Superman (1978)

Man of Steel - Film Full of Love

The planet Krypton is doomed, all life there is soon to be over. Jor-El, knowing that the planet Earth has the same atmosphere, rockets his baby son there post haste. On Earth, the infant grows up to find that he has super human powers that must be hidden from the ordinary Earthlings, he hides away as mild mannered reporter Clark Kent and transforms into Superman whenever evil and wrong doing needs taking care of.

I would think most people have either seen Superman:The Movie, or at the least heard everything about it. It's one of those films that sticks out in cinema history as a defining point, and some like me would say a high point as well. I recently revisited the film for the first time in about 5 years and had such a wonderful time with it, the moment John Williams exhilarating score kicks in a get goosebumps and start to believe a man can really can fly.

The expectation level on release of the film in 1978 was enormous, one can not understate the hugely iconic love that the DC Comic character of Superman had. A worldwide search for the right actor to don the red and blue cape was underway, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Ryan O'Neal, Nick Nolte and Charles Bronson were all at times linked with the hot role, whilst James Caan and Robert Redford are confirmed to have passed after being offered the job. All of those great names now seem remarkably stupid choices, and that is purely down to the man that did take on the gargantuan role that was bursting at the seams with expectation. That Superman:The Movie worked (and still does with each passing decade) is down to the wonderful efforts of Christopher Reeve.

Reeve positively nailed both sides of the character, making it his own, he is all muscles and square jaw in the cape and then showing wonderful comic ability as the bumblingly frustrating Clark Kent. Sure the supporting cast all contribute grandly, but Reeve carries the picture and lifts it to triumphant heights. Gene Hackman has the time of his life camping it up as super villain Lex Luthor, Ned Beatty & Valerie Perrine flesh out Luthor's cohorts with comedy and sexiness respectively, whilst Margot Kidder is a pure joy as core character of the piece, Lois Lane. Asked to play a love interest but a fiercely strong woman at the same time, Kidder breezes through it and radiates a beauty that couples nicely with Reeve's broadness. Marlon Brando was paid $4 Million for what is little more than a prologue walk on part, but the big name he brought to the party ensured the paying customer went through the doors in droves, but on leaving the cinema it was Reeve's name that most were talking about.

Full of outlandish sequences and cheeky comic book ideals, Superman is lasting the test of time as an endearing classic of the genre, it may have been surpassed by quite a few of the more modern exploits by Spiders and Bats, but it was once the Daddy of them all. From x-ray eyes to catching bullets, to pushing nuclear missiles into space and wooing Lois in the sky, Superman:The Movie is a special treat, and oh how I love you so. 9/10

Christopher Reeve RIP.

_**"Miss Teschmacher!"**_

I didn't catch "Superman" (1978) until over 25 years after its release. It's a great superhero flick with a lot of wit, well worthy of its reputation. Although a couple of things are understandably dated, like the flying sequences and Clark Kent's glasses (which are so BAD they're laughable), the movie definitely stands the test of time despite being shot in 1977.

"Superman" may be a comic-booky superhero flick, but it's also a powerful piece of SCI-FI cinema. The outstanding Krypton sequences of the first half hour confirm this. These scenes are highlighted by the magnificence of Marlon Brando playing Superman's father Jor-El. So, if you're a serious Sci-Fi fan, don't skip "Superman" just because you assume it's some mere superhero flick. No, it's more, much more. The screenplay seems to have been written with little concern of cost so many are the great F/X sequences.

Speaking of Brando, you can't beat the cast, starting with newbie Christopher Reeve knocking it out of the ballpark in the starring role.

I'd like to point something out that is hardly ever mentioned: Lex Luthor's girlfriend, Miss Teschmacher, played by Valerie Perrine, is jaw-droppingly voluptuous! Watch out for the pool scene where Ms. Perrine is wearing a green one-piece bathing suit.

The film is a little long at 2 hours, 23 minutes, but it doesn't overstay its welcome.

GRADE: A

This movie will stand to the End of Time. This film is an absolute Masterpiece. The Writers & Director knew what they were doing. Christopher Reeve is a Powerhouse. He portrayed this Character So Well! He played Clark Kent & Superman as 2 Different Characters while being the Same Person. Margot Kidder was Fantastic as Lois Lane. Gene Hackman and Valerie Perrine were Great as Lex Luthor & Eve Teschmacher. The Entire Cast was Phenomenal. This Film will always get a 10/10.

John Williams' epic overture is used to good effect to help illustrate the pretty stellar cast (Christoph Reeve gets only third billing) as this story opens with us on the icebound planet of "Krypton" where "Jor-El" (Marlon Brando) is encouraging his high council members to pass sentence on the treacherous "Gen. Zod" (Terence Stamp) and his co-conspirators. This all seems somewhat pointless as we soon discover that their planet is about to be decimated by it's nearby sun. It's only "Jor-El" and his wife "Lara" (Susannah York) who have the vision to build their son an escape pod and just in the nick of time launch him into space: destination Earth. Fortunately, he arrives under the very noses of the kindly Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter who, after a timely demonstration of his strength, decide to adopt their foundling. Skip forward many years and we start to appreciate the frustrations this young man faces - never being able to use his powers for good (or even American football). Tragedy strikes and to the city he goes where he finds work working for the irascible "Perry White" (Jackie Cooper) at the renowned "Daily Planet". He also realises that he is now free to don his red cape, remove his geeky spectacles, and become the world's first flying, strong-man, super-hero. These antics attract plenty of attention - not least from his colleague "Lois" (Margot Kidder) and from arch crook "Lex Luthor" (Gene Hackman). The former wants an interview (amongst other things); the latter wants to destroy him so he can carry his out his dastardly plan to redefine the geography of California. Some solidly entertaining contributions from Ned Beatty, Valerie Perrine and Marc McClure all help the consistently under-rated Reeve to own the part with a charismatic charm and to convey a quickly paced action adventure that also allows Hackman (perhaps just a bit over-scripted) to play a fun role as a baddie with megalomanic tendencies and a brain to boot. The visual effects have held up remarkably well and though I didn't quite love the ending, this is a strong and confident outing for Reeve that resists the temptation to overly moralise, and delivers us an enjoyable series of good vs. evil escapades that are well worth a few hours in front of a big screen with proper sound.

<em>'Superman'</em> is imperfect, though has an undeniable charm to it and a straightforwardness that I actually appreciated whilst watching. It's a film that feels broken in pieces and then glued back together, like each stage of the movie almost feels unconnected to the other.

We get the backstory in a decent sized chunk, then a long bit for Clark's early Earth life, then he turns into the titular character and we have a hefty portion of him doing his superhero things consecutively and then the antagonist finally rears his head. I know that sounds like every film ever, but whilst viewing it does feel oddly constructed.

The humour is also quite wooden, while Lex Luthor is incredibly cartooney. None of what I'm saying is criticism though, because I had a very pleasant time watching this 1978 production. It's just a really nice experience from start to end, albeit one that is rough around the edges.

Gene Hackman's portrayal of Luthor is excellent. I like Jesse Eisenberg's Lex in the DCEU flick, but I do prefer this version - just due to how fun he is, it works well. I actually wish we got more of a direct Superman v. Luthor movie, to be honest. Perhaps that's coming in the sequels, I guess I'll soon find out.

Christopher Reeve fits the main character strongly, admittedly I kinda enjoyed his performance as Clark Kent a tad more. Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty, Valerie Perrine and Jackie Cooper stand out on a notable support cast; which also includes one Marlon Brando, someone I had only previously seen in <em>'The Godfather'</em> - gotta watch more!

For a two hour plus thing, this goes by remarkable quickly - despite the aforementioned clunkiness. I have a clock near the television and any time I looked across it was closer and closer to the conclusion. As true a sign as any that I enjoyed this one. Now to check out the follow-ups!