Ep1224: The Phantom (1996) - Live 30th Anniversary Review
The 1990s saw a string of 40s-themed flops--serial-inspired adventure movies that audiences roundly rejected.
The nail in the coffin was Simon Wincer's The Phantom, in which Billy Zane plays (no joke) a "descendent of a line of African superheroes" who "travels to New York City to thwart a wealthy criminal genius from obtaining three magic skulls which would give him the secret to ultimate power."
Did audiences at the time miss out on a fun and funny, mold-breaking adventure? Or were they right to give a razzberry to Zane's pulpy, purple-clad putz?
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Watch the Phantom (1996) trailer.
Pick up The Phantom on 4K, now available from Kino Lorber!
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As mentioned in the show, this weekend sees the debut of Sujewa Ekanayake's 3I/ATLAS Film Festival, taking place at Brooklyn's Rollin Studios! For tickets, showtimes, and more, click here.
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