# Roger Corman's "Fantastic Four" movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [October 26, 2021, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213 "2021-10-26T04:44:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/1 "2021-10-26T04:44:09Z")
How many of y’all have seen Roger Corman’s 1994 epic “Fantastic Four” and, if you have, what do you think of it? I ask because I just saw it on Roku Channel “Area 52”, and was pleasantly surprised with the special effects (very good for a Corman film), the acting (nobody “phoned it in”), and most definitely their adherence to the storyline of the comic it was based on, especially the depiction of Doctor Doom. I would even say it stuck to the actual origin story much better than any of the bloated follow up movies. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/2 "2021-10-26T05:10:38Z")
I haven’t seen it but I watched an interesting documentary on it. > **[Doomed!: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomed!:_The_Untold_Story_of_Roger_Corman%27s_The_Fantastic_Four)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Doomed!: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four is a 2015 documentary film about the troubled production of the unreleased Fantastic Four film from 1994. The documentary consists of interviews of individuals who were closely involved in the making of the film, including the cast, Oley Sassone (director), and Glenn Garland (editor). > The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 83% approval rating based on 6 reviews. > S... It was on Amazon Prime, I think it’s still available there. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/3 "2021-10-26T05:11:41Z")
Although co-produced under Roger Corman’s New Horizons and Constantin Film (which actually produces real films like _Se7en_, _The Outsiders_, _The Princess Bride_, and _Dances With Wolves_), it was directed by Oley Sassone, whose credits include five episodes of _Xena: Warrior Princess_, so you know he’s seriously legit. As noted, the story actually more or less follows the comic origins, certainly better than the nonsensical 2015 version, and the costumes are not terrible; Thing is actually as well articulated as the big budget versions (although Mr. Fantastic’s stretch effects are less than impressive). Despite the fact that the actors are people you’ve probably never heard of (the most recognizable name is Joseph Culp, son of “That Guy from the Eighties” Robert Culp) they are all trained actors with real credits (mostly bit parts and TV episode guest appearances but it’s still work) and clearly thought they were making a ‘real’ movie. Given the budget of the film and the speed at which it was made, it is actually pretty impressive, especially compared to other Marvel-based efforts, e.g. the [Albert Pyun _Captain America_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103923/) movie from just a few years previous. Say what you will about the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his fancy CGI effects, big name actors, character development and comedic sensibility, and overarching story spanning a decade of nineteen films, but the 1978 version of _The Avengers_ really had heart: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/x0jBF912xYY/hqdefault.jpg "The Avengers '78 movie promo") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0jBF912xYY) The casting of Alan Alda as “Hawkeye” was really a stroke of genius! Stranger ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/4 "2021-10-26T17:59:15Z")
It was so bad it was hilarious. The actor who played Dr. Doom should receive an award for hammiest actor of all time. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/5 "2021-10-26T21:39:48Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The casting of Alan Alda as “Hawkeye” was really a stroke of genius! So coy … not letting slip the casting of the villains 😁 I’m kinda diggin’ Cap’s Lucite shield. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/6 "2021-10-26T21:41:43Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > It was so bad it was hilarious. The actor who played Dr. Doom should receive an award for hammiest actor of all time. Looking back at Dr. Doom in the 60’s and 70’s, he was perfect. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/7 "2021-10-26T21:50:54Z")
Of course it sucked. But it could have sucked a lot worse. The script was fairly faithful to the comics (mostly from John Byrne’s tenure). The guy playing Doctor Doom was a horrible actor, but he had the perfect voice for a villain in an iron mask. The armor was obviously plastic, but they did a remarkably good job on the mask. With the budget limitations, they could not have an army of robots. Instead, they had his soldiers dress in a uniform based on his tunic and cowl. I thought that was an acceptable kludge. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/8 "2021-10-27T00:35:06Z")
Easily the best live action Doom to date. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/9 "2021-10-27T00:41:53Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I’m kinda diggin’ Cap’s Lucite shield. I unironically watched the old Captain America movie as a kid because he was my favorite super hero. I hated that it was the best I was going to get. It sucked so much and I really wanted to like it and couldn’t. Chris Evans as Steve Rogers was the movie character I always wanted to see. Not Evil Knievil and his bitchin’ frisbee. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/10 "2021-10-27T01:24:59Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Despite the fact that the actors are people you’ve probably never heard of (the most recognizable name is Joseph Culp, son of “That Guy from the Eighties” Robert Culp) they are all trained actors with real credits (mostly bit parts and TV episode guest appearances but it’s still work) and clearly thought they were making a ‘real’ movie. I might not remember their names right away but Alex Hyde-White (Reed Richards) and Jay Underwood (Johnny Storm) were very recognizable from many roles in the 80s and 90s. Alex is also the son of Wilfred Hyde-White the long time character actor. I think they are more notable than Robert Culp’s son. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/11 "2021-10-27T01:29:41Z")
I remember Jay Underwood from _The Boy Who Could Fly_; he was the only actor from that FF film I recognized on sight when I first saw a clip of it. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/12 "2021-10-27T05:17:06Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I might not remember their names right away but Alex Hyde-White (Reed Richards) and Jay Underwood (Johnny Storm) were very recognizable from many roles in the 80s and 90s. Alex is also the son of Wilfred Hyde-White the long time character actor. I think they are more notable than Robert Culp’s son. Years ago, I was watching some movie or TV show, and one of the actresses looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d seen her. So I looked her up on IMDb. It was Rebecca Staab. And ever since then I recognize her other in roles. I’ve not seen _The Fantastic Four_, but I read somewhere that it was never intended to be released. As the story goes, Corman owned the rights to make a Fantastic Four movie, but those rights would expire and revert back to the publisher if he didn’t make a movie within a certain timeframe. He made this version quick and cheap to keep the rights, but nothing in the contract said he had to release it. Is that story confirmed in the documentary about it? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/13 "2021-10-27T05:38:09Z")
i remember reading about it in the old wizard mag that was for comic books and toy collectors and they had a few paragraphs on to and a couple of stills and I wondered why it never came out … Years later Someone told me they’d seen a copy of it and well I didn’t miss much … funny thing is o wouldn’t of minded it since after reading his biography I thought he was rather fascinating … and (his movies were a hoot … ) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/14 "2021-10-27T05:39:27Z")
If you have Roku and haven’t seen it yet, go ahead and give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/15 "2021-10-27T13:49:51Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > I might not remember their names right away but Alex Hyde-White (Reed Richards) and Jay Underwood (Johnny Storm) were very recognizable from many roles in the 80s and 90s. Alex is also the son of Wilfred Hyde-White the long time character actor. I think they are more notable than Robert Culp’s son. > > Years ago, I was watching some movie or TV show, and one of the actresses looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d seen her. So I looked her up on IMDb. It was Rebecca Staab. And ever since then I recognize her other in roles. I recognize her too. Looks like she has had a successful tv career and does a lot of Hallmark channel movies now. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/16 "2021-10-27T14:25:20Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Is that story confirmed in the documentary about it? It’s a little more complicated than that. A guy named Bernd Eichinger of Constantin Films had the rights. The rights were about to expire, so he hired Corman to make a quick-and-cheap film. They were about to release it to theaters, when Marvel suddenly decided to kill it. Stan Lee claimed it was never intended for release. Eichinger and Corman claimed otherwise. Some info here > **[Fantastic Four in film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Four_in_film)** > > The superhero team Fantastic Four featured in Marvel Comics publication has appeared in four live-action films since its inception. The plots deal with four main characters, known formally as Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm, and how they adapt to the superpowers they attain. > Constantin Film bought the film rights for the characters in 1986. A low-budget film was produced in 1992 by New Horizon Studios owned by Roger Corman. In 2004, after Constantin sub-licensed the fi... More details here > **[The Fantastic Four (unreleased film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantastic_Four_(unreleased_film))** > > The Fantastic Four is an unreleased 1994 English-language German superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The film features the team's origin and first battle with Doctor Doom. Executive-produced by low-budget specialists Roger Corman and Bernd Eichinger, it was made to allow Eichinger to keep the Fantastic Four film rights. It was not officially released, although pirated copies have circulated since 1994 as well as various ... ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/17 "2021-10-27T14:37:49Z")
Corman claims that the film was set to be released, and that Marvel had to buy out his contract, paying a substantial amount of money to stop the release. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-cormans-fantastic-four-movie/953213/18 "2021-10-27T15:42:46Z")
Money well spent on Marvel’s part. That piece of sludge would have set superhero movies back a hundred years…and they’d only been around for fifteen.