Superman III
Superman III | |
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Directed by | Richard Lester |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | |
Produced by | Pierre Spengler |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Robert Paynter |
Edited by | John Victor-Smith |
Music by | Ken Thorne |
Production company | Dovemead Ltd. |
Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 125 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom[1] United States[2] |
Language | English |
Budget | $39 million[3] |
Box office | $80.2 million[3] |
Superman III is a 1983 superhero film directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman based on the DC Comics character Superman.[4][5] It is the third installment in the Superman film series and a sequel to Superman II (1980). The film features a cast of Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn, and Margot Kidder.[5][6]
Although the film recouped its budget of $39 million, it proved less successful than the first two Superman films, both financially and critically. While harsh criticism focused on the film's comedic and campy tone as well as on the casting and performance of Pryor, the special effects and Christopher Reeve's performance as Superman were praised.
A sequel, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, was released in July 1987.
Plot
The
At the
At the reunion, Clark reunites with childhood friend Lana Lang, a divorcée with a young son named Ricky. Clark is harassed by Brad Wilson, his former bully and Lana's ex-boyfriend. While having a picnic with Lana, Superman saves an unconscious Ricky from being killed by a combine harvester.
Infuriated by
Lana convinces Superman to appear at Ricky's birthday party, but Smallville turns it into a town celebration. Gus and Vera, disguised as
Gus asks Webster to build the world's most sophisticated supercomputer; he agrees, if Gus creates an energy crisis by directing all oil tankers to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Lorelei seduces Superman, persuading him to waylay one of the tankers and cause an oil spill.
Superman suffers a nervous breakdown and splits into two beings: the immoral, corrupted dark Superman and the moral, mild-mannered Clark Kent. The two fight, with Clark defeating his evil self. Regaining his sanity, Superman repairs the damage of the oil spill. After defending himself from exploding rockets and an ASALM missile, he confronts Webster, Vera, and Lorelei. The supercomputer identifies Superman's weakness and unleashes a beam of pure Kryptonite.
Guilt-ridden, Gus destroys the Kryptonite ray with an axe. Superman escapes, but
As Clark, Superman visits Lana after she moves to Metropolis. Lana's new job as Perry White's secretary surprises Lois, who returns from vacation with an article about corruption in Bermuda and has newfound respect for Clark after reading his story. Superman restores the Leaning Tower of Pisa and flies into the sunrise for further adventures.
Cast
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2024) |
- Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent / Superman: After discovering his origins in the earlier films, he sets himself to helping those on Earth. After defeating his arch enemies, Lex Luthor twice and General Zod, Superman comes face-to-face with a new villain: the megalomaniac Ross Webster, who is determined to control the world's coffee and oil supplies. Superman also battles personal demons after exposure to a synthetic form of kryptonite that corrupts him.
- Richard Pryor as August "Gus" Gorman: A bumbling computer genius who works for Ross Webster and inadvertently gets mixed up in Webster's scheme to destroy Superman.
- Jackie Cooper as Perry White: The editor of the Daily Planet.
- Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen: A photographer for the Daily Planet.
- Annette O'Toole as Lana Lang: Clark's high school friend who reconciles with Clark after seeing him during their high school reunion. O'Toole later portrayed Martha Kent on the Superman television series Smallville.
- Robert Vaughn as Ross "Bubba" Webster: A villainous, super-wealthy industrialist and philanthropist. After Superman prevents him from taking over the world's coffee supply, Ross is determined to destroy Superman before he can stop his plan to control the world's oil supply. He is an original character created for the movie.
- Annie Ross as Vera Webster: Ross's sister and partner in his corporation and villainous plans.
- Pamela Stephenson as Lorelei Ambrosia: Ross's assistant. Lorelei, a voluptuous blonde bombshell, is well read, articulate and skilled in computers, but conceals her intelligence from Ross and Vera, to whom she adopts the appearance of a superficial, stereotypical klutz. As part of Ross's plan, she seduces Superman.
- Margot Kidder as Lois Lane: A reporter at the Daily Planet who has a history with both Clark Kent and Superman. She is away from Metropolis on vacation to Bermuda, which put her in the middle of a front-page story.
- Gavan O'Herlihy as Brad Wilson: Lana's ex-boyfriend and Clark's high school rival. A security guard at a Webscoe subsidiary, he is also a chronic alcoholic.
Frank Oz originally had a cameo as a surgeon, but the scene was deleted from the final cut, although it was later included in the TV extended version of the film. Shane Rimmer, who had a role in Superman II as a NASA controller, has a small part as a state police officer. Pamela Mandell, who played a diner waitress in the same film, appears here as the hapless wife of a Daily Planet sweepstakes winner. Aaron Smolinski, who played baby Clark Kent in the 1978 Superman film, appears as the little boy next to the phone booth that Clark Kent uses to change into Superman. He also would later appear in Man of Steel as a communications officer.
Production
Development
Casting
Both
After an appearance by Richard Pryor on The Tonight Show,[16] 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, riding on Pryor's success in films such as Silver Streak, Stir Crazy and The Toy.[17] Pryor accepted a $5 million salary to appear in the film.[14] Following the release of the film, Pryor signed a five-year contract with Columbia Pictures worth $40 million.[18]
Filming
Principal photography commenced on June 21, 1982. Most of the interior scenes were shot, like the previous Superman films, at Pinewood Studios outside London. The junkyard scene was filmed on Pinewood's backlot. The coal mine scene, where Superman leaves Gus, was filmed at Battersea Power Station,[19] where Richard Lester had previously shot scenes for the Beatles film Help! Most exteriors were filmed in Calgary, Alberta due to Canada's tax breaks for film companies. Superman's drinking binge was filmed at the St. Louis Hotel in Downtown East Village, Calgary, while other scenes such as the slapstick-comedy opening were shot several blocks to the west.[citation needed] While the supercomputer set was created on Pinewood's 007 Stage, exteriors were shot at Glen Canyon in Utah.[20]
Effects and animation
The film includes "the same special effects team" from the prior two films.[21][22] Atari, part of Warner, created the video game computer animation for the missile defense scene.[23][24][25]
Music
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. Giorgio Moroder was hired to create songs for the film, though their use in the film is minimal.
Release
Theatrical
Superman III was shown at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 1983, and then had its New York premiere on June 14, 1983, at Cinema I.[26] It was released in theatres on June 17, 1983,[27] in the United States and July 19, 1983, in the United Kingdom.
Marketing
Extended television edition
Like the previous films, a separate extended edition was produced. It was aired on
Reception
Box office
Superman III grossed $60 million at the United States box office, and $20.2 million internationally, for a total of $80.2 million worldwide.[3] The film was the 12th-highest-grossing film of 1983 in North America.[31]
Critical response
Superman III holds a 29% approval rating and has an average rating of 4.6/10 on Rotten Tomatoes based on 59 reviews. The website's critical consensus states, "When not overusing sight gags, slapstick and Richard Pryor, Superman III resorts to plot points rehashed from the previous Superman flicks."[32] The film has a Metacritic rating of 44, indicating "mixed or average reviews" from 13 professional reviewers.[33]
Film critic
Christopher John reviewed Superman III in Ares magazine #16 and commented that "compared to the first film in this series, everything about Superman III is a joke, a harsh cruel joke played on all the people who wanted to see more of the Superman they saw a few years ago."[37]
Colin Greenland reviewed Superman III for Imagine magazine, and stated that "What ultimately spoils the fun in Superman III is not the incoherent story or even the technophobia. It is simply overloaded—too many ideas, too many gadgets, too many stars (Pamela Stephenson is completely wasted in a part which would have been too dumb for Goldie Hawn). The wiring all comes loose at the end; an anticlimax, and a rushed one at that."[38]
Fans of the Superman series placed a great deal of the blame on director Richard Lester.[16] Lester made a number of popular comedies[16] in the 1960s—including the Beatles' 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 which, although better received, was also criticised for unnecessary sight gags and slapstick. Lester broke tradition by setting the opening credits for Superman III during a prolonged slapstick sequence rather than in outer space.
The film's screenplay, by David and Leslie Newman, was also criticized.[16] 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, the Salkinds were free to bring their version of Superman to the screen and once again hired the Newmans for writing duties.[15] Reeve stated in his autobiography that the original script for the first Superman had so many puns and gags that it risked having Superman earn a reputation akin to that of Batman being associated with the campy TV show of the 1960s. "In one scene in this script, Superman would be in pursuit of Lex Luthor, identified by his bald head and grab him, only to realize he had captured Telly Savalas who would remark "Who loves ya, baby?" and offer Superman a lollipop. Dick [Donner] had done away with much of that inanity."
Reeve's own performance as a corrupted Man of Steel received praise, particularly the junkyard battle between this newly darkened Superman and Clark Kent.
References
- ^ "Superman III". BFI. Archived from the original on August 4, 2012.
- ^ "Superman III". AFI.
- ^ a b c "Superman 3 The Numbers". The Numbers. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
- ^ "UGO's World of Superman - Superman Movies: Superman III". UGO Networks. 2006. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ^ Time Warner). Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- The Huffington Post. United States: AOL. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ a b "Director RICHARD DONNER Talks SUPERMAN's Legacy". 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture. September 25, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
- ^ a b "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ Ilya Salkind commentary, Superman III DVD, 2006 version
- ^ a b c "Movie Legends Revealed: Was Supergirl Nearly Superman's Love Interest in 'Superman III'?". CBR. April 20, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "s3_original_idea.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- PDF file); Accessed September 4, 2010
- ^ a b c d "What The Original Superman 3 Looked Like (& Why It Didn't Happen)". ScreenRant. May 10, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "15 Shocking Things You Didn't Know About The Horrible Superman III". ScreenRant. September 19, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ a b c "The Superman Super Site - Superman II". Retrieved January 10, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Superman Super Site - Superman III". Retrieved January 10, 2008.
- ^ a b "Article on Superman III". fast-rewind.com. United States. Retrieved August 7, 2006.
- ^ "Comedian Richard Pryor dead at 65". BBC News. December 10, 2005. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ^ DocumentalesDeCine (July 21, 2013). "Como Se Hizo: Superman 3. Especial De Televisión. Subtitulado En Español" – via YouTube.[dead YouTube link]
- ISBN 9781423605874.
- ^ "h2g2 - 'Superman III' - The Film - Edited Entry". h2g2.com. Not Panicking, Ltd. 19 December 2011.
- ^ "Superman III". IMDb. June 17, 1983.
- ^ Robley, Les Paul (September 1983). "Computer Graphics for SUPERMAN III". American Cinematographer. 64 (9). Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ^ Mace, Scott (September 12, 1983). "Superman dodges missile foes made by Atari animation experts". InfoWorld. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ^ "Steve Wright Digital FX | Steve's Atari Days". swdfx.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ^ "'Super III' Preems To Aid MoMA Preservation Fund, Special Olympics". Variety. April 13, 1983. p. 4.
- ^ Superman III at the American Film Institute Catalog
- ISBN 9780810399365.
- ^ Rogow, Roberta (December 1983). "Superman III". Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA). 6: 282.
- ^ "Superman Homepage". supermanhomepage.com.
- ^ "Top Films of 1983". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ a b "Superman III (1983)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
- ^ "Superman III". Metacritic.
- ^ Maltin, Leonard (1999). Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 1999. Plume. p. 1306.
- ISBN 978-0446693349.
- ^ Wallace Harrington and Michael George O'Connor. "Superman III - Film Review". Retrieved January 10, 2008.
- ^ John, Christopher (Winter 1983). "Film". Ares (16). TSR, Inc.: 57–58.
- Imagine(review) (8). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.: 19.
- ISBN 978-0609000762.
External links
- Official DC Comics Site Archived 2020-02-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Official Warner Bros. Site
- Superman III at AllMovie
- Superman III at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Superman III at Box Office Mojo
- Superman III at IMDb
- Superman III at Metacritic
- Superman III at Rotten Tomatoes
- Superman III at the TCM Movie Database