Welcome back to Dark Corners Streaming.
A few years ago – quite a few years ago, in fact – we reviewed Roger Corman’s The Fantastic 4
which, famously, was never released and was only made so someone could keep hold of the copyright.
‘Why does any film get made? Certainly not for the reasons this film did’
It’s a remarkable story and it’s great to find a full documentary about it on Amazon Prime,
Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s The Fantastic 4,
which includes interviews with cast, crew, and even Corman.
‘I’m Roger Corman’
This is a really enjoyable documentary because it is a journey.
‘I thought the script was great’
not just what went wrong.
‘We were in a condemned barn’
It’s about the people involved.
And it did make me feel a little guilty about our original review,
because in the bizarreness of the situation you do forget the people, the vast majority of whom were trying,
‘We did our damn best job that we possibly could with the resources we had’
against extraordinary odds,
‘Make the Fantastic 4 for one million dollars and start before the end of the year’
They were excited.
‘They came to set so well prepared and with such enthusiasm’
even on a Corman budget, this was a big movie
‘We were told this was going to play in theatres’
maybe a springboard to something more.
‘It looked, felt, smelt like a break'
and they had no idea they were being taken for a ride.
‘There were no rumours, nothing in the wind’
When the cut-price filming finished things started to go wrong.
‘There was not more money coming from Corman, it was over.’
But again, the people rose to the challenge.
‘Roger Corman Guerilla shooting at its best’
Whether because they believed in the project or believed it would help their careers they went the extra mile,
from the composers.
'They took money out of their own pocket and hired a 40 piece orchestra’
To the actors who essentially funded the promotion themselves.
‘I spent like twelve grand of my own money’
And it was all for nothing.
‘And somebody said stop’
and had always been for nothing.
‘This was planned from the beginning’
That’s a hell of a story. But is it the whole story?
‘I don’t think Roger Corman knew from the beginning’
I thought I knew all this but the documentary suggests other conspiracies with new villains,
‘Avi Arad was the one person who knew what he was doing’
Making the sabotage of the Fantastic 4 a foundation stone of the monumental edifice that is Marvel today.
‘I’m not expecting too much of it, its the last movie to be made that we at Marvel have no control over.’
This could easily be maudlin, but it’s actually great fun.
‘They pulled out these space suits - you gotta be kidding me’
Partly because there is a final act.
‘The irony of the Fantastic Four movie is that it has been seen by more people who would have seen it in its initial release.'
Thanks to a roughly duped copy, the film has enjoyed another life that has allowed mean-spirited reviewers like me to watch.
‘The realisation began to kick in; this was a Roger Corman production’
Budget be damned Roger Corman’s Fantastic 4 is the most entertaining version,
'And I came out with this character that comanded space and time.'
and the one people will still be watching in 50 years.
‘I’m not so sure about that effect’
It’s not a lost masterpiece but, crucially, the documentary doesn’t pretend it is,
keeping the focus always on the people involved.
‘Nobody could ever have predicted it would have this kind of life but I’m really glad that it did’
And Doomed itself is a really enjoyable film, telling a remarkable tale that is must-see for film fans.
Thanks for watching. Why has the fantastic four proved to be so difficult to film? Give us your thoughts below.