The Return of Captain Invincible
Dir: Philippe Mora
1983
****
When you think about it, The Return of Captain Invincible is almost an Ozploitation film. Apart from the amazing documentary (and one of the best uses of archive material ever in cinema) Brother Can You Spare A Dime, Philippe Mora is probably most famous for films such as Mad Dog Morgan and Howling III: Marsupials (often and quite incorrectly regarded as one of the worst films of all time). He also did Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills but you can ignore that. It's set in Australia and stars Ozploitation greats such as Bill Hunter, Virginia Hey and Bruce Spence and certainly has the humour of the genre. It's a spoof of the superhero film but it definitely knows the genre, both TV serials and in film. I hadn't realised before first watching but it is also a musical featuring song written by Richard O'Brian of Rocky Horror fame. Basically it is the cultiest cult film ever made. It makes very little sense, the editing is appalling and the script is at times of the worst quality. However, it's funny, too bizarre not to love and the music is actually quite brilliant. Christopher Lee is great as the evil Mr. Midnight and Alan Arkin is so perfect as Captain Invincible you wonder why he wasn't cast as a Superhero before. When the grand evil plan is to convince the hero who is a recovering alcoholic to have a drink through the medium of song, you know it's good.