Truly indie theatrical/home video company Uncork'd Entertainment commences a beautiful friendship with Unreal TV by releasing the 2015 documentary "Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four." The DVD and Blu-ray versions of this one hit real and virtual retail shelves on November 15, 2016.
The following YouTube clip of a "Doomed!" trailer provides a surprisingly thorough look at the participants and the theme in roughly two minutes.
The 1994 "Four" film which the documentary discusses can be considered 'The Day the (Roger) Corman Cried' because it (like the notoriously bad Jerry Lewis Holocaust drama "The Day the Clown Cried") is unlikely to ever officially see the light of day for the simple reason that "Doomed!" documents. This explanation is that a strict deadline and equally tight budget is behind the film being one that Stan Lee and fellow Marvel "suit" Avi Arad deem unworthy of their quartet of superheroes. Never has the catchphrase "its clobberin' time" been more apt than regarding that pair.
An awesome difference between "Clown" and "Four" is that watching a bootleg copy of the latter shows that it deserves the adjective fantastic. As "Doomed!" notes, most of the main cast consists of working actors with good credits to their name. Additionally, the script is well written and the production values are very respectable for the early '90s. This all begins with opening credits that are at least as professional as those of the blockbusters of the era.
Returning to "Doomed!," writer/director Marty Langford awesomely reunites C-movie god Corman and the band to discuss "Four" itself and the story regarding it either languishing in the Marvel vaults or becoming a melted pile of gunk. The comprehensiveness of this clear labor of love includes getting the "Four" casting agent and the on-set journalist to share their two cents along with virtually all the cast and the behind-the-camera crew.
In true superhero movie fashion, Dr. Doom portrayor Joseph Culp (son of the late Robert Culp) steals the show regarding sharing how he gets the part and subsequently plays his role. His clear love for his maniacal laugh proves that he is the right man for the job. One of his colleagues affirms this in stating that he cannot imagine anyone else playing Doom.
Langford supplements all this with entertaining clips of "Four" that make it look much more cheesy than it is. He further shares various quotes, which include a flat-out lie by Lee, regarding the film.
As an aside, Johnny Storm (played by '80s teen star Jay Underwood) gets the best line in "Four." Storm exclaims "Holy Freud Batman!" on hearing team leader Dr. Reed Richards explain the psychological element to the group getting their powers. Other inadvertent Cormanastic humor comes from Reed exclusively referring to Storm as "Danny" in one scene.
Some of the most humorous segments in "Doomed!" involve the cast discussing being approached by people who have seen "Four." despite it never being released. An aforementioned behind-the-camera guy provides a plausible reason for the movie seeing some daylight despite the effort of Marvel to suppress it. (On a similar note, your not-so-humble reviewer LOVES the similarly suppressed "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story." That one uses an entire Barbie dolls cast to tell the story of the tough family life and related anorexia of the titular '70s pop star.)
On a more general level, the "Doomed!" audience gets a brief history of the early days of superhero movies and is informed that this version of "Four" is the first one filmed built around that franchise. This discussion includes the marketing of such flicks absent having a matinee idol as the star.
This element of "Doomed!" is particularly interesting in the modern context of the Disney ownership of some Marvel characters. This includes the desire of Disney to cash in via the far inferior "Spider-man" films a few years after the Tobey Maguire versions and (MUCH more directly) the fact that "Deadpool" or any other Marvel film from any studio can include every Marvel character.
On an even larger level, Langford stays exceptionally true to the principles of documentaries. He lets his subjects fully speak for themselves regarding their stories, and he presents his topic in a manner that is equally entertaining and educational.
The copious DVD and Blu-ray extras include a panel discussion on the film, additional footage of Corman, and the theatrical trailer for Doomed!"
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Doomed!" is strongly encouraged to email me; you can also connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy,
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