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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace: (Alexander
Courage/John Williams) We all have regrets in life, and despite all his
misfortune later on, actor Christopher Reeve identified his involvement
in 1987's
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace as one of his greatest
regrets. The franchise had intended to continue cranking out sequels as
long as the prior entries were financially viable, and
Superman
III had amazingly managed to turn a profit. The quality of that film
was so wretched, however, that the producers sold the rights to another
studio that promptly lured Reeve to return for a massive payday as long
as he could guide the story to an anti-nuclear weapon message that
suited him. With the previous producers and director gone, Reeve could
convince Gene Hackman and Margo Kidder to return as well. Sadly for them
all, the new studio hit financial woes at just the time
Superman IV:
The Quest for Peace was set to go into production, forcing the
movie's budget to be slashed by more than 50%. Veteran crew members were
replaced with relative novices, and everything from the sets to the
special effects suffered badly as a result. The story was perhaps not as
ridiculous as that of the prior movie, but its political nature fell
flat with audiences. The original franchise died miserably on the big
screen with this entry, garnering ridicule for decades since. The story
has Superman seeking to rid the world of nuclear weapons while battling
an apparently horny superhero creation of Lex Luthor in the form of
Nuclear Man, whose power is derived from the sun. A new woman in charge
of turning Clark Kent's newspaper into a tabloid is now Lois Lane's
competition, Lacy. (Between Lois, Lana, and Lacy in these films, it's no
wonder Clark can't keep himself focused on the right woman!) With the
departure of director Richard Lester, also gone was composer and
arranger Ken Thorne, who had done an exemplary job extending John
Williams' music from the original film in
Superman II but whose
own material in
Superman III was surprisingly wretched. Williams
was asked by the new producers if he would return to the franchise, but
he declined due to scheduling reasons. (This retort was always
convenient for films as bad as this one.) But he did wish to be
involved, which was a boon for the production.
In a precursor to his methodology for
Harry Potter and
the Chamber of Secrets, Williams agreed to write new themes for
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace as needed, and he suggested that
his good friend, Alexander Courage, adapt them into a score otherwise
original to Courage. The two had known each other since their early days
in the studio system, and Courage, although best known for television
work and his orchestration duties for Jerry Goldsmith for a very long
time, eventually orchestrated a number of Williams' major scores of the
late 1980's and early 1990's as well. The collaboration between Williams
and Courage was remarkably smooth for
Superman IV, Courage
carefully interpolating the bulk of Williams' themes from the first film
into new formations while also extensively adapting three new identities
coined by Williams. While Thorne and Courage both approached their task
with equal deference, there was one massive difference in the end
result. Courage was not restricted to emulating the exact orchestrations
of Williams' original themes, instead content to help them evolve into
flourishing new expressions for each melody. This stance allowed Courage
to really mingle and deconstruct the themes with intelligence, making
Superman IV a far more complicated work of art compared to the
preceding sequel scores. Listeners who appreciate the overly faithful
renditions of Williams' music in
Superman II may be a little
disappointed, but for others, Courage's willingness to take Williams'
themes and orchestrate them in the way he would a Goldsmith score makes
for a fascinating combination of styles. Most moments in this score are
totally saturated with outright statements of or allusions to Williams'
themes, and yet it doesn't sound entirely squared with the maestro's own
sensibilities. As such, there's ironically more Williams material in
this score compared to
Superman III but less of the composer's
own style. Also factoring originally was a variety of source music from
all over the pop spectrum courtesy of electronic contributions by Paul
Fishman, a continuation of the Giorgio Moroder tactics from the prior
entry, but most of those recordings never made the film. When the movie
was severely cut down after disastrous test screenings, much of
Courage's recorded score went unused as well.
In the end, Courage took the perfect path for
Superman
IV, breathing fresh life into a set of themes that was in danger of
becoming as stale as the stories of these movies. His adaptations and
orchestrations are smart, so much so that the original German recording
ensemble wasn't talented enough to perform the work, forcing the crew to
shift back to England the record the more challenging action cues. Cues
by both ensembles mingle in the picture, with different inflection
between them. The whole still works, however, and the application of
electronics to represent the radioactivity of Nuclear Man is much better
handled here than the obnoxious, high-pitched layers Thorne threw at the
prior score, representing a cross between Williams' occasional forays
into bass-dwelling rhythm setters and Goldsmith's equivalents. Some
listeners may hear a touch of Goldsmith's
Extreme Prejudice and
Star Trek: Insurrection in the synthetics of the Nuclear Man
performances. Reduced in emphasis are the percussive techniques used by
Thorne to punctuate villainous concepts. Rather, Courage applies more
traditional, militaristic percussive tones for the nuclear weapon aspect
of this tale. Thematically,
Superman IV is extraordinarily rich,
so much so that some of the ideas might become lost in the process, even
when considering the length of the original recording. Williams
contributed three new themes to the film while Courage accessed seven
ideas from the original film and conjured two minor new motifs of his
own. The main march rhythm and fanfare are extensively adapted to this
score, the secondary sequence in the idea for Superman's nobility really
exposed as a major contributor in
Superman IV. The main phrasing
is nicely echoed to open "Fanfare" but announces its formal arrival in
"Space Saver" with noteworthy secondary phrases use as a transition at
the cue's end. Courage's formal arrangement of the march adds new
flourishes in "Main Title" before dwelling in quiet suspense at the end
of "Back in Time" and supplying some upbeat but wholesome humor in
"Pow!" The secondary phrase opens the bustling, optimistic "To Work,"
mingling with the love theme, and Williams' original helicopter cue is
adapted in "Train Stopper," the cue again concluding with the theme's
wholesome, secondary phrasing. That same phrase softly expresses remorse
in "The Visit," too.
Listeners awaiting the expected triumphant expressions of
Williams' main fanfare in
Superman IV are treated to several such
explosions of goodness, including Superman's win over the Nuclear Man
theme in "Nuke 1 Fight." But the fanfare also shows its age in this
score, and Courage's other applications of the theme are more
intriguing. Troubled pieces of the theme occupy the deceit in
"Headline," and Courage returns again to the secondary phrasing in
"United Nations" to reinforce Superman's relationship with the boy of
the story, Jimmy, those phrases driving hope in "Net Man" before the
main fanfare erupts with victory. The fanfare briefly interjects near
the start of "Enter Nuclear Man 2," overlaps with Lacy's theme in
"Lacy's Place" for the comedy of juggled identities, struggles in battle
with the Nuclear Man theme in "Tornado" and "Volcano," and regains
temporary footing in "Statue of Liberty Fight." Its hints haunt "Down
With Flu" and "Persuader," subdued in much of "Mutual Distrust" and
struggling to prevail in "Metropolis Fight." The fanfare finally
unleashes its true form in "Lift to the Moon," extends its false ending
to the start of "Moon Fight," receives another flourishing finish in
"Goodbye Nuke," and bids farewell to the villains with a wink and a nod
in "Quarried." Courage concludes "End Credits" with a new arrangement to
send off the identity. Equally important to enthusiasts of Williams'
music for the first film is the love theme, returning here after an
absence in
Superman III. Courage places it in its proper position
in "Main Title" but retains more rhythmic force during its performance,
a technique he repeats in "End Credits." Following Lois closely, it
contributes to the chipper opening of "To Work" and closes "Train
Stopper" very briefly. Its full glory is restored in the feel-good
Superman and Lois flying scene added late to the picture to acknowledge
their relationship in
Superman II. It starts tentatively in
"Fresh Air" but transforms into the initial film's flying theme in a
long and redemptive reprise after a wise stint as a falling motif,
developing into a new fanfare conclusion before wrapping. The love theme
alternates smartly with Lacy's theme in "Lacy's Place" while
deconstructed variations whimsically float through the middle of "Down
With Flu" and an awkwardly exuberant rendition is unleashed for twenty
seconds opening "Come Uppance." It returns to hopeful strings in
"Quarried" to suggest further future romance between Lois and
Clark.
The Lex Luthor villain's theme is a persistent force in
Superman IV, and it has more than worn out its welcome by this
point, much like Gene Hackman's antics. It prances throughout "Smoke the
Yokes" and "Nefarious" and blurts through the first half of "Hair
Raisers" and the start of "First Nuclear Man," becoming more frenzied in
the latter cue and returning with devious intent near the end of it. The
theme mingles with the Nuclear Man theme in "Ashes," a little more
determined but still relatively light to open "Sunstroke" and nicely
intertwined with the Nuclear Man theme in "Introducing Nuclear Man 2."
Briefly sinister on low woodwinds in "Ear Ache," the villain's theme
gains momentum throughout the long "Confrontation" cue while a more
scheming personality occupies the theme in "Two-Faced Lex" but with a
hint of Courage's new Russian influences. A victorious exclamation
follows in "Missile Buildup," and the theme dances through "Mutual
Distrust" and "Lifted" before the character's defeats necessitates a
pathetic coda on woodwinds in "Quarried." Other returning Williams
themes include the Kent family farm theme that had been absent since the
first film, expanded in purpose to serve all of Smallville here. It
opens "Back in Time" softly, a really good adaptation of this idea in
the first half of this cue extending to reminiscing concern at the start
of "Pow!" It later recurs only as a quick reminder in the middle of
"Come Uppance" for a reference to the town. Meanwhile, Clark's own theme
is restricted to "United Nations," where it is cleverly combined with
the fanfare. The related duo of the Krypton theme and crystal motif are
far less utilized in this score than they were by Thorne, who especially
overapplied the latter in
Superman III. That motif repeats a few
times in the middle of "Back in Time" with light wonderment and combines
with the Krypton theme in "Pow!" and later closes out that cue in
mystery. The Krypton theme returns at 1:38 into "Pow!" in a moment that
leads into the journey to Earth music from the first score. Restrained
woodwind reminders in the minor key offer support to the somber
"Headline." The idea is barely evident in "Persuader," its role in the
score ending there. Given the additional reprise of Susannah York in a
role as the voice of Clark's mother, the lack of better incorporation of
the Krypton material into this sequence is somewhat disappointing,
especially as the Krypton theme remains arguably the best single idea in
the entire franchise.
The all-new Williams themes for
Superman IV are a
treat, and they remain among the most obscure written by the composer
for any major picture. It's not unusual for composers to test ideas in
one film with the intent of expanding upon them in more successful
ventures later, and Williams definitely used
Superman IV to trial
melodies that defined more popular scores over the following decade. Two
of his three themes aren't overly exciting outside of intellectual
appreciation, but his idea for Nuclear Man is one of the composer's best
unknown gems for the superhero genre, if not in his whole career. Its
underlying rhythms and trumpet bursts preview
Star Wars prequels
while the first half of the theme is muscular and confident (a clear
foreshadowing of major
Harry Potter themes) while the second half
is almost humorously deflating, much like the character. It can be
overlaid with Luthor's theme directly and adopts the same pomposity
until Nuclear Man matures as a formidable force late in the film. The
idea is tentatively revealed at 1:58 into "First Nuclear Man," pieces of
the theme starting coming together in rhythmic form; its performances
here are disjointed and clumsy, like the first Nuclear Man that Luthor
creates. The theme takes on circus-like silliness with xylophone in
"Nuke 1 Fight" and is defeatedly twisted around Luthor's theme in
"Ashes." When the second edition of the character emerges, though, the
Nuclear Man theme receives a slow, more muscular rendition in the latter
half of "Enter Nuclear Man 2," briefly carrying over to "Flight to
Earth." The imposing version in "Introducing Nuclear Man 2" merges with
Luthor's theme but graduates to its own power midway through
"Confrontation." The theme flourishes in battle mode thereafter,
pounding away in "Tornado" over snare rhythm and electronic groaning
effects. The extended treatment from "Tornado" into "Volcano" is almost
Goldsmith-like, with even more brief snippets of this mode in "Statue of
Liberty Fight." It turns ominous and threatening in "Persuader" and
"Awakened," later stomping periodically in "Abducted" and "Mutual
Distrust." The Nuclear Man theme remains aggressive in march form during
"Metropolis Fight" and "Lift to the Moon," refusing to die in "Moon
Fight" and becoming falsely victorious on brass. Courage appropriately
allows sonic battle between this theme and the fanfare in "Goodbye
Nuke." By this climax, Nuclear Man easily has the most obvious and
memorable theme to have graced any sequel thus far in the
franchise.
The other two fresh themes by Williams for
Superman
IV include one for the new love interest, Lacy, and the boy, Jeremy,
who catches Superman's attention in their shared desire to rid the world
of nuclear weapons. Lacy's theme is a slow, romantically swaying
saxophone throwback, a precursor to
Sabrina in style. There isn't
much substance to this fluffy identity, and its swooning album
arrangement in "Someone Like You (Lacy's Theme)" makes one wonder if it
really fits in with the rest of the score at all. It also exudes too
much innocence for a potentially conflicted character serving as Lois
and Clark's new, undesired boss. An alternate album rendition was
recorded at even a slower tempo, moving it further out of context. In
the score, Lacy's theme is introduced on flute in "For Real" for an
understated but effective moment, and the saxophone leads the
easy-going, full performance in "Lacy." A more contemporary rendition is
conjured like source material in "Lacy (Disco Version)." Courage makes
the most of the theme's surprising malleability in the latter half of
the score, though, alternating it with the love theme in the twinkling
joy of "Lacy's Place." In fact, whether or not Williams intentionally
modeled the idea this way, Courage finds ways to directly overlap the
Lacy and existing love theme like he does with the Luthor and Nuclear
Man themes. It turns to trumpet at the end of "Awakened," provides
allusions at the start of "Abducted" and in "Mutual Distrust," is
adapted into the suspense of "Goodbye Nuke," and mingles with the action
of that cue. The idea stays on trumpet over strings to close out the
character arc in "Come Uppance." The other new Williams theme belongs to
the boy, Jeremy, and all but one rendition of this music was excised
from the film due to the extensive cuts late in production. Even had the
movie been left at its original bloated length, the idea may not have
taken hold in its limited performances and rather muted demeanor. It's a
lightly buoyant children's theme highly predictive of
Hook,
pleasant but lacking much weight in "Jeremy's Theme." It's formally
introduced in "The Class," closes "The Visit" with a few seconds of
innocence, and is provided an oddly non-soaring version largely
identical to the album arrangement in "Flying With Jeremy." While
appreciated, the Jeremy material was largely unnecessary in
Superman
IV, Courage content to explore the relationship between the boy and
Superman using the secondary phrases of the main fanfare anyway.
Courage's own two motifs for
Superman IV are
negligible in impact but are faithfully applied where one might deem
necessary. He wrote mostly rhythmic-driven ideas for the nuclear
missiles of the story and the Soviet adversaries. The missile motif is
more useful, ascending and stately in "The Class," opening "Net Man" in
rhythmic suspense, taking a militaristic, brassy stance late in
"Sunstroke," and getting lost in the action of "Mutual Distrust." The
Soviet theme is a cartoonish, stereotypically Russian march for a brief
moment in "Net Man," reprised in "Missile Buildup" with more fanfare as
the missiles are replenished, and slightly influencing "Mutual
Distrust." While these ideas aren't spectacular, Courage does wonders
with Williams' identities in two particular cues worth mentioning. In
both cases, he overlaps or alternates between themes brilliantly. The
pinnacle of the score is the combination of four themes (fanfare, love
theme, Lacy theme, and Jeremy theme) all at once for the momentous
culmination at 2:21 into "United Nations," a truly incredible
arrangement of hope and inspiration as all those characters are united
in a common goal. In "Lacy's Place," Courage allows the fanfare, Lacy
theme, and love themes to interact brilliantly as Clark desperately
tries to be in the same place with the ladies as Superman. Moments like
these reinforce notions that Courage's adaptation work is superior to
that of Thorne in this franchise. Even though
Superman IV doesn't
always sound like Williams music, it is a really thoughtfully
constructed score, and the Nuclear Man theme in the latter half gives
the whole a fresh angle. The electronics are tastefully applied, and the
dissonance that dominated so much of the score for
Superman III
is minimized, allowing the whole to retain a more straightforward
superhero feel. It may not unseat Williams' original score in the
franchise, but it competes better than Thorne's entries with John
Ottman's smart score for 2006's
Superman Returns. An album
arrangement of 14 tracks consisting of Williams' thematic arrangements,
highlights from Courage's work, some of Fisher's music, and another
source song was prepared for an LP release at the time of the film's
release, but when most of that music was dropped from the picture in
late cuts, the entire album was cancelled. A complete 2-CD set was
finally released in 2008 by Film Score Monthly as part of a limited,
8-CD set of franchise music, and this same impressive presentation was
offered alone on another limited album by La-La Land Records in 2018
with identical sound quality. Between Williams' new themes and Courage's
impressive adaptions,
Superman IV is an enduringly enjoyable
romp.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
The 2008 Film Score Monthly album contains arguably the most
extensive information about the scores of a movie franchise ever to
exist in an album, with a 160-page hardcover booklet that covers an
extraordinary range of detail about the film, scores, and album
presentation. The 2018 La-La Land album's packaging includes the label's
standard level of analysis of the film and score.
