Once Upon a Time: The Super Heroes (2001)
The historical saga of American superheroes. Born in the period between the Great Depression and the World War II to combat the hobgoblins of the modern world, these mutant human beings with superhuman powers colonized the funny papers, radio dramas, television and films, to become a truly national industry in the United States: they gave expression to the fears and obsessions of the twentieth century and bolstered American ideals.
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That was an excellent one.
It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
This documentary looks at the history of Marvel Comics. It focuses on many of their most famous creations such as Superman, Spider-Man and Batman and compares and contrasts them. We also look back at the origins of superhero comics themselves and follow how they changed over the years and why.This documentary was quite educational for me as I don't know a great deal about superhero comics, far less which characters are Marvel or D.C. So I did learn a few interesting things from it. I found the early years especially interesting when the format was in its infancy and then when Stan Lee went on to create Marvel itself. Although I reckon it would have been better if there was more of a focus on a chronological story arc and for the specific topics to have fed off that. This would have made for a more focused and effective documentary. As it is, it all seems to have been put together a little too randomly for my liking, jumping around fitting in various angles with little overall structure. Nevertheless, for someone such as me who doesn't know so much about the subject it was still educational even if it was a bit erratic in approach. Definitely enjoyable, however, was seeing many of the attractive stills that showcase the great artwork that so often adorned the format, which for many will always be the best thing about these comics. We do also get the thoughts of many of the movers and shakers of the comic world, whose insight is valuable. All-in-all, despite a few minor issues, a pretty worthwhile documentary.