It's dated, the effects do not hold up and it has the worst Lois ever, yet it is the only superhero movie that I lvoe so much and still gives me a very emotional response when I see it (or hear the music). So I though I'd share why.

First - The music is absofreaking AWESOME!!!! That score gives me chills to this day. Perfectly done and perfectly inserted into the film. The best superhero theme EVER and the best one married to a character.
Second- Christopher Reeve was the greatest personification of a live action superhero EVER!! As an unknown, combined with the job he did in the film (especially playing the TWO roles), when you saw him you weren't thinking "oh look at what's his name playing Superman", you just thought Superman. And his performance as Clark Kent was outstanding and for the first time, he made it believable that people would think they were two different people. I'm trying to find that scene to show you but can't





Third - The grandness of it and the delicious build up to his first appearance. It mad the impact of the first real Superman scene that much greater and really made you believe that this wasn't just another hero, this was the greatest one of all and that this was a monumental event.

Fourth - The Helicopter rescue scene. When I was a kid watching it for the very first time, it blew my mind away and changed me forever. It made me want to be Superman so badly, that to this day I don't think I have ever recovered . Before this movie Superman was an afterthought, after this, he became one of my all time faves. And at the end of the scene, whe nhe says "a friend" without any smarminess or irony, it was just perfect.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yejwYSZQPsg[/youtube]

Fifth - The goodness of the character, especially because of how his father raised him. There's a greats cene where his father finds out he's been showing off. As soon as he hears his dad's voice, he almost crumbles because of fear he has disappointed him. And Glen Ford speaks to him without any irony (there's that word again), simple goodness, and we see why he does what he does.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihVPxjno3Yw[/youtube]

Sixth - Previously mentioned but needs to be stated again, the perfect portrayal of Clark Kent. Sweet yet unassuming, with a hint of humor.

Seventh - The world's reaction to him, exactly how it would be.

I'll think of more but this is a start. It's too bad the producers weren't more like George Lucas and attempted redoing some of the effects but oh well. And I acknowledge all the flaws and one day will re-edit it myself, but boy do I love it.

Those are some very nice thoughts, Allen. I agree, the musical score is just superb, and it remains my favorite film score to this day.

I remember seeing this movie at the age of 5, sitting in the front row of the movie theater with my older cousins. It probably wasn't the first movie I ever saw, but it's the first one I can REMEMBER seeing, and I'm guessing it was also probably my first exposure to any superhero.

The opening on Krypton scared me, the scene with Pa Kent confused me (I couldn't understand what happened to him---my cousin Chad had to explain it to me), the helicopter scene thrilled me, and Jimmy Olson's scene on the crumbling bridge terrified me. Superman: The Movie ended up being for me what the original Star Wars (which I never got to see until many years later) was to so many other kids of my generation. It's hard for me to imagine another movie influencing me more.

I'll admit that for a long time I ended up loving Superman II even more---despite what a certain bearded curmudgeon says about it, I think most of us who loved Superman II felt that way not because it poked fun at the characters and concepts (which I never noticed anyway), but for the sheer awesomeness of the Kryptonian villains and Superman's epic battle with them. But over time I found myself less satisfied with it and the original film resumed its place in my heart.

Chris Reeve will always be, for me, the perfect Superman. I enjoy George Reeves, Brandon Routh, and Tom Welling a lot, not to mention the great Bud Collyer of the classic cartoons (I liked Dean Cain as Clark Kent, but never liked his Superman), but for me Reeve is the guy.

Yeah he was the best!! And I agree about Superman II. I initially loved it, because of the big battle which was unheard of back then with superhero movies or tv shows. It was thrilling and they also had an amazing build up to the battle, but the battle itself was disappointing. But it did poke fun (not unexpected with a comedy director at the helm) and it was a shame Donner couldn't finish it as he seemed to have great respect for Superman. My goal is to one day re-edit both. I don't know if III and IV can be salvaged (or combined into one) .

The best Superman fight--for me--was in Superman III where Clark Kent and Evil Superman went at it.

I do kind of wish there could be a light edit to the first two movies to eliminate the funky powers scenes in the second one (he throws a big plastic Superman "S" at a bad guy WTF?) and beef up the special effects (that dam breaking in the first movie is really unconvincing--and the fight in II is pretty weird--they all kind of float there) but over all--these were great movies. The score is fantastic and Christopher Reeve was PERFECT in the role. Gene Hackman looked just like Curt Swan's Lex Luthor too--though I do wish he would have played it bald instead of wearing wigs all the time.

To be frank, very little about the movie really holds up -- the insufferable pacing, the tedious Krypton opening and it's terribly dated looking design, the slow-moving Kansas sequence, and the core plot and Luthor's idiotic plot... all capped off by the lamest resolution to a film ever, the time reversal deus ex machina. There's a lot to criticize... yet, the film still stands as an all-time classic. Because while you can make fun of a lot here, you can't help but marvel at both Christopher Reeve and John Williams' score. And those two things hold up so incredibly well that this has to be one of the best superhero movies ever.

When Reeve flies up and catches that helicopter -- it captures the pure essence of the superhero genre better than any other moment in any other superhero film. And all thanks to an earnest and believable Christopher Reeve, who makes a gaudy spandex costume somehow seem regal, and Williams' theme which captures your childhood sense of awe and excitement. To be honest, all you really needed from this film was the "Superman's First Night" sequence. It was perfect.

Some people thought using that score in Superman Returns was a misstep -- I think they're insane. It was probably the only thing about the film that was legitimately SUPERMAN. And as for casting... well, can it get any more perfect than this?

Hey, found some fun wallpapers.










Many more -- http://www.capedwonder.com/newwebsite/p ... paper.html

This is the worst thing about the movie to me. Jor-El argues with some dues who are all like, "Shut up, Krypton will not explode." Then Jor-El comes home and his wife's like, "Well?" And he's all, "They wouldn't listen." And then ... earthquakes.

Seriously? So that whole meeting with the high council (or whatever they were) took place, what, a few hours before Kyrpton was going to start exploding?

What exactly would that meeting have accomplished, even in a best-case scenario? "Okay, Jor-El, we believe you. We'll prep our rockets for a mass, planet-wide evacuation. If we hurry, we can have it done in a couple of days ... oh shit, what was that?"

The biggest waste of time was the Trial of Zod... hey everyone, we're gonna start the movie with something that won't effect the entire rest of the movie.

I should watch the movie again, though. I definitely agree about the John Williams score, and Christopher Reeve.

I don't remember having too many other complaints, other than the Krypton sequence and that f*cking "Can you read my mind?" bullsh*t. But it has been a while.

But since they were filming both movies at the same time, they knew the characters were essential to Supes II, and this established their motivation in hating Jor-El, and his heir.

I did love that Clark/Superman fight in III and some of his scenes with Lana were good too.

Agree about the edit. I would eliminate a lot of Ned Beatty's tuff, play up the danger of Luthor and downplay the jokes there. I would also eliminate the Zod trial from the first one, the "can you read my mind voiceover (just keep the music) and some of the missile stealing stuff. As for the effects, I agree. I wish there was a Lucasian way to redo them all.




Disagree a little about the pacing, especially the Kansa stuff which I liked. . It was neccesary for the grandeur though in repeated viewings, it does make it slow.



Absolutely!! Still the best rescue scene in any superhero movie. And you are DEAD ON about his earnestness. He says that "a friend" line so sincerely, and it sumes him up so well.



Agree again. The music is great and NEVER a problem.

I read a comment recently I agree with---possibly in the Superman thread currently going on across the street---that even though the movies were poor, Superman actually looked the best in III and IV. I feel the same way---Christopher Reeve looks a bit older in those films than the first two and his face appears a bit more hardened (while still looking open and friendly as Superman should, of course).

Could have been told as the prologue in Superman II.

I was thinking about this movie just today, in the car. It was the music and the casting that made the movie.

I have the Superman theme in my mp3 player.

Jor-El said Krypton would explode within 30 days. I assume that the scene which followed took place several weeks after that initial meeting with Jor-El building the ship while he and his wife are under house arrest.

If there was any problem, it was that they rushed the music in the opening credits to Superman Returns---not in using the music in the first place.

Worst Lois ever? What the hell was wrong with Margot Kidder? I liked her (as a character) better than I
did Tori Hatcher in Lois and Clark.

I still like Superman the Movie too. IMO it holds up very well.

Don't make excuses for this movie. Clearly you drank the sparkly water.

absolutely love this film, one of my all time favourites.I remember my dad reading a bit out from the Daily Express just before it went into production.Still have The Making of book by David Michael Petrou, stil lgot my Treasury Edition, and have bought every version thats been released on VHS and DVD. I sent the fan restored edit on disc to several JBF members a long time ago . . .

I wish there was a way to edit Otis out.