26…

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This week marks the 26th anniversary of the worldwide release of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace on unsuspecting moviegoers everywhere –

Like it or loathe it, the closing chapter of the Reeve series remains as shrouded in controversy as its three preceding pictures but for all the wrong reasons.  To date still unreleased in its entirety and tucked away embarrassingly in many a boxset collection, it remains today more a guilty pleasure than a Batman & Robin style disaster.

At a glance the images above would seem to represent a Movie of equal quality to the first two rather than the Corman-esque travesty it actually became.  From the advertising campaign headed by veteran Bond poster artist Daniel Goozee’s painting (rare ‘clean’ version shown, top) to the supporting cast carried over a ten-year period (featuring Gene Hackman (bottom) and at its heart, the assured presence of Reeve himself with a story he co-wrote.  What could possibly go wrong…?