Superman (1978)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers:

Jerry Siegel (creator: Superman) &
Joe Shuster (creator: Superman) ...

Release Date:

15 December 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

You'll Believe a Man Can Fly!

Plot:

An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest super-hero.

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Superman | Reporter | Newspaper | Earthquake

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Jor-El
Gene Hackman	...	Lex Luthor
Christopher Reeve	...	Superman / Clark Kent
Ned Beatty	...	Otis
Jackie Cooper	...	Perry White
Glenn Ford	...	Jonathan Kent
Trevor Howard	...	1st Elder
Margot Kidder	...	Lois Lane
Jack O'Halloran	...	Non
Valerie Perrine	...	Eve Teschmacher
Maria Schell	...	Vond-Ah
Terence Stamp	...	General Zod
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Martha Kent
Susannah York	...	Lara
Jeff East	...	Young Clark Kent

Also Known As:

Superman - Le film (Canada: French title)
Superman: The Movie

MPAA:

Rated PG for peril, some mild sensuality and language.

Runtime:

143 min | USA:127 min (1980 video release) | USA:151 min (2000 restoration)

Country:

Canada | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints) | Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (2001 expanded edition) | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | New Zealand:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (1978) | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Alexander Salkind

Trivia:

Principal photography began in March 1977 and ended in October the following year.

Goofs:

Continuity: The train that kills the policeman (#5048) was the same one that passed by Otis one minute earlier.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jor-El: This is no fantasy - no careless product of wild imagination. No, my friends. These indictments that I have brought to you today, specific charges herein against the individuals. Their acts of treason, their ultimate aim of sedition. These... are matters of undeniable fact. I ask you now to pronounce judgement on those accused.

Movie Connections:

References Superman II (1980)

Soundtrack:

ONLY YOU

"Super" is a way that will never be matched

This is my 301st review on IMDb, so I'm going to make this short, simple, and super:

"You'll believe a man can fly!" - the tagline for "Superman"

He stood for "truth, justice, and the American way." Ahh, to just think that this is the movie that started it all, ladies and gentlemen. Carefully adapted from the popular DC Comics character created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, Richard Donner's 1978 epic has stood the test of time to become the supreme superhero film. Alongside Tim Burton ("Batman") and Sam Raimi ("Spider-Man"), Donner earned his place in cinematic history by becoming the first director to make a perfect superhero film. Superman is the most recognizable comic book superhero in history, and when Clark Kent (the late, great Christopher Reeve) rips open his shirt to reveal that symbolic "S" an hour and 11 minutes into the film, you know that it's one of the greatest cinematic moments. This epic defined the superhero film, and in the 27 years since its release, every subsequent comic book superhero movie is forever indebted to "Superman." The plot (and what a plot) runs complete throughout its epic 154 minutes and believe me, there's not a single wasted moment in the film's entire running length. Of course, Clark Kent is sent from his dying home world of Krypton by his father Jor-El (the late Marlon Brando), grows up and works at the Daily Planet, falls in love with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), and must foil the diabolical plans of Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). Put simply, there will never be another movie like "Superman," and who can forget those *cosmic* credits, the aforementioned "S" scene, the Superman and Lois date over New York City and later above the clouds, and that one, definitive climax when Superman lets out a painful cry that reveals that one glint of humanity that he's earned from his time on earth. Reeve will forever be linked to the role that really made people believe he was a super man, even when he wasn't wearing the blues, reds, and yellows, and was instead confined to the prison that's called a wheelchair. But we know that he's up there, flying high with the Almighty and proving to us all that he is who we believed he was. The recent news that Bryan Singer ("X-Men") is directing a new Superman is not exactly getting me giddy, considering the low standards of today's film-making and the onslaught of CGI effects that dominate many Hollywood action movies these days. I love "Superman" and even today, I'm still touched by its magic, and deeply saddened by the real-life tragedies that have followed it.

A perfect, "super" 10/10.