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Super Mario Bros is a film I avoided at the time because (a) it didn’t look great, and (b) most videogames just do not make good films. However, a re-release, years down the line, gives us the chance to reappraise certain works, or even try them for the first time, and the latter is a case in point here because I didn’t realise until now that the directors were Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, best known for their work on Max Headroom, starring Matt Frewer.
As for Super Mario Bros – the videogame, it’s one of the all-time classics. The simple graphics, the memorable music, the instant appeal and easy-to-pick-up gameplay… it’s got it all. But has the film?
Samantha Mathis is one of those names I’ve not seen in a film for a long time, in fact since 1996’s Broken Arrow. Here she plays the decidely tomboyish Daisy, and she’s taken the lead in a students archaeological dig – trying to uncover the reason for what happened to all the dinosaurs.
What? You think they all died out 65 million years ago? Really? What if they, instead, ended up in an parallel universe and continue to thrive? It could happen…
Meanwhile, local mob boss-type Scapelli (Gianni Russo) wants to hustle her and them all off the land, threatening that she’ll join the ranks of Brooklyn’s missing girls if she continues to crack wise. Well, when I say “threatening”, I mean as much as you can do for a PG certificate. We’re not exactly talking Boko Haram, here.
Brooklyn plumbers Mario (the late, great Bob Hoskins) and Luigi (John Leguizamo) get caught up in all of this, while underground, another actor who’s sadly passed on – Dennis Hopper – plays Koopa, President of the dinosaurs, and inhabits a world which looks very Blade Runner-esque, but I later learned in the extras that this is because the production designer was David L Snyder who worked on… yep. Koopa is still irked about being stuck underground for all this time, while needing Daisy, who he refers to as Princess Daisy, along with the piece of meteorite she has on a chain around her neck. With this, he can get into the real world and take over.
There’s also an appearance from musician Mojo Nixon as Toad arrested for singing an Koopa protest song, and those who go against the President effectively get lobotomised. If you think you’ve heard the name Mojo Nixon before, there’s one awesome song I certainly remember him for: Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Love Child , the video for which features Winona Ryder in the role of Debbie Gibson.
As for the film? Well, apart from the obvious connections thrown in, with the characters and mentions of elements such as mushrooms and so on, it feels like it has as much to do with the Super Mario Bros videogame as the recent film Frank has to do with Frank Sidebottom. It’s like it’s completely divorced from the videogame franchise, and also like it’s aimed primarily at pre-school children, such is the silly and childish antics on view, but I think even they would have a hard time swallowing this nonsense.
Hence, if you really must see this, like me, for its curiosity value, then knock yourself out – the picture is as good as it’s ever going to get, but I stuck with it mainly for Mathis. Hoskins, Leguizamo and Hopper have all been far, far better. As you’d expect. That said, together, they must have a certain charm as I felt like sticking with it, if only to see how it’d turn out.
Oh, and there’s also a brief, post-credits scene.
The film is presented in the original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio and in 1080p high definition, and apart from a little grain on the print at times, it’s surprisingly sharp and detailed. So if you’re looking for the best version you’ll be able to get of this film, this disc is the one.
The sound is in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, but I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary – if at all – in the rear speakers, so it may as well be the same as the stereo version.
The extras are as follows:
- This Ain’t No Video Game (HD) (55:48): A brand new ‘making of’, almost an hour long, which starts with producer Roland Joffé telling how companies like Disney and Paramount wanted to make this film initially, but they took it straight to Kyoto where Nintendo is based, and spoke to the boss, told him the story and he loved it, although directors Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel tell how the original script was a darker version than the one which ended up onscreen.
There are many contributors to this extra including John Leguizamo, Lance Henriksen, and Richard Edson (Spike), and I was left wondering if the latter took something prior to making this? He makes precious little sense any time he speaks.
There’s also some footage of Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper talking about the film, back in 1993. Lots of nice things are said about Hoskins – who died just before they made this – even though he slagged off the film to the press as one of the worst moments of his career.
With the film compromising of a blend of CGI and real animation, real sets and green screen, the creation of the set is quite an eye opener, too. Koopa’s Kingdom is massive, and they built it inside a disused cement factory, so they were able to make an incredible dystopian underground vision of New York whilst saving a hell of a lot of money on the basic structure of parts of it, since all that was already in place. This does lead to some fantastic aerial shots around Koopa’s world.
They also had huge script issues such as changing it completely with just ten days prior to shooting and trying to fit it in with Morton’s meticulous storyboards. In fact, one crew member likens the film to when plumbers have to fix leaky pipes, since there were so many things going wrong on set, including nearly running out of money to complete the film, that it’s amazing it was ever finished, and the abundance of problems makes me not surprised why I think the film just didn’t really work. However, out of that has come a fascinating documentary. I wouldn’t normally spend an hour watching a documentary about a film I didn’t think a lot of, but this one does the business. I haven’t felt like that since I disliked The Exorcist, but the BBC documentary – The Fear of God: The Making of The Exorcist – was captivating stuff!
Sometimes the journey is more interesting than the destination, and as Morton puts it, he wishes we could see the film as he originally intended.
The only downside to this piece – aside from the lack of Samantha Mathis and Fisher Stevens – is that there are no subtitles, and at nearly an hour long, there are no chapters!
- The Making Of Super Mario Bros (17:32): A featurette made at the time of the film – hence shot in 4:3, and definitely not in HD – it features so many people you’ve just seen in the new documentary, but all looking decidedly different (well, Leguizamo still looks pretty much the same, but those who’ve changed the most are the directors)
- Trailer (1:36): Made at the time, in 4:3.
- EPK (30:05): aka Electronic Press Kit; this contains a featurette; soundbites aka interview snippets which were spliced into the ‘making of’ sections; B-roll (on-set footage); movie clips and another trailer. So, five separate sections. Great content – since you won’t find this anywhere else, but any chapters? No. Oh dear, 2nd Sight.
- Galleries: Storyboards, effects shots, photos, set design, prototypes and concepts – there’s a wealth of imagery for big fans of this film here.
Chapters are okay with 16 – better than the usual 12 most distributors give, but I would always recommend one every 5 minutes, so that would equate to 21 for this title.
Unlike the recent Thunderbolt and Lightfoot Blu-ray release, this time there ARE subtitles, which are in English, and the menu mixes clips from the film to the theme, Walk The Dinosaur by Was (Not Was).
Overall, while the film didn’t work for me, the extras will make this a worthwhile purchase for big fans of the film.
Super Mario Bros is out now on Blu-ray and DVD, and click on the packshot for the full-size image.
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FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
4 8 6 7 |
| OVERALL | 6 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 105 mins
Year: 1993
Released: November 3rd 2014
Chapters: 16
Cat.no: 2NDBR4036
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 1.85:1
Disc Format: BD50
Directors: Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel
Producers: Jake Eberts and Roland Joffé
Screenplay: Parker Bennett, Terry Runte and Ed Solomon
Music: Alan Silvestri
Production Deisgner: David L Snyder
Cast:
Mario Mario: Bob Hoskins
Luigi Mario: John Leguizamo
King Koopa: Dennis Hopper
Daisy: Samantha Mathis
Iggy: Fisher Stevens
Spike: Richard Edson
Lena: Fiona Shaw
Daniella: Dana Kaminski
Toad: Mojo Nixon
Scapelli: Gianni Russo
Bertha: Francesca P Roberts
The King: Lance Henriksen
Old Lady: Sylvia Harman
Angelica: Desiree Marie Velez
Brooklyn Girls: Andrea Powell, Heather Pendergast and Melanie Salvatore
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.