took the fractions of cents left over aspect has also been used in Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG's episode "Confusion at the North End."
In a recent Supergirl comic book, Lex Luthor exposed Supergirl to black kryptonite. The black kryptonite acts exactly like Gus Gorman's syntethic kryptonite, splitting Supergirl into a "good Supergirl" and an "evil Supergirl" (ie. just what happens to Superman in this film). In the end, Wonder Woman uses her magic lasso to combine the two Supergirls into a single, good one.
See also
References
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4517714.stm
- ^ Ilya Salkind commentary, Superman III DVD, 2006 version
- ^ IMDb.com > Business
- ^ The major problem with this entry in the Superman series is the writing in of Richard Pryor...
- ^ Verdict on Superman III, fast-rewind.com. Accessed August 6, 2006.
- ^ Robert Vaughn's villain is merely an unimaginative rehash of Lex Luthor...[weasel words]
- ^ really disliked this character. All that he did the entire film was act like a Lex Luthor wannabe...[weasel words]
- ^ Article on Superman II, supermansupersite.com. Accessed August 7, 2006.
- ^ Article on Superman III, fast-rewind.com. Accessed August 7, 2006.
- ^ http://www.supermansupersite.com/movie3.html
- ^ The biggest fault is the abysmal script...
- ^ Pryor's presence just results in some really silly antics - with him running about in a giant cowboy hat getting Gavin O'Herlihy drunk...
- ^ The script has no real focus.
- ^ ...like I said before, this script is "laughable."
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/superman_iii/?critic=tomatometer_fresh
External links
- SupermanIII.com
- Superman III at IMDb
- Superman III at Rotten Tomatoes
- Superman Cinema - Superman III
- The DVD Journal Quick Reviews: Superman III
- THE CINEMA LASER DVD REVIEW -- SUPERMAN III
- Movie Reviews (Chrisopther Reeve Homepage) - Superman III
- STARLOG 73 AUGUST 1983: INTERVIEW WITH DAVID AND LESLIE NEWMAN
- Superman Homepage: Superman III - Movie Synopsis/Review/Critique
- Set of TOPPS Trading Cards Based On The Film Superman III