Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Director:

Sidney J. Furie

Writers:

Christopher Reeve (story) and
Lawrence Konner (story) ...

Release Date:

24 July 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Nuclear Power. In the best hands, it is dangerous. In the hands of Lex Luthor, it is pure evil. This is Superman's greatest battle. And it is for all of us.

Plot:

The Man of Steel crusades for nuclear disarmament and meets Lex Luthor's latest creation, Nuclear Man.

Plot Keywords:

Explosive | Statue Of Liberty | Creation | Disarmament | Telekinesis

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Christopher Reeve	...	Superman / Clark Kent
Gene Hackman	...	Lex Luthor / Voice of Nuclear Man
Jackie Cooper	...	Perry White
Marc McClure	...	Jimmy Olsen
Jon Cryer	...	Lenny
Sam Wanamaker	...	David Warfield
Mark Pillow	...	Nuclear Man
Mariel Hemingway	...	Lacy Warfield
Margot Kidder	...	Lois Lane
Damian McLawhorn	...	Jeremy
William Hootkins	...	Harry Howler
Jim Broadbent	...	Jean Pierre Dubois
Stanley Lebor	...	General Romoff
Don Fellows	...	Levon Hornsby
Robert Beatty	...	U.S. President

Also Known As:

Superman IV (Australia) (TV title)

Runtime:

90 min (theatrical version) | USA:134 min (original cut) | Finland:93 min (1987)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Italian | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:MG6 | Australia:PG | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Canada:PG | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

According to his biography, Richard Lester was offered the chance to direct the movie, but he declined. It is unknown whether he or Richard Donner was asked first by the producers.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the final moon battle, wires can be seen in several frames, on both Superman and Nuclear Man.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cosmonaut Captain: [in Russian] You can sing later comrade Sinatra.
Cosmonaut: [in Russian] Back at home they told me to sing in space.

Movie Connections:

References "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962)

Soundtrack:

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

So bad, yet so watchable !

Superman 1 was such a classic movie, and 2 was almost as great - Superman 3 is not a great Superman movie, but as a piece of '80s American comedy / spoof it succeeds and has some very memorable scenes (notably Chris Reeve as the evil Superman). But Part 4 is just an awful film overall with few redeeming qualities. Reeve's admirable storyline works well, and the double date scene with Superman & Clark is very entertaining (similar to the style of Superman III). But it's when Superman IV tries to get serious and exciting in its action sequences that it fails miserably and becomes a cheesey, ridiculous farce that only succeeds in showing how pointless it was to make the film on such a small budget. The story's not bad and if Donner was directing and you had 100 million dollars you could do it now and create a great adventure movie with some classic comedy scenes and some exciting action sequences. But anyway, it's too late. For all its failings, every time you see it, it's still fairly watchable, mainly because you're always expecting it to magically be better this time around. It's not as bad as everyone makes out and far more creative and original on a 16 million budget than what Batman and Robin did with 100 million! If Batman and Robin's a 3 out of 10, then Superman IV's a 6 out of 10.