Superman IV: Release the Furie Cut?

[Silver Nemesis]

It looks like that YouTuber, Aaron Price (aka APRICEPRODUCTION), has made some more Superman IV vids. Last year I posted the following idea on August 6th.

Nuclear Man himself could also be enhanced with digital effects. The filmmakers originally intended for him to be a darker, scarier character than what we got in the finished film. I've always thought he looked quite menacing when he first emerges from the sun. He's glowing gold in that scene, his eyes are red and he's covered in crackling flames and electricity. You could make it so that he looks like this throughout the entire film, thereby concealing the awkwardness of his costume while still capitalising on Mark Pillow's imposing height and physique. This would almost certainly make him appear more intimidating.

Just eight days later, on August 14th, Price posted the following clip.

This is exactly what I was hoping for. Nuclear Man would be far more intimidating if he looked like this in every scene. The alteration to his voice is also a welcome change.

Here's another clip. This time he's replaced Milton Keynes Central railway station with the United Nations Secretariat Building in New York.

Great work!

If this is ever going to happen (and who knows?), I'm thinking it probably needs to be soon. Not trying to be morbid or edgelordy but Furie is 88. Let's be realistic here about how much time he has left. I don't know the ethics or the legality of reworking a deceased filmmaker's work. But it's easy to imagine how that could be misunderstood.

I doubt Furie himself is particularly bothered about Superman IV. He'd probably rather just forget about it at this point. If an extended cut were to be released, I think it would most likely be a fan project. But they could still call it the Furie Cut in honour of the original director. Ideally I'd like to see a project like that get an official release by WB, just as I'd like to see an official extended release of Batman Forever, but as you rightly point out there could be legal obstacles to placing a deceased director's name on an edit they didn't approve.

If the Furie Cut does happen – either as an official release or a fan project – then hopefully it'll happen soon so Furie can give it his blessing.

While there might not be much of a demand for this, there is at least a Twitter page dedicated to the cause: https://twitter.com/supermaniv?lang=en

[Silver Nemesis]

Here are some more fixed FX shots from Aaron Price.

This guy's done an amazing job. I hope he'll eventually assemble all of these clips into a complete fan edit along with some of the deleted scenes. I doubt an official 'Furie Cut' from WB would have anywhere near as much effort or skill put into it, so perhaps a fan project such as this is our best hope for an improved version of the film.

[thecolorsblend]

I spent ages wondering why the comic book adaptation of S4 was so different from (and, in many ways, superior to) the film. Eventually, I got an email from Marty Pasko, the writer of the comic book. He said that he and the creative team knew all about S4's many problems. So, they saw it as their task to correct as many things as possible. So, Superman's wall-rebuilding vision in the film became Superman manually rebuilding the Great Wall of China at superspeed.

And in terms of rescuing Lacy, Superman created the eclipse much earlier, saved Lacy before Nuclear Man rly had a chance to do anything and that was it. It's a neat and clean way to solve the problem in just two pages rather than show Lacy breathing in outer space.

I too hope that the editor creates some sort of fan edit of the movie. But if he doesn't, the comic book adaptation is a pretty good alternative to the movie. Plus, it features some Curt Swan art, which is always a good thing.

[Silver Nemesis]

I read the Superman IV comic adaptation many years ago, and like the Batman & Robin adaptation it was vastly superior to the actual movie. It included some of the better deleted scenes, such as Clark visiting his parents' graves and the 'Red Alert' sequence. Both of those scenes should be restored in future edits.

Here's a new ending to the movie, in which Superman disposes of Nuclear Man by dropping him into a wormhole.

I actually quite like the idea of Superman trapping Nuclear Man inside a reactor, but this ending works too.

[Silver Nemesis]

[Paul (ral)]

I wish Aaron all the best with this. At the very least it might inspire WB to release the longer cut (which was completed with effects in 1987).

[thecolorsblend]

One thing these videos are driving home for me is how good the Superman IV score is. Rumor has it that John Williams composed a few new themes ("Lacy's Theme", "Nuclear Man's Theme") but obviously this is an Alexander Courage joint. Great score.

[Paul (ral)]

One thing these videos are driving home for me is how good the Superman IV score is. Rumor has it that John Williams composed a few new themes ("Lacy's Theme", "Nuclear Man's Theme") but obviously this is an Alexander Courage joint. Great score.

Not a rumor at all. Williams did. Courage worked with Williams for years previous and they were friends.

[Silver Nemesis]

I wish Aaron all the best with this. At the very least it might inspire WB to release the longer cut (which was completed with effects in 1987).

I really hope something like this pans out. There appears to be a fair amount of interest in it online, and apparently Christopher Reeve's son has given the project his blessing. It would be nice to see the film properly finished after all these years. I mean let's face it, Superman IV has nowhere to go but up.

One thing these videos are driving home for me is how good the Superman IV score is. Rumor has it that John Williams composed a few new themes ("Lacy's Theme", "Nuclear Man's Theme") but obviously this is an Alexander Courage joint. Great score.

Apparently Williams also wrote 'Jeremy's Theme'.

You're right about the score. It's underappreciated.

[Silver Nemesis]