SUPERMAN - THE MOVIE

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STARRING: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty, Glenn Ford

1978, 143 Minutes, Directed by: Richard Donner

"You'll believe a man can fly," the publicity hype declared back then. And yes, we did.

A serious treatment of the Superman comics, this film differs from other film adaptations of comic books like for example Dick Tracey, in that it doesn't try to imitate the visual style of the comic it's based upon. It prefers instead to set Superman in a realistic, modern day milieu and well, it works all right. So no tongue in the mouth hipness and self-awareness: that only came later with films like Pulp Fiction, Flash Gordon and Escape from LA. That doesn't mean that the film is dead serious. No, it is funny and displays a surprising sense of wit which saves it.

So what more does one need from a Superman movie? The special effects are great, the John Williams music heroic, the acting good and yes, we all believed a man could fly. Still the best film in the series (it was followed by three sequels) and it would be interesting see whether any planned attempts to revive the franchise for the new millennium will be any better . . .
 

• Tagline: "The movie that makes a legend come to life."
• Read an extended review of Superman - the Movie.
• Read a review of Superman - the Movie on DVD.
• Read the script.
• Fact # 1: Steven Spielberg was offered the chance to direct this film, but the producers balked at the salary he asked for. They decided to wait until they saw how "this fish movie" (Jaws) that he had just completed did at the box office. The movie was a huge success, and Spielberg went on to other projects.
• Fact # 2: Marlon Brando was paid $3.7 million and a percentage of the profits for playing Jor-El for 12 shooting days. The fee (plus the percentage) also covered the sequel, which was being simultaneously shot with the original. Brando did not appear in the sequel, however, as he was involved in a lawsuit with Ilya Salkind over the producer's non-payment of his profit-participation for the original Superman (1978). He ultimately received about $14 million for his ten minutes on film. The footage shot for the sequel is used in the new movie Superman Returns (2006) screen.
   

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