Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf December 2, 2016

The saga of 1994’s “The Fantastic Four” is no Hollywood secret. Over the last two decades, details have leaked about the film’s quickie production and aborted release, with the picture eventually discarded altogether after some promotional work was already underway. It’s one of those industry black eyes, and while journalistic endeavors have explored the creation and disintegration of “The Fantastic Four,” director Marty Langford looks to dig deeper with “Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four,” constructing a documentary that collects stories from those on the front lines. It’s not a cheery tale of creative and financial success, but it delivers a wider appreciation of what was attempted in the 1990s, with B-movie imagination eclipsing the blockbuster intentions later iterations of the property attempted.

In 1992, producer Bernd Eichinger held the film rights to “The Fantastic Four,” collected during a dark period in Marvel Comics history where the company had little clue what to do with their stable of superheroes when it came to big screen adventures. However, instead of dreaming big with a cinematic extravaganza, Eichinger needed to make a movie in a hurry. He first turned to Troma Entertainment, the purveyors of outrageous no-budget fantasy, for help, but owner Lloyd Kaufman wisely declined the opportunity. Keeping budgetary restraint in mind, Eichinger found a partner in Roger Corman, the famed master of the long weekend film shoot. Corman was coming off “Carnosaur” and open to Eichinger’s haste, with each producer putting up $750,000 to bring the vivid ink and paint realm of “The Fantastic Four” to theaters. Perhaps it wasn’t an ideal creative endeavor, but it was happening, and in a hurry.

“Doomed” delivers impressive access to most of “The Fantastic Four” participants, including film stars Alex Hyde-White (Dr. Reed Richards), Jay Underwood (Johnny Storm), Rebecca Staab (Sue Storm), Michael Bailey Smith (Ben Grimm), Joseph Culp (Dr. Doom), Carl Ciarfalio (The Thing), and director Oley Sassone. The crew paints a lively portrait of production labor, which took off at the speed of light once money was in place, finding casting beginning at the start of December, 1993, with principal photography commencing a few weeks later. Without time to fully prep, Sassone was suddenly in charge of a major Marvel Comics adaptation, tasked with topping television efforts without the financial support such endeavors enjoy today. It was a Corman production after all, recycling “Carnosaur” sets and using painted Dixie Cups to create the feature’s fantasy look. Nobody knew where the money was going, but costumes were created (with visible stitching), special effects were attempted (from inept pros who promised more than they could deliver), and one Thing suit was built, trying to replicate the look of the comic’s early years. It wasn’t perfect but Sassone was determined to make it work, and his cast and crew trusted in his dented vision, believing that they were in command of possibly career-changing success.

“The Fantastic Four” wasn’t a hit film. It wasn’t even released. Despite some advanced promotion in the form of a poster and a trailer, and comic book convention appearances from the cast (who paid for the privilege out of their own pockets), the picture was hastily pieced together and thrown away, shocking everyone involved in the production. “Doomed” isn’t thorough with on-set experiences, touching on a few B-movie limitations and mistakes (Culp is still miffed that his masked performance wasn’t given the dramatic dubbing it deserved), but it’s detailed with post-shoot blues, highlighting the disappointment of those who anticipated something big from “The Fantastic Four,” but offered only rumor about Eichinger’s original intention for the effort, hearing rumbling about contractual satisfaction to retain the rights, which were eventually brought to 20th Century Fox, who developed their own big-budget take over the next decade. There’s surprising emotion in “Doomed,” watching the interviewees articulate their confusion, with Hyde-White wonderfully sincere in his assessment of the painful situation.

“Doomed” doesn’t have all the particulars when it comes to the assembly of “The Fantastic Four,” but it covers most of the inspiration and eventual agony of the production, offering proper illumination from gathered cast and crew, joined by important participants like Mark Sikes (Corman’s assistant), who is an invaluable addition to the documentary. Also interesting is a discussion of the feature’s ultimate release as a bootleg, finally giving fans (and the cast) a chance to see the movie, allowed to assess a picture that isn’t completely finished, but still preserves a promising degree of superhero spirit.

Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio, BD-R) presentation provides a clear look at the static but nicely lit HD cinematography, which provides sharp detail with various faces, pulling out pores, hairs, and assorted textures. Colors are bold, with vivid primaries to amplify the comic book appearance of the documentary. Skintones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. "Doomed" does stitch together a variety of film and video sources, often from bootlegs, making visual consistency impossible, but the viewing experience isn't disruptive. Some mild banding is detected.

Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound mix is a basic assembly of interview audio, though it's presented quite loudly, requiring some initial volume riding to make the listening experience comfortable. Voices are clear and emphasis distinct, and different interview environments are handled adequately. Music is supportive but never remarkable, delivering acceptable instrumentation.

Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Cast & Crew Panel (20:57, HD) visits an Aero Theater screening in 2015, with the Q&A including Oley Sassone, Joseph Culp, Rebecca Staab, Michael Bailey Smith, Carl Ciarfalio, Kate Green, and Alex Hyde-White. The cast members share their amazement that the film is still in demand decades after it was thrown together, praise the documentary filmmakers and sharing the origin of the project.

• "Unused Roger Corman Footage" (6:53, HD) supplies additional time with the producing legend, who walks through the "Fantastic Four" story.

• "Goofing Off" (1:32, HD) offers tiny bits of mischief, including Culp playing around with his old Doctor Doom mask, and Jay Underwood shows off some Johnny Storm moves.

• "Spotlight on Director" (7:43, HD) is a clip from the "30 Minutes With" television show, with Marty Langford sharing his inspiration for the making of the movie, and his personal history with comic books.

• "Joseph Culp On Set" (5:48, HD) returns to the Doctor Doom actor, who has fun slipping back into his old role, complete with mask and cape. He's also joined by his son, Jackson, who shares personal memories of his father in character, also helping his parent with lines from the movie.

• "Complete Sean Howe Interview" (20:59, HD) traces comic book and "Fantastic Four" history with the author of "Marvel Comics: The Untold Story."

• "Revisiting Film Locations" (1:42, HD) is hosted by Mark Sikes, who travels to two buildings used for pre-production and the shoot.

• And a Trailer (1:51, HD) is included.

Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Fantastic Four" is far from perfect, but it manages to do a little more with the source material than major studio incarnations could muster, capturing the comic book to the best of its ability. "Doomed" is a marvelous document of stress from Langford, who impressively summarizes bewilderment and depression in a way printed oral histories have been unable to do. For the curious, "Doomed" satisfies with its clean arc of creation and denial. For fans, known tales of discontent are more passionately communicated, finally putting the saga of "The Fantastic Four" to bed.