WTF Happened to THE SPIRIT (2008)?
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- Опубликовано: 20 июн 2022
- The Spirit is a Neo-noir superhero film based on the classic character created by Will Eisner. A live-action film version of the character had been planned for years, with William Friedkin coming close to making a movie back in the eighties. It almost got made as an animated film. In the wake of Robert Rodriguez’s successful version of Sin City, that film’s co-director/writer, the legendary Frank Miller, was able to get the rights. It would be done in a similar style to that film, with it shot in a largely desaturated, highly stylized form that was catching on at the time thanks to not only Sin City but also 300, which, not coincidently, was also based on Frank Miller’s work.
Miller would adapt the comic himself, casting Gabriel Macht as Denny Colt, the ghost-like superhero. Macht was largely unknown (he would go on to find fame on the long-running series Suits) but was surrounded by an A-list cast, including Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johannson. The film would be met with derision from fans, with many taking issue with Jackson’s wildly over-the-top performance as the villain, The Octopus. It lost its financier tens of millions of dollars, and Miller’s only other credit as a director would come on the City City sequel, A Dame to Kill For, which reteamed him with Rodriguez. So what happened? Why was The Spirit such a box-office disaster, and does the Movie have any fans? We dig into The Spirit's making in this week’s WTF Happened to this Movie, written by Gaius Bolling, edited by Cesar Gabriel, and narrated by Dave Davis.
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#TheSpirit #wtfhappenedtothismovie #FrankMiller 
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The problem with this film is that the creative team were so focused on one aspects of the source material- the noir atmosphere - that they neglected a lot of what made The Spirit unique. He started out as just another two fisted vigilante, but when Eisner got back from his war service he started taking the franchise in a different direction, adding more pathos, humor, and occasionally surrealism. The film failed to capture most of this, and this became a Comic Book movie about a Comic Books character from a point in his development when he didn’t HAVE much character.
The heavy use of noir comes more from Miller than Eisner. Every story he's ever written is a noir. I saw his creative book on the film. It's basically a Frank Miller drawn comic of The Spirit. It looks really cool and probably should've stayed on the page but it's exactly the way you think it looks. Big chunky version of Colt with those fat fingers and huge square jaw while everything is in silhouette. When Miller takes over anything, expect a thick coat of noir lathered over everything. It's kinda his jam. Plus I don't think that was the problem with this film. If you asked the general public who would care that those changes were made they would probably ask who the hell The Spirit is in the first place. The problem has always been Frank Miller's directing. He has a particular quirkiness that doesn't quite translate on film. The Dark Knight Returns is one of the greatest comics ever written but if you were to translate that to film then you would probably leave most if all the "Millerisms" out. He needs a director and should not go anywhere near a film without one.
I think this behind the scenes video is actually better than the movie.
They tried to make the spirit into sin city.... which is not what the spirit is
Hated how Frank Miller acted like he was Will Eisner’s only friend in the world and was the only capable of adapting his work.
What's a two fisted vigilante??
Brad Bird tried making a Spirit animated movie in the 80s. That could have been really good, if it got made
That's what they said in the video
@@CaptainCat101 What's not mentioned in the video is that Brad Bird's team managed to make a "The Spirit" animated Pitch Trailer before the project got canceled.
Look it up on youtube, it's really good and well voice acted.
Oddly, _Dick Tracy_ is everything a Will Eisner _Spirit_ movie *should* be.
💯
That movie is diamonds
Dude right?! That's exactly what I thought when I saw it. It's a great aesthetic in cinematography. Also it helped create multiple similar animation and live action flicks. Definitely like sin city better but this was still a cheers at the end.
Wasn't that a huge box office bomb also? I liked it when it came out but I was 7 at the time so......
@@Jabberstax It wasn't a bomb, but I think it fell short of the studio's expectations. Back then, studios were a lot pickier about what movies to give sequels than they are today.
After watching this video, it's pretty clear that one of the main problems with this movie is the fact that it tried to be Frank Miller's version of the character and storyline ..... and not Will Eisner's. Big mistake.
The humor was God awful. Very awful
@@bubbytumby8509 💯💯
Na, it was just boring.
What humor? Unless you mean the whole thing was a joke.
@@docsavage8640 slapstick humor where Sam Jackson acted like jim Carrey but failed
I am a 45 yo father, probably one of the oldest people watching this movie. I am a single father to my Son, who is 14 now. My son got this movie for Christmas in 2021 from his uncle, so we put it in the VCR and started watching. By the end of the week he watched it 24 times. This was horrible for me, as it was already hard for me to find ways to spend time with my son, as he is always out with his friends or just sitting there blankly staring. So i decided to make a netflix account and get this movie to see if I could maybe watch alongside him. I loaded in the movie and it started playing. This movie has ever since brought me and my son closer again and now we actually spend time together outside the house together as well. This movie reminded me that there's fun to be had in everything, and it has brought both me and my Son many happy memories.
I vividly remember hating this movie right away, as I was walking out of the theater. The reason why this memory persists, is that I rarely, absolutely dislike a film just the moment I finish watching it, without having some time to think about it first. I just knew it was irredeemable right there and then.
Ha that was me with The Last Jedi. I'm usually on a "theater high" directly afterwards but in the car afterward I was just sort of shell shocked.
I had a lot of fun with this movie. I never read the source material so I wasn't tied to comics and how faithful the film was to it. The pulp and goofiness of it was actually what endeared me to it. It was so unashamed to just be what it was that I had to respect it for going the places that it went to.
What film is ashamed of being what it is during production?
Hey would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
@@dianaprince6743 I would.
From my recollection, a lot of people were pissed that it looked like they borrowed too heavily from the Sin City look + feel. I don't think many people knew that it was made by people involved in the Sin City, etc and I blame all of that on totally faulty marketing. Regardless; it's fun, weird, and now a lil bit of a classic.
The problem is the Spirit doesn't belong in Sin City.
Fuck what some people were misguidedly ''Pissed'' about here - They go to bad ideas and awful pastimes and drink proverbial-PISS there, This movie went above and beyond what they deserved.
As a former student of Will's (SVA) I personally knew his love for Hitchcock. If anyone attempts to adapt Eisner work to film again in the future... they should try to use more Hitchcock film influences instead of over the top over stylized comic book visuals. He deserves better.
I enjoyed this movie and still do. Got it as part 5 movie DVD set. I love the rivalry between The Spirit and The Octopus. An unkillable hero and villain whose fights same to ends in draws although one of them always seems a little worse off.
JOBLO I FORGOT THIS MOVIE EXISTED THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REMINDING ME!
"I'm gonna kill you all kinds of dead" is a line I could always remember, but never where it was from. The catharsis I feel right now is all thanks to this channel
I love this movie. Never read the comic but its Frank Millers Spirit. And he didnt steal Sin Citys look, that was Frank Millers look, taken straight from his comics, he just knew how to accomplish it after Sin City.
I remember the energy in the theater when this came out, there was just a vibe of simmering confusion 😆
Simmering confusion?? Are you drinking paint thinner again?
The problem was never the character, the actor, the timing, creative design, or the need for a Sin City sequel. The problem has always been Frank Miller. Robocop 2 should've shown that he should be kept as far away from the creative process in films as possible. My theory is he only got that job because they ripped off a majority of Robocop from The Dark Knight Returns so they compensated Miller with creative input for their sequels. He is amazing in his field but he definitely needed a Robert Rodriguez to help steer the ship. This could've been amazing. I remember the trailers were really intriguing. That period was fit for a noir/ pulp hero to step up. I feel like that was a period they could've made a sick Shadow movie or a Green Hornet film with little to no Seth Rogan ruining that role.
Miller being given a crack at Robocop wasn't because he was thrown a bone for borrowed DKR elements. Because of the Writer's Guild of America strike, Orion was unable to solicit screenplays from professional screenwriters, so they approached the two biggest names in comic writing that weren't Guild members... Alan Moore and Frank Miller. Alan Moore told them to get bent, but Frank Miller saw it as an opportunity to flesh out some ideas he had. Because Orion butchered his screenplay so badly, he was given the opportunity to write Robocop 3 as well.
@@RockandrollNegro I was being hyperbolic but I think you're being very charitable by saying "borrowed." I mean, sure... but they also ripped off a lot from TDKR. That absolutely influenced the decision. Not every comic writer was apart of the writers guild. Comics were huge in the 80s. There are a lot of names. Miller and Moore were just becoming names. They were hot but so was Chris Claremont. They picked Miller for a reason and it might not be because they owed him anything but it was a soft apology none the less.
Hey would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
I saw this movie in the theater and own the Blu-ray! Damn the critics! I love this movie.
I mean, I love Masters of the Universe. It's not a good movie though.
@@ScooterinAB fair enough sir.
Hey would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
@@ScooterinABSpirit is 10x better than Masters Of The Universe I mean c'mon. It's not as good as Sin City But there's only a few comic movies that are. It's still pretty good. I have the Blu-ray and rewatch it a couple times a year.
@@gentelmanjunkie542And I own Masters of the Universe and watch it every year or so. What's your point? Mine is that people can like bad movies, though it doesn't make them stop being bad movies.
*The Spirit's 'super power' of being a Cat and Pussy Magnet is surely the greatest super power of all time*
I Love this film. It is unique and funny and endlessly quotable!
His "super power" isn't a "Cat and Pussy Magnet." Did you take your hourly suppository like your supposed to?
Are you still around?
@@dianaprince6743 I am.
@@blacknapalm2131 would you be interested in co-writing a Spirit Fanfic?
@@dianaprince6743 I would love to but unfortunately I am a terrible writer and poet
My friend and I used to watch movies together every week and we always had a thing where we said, if we start a movie we always finish it.
The spirit was one of the few movies we broke that promise with.
Used to is the key word here.
I mean they tried something similar to the spirit back in the 90s with films like the Shadow and the Phantom. None did well at the box office and it seemed like nobody wanted to see superheroes that came out before Batman. I like the 30s and 40s aesthetic to movies and they can be fun to look at but audiences never clicked with it.
You hit the nail on the head but Hollywood people are stubborn and detached from reality .
Why they invested into this obscure character I'll never know
I can only guess it's because DC and Marvel characters were not available to them and they just really wanted to do a comic book character movie .
Why is the narrator's voice so comforting? :) Man, I love these WTF Happened To videos!
I haven’t read a lot of Spirit stories, but the few I have read seem to be slice of life short stories set with working class characters in an urban setting. The title character is more of a framing device or a narrator. It was more of an anthology with none of the Dick Tracy melodrama in this movie.
Am I missing something?
No. Frank Miller is.
Hey would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
I freaking love Samuel Jackson in this movie. Me and my friend laughed for days at his lines.😂
Same, it's my fave performance of his. 😉👌
@@FPwLola
" Not a glob"🤣☠
@@latenightgaming5057 😂😂😂
*He's like a piece of gum...stuck to my shoe. I hate stepping on gum even in winter! It makes you step funny*
Loved the movie as a teen and adult as a comedic noir movie. I loved its comic style, color popping visuals against the black and whites. It just feels like a hybrid of burton and adam west.
Are you still around?
@@dianaprince6743 yeah?
@@TrenchMan93 Would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
@@gamoratitan uh….why would you ask that?
I love this movie and I've watched it five or six times I watched it three times in one night I love this movie I think it captures Will Eisner's vision and it just a great movie
3 times in one night?
Hey would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
Granted I haven’t seen this for over 10 years but I really liked the movie. Just good ol’ fun!
I’ve always loved this movie. But, i understand why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Yeah saw it in the theater. It is absolutely insane with some of the sam Jackson images. Just bonkers nazi stuff. Lol.
Yeah me too. Its fab.
I remember the trailer for this movie being SO much better than the movie itself. The song used in the trailer "Choke - Hybrid" hooked me, then I spent real money to see the movie in theaters lol. Oops.
I remember the trailer being so much better than the movie itself.
Seems to be the trend, honestly, both then and now.
The song to this day is one of the greatest songs in a trailer. Kinda like the trailer for clash of the Titans
@@bubbytumby8509 agree 100%. I still like to give that song a listen, 14+ years after the trailer's release.
SAAAAME
This was the first film I wanted to walk out of because I was so insanely bored. I stuck it out, hoping something would justify my time, but that didn't happen. I stayed for the entire film and regretted it. It wasn't even "so bad, it's good." I was mostly just...bored.
Agreed
Not being a dick here... just honestly curious what movies you consider the opposite of insanely boring.....
Great take. I'm now interested in seeing it.
be prepared to have zero fun. haha no shame if you just turn it off halfway
Good vid. Just the music in the beginning is a bit much lol
I’m sure you could have done a second take on “principal photography,” but I’m glad you didn’t.
I like the comic books of the Spirit. He is probably one of my favourite superheroes, or should I say, costumed crime fighters. I loved this film when I saw it as a wee lad when it came out to the pictures, but it doesn't compare to the 1987 television film that I've got on DVD. The only thing that it beats that one on, is the inclusion of more characters from the Spirit universe.
This movie is a guilty pleasure of mine. First time I watched it I didn't care for it too much. Then, years later, I watched it again. Then I watched it again. Then I found myself enjoying it bizarre plot and all. It's a unique and fun ride. Different than the formulaic marvel & dc movies. I always wondered if Samuel L. Jackson was dressed up as a Nazi because the Nazis were into the occult and Jackson explains his crazy Hercules plan in this scene. Maybe not.
The cast seemed to enjoy it.
As a fan of most cult classics, I have to say Spirit is on my list of most disappointing movies I couldn't wait to see. I understand what they were going for, but they just missed the entire region where the mark was. I mean you got Samuel L Jackson in a Nazi uniform, how did they fuck that up ;(
Hey would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
@@dianaprince6743 umm sure why not
@@tristanteague Are you on discord?
Saw this for the first time a few weeks ago, I actually liked it. It's kind of a mess but it is fun, unique
Hey would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
Can't help but remember this fondly, just over the top fun with Sam Jackson.
I think there's a reason screen writers have to go thru draft after draft after draft... Comic books do not translate directly to the screen... As much Miller is a phenomenal artist and creator, his type of story telling was too much direct from the page, and not for the big screen.
Add to that the danger of giving the keys of the castle to someone without vetting it throw the normal creative process. At that time, Miller was a freight train, and I doubt anyone would have said no to him. But that's a dangerous position to be in BECAUSE you need people to say no.
Samuel L Jackson was the only actor who understood he was in a Frank Miller comic.
I don’t think I ever heard of this film. If I’d seen it in a DVD rental store or on a streaming service then I would have watched it.
Frank Miller should've called Robert Rodriguez
Ah yes, two bad directors, one campy, silly movie.
I remember skipping out on Christmas brunch with family to see this
What happened to the Spirit? Two words. Frank Miller. I seriously doubt Uwe Boll could’ve done a worse job. What makes it worse is that, supposedly, Miller and Eisner had been friends.
I know this is not a great movie but I actually enjoy this film. A bit of a guilty pleasure 🤷♂️
14:00
I've never heard that one before.
That makes a lot more sense. People's expectations after "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man", probably made this movie look cliched.
Are you still around?
Ack, the background music was too loud and distracting in this one. I'm having difficulties hearing the narration.
I f💣☠️king LOVE THIS MOVIE 🍿🎥
From Montreal with love 💪🏽🇨🇦👊🏽
@12:13
"You were saying something about best intentions. Oh, you were finished? Well, allow me to retort."
- Jules
I knew I saw Harvey before but couldn't remember where, I never checked his imdb. At the time I thought the movie was okay, honestly I only remembered that Sam Jackson, Scarlett and Stana were in it plot wise nada.
That piano chord progression of two notes is from a song called "Medicine" by Birds of Tokyo. Just a heads up.
I clicked because I distinctly remember seeing this when I was 10 years old, and being unimpressed. It was just dark.
This was the only movie ever where I've left the theater early...
I've never seen the movie but I will try to see it....one day, I hope
I remember being excited about it but I'd sum up the experience as "made for TV sin city" it had some of the aesthetic but the whole film just came across as incoherent and poorly written. Maybe too focused on visuals over substance. And yeah, it could have been a good movie in 2006 but after Iron man and the dark knight, landscape and expectations had changed. It had more in common with Affleck daredevil than those movies
one of my favourite movies
Oh, good!! I've been trying to figure that out for years: WTF HAPPENED TO THIS MOVIE?
I really liked this movie and have my own copy on dvd I watch usually once a year or so.
I knew it would be sacrilege as soon as I saw The Spirit dressed in black instead of his trademark blue.
I remember being super excited being a fan of the Sin City movie, Frank Miller and the original Spirit comics...boy oh boy what a disappointment. It looked great but that's pretty much it.
I remember thinking that it looked like a cheap copy of “Sin City” and ultimately fell off my radar. I had every intention to see it, and planned to again after “A Dame to Kill For” came out, but I was so unimpressed with DTKF that it fell of my radar again until right now…maybe on a bored day I’ll finally give it a go!
I think SC was just lightning in a bottle, as ya said the follow-ups feel lame.
@@Joecbg100 Lightening in a bottle sums it very well.
@@timothyj.wright5833 For me the only highpoints in the sequel was some of the actors like JGL, and Rourke.
Sin City worked once because it was unique but the style was not something most theatre goers would want to sit through in several movies. Sin City 2 flopped for the same reason.
Nah. Im sure if Sin City 2 came out one year after the first one, it would've been a hit
Oh god, I saw this travesty at the cinema. The actors were phoning in their performances, and there was such a lack of on screen chemistry between anyone it was if they'd been filmed separately and then patched together in an edit
i freaking love this movie, i bought the dvd and blu ray for it, even watched a couple times in the cinema, i will say, 2nd time i watched it the cinema, i was the only one in there, i had the luxery to have the cinema for myself. this movie and the 13th warrior is my all time favorites, then again i grew up with the spirit, my mom owned several albums
*Spirit and 13th Warrior are two of my favorites too! I love 'diamond in the rough' films :)*
Albums?
@@Sandman_Slim that our terms here for a comic book here, they come out as albums
@@nielsen145 Where?
@@Sandman_Slim Denmark
Imo this is a great movie, if a little convoluted plot wise and a little miscast. No offense to Ava Mendes but she had zero chemistry with anyone and Scarlett was pretty wooden too. They needed stage actors (like Samuel L.) who aren't just pretty on screen to work some intriguing character into it. Those roles are kind of key to the story working together. Otherwise I loved the other performances and style and still regard it as a win in my book. I think most people just didn't know what to do with it. Thanks for another one! 😉👌
Hey would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
@@dianaprince6743 I've never written fan fiction, but I am a writer. How does the process work?
@@FPwLola Are you on Discord? Or I can email.
@@dianaprince6743 Nope not on Discord. So we just take turns writing?
@@FPwLola Yes. I sent you an email from your channel profile
I'm not familiar with the character and never watched the movie but always thought it was inspired by the gray ghost from the Batman animated series in the 90s
The Spirit 2008, one of the worst, most insane/weird films ever made.
EDIT: Nostalgia Critic/Doug Walker’s review of this film is the best
Nostalgia Critic? NO THANK YOU!!!!
Mad distracting background music lol
Awesome
I remember enjoying the movie. It's no Sin City, but the extra layer of camp/cheese on this one was fun to me.
Are you still around?
this movie is alot better than ppl think
DROP THE FRIGGIN' BACKGROUND MUSIC!!!
I completely erased that movie from my memory... Like I never watched it... Wow
I liked the movie...it was pretty good but wish it had cooler action scenes. I like the whole comic book black n white cinematic.
I thought the Spirit was a character that preceded Batman. But Batman debuted about a year before the Spirit. Still, he is a Golden Age character. Somebody should be doing something with him, in live action, at least once a decade, until they get him right. Along side The Phantom and The Shadow. (I'd forgotten it was Jones who played in the TV pilot. And didn't know Colonel Kira was in it.)
It's a case of the Director letting the cast have too much of a good time. They needed reigning in. Many scenes were too long and didn't add anything to the story. In hindsight what was needed was Sin City visuals with the tone of The Crow. Pulp Fiction wit instead of just goofy slap stick.
I had no idea this film even existed.
The plot is confusing to fair but I still love this movie, it's impossible for me to not love an early 20th century period noir style detective or science fiction story... I still like sky captain and the world of tomorrow and I have no fuckin clue what the plot was!
Wasn’t there suppose to be a Spirit 3 movie out … as they stated in kick-ass
I went and watched the movie the day it came out I like it a lot don’t see what all the hate is about
It didn't help that the last Spirit comic was made in the 50s, so its fanbase wasn't as established as Batman or Spider-Man. Movies like the Phantom and the Shadow flopped in the same way because their characters were far removed from the public consciousness
First of all , this movie came out in the same year that the Dark Knight came out . Game Over . A sure fire way to ensure that not one person would remember it .
Gabriel Macht would make a hell of a Batman.
Scarlett was stunning in this movie. As was Eva 🙂
I really enjoyed it
I like this move and the SP parody version
I enjoyed it despite all its flaws.
I haven't seen this film in years and I've never read the comics so I know next to nothing about the source material... However I saw this in theaters when it came out and I watched it a handful of times on DVD. I always enjoyed it and never understood the hate. Then again I also liked A Dame to Kill for which flopped too. So what the hell do I know?
Hey would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
@@dianaprince6743 I don't know... what do you have in mind?
@@redfivestandingbye3668 Are you on discord?
@@dianaprince6743 Nope
@@redfivestandingbye3668 I can email.
Samuel L Jackson played the same character in Kingman
5:16 ¿y ahora...Quien nos ayudará a ahorrar en efectos?
Does The Spirit takes plaxe in Sim City or just the same aesthetics?
I watched it in the cinema and haven't seen it since, but I don't remember it being THAT bad. Certainly not one of the worst movies ever made!
People were painting with lead and doing other things that we now know as dangerous, so they didn't know better whether to make this comic book or not and adapt it into a flick that no one will remember or care.
There are films that are un-appreciated in their time, then grow to become cult classics with age.
There are films that are so bad that they are good, and become instant cult classics.
The Spirit was just bad.
are you still around?
this was what harvey specter actually buried those years ago.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!
I remember the Spirit pilot movie, thought it had a lot of potential and did keep to the source of the movie, like the Spirit getting his butt kicked and clothes ripped a lot. Not a great movie but it had some good moments.
Hey would you be interested in co-writing a fanfic?
Would’ve been better if it were more like Warren Betty’s Dick Tracy than Sin City. Bright colors with darkness.
Suggestion for a show a future episode: My Science Project
We was watchin'
This is the only movie I have ever walked out off and I saw Max Payne
I still randomly demand people "Give me the blood of Hera-Cles!"
I admire your kindness, but the film failed due to its exceptional stupidity. It failed as a broad comedy (or even a winking satire) and, due to leaning on those flat jokes, it failed at any other genre.
Which was a shame with its stunning cast and crew. I was so pleased when lead, Gabriel Macht, got a chance to be put to better use on Suits.