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It's been one of those days.
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The traffic is monstrous.
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Town is a nightmare.
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You're surrounded by clowns and your
boss is a total Nazi.
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It's time to escape.
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And here come the heroes.
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They're fighting for truth...
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That wasn't right. Give me that!
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00:00:47,076 --> 00:00:49,044
..justice...
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00:00:50,060 --> 00:00:54,000
..or to overcome some longstanding
psychological trauma.
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They draw power from deep-seated
myths and legends...
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00:01:01,032 --> 00:01:04,032
..and an army of visual effects
technicians.
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In Secrets Of Cinema, I explore the
conventions which underwrite
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00:01:13,092 --> 00:01:16,088
the movies we love the most and
examine the techniques
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film-makers use to keep us coming
back for more
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00:01:19,096 --> 00:01:22,068
and, tonight, I'm looking at what
right now is probably
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00:01:22,068 --> 00:01:25,092
the biggest and most hotly debated
genre of all.
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I'll examine how superheroes set out
to save the world...
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..but ended up conquering it.
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It's hard to think of any other time
in cinema history when a single
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genre has been as dominant as
superhero movies are
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00:01:54,072 --> 00:01:56,004
at the moment.
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Take Avengers: Endgame, the biggest
worldwide hit of 2019.
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It's the sequel to Avengers:
Infinity War,
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the biggest worldwide hit of 2018.
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00:02:07,096 --> 00:02:09,060
Now!
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00:02:12,008 --> 00:02:15,020
Other recent box office smashes
include not only sequels
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to more famous superhero
franchises...
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Crash positions!
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..but also films about characters,
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until recently, known only
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to comics aficionados.
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And now even the villains
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are getting their own movies.
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00:02:33,060 --> 00:02:36,096
Indeed, these films have become so
successful that some directors
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00:02:36,096 --> 00:02:40,048
like Martin Scorsese and Francis
Ford Coppola have started to view
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them as a kind of alien invasion,
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as somehow not cinema at all.
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00:02:45,028 --> 00:02:48,048
But, actually, superheroes and
cinema have been entwined
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from the very start.
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00:02:53,028 --> 00:02:56,040
Take the prototypical superhero
Superman.
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00:02:56,040 --> 00:03:00,020
As the pre-title sequence of
Superman The Movie reminds us,
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00:03:00,020 --> 00:03:03,024
he was created during the Great
Depression, a time
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00:03:03,024 --> 00:03:06,060
when cinema dominated popular
culture.
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00:03:06,060 --> 00:03:10,052
And his creators, Jerry Siegel and
Joe Shuster,
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looked to the movies for
inspiration.
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..was the responsibility of The
Daily Planet,
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00:03:16,088 --> 00:03:19,060
a great metropolitan newspaper.
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Superman's chiselled features were
modelled on Johnny Weissmuller,
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00:03:23,020 --> 00:03:24,084
star of the Tarzan films.
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00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,060
His bespectacled alter-ego Clark
Kent drew on Harold Lloyd,
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00:03:30,060 --> 00:03:33,028
and Superman's classic hands-on-hips
posture
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was straight out of the
swashbuckling films
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00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:37,036
of Douglas Fairbanks.
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00:03:38,076 --> 00:03:42,036
But the Fairbanks influence went
even deeper.
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00:03:42,036 --> 00:03:46,036
1920's The Mark Of Zorro features
the classic trope of a hero
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with a secret identity, which
influenced not just Superman
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00:03:50,036 --> 00:03:54,048
but Batman, whose comics hit
newsstands in 1939.
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00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,020
Unlike the colourful Superman,
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Batman was a darker figure,
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a costumed vigilante with no actual
superpowers
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who set out to strike fear into the
hearts of his enemies.
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00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:10,024
And his artist, Bob Kane, drew on a
more sinister
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cinematic tradition, such as the
creepy 1930 mystery,
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The Bat Whispers...
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00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:16,084
Look! The window!
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00:04:18,032 --> 00:04:21,052
..and its silent precursor, The Bat,
which even features a version
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of the famous Bat Signal.
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00:04:25,028 --> 00:04:28,016
Meanwhile, Batman's great nemesis,
The Joker,
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00:04:28,016 --> 00:04:31,036
was inspired by Conrad Veidt's
shocking visage
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in the silent melodrama The Man
Who Laughs.
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Superheroes quickly moved to the big
screen in the 1940s,
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but, rather than fully fledged
feature films,
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these were weekly serials in the
Flash Gordon mould
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and their quality varied.
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Fans of Batman and Captain America
had to be content
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with some low-budget fisticuffs.
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00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:08,048
When Superman finally made his live
action debut in 1948,
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the serial ingeniously blended
actors and animation.
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The location is here.
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Hm. That's about 2,000 miles away.
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I can be there in 30 seconds.
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It'll take me about that much time
to make the necessary adjustments.
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In that case, I'd better be leaving.
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Oh, that's the window!
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The door is over here.
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Yes, I know.
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Up, up and away!
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Fast-forward to the next great wave
of comic book superheroes
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00:05:40,056 --> 00:05:42,020
in the early 1960s,
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the ones which went on to spawn
today's Marvel Cinematic Universe,
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00:05:46,016 --> 00:05:49,060
and, again, you can see their own
movie roots.
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Writer Stan Lee and artists like
Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko
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seem to have been influenced by a
spate of science fiction films
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reflecting atomic age anxieties.
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Ant Man is a good example,
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mixing The Incredible Shrinking Man
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with the monstrous ants of Them.
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00:06:09,072 --> 00:06:13,048
The X-Men, teenagers born with
uncanny psychic and physical
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00:06:13,048 --> 00:06:17,052
powers, are like a more colourful
and benign version of the children
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in the British film Village Of The
Damned,
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based on the John Wyndham novel
The Midwich Cuckoos.
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Leave...
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..us...
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..alone.
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00:06:28,032 --> 00:06:31,088
And while the Hulk is often thought
of as a Jekyll and Hyde figure,
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the original comic book version owes
more to 1957's
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00:06:35,016 --> 00:06:36,072
The Amazing Colossal Man,
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where the hero becomes a monster
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as a result of accidental exposure
during an atomic bomb test.
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1966 finally saw the first full
length,
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full colour superhero feature.
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Batmobile to airport.
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Red alert. Prepare Batcopter for
immediate take-off.
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Batman was a spin-off from the
popular TV series,
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which had reinvented the shadowy
crime fighter
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as a gaudy, almost comedic
character.
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00:07:06,020 --> 00:07:10,004
It was perfect for the swinging pop
art era, which saw artists
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00:07:10,004 --> 00:07:14,012
like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy
Warhol use comic strip imagery.
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The camp tone might surprise viewers
raised on a high-fibre diet
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of Christopher Nolan films,
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and it no doubt reinforced the idea
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00:07:24,088 --> 00:07:28,044
that superheroes were just for kids
and kitsch-lovers.
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But if you were going to sink big
money into a superhero film,
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it needed to punch through with the
grown-ups.
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That's probably why the producers of
Superman The Movie
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made so much of Godfather writer
Mario Puzo's involvement,
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00:07:51,072 --> 00:07:55,040
and star billing didn't go to
newcomer Christopher Reeve,
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00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,036
but rather Marlon Brando as
Superman's father
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00:07:58,036 --> 00:08:01,040
in the highest paid cameo in cinema
history.
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These...
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..are matters of undeniable fact.
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I ask you now to pronounce judgment
on those accused.
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00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,096
Likewise, a decade on from Superman,
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00:08:19,096 --> 00:08:23,040
it was Jack Nicholson who got the
big bucks and top billing
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for his turn as the Joker in Tim
Burton's Batman.
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I'm giving away free money.
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And where is the Batman?
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He's at home washing his tights!
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Batman put a comic strip hero at the
very top of the box office
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and it cemented the genre as a
staple of modern cinema.
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Since 1989, there's been a steady
flow of superhero films.
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It's Spider-Man!
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Most of which have taken advantage
of the digital effects boom
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00:08:59,032 --> 00:09:01,028
of the last three decades.
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00:09:01,028 --> 00:09:05,060
They include big established
properties like Spider-Man
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00:09:05,060 --> 00:09:08,080
and comic book newcomers like Spawn
and the Mask.
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00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:17,036
Then there are characters created
specially for the screen,
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like Handcock...
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00:09:19,056 --> 00:09:21,008
..The Incredibles...
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I didn't want you to worry.
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You don't want me to worry?!
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00:09:24,016 --> 00:09:26,088
..and David Dunn in M Night
Shyamalan's Unbreakable.
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00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,012
And the phenomenon's far from
confined
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to the English-speaking world.
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Italy has Invisible Boy,
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Rendel is a kind of Finnish Batman,
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and India has the long-running
Krrish franchise,
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to name just a few.
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So why does it feel like superheroes
are having their big moment now?
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I think the turning point came in
2008.
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That was the year Christopher
Nolan's The Dark Knight bagged eight
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Oscar nominations and two wins while
smashing the global box office.
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00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:06,056
Nolan set a new creative benchmark
for a genre that had become somewhat
complacent.
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00:10:06,056 --> 00:10:09,008
But, perhaps even more importantly,
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that same year, if you were the kind
of film fan
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who stuck to the very end
of the credits of Iron Man,
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00:10:14,088 --> 00:10:18,004
you were rewarded with a surprise
scene.
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00:10:18,004 --> 00:10:20,096
Little did we know, but it marked
the beginning of what would become
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a box office behemoth, the Marvel
Cinematic Universe,
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a global phenomenon that changed the
way audiences watch superhero films.
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Who the hell are you?
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00:10:32,024 --> 00:10:35,024
Nick Fury, director of SHIELD.
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00:10:35,024 --> 00:10:36,076
Oh.
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00:10:36,076 --> 00:10:39,044
I'm here to talk to you about the
Avenger initiative.
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And let's not forget that 2008 was
the year
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of the global financial crisis.
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Remember how the great superhero
characters were created
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00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:52,084
during the Great Depression and then
the height of the Cold War?
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Well, you don't have to be Nick Fury
to spy a pattern here.
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Viewers and readers seem to turn
to superheroes
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at moments of real life crisis.
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The genre fulfils a fundamental
need in cinema audiences
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and, as we'll now see, it does so
by tapping into
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a rich tradition of mythic
storytelling.
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Some heroes are born with their
powers.
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Some are deliberately given them.
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Some get them by accident.
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00:11:33,016 --> 00:11:36,000
Others train themselves to peak
physical perfection...
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00:11:37,008 --> 00:11:39,000
Three, two, one.
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00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,064
..or rely on their own ingenuity and
personal wealth.
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00:11:43,064 --> 00:11:47,004
The story of how a hero gets their
powers and why they choose
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00:11:47,004 --> 00:11:50,052
to fight for truth, justice and
whatever seems important
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00:11:50,052 --> 00:11:53,076
at the time, is known as their
origin.
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It's a version of the coming-of-age
genre and it often has the same
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bittersweet quality, because the
gift of superpower usually involves
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00:12:01,068 --> 00:12:03,092
some kind of trauma, or even
tragedy.
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00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,040
The opening act of Richard Donner's
1978 Superman focuses
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00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:15,088
on the destruction of our alien
hero's birth planet, Krypton -
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00:12:15,088 --> 00:12:19,044
an opening which sees lots of
veteran actors being squashed
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00:12:19,044 --> 00:12:21,008
by falling debris.
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00:12:22,024 --> 00:12:26,020
Yes, this is an abbreviated science
fiction version of that most hardy
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00:12:26,020 --> 00:12:28,076
of 1970s blockbuster genres,
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00:12:28,076 --> 00:12:30,016
the disaster movie,
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00:12:30,016 --> 00:12:33,028
which, in turn, draws on the old
biblical epics.
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00:12:33,028 --> 00:12:36,000
All that I have, all that I've
learned,
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00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,080
everything I feel,
all this and more, I...
208
00:12:42,020 --> 00:12:44,020
..I bequeath you, my son.
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00:12:44,020 --> 00:12:47,048
Picking up the biblical theme, baby
Superman is sent sailing off
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00:12:47,048 --> 00:12:50,036
across the universe in a spaceship
that's a cross
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00:12:50,036 --> 00:12:54,008
between Moses's basket and
the star of Bethlehem,
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00:12:54,008 --> 00:12:57,004
before being discovered, not in a
bed of reeds,
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00:12:57,004 --> 00:12:59,064
but in the middle of a Kansas
cornfield
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00:12:59,064 --> 00:13:02,048
by a kindly, childless couple who
adopt him.
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00:13:03,076 --> 00:13:05,024
Oh, my.
216
00:13:05,024 --> 00:13:07,020
Superman is a film that delights
217
00:13:07,020 --> 00:13:09,056
in mashing up different movie
genres,
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00:13:09,056 --> 00:13:10,096
but, more than anything else,
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00:13:10,096 --> 00:13:14,056
the first half of the film is
a coming-of-age story.
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00:13:14,056 --> 00:13:16,044
WOOHOO!
221
00:13:18,012 --> 00:13:19,084
Oh, no...
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00:13:19,084 --> 00:13:23,064
Which means that Superman needs to
experience a proper moment of loss
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00:13:23,064 --> 00:13:26,060
when he's old enough to understand
grief,
224
00:13:26,060 --> 00:13:29,016
and it cements the audience's
identification
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00:13:29,016 --> 00:13:33,012
with this otherwise impossibly
powerful and perfect character.
226
00:13:34,060 --> 00:13:36,020
All those things I can do...
227
00:13:38,032 --> 00:13:40,008
All those powers...
228
00:13:43,004 --> 00:13:44,080
..and I couldn't even save him.
229
00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,040
Note, by the way, how Donner has
shifted from Irwin Allen disaster
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00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,080
movie mode to an almost
John Ford-like evocation
231
00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:56,076
of the American landscape.
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00:13:56,076 --> 00:14:00,044
And he embeds this fantastic story
in the classic tradition
233
00:14:00,044 --> 00:14:01,084
of American cinema.
234
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:06,056
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is driven
to fight crime after his parents
235
00:14:06,056 --> 00:14:09,032
are killed by a mugger
before his very eyes.
236
00:14:09,032 --> 00:14:11,040
See you around, kid.
237
00:14:14,052 --> 00:14:17,088
Batman's transformation into a
masked vengeance-fuelled
238
00:14:17,088 --> 00:14:22,040
vigilante stands in stark contrast
to the biblically-inspired saviour
239
00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:23,076
narrative of Superman.
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00:14:23,076 --> 00:14:26,088
The Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan
versions of Batman
241
00:14:26,088 --> 00:14:29,084
in particular make much of the fact
that something
242
00:14:29,084 --> 00:14:33,068
not entirely healthy and wholesome
is going on.
243
00:14:33,068 --> 00:14:37,016
You can see this in Anton Furst's
Oscar-winning art direction
244
00:14:37,016 --> 00:14:41,028
for the 1989 Batman, in which the
brooding, claustrophobic
245
00:14:41,028 --> 00:14:46,012
Gotham City is like a manifestation
of Bruce Wayne's tortured mind.
246
00:14:49,028 --> 00:14:51,012
Pete, look, you're changing.
247
00:14:51,012 --> 00:14:54,008
I know. I went through exactly
the same thing at your age.
248
00:14:54,008 --> 00:14:55,060
No, not exactly.
249
00:14:55,060 --> 00:14:58,076
It's interesting to compare
Batman with Spider-Man.
250
00:14:58,076 --> 00:15:01,092
Peter Parker's Uncle Ben, a classic
mentor figure,
251
00:15:01,092 --> 00:15:06,004
teaches him the foundational
principle of super heroism.
252
00:15:06,004 --> 00:15:11,000
Remember, with great power comes
great responsibility.
253
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,020
No sooner has he delivered this
lesson,
254
00:15:13,020 --> 00:15:15,060
then Uncle Ben is gunned down by a
thief
255
00:15:15,060 --> 00:15:18,036
who Peter has unheroically failed
to stop,
256
00:15:18,036 --> 00:15:22,032
thereby motivating him to fight
crime from this day on.
257
00:15:22,032 --> 00:15:25,000
But we have a sense that, with his
colourful costume
258
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,064
and friendly neighbourhood persona,
Peter at least tries to find
259
00:15:28,064 --> 00:15:30,084
a more healthy way to deal with his
trauma
260
00:15:30,084 --> 00:15:33,048
than the vengeful Bruce Wayne.
261
00:15:33,048 --> 00:15:35,072
The guy protects us, you know? He
protects the people.
262
00:15:35,072 --> 00:15:38,064
You'll see the loss of mentor
figures or parents repeated
263
00:15:38,064 --> 00:15:44,016
throughout superhero origins, from
Wonder Woman to Black Panther,
264
00:15:44,016 --> 00:15:46,016
Iron Man to Captain America,
265
00:15:46,016 --> 00:15:48,092
which feature almost identical death
scenes.
266
00:15:50,028 --> 00:15:53,096
Like all genre tropes, origin
stories rooted in popular comic
267
00:15:53,096 --> 00:15:57,032
strip history run the risk of
becoming cliched.
268
00:15:57,032 --> 00:16:00,084
So what about films that aren't
based on pre-existing characters?
269
00:16:00,084 --> 00:16:03,028
Can they be more inventive?
270
00:16:03,028 --> 00:16:05,084
Well, take Will Smith's hero in
Hancock.
271
00:16:05,084 --> 00:16:09,056
He's an amnesiac, making his origin
a mystery to be solved,
272
00:16:09,056 --> 00:16:11,060
driving the plot forward.
273
00:16:11,060 --> 00:16:15,024
Note the nice nod to 1930s genre
cinema too.
274
00:16:15,024 --> 00:16:17,028
You don't remember anything?
275
00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:25,040
Only thing I had in my pocket
was bubble-gum
276
00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:26,068
and two movie tickets.
277
00:16:28,008 --> 00:16:30,024
Boris Karloff, Frankenstein.
278
00:16:32,024 --> 00:16:33,084
But no ID, nothing.
279
00:16:35,004 --> 00:16:37,068
I went to sign out, the, er...
280
00:16:37,068 --> 00:16:40,036
..nurse asked me for my John
Hancock.
281
00:16:42,004 --> 00:16:43,052
I actually thought that's who I was.
282
00:16:43,052 --> 00:16:46,052
A similar narrative device is used
for Captain Marvel,
283
00:16:46,052 --> 00:16:50,044
a comics character whose origin
was entirely rewritten for cinema,
284
00:16:50,044 --> 00:16:54,016
and who has only fragmentary
memories of her past.
285
00:16:54,016 --> 00:16:58,028
It lends the film a thriller quality
reminiscent of The Bourne Identity,
286
00:16:58,028 --> 00:17:00,040
and let's not forget that Jason
Bourne's
287
00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,000
artificially enhanced amnesiac
super spy
288
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,080
is a kind of superhero himself.
289
00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:07,008
And in Unbreakable,
290
00:17:07,008 --> 00:17:10,060
Bruce Willis doesn't even realise he
has superpowers.
291
00:17:11,096 --> 00:17:14,024
Look, I've got to be down on the
sidelines during the game.
292
00:17:14,024 --> 00:17:15,064
You can get to your seat, right?
293
00:17:15,064 --> 00:17:19,016
Characters in comics are often
attributed special powers.
294
00:17:19,016 --> 00:17:23,080
Invisibility, X-ray vision,
things of that sort.
295
00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,032
OK.
296
00:17:26,032 --> 00:17:28,028
I don't want to play this game
any more.
297
00:17:28,028 --> 00:17:30,072
It's an exaggeration of the truth.
298
00:17:30,072 --> 00:17:34,024
It's down to Samuel L Jackson's
mysterious, prophetically named
299
00:17:34,024 --> 00:17:36,064
Elijah Price to convince him.
300
00:17:38,008 --> 00:17:39,052
I love you. I love you.
301
00:17:39,052 --> 00:17:41,028
Wow. Whoa.
302
00:17:41,028 --> 00:17:44,016
The Incredibles doesn't even bother
to tell us how its heroes
303
00:17:44,016 --> 00:17:47,048
got their extraordinary powers,
concentrating instead
304
00:17:47,048 --> 00:17:51,016
on how they bond as a family and
fighting team.
305
00:17:51,016 --> 00:17:54,020
Because, ultimately, from a purely
cinematic point of view,
306
00:17:54,020 --> 00:17:58,016
the greatest opportunity lies not
in how heroes get their powers,
307
00:17:58,016 --> 00:18:00,052
but in showing what they do
with them.
308
00:18:07,052 --> 00:18:10,016
# I'm a rocket ship on my way to
Mars
309
00:18:10,016 --> 00:18:11,092
# On a collision course
310
00:18:11,092 --> 00:18:13,056
# I am a satellite
311
00:18:13,056 --> 00:18:15,024
# I'm out of control. #
312
00:18:15,024 --> 00:18:17,076
The moment when the hero discovers
their powers or potential
313
00:18:17,076 --> 00:18:20,008
is a key beat or highlight of the
genre.
314
00:18:20,008 --> 00:18:22,096
WOOHOO!
315
00:18:25,016 --> 00:18:29,088
Their powers exhilarate them,
but can also terrify them.
316
00:18:29,088 --> 00:18:32,040
And for directors, it's a chance to
convey the experience
317
00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,004
of leaping across New York
rooftops...
318
00:18:39,020 --> 00:18:42,044
..or shrinking to the size of an
ant.
319
00:18:42,044 --> 00:18:45,092
Note the clever use here of
perspective and focus effects
320
00:18:45,092 --> 00:18:48,024
that stop this from looking like it
was just staged
321
00:18:48,024 --> 00:18:50,000
with oversized props.
322
00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:59,036
The most time honoured superpower is
brute strength,
323
00:18:59,036 --> 00:19:03,052
as wielded by legendary figures like
Hercules and Samson.
324
00:19:04,072 --> 00:19:08,028
Their muscle-straining exploits
paved the way for the mighty feats
325
00:19:08,028 --> 00:19:10,028
of Superman and the Hulk.
326
00:19:11,048 --> 00:19:13,004
Super strength has proved to be one
327
00:19:13,004 --> 00:19:15,036
of the easiest powers to capture
on screen.
328
00:19:15,036 --> 00:19:18,020
All you need is some good
polystyrene or rubber props
329
00:19:18,020 --> 00:19:20,072
and the odd crane that you can keep
out of shot to do
330
00:19:20,072 --> 00:19:22,052
the real heavy lifting.
331
00:19:22,052 --> 00:19:24,092
But strength alone is of limited
interest
332
00:19:24,092 --> 00:19:29,008
and it's often combined with other
powers in superhero movies.
333
00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,076
WOO!
334
00:19:35,076 --> 00:19:38,048
The next great mythical power is
flight.
335
00:19:38,048 --> 00:19:40,056
Perhaps even more than strength,
336
00:19:40,056 --> 00:19:45,004
it speaks to our deepest fantasies
and it's a much bigger technical
337
00:19:45,004 --> 00:19:47,000
challenge to capture on screen.
338
00:19:50,032 --> 00:19:52,056
WO-O-O!
339
00:19:52,056 --> 00:19:56,024
The big marketing promise of 1978's
Superman was,
340
00:19:56,024 --> 00:19:58,080
"You'll believe a man can fly."
341
00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:03,016
Front-projected backgrounds and
carefully choreographed camera zooms
342
00:20:03,016 --> 00:20:06,012
suggested that the static, suspended
Christopher Reeve
343
00:20:06,012 --> 00:20:09,016
was actually flying toward the
audience.
344
00:20:09,016 --> 00:20:12,080
Now, although this innovative effect
looks crude by today's standards,
345
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:16,040
there's a real physicality about it
which, combined with Reeve's
346
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:19,052
performance, makes it more
emotionally convincing
347
00:20:19,052 --> 00:20:21,040
than much modern CGI.
348
00:20:25,016 --> 00:20:29,020
Super speed is perhaps the best
example of a superpower more suited
349
00:20:29,020 --> 00:20:31,092
to the moving images of cinema than
to the static panels
350
00:20:31,092 --> 00:20:33,076
of the comics page.
351
00:20:33,076 --> 00:20:35,056
You didn't see that coming?
352
00:20:35,056 --> 00:20:38,056
And since the Matrix films
popularised the bullet time
353
00:20:38,056 --> 00:20:41,084
technique of stretching and
contracting different timeframes
354
00:20:41,084 --> 00:20:46,052
within a single shot, it's now
possible to capture these heroes'
355
00:20:46,052 --> 00:20:50,008
own experience of a world where
everyone else moves at the pace
356
00:20:50,008 --> 00:20:51,084
of a geriatric tortoise.
357
00:20:53,008 --> 00:20:57,092
# If I could save time in a
bottle... #
358
00:20:57,092 --> 00:21:00,040
The result is that a hero like
Quicksilver,
359
00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,000
very much a C-list character in the
X-Men comics,
360
00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,060
has enjoyed some of the most
visually striking
361
00:21:05,060 --> 00:21:08,028
action sequences in the X-Men films.
362
00:21:10,028 --> 00:21:13,088
And you don't even need big effects
for a speedy comic interlude.
363
00:21:13,088 --> 00:21:16,000
Hurry it up, will you?
364
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,016
What, you got a problem?
365
00:21:21,016 --> 00:21:23,028
No, there's no problem.
366
00:21:23,028 --> 00:21:24,096
Better not be.
367
00:21:24,096 --> 00:21:28,068
Not all superheroes are
superpowered all the time.
368
00:21:28,068 --> 00:21:33,000
Tony Stark bolts on hi-tech
armour to become Iron Man.
369
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,004
But it helps that Stark is a genius
inventor
370
00:21:36,004 --> 00:21:38,036
and also has access to a personal
fortune
371
00:21:38,036 --> 00:21:43,068
to fund his heroic activities, as
does Bruce Wayne.
372
00:21:43,068 --> 00:21:46,012
What are your superpowers again?
373
00:21:46,012 --> 00:21:47,028
I'm rich.
374
00:21:47,028 --> 00:21:49,016
In a clear nod to the Bond movies,
375
00:21:49,016 --> 00:21:53,004
Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight
spends less time in his Batcave
376
00:21:53,004 --> 00:21:56,020
and more in his arsenal of hi-tech
weaponry.
377
00:21:56,020 --> 00:21:58,064
Morning, Q. Morning, 007.
378
00:21:58,064 --> 00:22:01,084
We never could get the damn ridge to
work, but...
379
00:22:01,084 --> 00:22:03,080
..this baby works just fine.
380
00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:06,084
He's even got his own Q figure in
the form of Morgan Freeman's
381
00:22:06,084 --> 00:22:08,092
Lucius Fox.
382
00:22:08,092 --> 00:22:11,040
So, what do you think?
383
00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:13,020
Does it come in black?
384
00:22:13,020 --> 00:22:15,028
Batman is highly skilled and
trained,
385
00:22:15,028 --> 00:22:17,012
but, with no superhuman abilities,
386
00:22:17,012 --> 00:22:19,064
he can end up just looking like an
ordinary guy
387
00:22:19,064 --> 00:22:21,072
in a very silly costume.
388
00:22:21,072 --> 00:22:26,004
Hand me down the shark repellent bat
spray!
389
00:22:26,004 --> 00:22:29,052
Tim Burton gave Michael Keaton a
suit of rubber-like armour,
390
00:22:29,052 --> 00:22:32,016
which not only helped bulk up the
otherwise physically
391
00:22:32,016 --> 00:22:35,052
unprepossessing actor, but also
suggested a certain practical
392
00:22:35,052 --> 00:22:37,076
purpose behind the design.
393
00:22:37,076 --> 00:22:40,040
Subsequent films have tended to
stick with this approach,
394
00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:42,096
even if it does sometimes give the
figure of Batman
395
00:22:42,096 --> 00:22:46,048
a certain stiffness and lack of
fluidity.
396
00:22:46,048 --> 00:22:49,048
Christopher Nolan's solution seems
to have been to stick Batman
397
00:22:49,048 --> 00:22:52,016
in a bat vehicle whenever he got
the chance,
398
00:22:52,016 --> 00:22:54,080
hence the thrillingly kinetic chase
sequences
399
00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,044
of the Dark Knight trilogy.
400
00:22:57,044 --> 00:23:00,044
Batman has never looked better than
when twisting and turning
401
00:23:00,044 --> 00:23:03,040
on the Batpod, cape billowing
behind him.
402
00:23:10,068 --> 00:23:14,032
But costumes are a key element
of superhero iconography.
403
00:23:14,032 --> 00:23:17,028
The moment when a character first
dons their full regalia
404
00:23:17,028 --> 00:23:21,000
often marks the point when they're
fully ready to take on the mantle
405
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,080
of heroic responsibility.
406
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:24,060
How do I look?
407
00:23:27,044 --> 00:23:29,024
Fresh.
408
00:23:29,024 --> 00:23:33,048
Even Bruce Willis's reluctant hero
in Unbreakable
409
00:23:33,048 --> 00:23:36,080
adopts a kind of improvised costume
for his first mission.
410
00:23:46,048 --> 00:23:50,052
Designer Joanna Johnston subtly
lengthens Willis's rain poncho
411
00:23:50,052 --> 00:23:52,080
as the drama intensifies to make it
look
412
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:55,036
more like a classic superhero cape.
413
00:24:00,008 --> 00:24:03,080
Superhero costumes default to two
basic colour schemes -
414
00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:07,036
a darker look for moody vigilante
types and outcast mutants,
415
00:24:07,036 --> 00:24:11,056
and primary colours for heroes in
the more optimistic Superman
416
00:24:11,056 --> 00:24:14,016
and Captain America traditions.
417
00:24:14,016 --> 00:24:15,088
Without him, these things could run
wild.
418
00:24:15,088 --> 00:24:18,004
I started with the baby. Started?
419
00:24:18,004 --> 00:24:21,060
No film celebrates the sartorial
aspects of super heroism
420
00:24:21,060 --> 00:24:23,064
as much as The Incredibles,
421
00:24:23,064 --> 00:24:26,036
whose presiding genius is Edna Mode,
422
00:24:26,036 --> 00:24:29,060
costume designer extraordinaire.
423
00:24:29,060 --> 00:24:34,004
Significantly, Edna is voiced by
director Brad Bird himself,
424
00:24:34,004 --> 00:24:38,016
channelling the great real life
multiple Oscar-winning designer
425
00:24:38,016 --> 00:24:39,056
Edith Head.
426
00:24:39,056 --> 00:24:42,064
What on Earth do you think the baby
will be doing?!
427
00:24:42,064 --> 00:24:44,064
I'm sure I don't know, darling.
428
00:24:44,064 --> 00:24:46,096
Luck favours the prepared.
429
00:24:46,096 --> 00:24:50,024
Costumes, of course, are
inextricably bound up with another
430
00:24:50,024 --> 00:24:53,012
cornerstone of the superhero genre.
431
00:24:53,012 --> 00:24:54,080
The secret identity.
432
00:25:03,056 --> 00:25:06,072
The convention of the secret
identity goes back to characters
433
00:25:06,072 --> 00:25:09,020
like Zorro and the Scarlet
Pimpernel,
434
00:25:09,020 --> 00:25:11,080
who posed as foppish idiots so
no-one suspected
435
00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:14,048
that they were avenging outlaws.
436
00:25:14,048 --> 00:25:17,092
We must mask our identities, suffer
the humiliation of being taken
437
00:25:17,092 --> 00:25:20,068
for fops, fools, nitwits.
438
00:25:20,068 --> 00:25:23,024
Bruce Wayne does the same in Batman
Begins,
439
00:25:23,024 --> 00:25:26,032
cultivating the image of a spoilt
party-going jerk
440
00:25:26,032 --> 00:25:29,020
as a cover for his secret vigilante
activities.
441
00:25:31,052 --> 00:25:33,004
Is she in?
442
00:25:33,004 --> 00:25:36,044
Superman, meanwhile, dons possibly
the worst disguise ever
443
00:25:36,044 --> 00:25:39,056
to become mild-mannered reporter
Clark Kent.
444
00:25:39,056 --> 00:25:41,020
I'm a reporter.
445
00:25:41,020 --> 00:25:43,060
But, like Bruce Wayne, he's really
donning
446
00:25:43,060 --> 00:25:46,012
an entirely different persona.
447
00:25:46,012 --> 00:25:47,064
Peter?
448
00:25:49,060 --> 00:25:50,084
Is that you?
449
00:25:50,084 --> 00:25:53,060
A more urgent reason to maintain a
secret identity
450
00:25:53,060 --> 00:25:57,024
is to protect your loved ones and,
indeed, to maintain something
451
00:25:57,024 --> 00:26:00,068
approaching a normal life, as much
as you can.
452
00:26:00,068 --> 00:26:04,068
But secret identities also extend
the tonal and emotional range
453
00:26:04,068 --> 00:26:08,068
of superhero films, and therefore
their appeal beyond the core
454
00:26:08,068 --> 00:26:10,084
audience of fantasy and action fans.
455
00:26:12,020 --> 00:26:14,092
See how much of the charm of the
Christopher Reeve Superman
456
00:26:14,092 --> 00:26:17,008
films comes from the Clark Kent
moments,
457
00:26:17,008 --> 00:26:21,036
with the stumbling, awkward Clark
acting as a comic foil to Superman.
458
00:26:22,072 --> 00:26:25,096
Why would anyone want to make a
total stranger look like a fool?
459
00:26:25,096 --> 00:26:28,024
In Wonder Woman, there's an entire
comedy sequence
460
00:26:28,024 --> 00:26:29,096
built around the heroine
461
00:26:29,096 --> 00:26:32,000
acquiring her civilian guise.
462
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,028
How can a woman possibly fight in
this?
463
00:26:34,028 --> 00:26:37,096
Director Patty Jenkins neatly
pastiches the makeover scene,
464
00:26:37,096 --> 00:26:41,008
that coming-of-age and rom-com
staple.
465
00:26:41,008 --> 00:26:43,056
Why don't I meet you back at the
office
466
00:26:43,056 --> 00:26:45,048
and, meanwhile, I'll take this for
safekeeping?
467
00:26:45,048 --> 00:26:46,076
Oh, no, I don't think so.
468
00:26:46,076 --> 00:26:48,068
You've got to put the sword down,
Diana, please.
469
00:26:48,068 --> 00:26:50,068
It doesn't go with the outfit.
At all.
470
00:26:50,068 --> 00:26:52,084
Now, as we've seen before in Secrets
of Cinema,
471
00:26:52,084 --> 00:26:54,088
the connection between superhero
movies
472
00:26:54,088 --> 00:26:56,056
and romantic comedies is strong,
473
00:26:56,056 --> 00:26:59,032
with films ranging from Popeye to
Punch Drunk Love
474
00:26:59,032 --> 00:27:03,036
blurring the boundaries between
these apparently disparate genres.
475
00:27:03,036 --> 00:27:06,040
And it's often through romance that
a hero's civilian
476
00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:08,036
and costumed lives collide.
477
00:27:11,004 --> 00:27:15,008
At times, the Spider-Man films
played like a teenage soap opera.
478
00:27:19,012 --> 00:27:21,012
How did you get out there?
479
00:27:21,012 --> 00:27:22,032
Fire escape.
480
00:27:23,096 --> 00:27:25,088
Your doorman's intimidating.
481
00:27:32,004 --> 00:27:36,088
But the gold standard for superhero
romance is Superman The Movie,
482
00:27:36,088 --> 00:27:40,080
in large part due to the screwball
chemistry between Christopher Reeve
483
00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:44,056
and Margot Kidder as savvy reporter
Lois Lane.
484
00:27:44,056 --> 00:27:48,008
One of the film's finest scenes is
when Lois interviews Superman
485
00:27:48,008 --> 00:27:49,064
at her rooftop apartment.
486
00:27:49,064 --> 00:27:53,060
Now, here the audience sees events
primarily from Lois's perspective.
487
00:27:53,060 --> 00:27:57,032
The scene opens with her waiting for
Superman's arrival.
488
00:27:57,032 --> 00:28:01,004
Note how the classic Hollywood
symbol of sex, the cigarette,
489
00:28:01,004 --> 00:28:04,084
is counter-pointed by John Williams
lushly romantic score.
490
00:28:06,056 --> 00:28:08,096
You really shouldn't smoke, you
know, Miss Lane.
491
00:28:08,096 --> 00:28:11,048
Don't tell me. Lung cancer, right?
492
00:28:14,076 --> 00:28:17,000
Well, not yet, thank goodness.
493
00:28:18,004 --> 00:28:21,072
And the film shifts into full-on
romantic mode when Superman
494
00:28:21,072 --> 00:28:25,040
invites Lois to, in his words, "Take
a ride with me."
495
00:28:27,044 --> 00:28:30,092
Is the iconic image of Leo and Kate
on the prow of the Titanic
496
00:28:30,092 --> 00:28:33,036
anything but a reprise of this
scene?
497
00:28:34,088 --> 00:28:38,056
And, at this heightened moment, the
film shifts gear again into full-on
498
00:28:38,056 --> 00:28:40,056
musical mode.
499
00:28:40,056 --> 00:28:43,044
Leslie Bricusse of Goldfinger and
Dr Doolittle fame
500
00:28:43,044 --> 00:28:46,032
wrote these lyrics to William's
music.
501
00:28:46,032 --> 00:28:48,040
LOIS'S THOUGHTS: Can you read my
mind?
502
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,068
Do you know what it is that you do
me?
503
00:28:59,068 --> 00:29:01,064
I don't know who you are.
504
00:29:06,064 --> 00:29:09,056
Just a friend from another star.
505
00:29:09,056 --> 00:29:13,056
You can never have enough romantic
chemistry in a superhero film.
506
00:29:13,056 --> 00:29:17,068
Too often, the love interests of
predominantly male superheroes
507
00:29:17,068 --> 00:29:20,016
are reduced to being figures they
have to rescue
508
00:29:20,016 --> 00:29:23,004
or the Achilles heels by which they
can be attacked.
509
00:29:26,048 --> 00:29:30,016
But time and again, we're shown
the difficulty of maintaining both
510
00:29:30,016 --> 00:29:33,000
a heroic and a love or family life.
511
00:29:34,068 --> 00:29:38,012
The very concept of a superhero has
sometimes been criticised
512
00:29:38,012 --> 00:29:41,060
for celebrating an almost fascist
ideal of strength and physical
513
00:29:41,060 --> 00:29:45,024
perfection, but that's tempered by
the idea that superheroes
514
00:29:45,024 --> 00:29:49,036
can't have it all and that we puny
mortals may actually have access
515
00:29:49,036 --> 00:29:53,040
to something that these god-like
figures don't.
516
00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:57,012
And note how the final films of The
Dark Knight and Avengers sagas
517
00:29:57,012 --> 00:30:00,080
feature almost dreamlike moments,
when the burden of heroism appears
518
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,088
to be given up for love and a
settled life,
519
00:30:03,088 --> 00:30:07,060
something emphasised by the warmer
colour palette of the images.
520
00:30:14,068 --> 00:30:18,020
Establishing the hero or heroine's
personal life and their origin
521
00:30:18,020 --> 00:30:21,072
often takes up the first half
of a superhero film.
522
00:30:21,072 --> 00:30:25,004
But by the middle point,
another figure has come into play -
523
00:30:25,004 --> 00:30:27,088
the evil yin to their heroic yang.
524
00:30:27,088 --> 00:30:29,028
It's time to face the enemy.
525
00:30:38,008 --> 00:30:41,052
Much of a superhero's day job
involves routine work,
526
00:30:41,052 --> 00:30:43,096
addressing health and
safety issues...
527
00:30:43,096 --> 00:30:46,008
It's OK, your baby's fine!
528
00:30:46,008 --> 00:30:47,060
..anti-social behaviour...
529
00:30:47,060 --> 00:30:48,064
SCREAMING
530
00:30:49,088 --> 00:30:51,056
..and more health and safety.
531
00:30:52,088 --> 00:30:53,092
CAT YOWLS
532
00:30:56,032 --> 00:31:00,012
But sooner or later, there's a
bigger threat waiting in the wings.
533
00:31:00,012 --> 00:31:03,000
Is that how a warped brain
like yours gets its kicks?
534
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:04,096
By planning the death of
innocent people?
535
00:31:04,096 --> 00:31:06,044
No.
536
00:31:06,044 --> 00:31:08,040
By causing the death of
innocent people.
537
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:13,016
Lex Luthor is a classic evil genius
with an innovative plan to raise
538
00:31:13,016 --> 00:31:15,032
the value of his property portfolio.
539
00:31:15,032 --> 00:31:19,048
It occurs to me that a
500-megatonne bomb planted at just
540
00:31:19,048 --> 00:31:21,052
the proper point would...
541
00:31:21,052 --> 00:31:23,028
Would destroy most of California.
542
00:31:25,020 --> 00:31:27,028
Millions of innocent people
would be killed.
543
00:31:27,028 --> 00:31:31,008
The West Coast as we know
it would... Fall into the sea.
544
00:31:31,008 --> 00:31:32,024
Bye-bye, California.
545
00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,040
Hello, new West Coast -
my West Coast.
546
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:40,048
Luthor knows he can't match
the Man of Steel blow by blow.
547
00:31:40,048 --> 00:31:43,084
Instead, he plays by an entirely
different set of rules,
548
00:31:43,084 --> 00:31:48,064
constantly seeking to outwit his
vastly more physically powerful foe
549
00:31:48,064 --> 00:31:52,080
and displaying a level of sheer
ruthlessness of which Superman is,
550
00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:54,084
by nature, incapable.
551
00:31:54,084 --> 00:31:57,052
You were great
in your day, Superman.
552
00:31:57,052 --> 00:31:59,052
But it just stands to reason,
553
00:31:59,052 --> 00:32:02,008
when it came time to cash
in your chips,
554
00:32:02,008 --> 00:32:05,088
this old, diseased maniac
555
00:32:05,088 --> 00:32:07,000
would be your banker.
556
00:32:11,008 --> 00:32:12,012
Mind over muscle.
557
00:32:14,016 --> 00:32:17,076
More recently, Luthor has been
presented as a young upstart
558
00:32:17,076 --> 00:32:21,032
tech genius - the kind of figure
who terrifies Hollywood.
559
00:32:21,032 --> 00:32:25,040
He's portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg,
who tellingly previously played
560
00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,032
Mark Zuckerberg in
The Social Network.
561
00:32:28,032 --> 00:32:29,052
Typecasting?
562
00:32:29,052 --> 00:32:32,048
This Luthor also exemplifies
a recurring villainous
563
00:32:32,048 --> 00:32:34,048
characteristic - self-regard.
564
00:32:34,048 --> 00:32:38,080
His loathing of Superman
is ultimately based on jealousy.
565
00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,012
These exceptional beings
live among us.
566
00:32:41,012 --> 00:32:44,012
The basis of our myths,
gods among men upon our little
567
00:32:44,012 --> 00:32:45,016
blue planet here.
568
00:32:47,052 --> 00:32:51,092
You don't have to use a silver
bullet, but if you forge one...
569
00:32:51,092 --> 00:32:55,080
Well, then, we don't have to depend
upon the kindness of monsters.
570
00:32:57,036 --> 00:33:00,044
Batman has perhaps the most
colourful rogues gallery
571
00:33:00,044 --> 00:33:01,092
of any superhero,
572
00:33:01,092 --> 00:33:05,096
and his villains were a key driver
of the appeal of both the 1960s
573
00:33:05,096 --> 00:33:07,068
TV series and feature film.
574
00:33:10,088 --> 00:33:15,048
A quick note on supervillain attire
- bad guys tend to favour yellow,
575
00:33:15,048 --> 00:33:16,088
green, and purple.
576
00:33:16,088 --> 00:33:20,096
# All hail the new king in town...
577
00:33:20,096 --> 00:33:24,080
Batman's most celebrated foe is,
of course, the Joker.
578
00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:28,072
# Young and old, gather round... #
579
00:33:28,072 --> 00:33:32,008
Unlike Lex Luthor,
he's not driven by a lust for power
580
00:33:32,008 --> 00:33:37,040
or material gain, but a sheer
delight in unleashing chaos...
581
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:38,044
..and anarchy.
582
00:33:41,072 --> 00:33:44,076
It's hard to imagine a more
different figure to the uptight,
583
00:33:44,076 --> 00:33:46,044
shadowy Batman.
584
00:33:46,044 --> 00:33:50,024
But fundamentally, these two
outsiders are like reflections
585
00:33:50,024 --> 00:33:52,060
in a nightmare fun house mirror.
586
00:33:52,060 --> 00:33:55,020
You complete me.
587
00:33:55,020 --> 00:33:57,004
You're garbage who kills for money.
588
00:33:57,004 --> 00:33:59,096
Don't talk like one of them.
You're not!
589
00:33:59,096 --> 00:34:01,020
Even if you'd like to be.
590
00:34:03,024 --> 00:34:07,068
To them, you're just a freak...
like me.
591
00:34:07,068 --> 00:34:09,004
They need you right now.
592
00:34:09,004 --> 00:34:13,016
You could argue that the Joker is
the real star of The Dark Knight.
593
00:34:13,016 --> 00:34:17,004
And with Todd Phillips' 2019 Joker
film now believed to be the most
594
00:34:17,004 --> 00:34:19,040
profitable comic book movie ever,
595
00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:23,020
it looks like villains are at least
as saleable as heroes.
596
00:34:23,020 --> 00:34:27,048
As his name suggests, Joker is a
version of the archetypal trickster,
597
00:34:27,048 --> 00:34:31,088
a character recurring throughout
myths and folklore.
598
00:34:31,088 --> 00:34:35,048
The Prince of Mischief in Norse
legends is Loki,
599
00:34:35,048 --> 00:34:38,040
who's handily the brother
and nemesis of Thor.
600
00:34:40,060 --> 00:34:44,028
Loki can rustle up the
usual bit of magical zapping,
601
00:34:44,028 --> 00:34:47,084
but he's at his most dangerous
when he tries to get into your head,
602
00:34:47,084 --> 00:34:50,084
as in this scene from
Avengers Assemble,
603
00:34:50,084 --> 00:34:53,036
Barton told me everything.
604
00:34:53,036 --> 00:34:55,012
Your ledger is dripping.
605
00:34:55,012 --> 00:34:57,048
It's gushing red -
and you think saving a man
606
00:34:57,048 --> 00:35:00,052
no more virtuous than yourself
will change anything?
607
00:35:00,052 --> 00:35:03,024
This is the basest sentimentality.
608
00:35:03,024 --> 00:35:07,040
This is a child at prayer -
pathetic!
609
00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:11,000
The fact that Loki's incarcerated
rather than on the loose
610
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,012
just makes him more menacing.
611
00:35:13,012 --> 00:35:16,068
That's lesson one from
the Hannibal Lecter playbook.
612
00:35:16,068 --> 00:35:21,036
But even mass-murdering psychopaths
aren't entirely beyond redemption.
613
00:35:21,036 --> 00:35:24,052
Loki! Loki, over here!
614
00:35:24,052 --> 00:35:25,056
Over here.
615
00:35:26,060 --> 00:35:29,092
Loki's multiple killings were
somewhat brushed under the carpet
616
00:35:29,092 --> 00:35:32,088
in later Marvel films,
after Tom Hiddleston's character
617
00:35:32,088 --> 00:35:37,048
developed an unexpectedly large
fan following - pointing once again
618
00:35:37,048 --> 00:35:39,024
to the strange appeal of villains.
619
00:35:40,024 --> 00:35:43,020
Loki, I thought the world of you.
620
00:35:43,020 --> 00:35:46,012
I thought we were going to fight
side-by-side forever, but...
621
00:35:46,012 --> 00:35:49,004
..at the end of the day,
you're you and I'm me.
622
00:35:49,004 --> 00:35:53,076
Loki became a frenemy - a sometime
ally in the face of greater threats,
623
00:35:53,076 --> 00:35:56,016
if not an entirely reliable one.
624
00:35:56,016 --> 00:36:00,032
Now, here, the menacing lighting of
Loki's earlier appearances is gone,
625
00:36:00,032 --> 00:36:03,012
and the elevator conversation
recalls scenes in any number
626
00:36:03,012 --> 00:36:04,052
of rom-coms.
627
00:36:04,052 --> 00:36:09,020
Thor and Loki's relationship has
literally become a bromance.
628
00:36:09,020 --> 00:36:11,000
Hey, let's do "Get Help."
629
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:12,064
What? "Get Help."
630
00:36:12,064 --> 00:36:13,080
No. Come on, you love it.
631
00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:15,056
I hate it. It's great.
Works every time.
632
00:36:15,056 --> 00:36:17,068
It's humiliating.
Do you have a better plan? No.
633
00:36:17,068 --> 00:36:19,056
We're doing it.
634
00:36:19,056 --> 00:36:22,020
And what if your enemy actually
has a point?
635
00:36:26,008 --> 00:36:29,080
In Ryan Coogler's Black Panther -
the most openly political Marvel
636
00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:34,004
film so far - nemesis Killmonger
is driven by anger at racial
637
00:36:34,004 --> 00:36:36,028
injustice and poverty.
638
00:36:36,028 --> 00:36:39,000
Y'all sitting up here comfortable.
639
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:40,004
Must feel good.
640
00:36:41,024 --> 00:36:45,016
There's about two billion people all
over the world that looks like us,
641
00:36:45,016 --> 00:36:47,024
but their lives are a lot harder.
642
00:36:47,024 --> 00:36:49,096
Wakanda has the tools
to liberate 'em all.
643
00:36:49,096 --> 00:36:54,020
Killmonger has a kindred spirit
in the X-Men's great foe.
644
00:36:54,020 --> 00:36:55,080
Put your hands over your heads, now.
645
00:37:00,004 --> 00:37:04,032
Magneto is a villain with a cause -
seeking revenge on humankind
646
00:37:04,032 --> 00:37:06,052
for decades of
prejudice against mutants.
647
00:37:11,084 --> 00:37:13,024
There is no peace.
648
00:37:13,024 --> 00:37:15,064
Not here, nor anywhere else.
649
00:37:16,088 --> 00:37:20,052
Women and children, whole families
destroyed simply because they were
650
00:37:20,052 --> 00:37:23,020
born different from those in power.
651
00:37:23,020 --> 00:37:25,096
What's clear from this is that
for every Joker or Luthor
652
00:37:25,096 --> 00:37:28,016
who revels in their own villainy,
653
00:37:28,016 --> 00:37:33,008
there are enemies who simply don't
see themselves as the bad guys.
654
00:37:33,008 --> 00:37:35,088
Even if they're actually purple.
655
00:37:35,088 --> 00:37:38,024
Thanos's fanatical quest to
destroy half of the
656
00:37:38,024 --> 00:37:41,088
Marvel Cinematic Universe is driven
by his desire to achieve
657
00:37:41,088 --> 00:37:44,080
balance and sustainability.
658
00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:47,028
Congratulations. You're a prophet.
659
00:37:47,028 --> 00:37:48,084
I'm a survivor.
660
00:37:48,084 --> 00:37:50,044
Who wants to murder trillions.
661
00:37:51,044 --> 00:37:55,040
With all six Stones,
I could simply snap my fingers.
662
00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:57,004
They would all cease to exist.
663
00:37:57,004 --> 00:37:58,008
I call that...
664
00:37:59,012 --> 00:38:00,036
..mercy.
665
00:38:00,036 --> 00:38:05,000
Thanos belongs to a select category
of nemesis, the mega-threat -
666
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:08,040
too powerful for any single
hero to deal with.
667
00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:12,012
Which means it's time for
an exercise in team-building.
668
00:38:23,088 --> 00:38:25,084
Did you find the spear?
669
00:38:25,084 --> 00:38:29,020
For most superhero fans, it's likely
that the high point of 2016's
670
00:38:29,020 --> 00:38:34,004
Batman v Superman wasn't the
climactic battle with mega-threat
671
00:38:34,004 --> 00:38:37,000
figure Domesday -
which was frankly tedious.
672
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:38,024
My world.
673
00:38:38,024 --> 00:38:40,056
I've killed things
from other worlds before.
674
00:38:42,068 --> 00:38:44,060
Is she with you?
675
00:38:44,060 --> 00:38:45,096
I thought she was with you.
676
00:38:45,096 --> 00:38:48,088
Rather, it was the moment when
three iconic heroes were finally
677
00:38:48,088 --> 00:38:51,060
brought together in a live action
feature film
678
00:38:51,060 --> 00:38:55,056
nearly 80 years after
they were created.
679
00:38:55,056 --> 00:38:59,020
It was the DC Comics version of
the moment when Marvel's super team
680
00:38:59,020 --> 00:39:03,020
The Avengers are finally
assembled to fend off both Loki
681
00:39:03,020 --> 00:39:04,036
and an alien invasion.
682
00:39:05,048 --> 00:39:09,004
Interestingly, neither moment
occurs until a good three quarters
683
00:39:09,004 --> 00:39:10,076
of the way through each film.
684
00:39:10,076 --> 00:39:12,024
Why?
685
00:39:12,024 --> 00:39:14,092
The athletes of Greece are proud.
686
00:39:14,092 --> 00:39:17,040
I'll tell him only the best can
expect a place in the most
687
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,024
perilous voyage in history.
688
00:39:19,024 --> 00:39:23,024
Well, heroes have been teaming up
ever since Hercules and Theseus
689
00:39:23,024 --> 00:39:25,072
signed up with Jason on the Argo.
690
00:39:25,072 --> 00:39:29,012
And, as we saw in our
Secrets of Cinema on heist movies,
691
00:39:29,012 --> 00:39:32,040
bringing together a band of
characters with disparate skills
692
00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:34,072
is a key element of that genre.
693
00:39:34,072 --> 00:39:38,004
I have found the finest
crew in old Greece.
694
00:39:38,004 --> 00:39:39,092
Now for a ship that is
worthy of them.
695
00:39:42,032 --> 00:39:45,036
But in a heist movie, putting
the gang together is usually
696
00:39:45,036 --> 00:39:48,076
relatively simple and occurs near
the beginning of the film.
697
00:39:48,076 --> 00:39:52,096
By contrast, the superhero genre
likes to make it as hard as possible
698
00:39:52,096 --> 00:39:54,044
for the team to get together.
699
00:39:54,044 --> 00:39:56,092
Indeed, the more time they spend
at each other's throats
700
00:39:56,092 --> 00:39:58,068
before they do, the better.
701
00:39:58,068 --> 00:40:03,048
And in that respect, superhero team
movies are very much like rom-coms,
702
00:40:03,048 --> 00:40:07,044
only with more characters...and more
mass destruction.
703
00:40:08,044 --> 00:40:12,020
Take Avengers Assemble, where
the plot contrives to have at least
704
00:40:12,020 --> 00:40:14,048
three hero-on-hero fights -
705
00:40:14,048 --> 00:40:16,052
with Iron Man and Thor,
706
00:40:16,052 --> 00:40:18,016
Thor and Hulk,
707
00:40:18,016 --> 00:40:22,008
Black Widow and Hawk-eye beating
seven bells out of each other
708
00:40:22,008 --> 00:40:26,032
before they finally get round to
teaming up and saving the planet.
709
00:40:26,032 --> 00:40:29,040
In subsequent films, the Avengers
are repeatedly assembled
710
00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,012
only to be disassembled.
711
00:40:32,052 --> 00:40:36,060
One of the biggest set pieces of
the sequel, Age of Ultron,
712
00:40:36,060 --> 00:40:40,072
is a spectacular battle between
Hulk and a beefed-up Iron Man.
713
00:40:40,072 --> 00:40:43,056
Go to sleep, go to sleep,
go to sleep!
714
00:40:43,056 --> 00:40:45,088
They're not stopping.
Neither are we.
715
00:40:45,088 --> 00:40:49,096
And Captain America: Civil War -
an Avengers film in all but name -
716
00:40:49,096 --> 00:40:54,016
sees the ultimate hero-on-hero
smackdown at a German airport.
717
00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:59,072
In essence, this appeals to a kind
of top trumps playing fantasy
718
00:40:59,072 --> 00:41:03,008
of pitting heroes against each other
rather than villains,
719
00:41:03,008 --> 00:41:04,072
and seeing who'd come out on top.
720
00:41:06,032 --> 00:41:10,016
When they're not fighting amongst
themselves, The Avengers and their
721
00:41:10,016 --> 00:41:13,092
DC equivalents, the Justice League,
operate more like professional
722
00:41:13,092 --> 00:41:16,076
sports teams - disparate
individuals brought together
723
00:41:16,076 --> 00:41:18,092
for a common purpose.
724
00:41:18,092 --> 00:41:21,044
But that's not the only
kind of super team.
725
00:41:23,084 --> 00:41:25,048
Where are all the guards?
726
00:41:25,048 --> 00:41:26,052
Go, go!
727
00:41:27,076 --> 00:41:30,056
Pixar's The Incredibles
pastiches many tropes
728
00:41:30,056 --> 00:41:33,048
of the superhero and spy genres.
729
00:41:33,048 --> 00:41:37,012
But above all,
it's a film about a family.
730
00:41:37,012 --> 00:41:40,088
The family members' superpowers
reflect their personalities -
731
00:41:40,088 --> 00:41:45,016
the solid, heavy-lifting dad,
the overstretched mum,
732
00:41:45,016 --> 00:41:48,096
shy daughter, and hyperactive son.
733
00:41:48,096 --> 00:41:52,016
As we've already observed,
The Incredibles doesn't worry about
734
00:41:52,016 --> 00:41:54,056
showing us the origin of
its characters' powers.
735
00:41:54,056 --> 00:41:58,008
But crucially, it does show
the origin of the family,
736
00:41:58,008 --> 00:42:02,020
in a scene where Mr Incredible
and Elastigirl meet-cute.
737
00:42:02,020 --> 00:42:03,052
We could share, you know?
738
00:42:03,052 --> 00:42:05,020
I work alone.
739
00:42:05,020 --> 00:42:08,020
Well, I think you need to be more...
740
00:42:08,020 --> 00:42:09,064
..flexible.
741
00:42:09,064 --> 00:42:11,096
Are...you doing anything later?
742
00:42:11,096 --> 00:42:13,048
I have a previous engagement.
743
00:42:17,028 --> 00:42:21,044
We get a grittier take on the
superhero family in the X-Men films.
744
00:42:21,044 --> 00:42:24,036
The characters aren't actually
related, but they live together
745
00:42:24,036 --> 00:42:27,056
at a boarding school under the
supervision of headmaster
746
00:42:27,056 --> 00:42:29,020
and father figure Professor X.
747
00:42:30,076 --> 00:42:34,060
Ah, Logan, I'd like you to
meet Aurora Monroe.
748
00:42:34,060 --> 00:42:36,044
Also called Storm.
749
00:42:36,044 --> 00:42:39,004
This is Scott Summers. Hello.
Also called Cyclops.
750
00:42:42,056 --> 00:42:44,068
They saved your life.
751
00:42:44,068 --> 00:42:47,032
What unites all these characters
and makes them different
752
00:42:47,032 --> 00:42:50,048
from the other super teams
is that they're mutants,
753
00:42:50,048 --> 00:42:53,072
born with extraordinary powers
and feared and discriminated
754
00:42:53,072 --> 00:42:55,088
against by wider humankind.
755
00:42:55,088 --> 00:42:59,016
They say you can imitate anybody.
756
00:42:59,016 --> 00:43:01,016
Even their voice.
757
00:43:01,016 --> 00:43:04,016
IN NIGHTCRAWLER'S VOICE:
Even their voice.
758
00:43:04,016 --> 00:43:07,036
Then why not stay in disguise
all the time?
759
00:43:07,036 --> 00:43:08,040
You know?
760
00:43:09,044 --> 00:43:11,092
Look like everyone else.
761
00:43:11,092 --> 00:43:14,024
IN NORMAL VOICE: Because we
shouldn't have to.
762
00:43:14,024 --> 00:43:16,072
ON TV: ..as the others traverse
the rigid security.
763
00:43:16,072 --> 00:43:18,072
ALARM BLARES
764
00:43:21,004 --> 00:43:25,016
The X-Men films are a precursor
of the Marvel and DC cinematic
765
00:43:25,016 --> 00:43:30,056
universes, where multiple heroes
enjoy both solo and team series.
766
00:43:30,056 --> 00:43:34,028
But with the X-Men, the team came
first, with the most popular
767
00:43:34,028 --> 00:43:38,040
character, Wolverine,
then getting his own spin-off film,
768
00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:42,076
which in turn introduced another
popular character, Deadpool,
769
00:43:42,076 --> 00:43:44,044
who got his own spin-off.
770
00:43:44,044 --> 00:43:48,068
OK, let's pro-con this
superhero thing.
771
00:43:48,068 --> 00:43:49,096
Ow.
772
00:43:49,096 --> 00:43:53,012
Conversely, Marvel introduced
several key characters
773
00:43:53,012 --> 00:43:56,012
in their own solo films
before bringing them together
774
00:43:56,012 --> 00:43:57,036
via the Avengers title.
775
00:44:00,016 --> 00:44:01,020
I've got an idea...
776
00:44:01,020 --> 00:44:05,040
Over the course of 23 films so far,
Marvel have built up a connected
777
00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:09,060
narrative with new releases picking
up story elements and characters
778
00:44:09,060 --> 00:44:11,076
from previous films.
779
00:44:11,076 --> 00:44:15,084
Coming out on average twice a year,
Marvel's films are nothing less
780
00:44:15,084 --> 00:44:19,000
than a mega-budget version
of the first cinema
781
00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:20,084
outings for superheroes -
782
00:44:20,084 --> 00:44:23,072
the weekly serials of the 1940s.
783
00:44:27,008 --> 00:44:30,048
If the movie moguls of that era came
back today, they'd be astonished
784
00:44:30,048 --> 00:44:33,096
to find properties they wrote off
as cheap kiddie fodder were now
785
00:44:33,096 --> 00:44:37,076
the studio tentpoles dominating
the global box office
786
00:44:37,076 --> 00:44:40,092
and outperforming the latter-day
likes of Gone with the Wind
787
00:44:40,092 --> 00:44:42,020
or the Ten Commandments.
788
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:53,072
# Knew the signs wasn't right... #
789
00:44:53,072 --> 00:44:57,012
As we've often seen in this series,
it's a classic rule of storytelling
790
00:44:57,012 --> 00:44:59,068
that things have to get worse
for the protagonist
791
00:44:59,068 --> 00:45:01,068
before they get better.
792
00:45:01,068 --> 00:45:04,076
The lovers are parted,
and one decides to relocate
793
00:45:04,076 --> 00:45:06,012
to a different continent.
794
00:45:07,052 --> 00:45:10,056
The survivors in an upturned liner
find that their only
795
00:45:10,056 --> 00:45:12,076
escape route is flooded.
796
00:45:12,076 --> 00:45:17,028
It's the darkest hour -
the moment when all is lost.
797
00:45:17,028 --> 00:45:20,048
In a genre where heroes can
literally fly,
798
00:45:20,048 --> 00:45:22,080
they have to fall even harder.
799
00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:26,064
And this moment, usually in the
last quarter of the film,
800
00:45:26,064 --> 00:45:29,004
often takes a particular shape -
801
00:45:29,004 --> 00:45:31,052
trial by endurance.
802
00:45:31,052 --> 00:45:34,048
Rather than be destroyed outright
by their nemesis,
803
00:45:34,048 --> 00:45:38,040
the hero will be abandoned to
their fate, and they will need all
804
00:45:38,040 --> 00:45:42,040
their strength, wits and,
above all, willpower to survive.
805
00:45:46,036 --> 00:45:50,008
Spider-Man: Homecoming pays tribute
to a classic moment in the
806
00:45:50,008 --> 00:45:55,064
original comic when our hero gets
buried under a collapsed building.
807
00:45:55,064 --> 00:45:57,096
HE GASPS
808
00:45:57,096 --> 00:46:01,068
Alone, hallucinating -
the situation is as much a test of
809
00:46:01,068 --> 00:46:05,096
Spider-Man's courage and
determination as of his strength.
810
00:46:05,096 --> 00:46:09,064
There's a similar sequence in
The Dark Knight Rises
811
00:46:09,064 --> 00:46:12,072
when the villainous Bane
condemns a broken-backed Bruce Wayne
812
00:46:12,072 --> 00:46:13,084
to a prison hellhole.
813
00:46:13,084 --> 00:46:15,008
As will you.
814
00:46:15,008 --> 00:46:17,092
"Hole" being the operative
word here, given the unusual
815
00:46:17,092 --> 00:46:20,040
architectural design.
816
00:46:20,040 --> 00:46:24,036
Bruce's plight explicitly echoes
the opening scene of the first film
817
00:46:24,036 --> 00:46:28,032
in the Dark Knight trilogy,
Batman Begins, which suggests that
818
00:46:28,032 --> 00:46:31,076
this moment, rather than the murder
of his parents,
819
00:46:31,076 --> 00:46:35,092
is Bruce Wayne's real primal trauma
- one he eventually overcomes
820
00:46:35,092 --> 00:46:39,084
by becoming the very thing
he feared as a child.
821
00:46:39,084 --> 00:46:41,076
So, what's the moral here?
822
00:46:41,076 --> 00:46:45,012
Bruce's dad, who's clearly
a part-time screenwriting guru,
823
00:46:45,012 --> 00:46:46,060
has the answer.
824
00:46:46,060 --> 00:46:49,020
It's OK. Took quite a fall,
didn't we, Master Bruce?
825
00:46:49,020 --> 00:46:51,008
And why did we fall, Bruce?
826
00:46:51,008 --> 00:46:52,096
So we can learn
to pick ourselves up.
827
00:46:55,020 --> 00:46:59,084
We see that same mix of entrapment
and primal trauma when Superman
828
00:46:59,084 --> 00:47:02,096
is plunged into a flooded
subway station, chained to
829
00:47:02,096 --> 00:47:04,060
a piece of kryptonite -
830
00:47:04,060 --> 00:47:08,028
the one substance that can render
him utterly helpless.
831
00:47:08,028 --> 00:47:10,072
Kryptonite has symbolic value.
832
00:47:10,072 --> 00:47:14,072
It's a by-product of the destruction
of Superman's home planet,
833
00:47:14,072 --> 00:47:18,080
a reminder of his own
primal loss and isolation.
834
00:47:18,080 --> 00:47:23,080
And crucially, it poses no threat
whatsoever to ordinary humans.
835
00:47:27,044 --> 00:47:31,060
David Dunn is also forced to take
the plunge in Unbreakable,
836
00:47:31,060 --> 00:47:35,048
because water is, as he discovers,
his own kryptonite,
837
00:47:35,048 --> 00:47:37,036
his secret vulnerability.
838
00:47:42,016 --> 00:47:46,060
Note, by the way, how claustrophobic
and intimate these moments are,
839
00:47:46,060 --> 00:47:49,072
and how they prey on our own
instinctive human fears
840
00:47:49,072 --> 00:47:53,012
of being buried alive,
drowning, or falling.
841
00:47:55,032 --> 00:47:56,080
HE YELLS
842
00:47:58,004 --> 00:48:01,092
Spider-Man and Batman call on their
deepest personal reserves
843
00:48:01,092 --> 00:48:04,004
to get themselves to safety.
844
00:48:04,004 --> 00:48:07,012
But look how Superman and
David Dunn are only saved
845
00:48:07,012 --> 00:48:09,048
by the intervention of strangers.
846
00:48:09,048 --> 00:48:13,096
Sometimes even the fate of
superheroes depends on mere mortals
847
00:48:13,096 --> 00:48:15,012
doing the right thing.
848
00:48:16,044 --> 00:48:19,072
That same idea underlies
one of the most powerful moments
849
00:48:19,072 --> 00:48:21,032
of the first Spider-Man movie.
850
00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:27,044
When bystanders pick up the fight
against the Green Goblin.
851
00:48:29,068 --> 00:48:32,004
Come on up here, tough guy,
I got a little something for ya!
852
00:48:32,004 --> 00:48:34,088
We're going to kick your freaking
ass! Leave Spider-Man alone!
853
00:48:34,088 --> 00:48:37,068
You going to pick on a guy trying to
save a bunch of kids?!
854
00:48:37,068 --> 00:48:39,068
Oh, yeah!
I got something for your ass!
855
00:48:39,068 --> 00:48:41,076
You mess with Spidey?
You mess with New York!
856
00:48:41,076 --> 00:48:44,052
You mess with one of us,
you mess with all of us!
857
00:48:44,052 --> 00:48:47,040
Repeatedly we see the distinction
between superhero
858
00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:50,020
and ordinary human breaking down.
859
00:48:50,020 --> 00:48:54,060
The heroes are reduced to our level,
or perhaps we're exalted to theirs.
860
00:48:56,040 --> 00:48:58,092
But there's one more test to come.
861
00:48:58,092 --> 00:49:02,088
We've already seen that villains
are ruthless, ready to sacrifice
862
00:49:02,088 --> 00:49:05,032
others in pursuit of their goal.
863
00:49:05,032 --> 00:49:08,008
But where the hero ultimately
has the upper hand
864
00:49:08,008 --> 00:49:11,028
is in their willingness to sacrifice
themselves in pursuit
865
00:49:11,028 --> 00:49:14,060
of their fundamental goal,
which is to save people.
866
00:49:15,096 --> 00:49:17,036
No! That's Batman!
867
00:49:18,080 --> 00:49:22,028
No sooner has Batman fixed his
broken back, escaped his hellhole
868
00:49:22,028 --> 00:49:25,032
and returned to Gotham
then he's volunteering to take a
869
00:49:25,032 --> 00:49:28,072
ready-to-explode neutron bomb
beyond harm's way,
870
00:49:28,072 --> 00:49:30,044
regardless of the personal cost.
871
00:49:32,092 --> 00:49:33,096
Can you read me?
872
00:49:33,096 --> 00:49:35,072
Captain Rogers, what is your...?
873
00:49:35,072 --> 00:49:38,080
Steve, is that you? Are you
all right? Peggy! Schmidt's dead!
874
00:49:38,080 --> 00:49:39,092
What about the plane?
875
00:49:39,092 --> 00:49:44,024
It's a similar scenario to
Captain America: The First Avenger.
876
00:49:44,024 --> 00:49:47,060
Cap has to pilot a plane full
of weapons of mass destruction
877
00:49:47,060 --> 00:49:50,016
away from civilisation.
878
00:49:50,016 --> 00:49:52,008
I gotta put her in the water.
879
00:49:52,008 --> 00:49:55,040
Please, don't do this.
We have time. We can work it out.
880
00:49:55,040 --> 00:49:57,020
Right now,
I'm in the middle of nowhere.
881
00:49:57,020 --> 00:50:00,052
If I wait any longer,
a lot of people are going to die.
882
00:50:00,052 --> 00:50:04,088
The sacrificial hero is a
repeated trope of Marvel's films.
883
00:50:04,088 --> 00:50:08,048
A powerless Thor offers to
lay down his life for his friends.
884
00:50:12,068 --> 00:50:13,072
So take mine...
885
00:50:14,092 --> 00:50:15,096
..and end this.
886
00:50:30,044 --> 00:50:31,048
No!
887
00:50:35,028 --> 00:50:38,056
Ant-Man defeats his enemy at
the cost of plunging himself
888
00:50:38,056 --> 00:50:41,012
into the subatomic Quantum Realm.
889
00:50:43,080 --> 00:50:47,060
And even in a movie with multiple
heroes, someone needs to be ready
890
00:50:47,060 --> 00:50:49,048
to take a bullet for the team -
891
00:50:49,048 --> 00:50:52,068
or a nuclear missile,
in the case of Avengers Assemble.
892
00:50:56,080 --> 00:51:01,068
It's in these moments of sacrifice
that superhero films tap most deeply
893
00:51:01,068 --> 00:51:03,056
into age-old narrative traditions.
894
00:51:06,028 --> 00:51:07,032
TEARFULLY: No...
895
00:51:12,092 --> 00:51:14,008
Daddy, where are you?!
896
00:51:17,088 --> 00:51:20,088
And these ancient stories
reassure us that every good
897
00:51:20,088 --> 00:51:21,092
and noble death...
898
00:51:24,032 --> 00:51:26,000
..is followed by rebirth.
899
00:51:33,076 --> 00:51:34,080
HULK ROARS
900
00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:36,016
TONY PANTS
901
00:51:37,028 --> 00:51:39,076
HULK ROARS
902
00:51:39,076 --> 00:51:40,080
What the hell?
903
00:51:43,080 --> 00:51:45,012
What just happened?
904
00:51:45,012 --> 00:51:49,020
What just happened is the most
comforting and hopeful myth of all.
905
00:51:49,020 --> 00:51:51,076
And the success of the
superhero genre proves that
906
00:51:51,076 --> 00:51:53,068
we still need to hear it.
907
00:51:53,068 --> 00:51:55,016
But for how much longer?
908
00:52:03,068 --> 00:52:05,052
I am Asgard's doom.
909
00:52:05,052 --> 00:52:07,028
And so are you.
910
00:52:07,028 --> 00:52:08,076
All will suffer.
911
00:52:08,076 --> 00:52:11,008
All will burn!
912
00:52:11,008 --> 00:52:12,028
Oh, that's intense.
913
00:52:12,028 --> 00:52:16,072
As the great myths of old remind us,
nothing hangs around forever.
914
00:52:16,072 --> 00:52:19,020
Even the gods must face
their twilight -
915
00:52:19,020 --> 00:52:22,052
or, in the Norse legends, Ragnarok.
916
00:52:22,052 --> 00:52:25,068
You cannot stop Ragnarok.
917
00:52:25,068 --> 00:52:27,020
Why fight it?
918
00:52:27,020 --> 00:52:31,000
Because that's...what heroes do.
919
00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:34,004
Will the huge global success
of the superhero genre
920
00:52:34,004 --> 00:52:35,040
be its downfall?
921
00:52:35,040 --> 00:52:37,016
Have we reached peak hero?
922
00:52:38,024 --> 00:52:40,040
It doesn't matter how
obscure you are!
923
00:52:40,040 --> 00:52:42,000
You're all getting a movie!
924
00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:43,032
You want a little sneak peek?
925
00:52:43,032 --> 00:52:46,084
The family cartoon feature
Teen Titans Go! To The Movies
926
00:52:46,084 --> 00:52:48,084
satirises Hollywood's determination
927
00:52:48,084 --> 00:52:51,068
to squeeze every last buck
out of the genre.
928
00:52:51,068 --> 00:52:56,028
ANNOUNCER: Coming next next summer,
the story of Batman's greatest ally.
929
00:52:56,028 --> 00:52:57,064
That's me! That must be me!
930
00:52:57,064 --> 00:53:00,016
And best friend in the whole
wide world.
931
00:53:00,016 --> 00:53:02,004
HE TITTERS
932
00:53:02,004 --> 00:53:03,056
Finally!
933
00:53:03,056 --> 00:53:05,068
Thank you for making a
movie about...
934
00:53:05,068 --> 00:53:07,032
Utility Belt. What?
935
00:53:07,032 --> 00:53:08,072
The Movie.
936
00:53:08,072 --> 00:53:12,008
And as we've noted, such luminaries
as Martin Scorsese,
937
00:53:12,008 --> 00:53:16,008
Francis Ford Coppola, and our
very own Ken Loach have weighed in
938
00:53:16,008 --> 00:53:19,068
against the genre, variously
accusing it of being boring,
939
00:53:19,068 --> 00:53:22,008
despicable, and "not cinema."
940
00:53:22,008 --> 00:53:24,048
Ragnarok can't come
too quickly for them.
941
00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:30,044
No!
942
00:53:30,044 --> 00:53:34,036
So, like a classic mentor figure,
I'm going to offer superhero movies
943
00:53:34,036 --> 00:53:37,032
three lessons that I think they need
to learn for the future.
944
00:53:37,032 --> 00:53:40,024
Just...don't kill me off after
I've delivered them.
945
00:53:40,024 --> 00:53:43,040
First, get some better endings.
946
00:53:43,040 --> 00:53:46,068
We've seen that superhero movies
have a powerful moral message
947
00:53:46,068 --> 00:53:47,092
at their core.
948
00:53:47,092 --> 00:53:50,088
But all too often, it's lost in
the maelstrom of overblown,
949
00:53:50,088 --> 00:53:53,004
smashy-crashy action and effects -
950
00:53:53,004 --> 00:53:57,040
which seems to be de rigeur for
almost any superhero movie climax.
951
00:54:00,096 --> 00:54:04,088
Every other Marvel film ends with
some kind of collision or mashup
952
00:54:04,088 --> 00:54:07,028
between dimensions and galaxies,
953
00:54:07,028 --> 00:54:10,096
with heroes either jumping through
portals between different realms
954
00:54:10,096 --> 00:54:12,036
or trying to shut them down.
955
00:54:14,012 --> 00:54:15,016
The Dark Dimension.
956
00:54:16,072 --> 00:54:20,040
It's a problem inherent
in any genre based on spectacle,
957
00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:24,016
the expectation that each set piece
will be bigger or more complex
958
00:54:24,016 --> 00:54:25,024
than the last.
959
00:54:25,024 --> 00:54:27,072
And it's one that's dogged even
the best-loved superhero
960
00:54:27,072 --> 00:54:28,076
movies for decades.
961
00:54:33,036 --> 00:54:35,072
The climax of Superman leaves
villain Lex Luthor
962
00:54:35,072 --> 00:54:39,024
out of the picture altogether
and sees the Man of Steel struggle
963
00:54:39,024 --> 00:54:41,084
with some of the film's
least-convincing effects.
964
00:54:44,012 --> 00:54:45,016
HE SCREAMS
965
00:54:48,004 --> 00:54:52,000
And that's before perhaps
the biggest cop-out conclusion ever,
966
00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:57,024
in which Superman reverses the Earth
on its axis to turn back time.
967
00:54:57,024 --> 00:54:59,096
Now, that doesn't just defy
the laws of physics,
968
00:54:59,096 --> 00:55:04,016
it defies the even more important
laws of good storytelling.
969
00:55:04,016 --> 00:55:07,092
Superman should forever be an
object lesson to Hollywood in
970
00:55:07,092 --> 00:55:09,056
how not to end a movie.
971
00:55:13,032 --> 00:55:17,060
Interestingly, in Glass - the final
film of his Unbreakable trilogy -
972
00:55:17,060 --> 00:55:20,080
director M Night Shyamalan
sets us up for a massive showdown
973
00:55:20,080 --> 00:55:22,052
at the top of a skyscraper.
974
00:55:22,052 --> 00:55:25,052
Only to surprise us with a far
more effective and altogether
975
00:55:25,052 --> 00:55:28,012
more low-key scrap in a car park.
976
00:55:28,012 --> 00:55:30,068
It's one of my favourite
superhero movie endings.
977
00:55:33,040 --> 00:55:34,064
THE BEAST ROARS
978
00:55:34,064 --> 00:55:35,068
GIRLS SCREAM
979
00:55:40,016 --> 00:55:44,004
Lesson two - let's see a greater
range of talent and voices
980
00:55:44,004 --> 00:55:45,072
involved in the genre.
981
00:55:45,072 --> 00:55:48,064
And here, there are definite
signs of hope.
982
00:55:48,064 --> 00:55:52,088
Recent blockbusters which combine
diverse talent both in front of
983
00:55:52,088 --> 00:55:55,044
and behind the camera -
like Captain Marvel,
984
00:55:55,044 --> 00:55:59,084
Black Panther, and Wonder Woman -
have proved to be huge hits.
985
00:55:59,084 --> 00:56:01,052
What is a secretary?
986
00:56:01,052 --> 00:56:02,088
Well, I do everything.
987
00:56:02,088 --> 00:56:05,060
I go where he tells me to go,
and I do what he tells me to do.
988
00:56:05,060 --> 00:56:07,092
Well, where I'm from,
that's called slavery.
989
00:56:09,080 --> 00:56:11,080
So, bring it on, Hollywood.
990
00:56:11,080 --> 00:56:15,036
Let's see what would happen if
film-makers who don't all look
991
00:56:15,036 --> 00:56:19,060
the same are given free rein with
these characters, and indeed,
992
00:56:19,060 --> 00:56:22,004
with characters of all
genders and races.
993
00:56:24,040 --> 00:56:27,068
It's encouraging that
two of 2020's big releases -
994
00:56:27,068 --> 00:56:30,068
Marvel's Eternals and
DC's Birds of Prey,
995
00:56:30,068 --> 00:56:34,096
are directed by Chinese-Americans
Chloe Zhao and Cathy Yan.
996
00:56:34,096 --> 00:56:37,084
Of course, the studios are never
going to take too many risks
997
00:56:37,084 --> 00:56:40,088
with their big name,
big-earning franchises.
998
00:56:40,088 --> 00:56:42,080
So, here's lesson three.
999
00:56:42,080 --> 00:56:47,020
Many superhero themes, situations,
and character types are open
1000
00:56:47,020 --> 00:56:49,012
for anyone to play with.
1001
00:56:49,012 --> 00:56:51,048
Let's see more of that.
1002
00:56:51,048 --> 00:56:52,084
I'm an apex predator.
1003
00:56:52,084 --> 00:56:53,088
BUS HORN BLARES
1004
00:56:55,092 --> 00:57:00,048
Films like Josh Trank's Chronicle,
a lower-budget found footage take
1005
00:57:00,048 --> 00:57:03,048
on the extraordinarily-gifted
youngsters scenario of
1006
00:57:03,048 --> 00:57:04,052
the X-Men films.
1007
00:57:05,076 --> 00:57:09,028
Or the recent Brightburn,
which asks what would happen if
1008
00:57:09,028 --> 00:57:13,072
a Kansas couple adopted a child who
crash-landed from an alien planet,
1009
00:57:13,072 --> 00:57:15,044
only for him to turn out to be evil?
1010
00:57:23,044 --> 00:57:24,048
SHE SCREAMS
1011
00:57:24,048 --> 00:57:27,092
It's a sort of
We Need To Talk About Kal-El.
1012
00:57:27,092 --> 00:57:31,020
Both of these films
splice superheroes with horror -
1013
00:57:31,020 --> 00:57:34,004
a genre that can work
very well on a tight budget,
1014
00:57:34,004 --> 00:57:37,008
and they raise interesting
questions about the very notion
1015
00:57:37,008 --> 00:57:38,012
of superheroism.
1016
00:57:43,028 --> 00:57:47,052
The darker side of the superhero
genre is a rich scene to mine,
1017
00:57:47,052 --> 00:57:51,088
judging by the success of
2019's breakout hit Joker.
1018
00:57:51,088 --> 00:57:54,044
Would you please stop
bothering my kid?
1019
00:57:54,044 --> 00:57:55,048
Sorry.
1020
00:57:56,052 --> 00:58:00,024
It takes a character who, as we've
seen, was inspired by a classic
1021
00:58:00,024 --> 00:58:01,048
of Silent Era-cinema...
1022
00:58:02,088 --> 00:58:06,096
..and re-imagines him as a fusion
of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver
1023
00:58:06,096 --> 00:58:08,068
and The King of Comedy,
1024
00:58:08,068 --> 00:58:11,012
which makes it all the more ironic
to hear Scorsese,
1025
00:58:11,012 --> 00:58:13,024
who once considered producing Joker,
1026
00:58:13,024 --> 00:58:16,004
moaning about modern
superhero movies.
1027
00:58:16,004 --> 00:58:19,092
# Send in the clowns... #
1028
00:58:22,024 --> 00:58:25,092
All this is a reminder of the
long-standing relationship
1029
00:58:25,092 --> 00:58:29,012
between superheroes and cinema
as a whole.
1030
00:58:29,012 --> 00:58:33,012
And as long as that relationship
is kept healthy and enriching,
1031
00:58:33,012 --> 00:58:35,096
I don't think the heroes -
or the fans -
1032
00:58:35,096 --> 00:58:38,044
need to worry about Ragnarok
just yet.
93624
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