These are probably images that no one ever expected: Later Marvel stars Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) appear as a supervillain duo in a flop in Nazi uniforms. “The Spirit” is currently available on Netflix.
What kind of movie is “The Spirit”?
- “The Spirit” (2008) is a superhero film by Frank Miller, who is known for “Sin City”. The Spirit comes across as a failed precursor to Sin City, even though “The Spirit” was released 3 years after the epic.
- It’s about a dead cop who has been resurrected and defends his city against the supervillain Octopus as the immortal superhero “Spirit”. The “Octopus” is named so because he can fire 4 weapons two at a time in succession.
- “The Spirit” from 2008 is considered a pretty bad film with an IMDb rating of 4.7 out of 10, but is filled with stars in every role. The lead actor, Gabriel Macht, became known as Harvey Specter in the series “Suits”. In the film, he can barely take his eyes off the women: with Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Stana Katic (“Castle”), and Paz Vega (“Boardwalk Empire”), five well-known actresses are cast.
Bizarre Torture Scene Shows Marvel Stars in Nazi Uniforms
What’s up with the Nazi uniforms? This is a bizarre scene where supervillain “Octopus” and his assistant Silken Floss hold the superhero captive while explaining their sinister plan to him, while he is bound. For an unspecified reason, they wear Nazi uniforms.
Of course, “The Spirit” manages to escape with the help of a French belly dancer who also works as an assassin. But until then, Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson constantly pose in Nazi stances while the German national anthem plays in the background.
They even kill an adorable white cat for pure show effect: only its eyes remain.
Scarlett Johansson: “My grandfather would turn in his grave”
How was this commented on? Scarlett Johansson later said in an interview that the film is still embarrassing to her. As a child of a Jewish family, it felt strange to put on the suit. Her grandfather would surely turn in his grave at the thought.
According to Samuel L. Jackson, the decision for the design of the scene went that everyone wore quirky outfits throughout the film. There was an Asian scene where he wore a samurai outfit. For the torture scene, Frank Miller simply went with “the Third Reich”.
Jackson says: “You don’t see a ‘brother’ [a Black man] in a Nazi uniform every day, so it somehow worked.”
Did it work, though? No. “The Spirit” is considered a flop. With a budget of $60 million, it only grossed $39 million. Today, “The Spirit” is nearly forgotten compared to the Marvel films and Sin City.
Where can you see it? The Spirit has been available on Netflix since mid-June. The film is rated for ages 16 and up.
Netflix is home to films that often fly under the public’s radar. We have introduced you to a particularly clever film here: A fascinating film on Netflix is like “Squid Game,” but the game only ends when there’s only one person left
