There is a moment in the movie when Clark Kent looks around trying to find a place to change into Superman. As he rushes around the streets of Metropolis, he comes across a telephone booth and pauses. A bewildered look crosses his face as he realizes They don’t make phone booths like they used to. He then runs across the street, opens his shirt, and reveals a familiar looking “S” shield. It's this moment that comic book fans let out a sigh of relief. No explanation is needed. Everyone knows what the whole sequence is about.

Superman is here.

But what new information do you bring to the audience who are already familiar with the legendary tale? How do you make everything old seem new again? This was the dilemma that had to be presented correctly. It had to make the audience suspend all belief and embrace what was being shown without the slightest hint of being campy. This was a huge undertaking for a super man.

This looked like a job for… Richard Donner.


The Legend, The Myth, The Man

Bringing the Man of Steel to the big screen is not an easy task, yet director Richard Donner does it so effectively in the 1978 film Superman: The Movie. All the familiar elements of the Superman lore are present—from the destruction of Krypton to life in Smallville to the big debut in Metropolis—and it pays homage to everything that has preceded this film, but still put his own spin on things.

The film is really split into three parts and could have been three separate movies on their own. Donner wisely starts things from the very beginning regardless if everyone knows the story. The inhabitants of the planet Krypton are a highly advanced race; they are the masters of everything that surround them. Donner wants to show how different this civilization is compared to Earth, and to see how clean and brilliant was striking. In a sense, it almost looked like heaven. However, even heaven has its serpents. General Zod (Terrance Stamp), Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O’Halloran) are put on trial before the Kryptonian Council, led by the venerable Jor-El (Marlon Brando), for planning an insurrection and placing Zod as “Supreme Ruler” of Krypton. Just even the notion of such an act in a near-perfect utopian society is unacceptable. And just like the serpent in Eden, Zod tries to sway Jor-El’s final decision. In the end they are banished to the Phantom Zone, but not before Zod spouts off at Jor-El:

"You will bow down before me, Jor-El. Both you, and then one day, your heirs!"

Foreshadowing anyone?

And this is where it hits me. The elements are in place—Jor-El, Zod, the Phantom Zone, the destruction of Krypton—to tell the story, familiar as it might be, but different in other aspects. It never occurred to me, until then, that Superman’s history could be retold in different ways without losing the essence of it. The movie, however, starts paralleling the Judeo-Christian story of the Messiah, and I guess that’s a fair assumption to make considering I was thinking about serpents and heaven.

The planet Krypton explodes and baby Kal-El is the sole survivor sent to Earth where he is raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent (Glen Ford and Phyllis Thaxter). Young Clark Kent has had a tough time growing up trying to conceal his true self from the rest of the world (in the case, his world is in the farm town of Smallville). His world gets smaller when his foster father dies. Donner shoots a scene to show how alone Clark must feel. In this shot he stands in the middle of field that goes on for miles and miles with no end in sight. Even with Martha at his side, it’s easy to understand that Clark has to discover who he is, despite his unearthly origins, and try to find his place in this world. He heads north to find out about his heritage and then to Metropolis.

Donner could have easily started the movie with Metropolis and adding flashbacks of Superman’s past in between, but opted not to. Instead he does things in a chronological order and to show the importance of both Krypton and Smallville. After all these were the fundamentals of Superman’s life.

The Krypton and Smallville scenes move at a slow place, and this is done so to show how the different environments have had an effect on Kal-El. Even though they are completely different in nature they both had a hand in defining who he becomes. Krypton may have birthed him but Smallville raised him. He may be an alien but he thinks like a human. Now he needs to reconcile with both these aspects of his life.

Once in Metropolis the pace picks up considerably showcasing the characters we’ve been waiting for. Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) is meek and mild. Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is brash and headstrong. Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) is eager and nebbish. Perry White (Jackie Cooper) is gruff and brusque. And Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) is brilliant and twisted. These are all caricatures coming to life on the big screen.

The best part of the movie for me—and I still get goosebumps no matter how many times I watch it—is Superman’s debut. My jaw still drops to the floor whenever I see it because it totally blows me away that the movie really convinced me that a man can fly, and has so much fun doing so. No task is too big or too little for Superman. Whether it’s stopping a jewelry heist outside a skyscraper to preventing Air Force One from crashing to rescuing a cat from a tree, these all have the same meaning to him… just doing the right thing.

Superman: I'm here to fight for truth, and justice, and the American way.
Lois Lane: You're gonna end up fighting every elected official in this country!


The Keeper of the “S” Shield

Unknown actor Christopher Reeve stepped up to the role and made his career in Superman: The Movie. The scary thing is he looked like he literally walked right out of the comic book. This is Superman personified. His portrayal of Superman showed a person confident in himself and his abilities, and one who had a sense of humour. However, it was his Clark Kent the really made the difference. The pitch in his voice was higher, he was nervous, he acted clumsy, he was a different person altogether. How would anyone in their right mind confuse Clark Kent for Superman?

Trivia note: Superman was trained by Darth Vader (David Prowse, the man underneath the black scuba gear) in order to beef up for the role. That explains the turn over to the dark side in Superman III.

Margot Kidder wouldn’t have been my first choice as Lois Lane. She did a fine job but something didn’t click for me. She did portray Lois as a very independent, high-spirited, workaholic who takes no crap from anybody. That tough exterior fades away, however, whenever Superman is around and she becomes a fumbling schoolgirl. But her performance was perfect against Reeve’s Kent; she was brash and crude with her take-charge attitude while he was polite and shy tailing her like a lost puppy.

Gene Hackman’s performance was outstanding as Lex Luthor. He was cruel and intelligent as he matched wits against the Man of Steel. I also loved his sick sense of humour and the comical repertoire with his henchman, Otis (Ned Beatty). It’s amazing how Hackman played both the insidious villain and the comic relief for the movie at the same time.

The special effects were absolutely amazing for its time and it still holds up to today’s standards. As the crises got bigger and bigger, so did the effects, and no expense was spared. The magnitude of Superman’s powers had to be explored and it was done so convincingly in this movie.

John Williams’ score was brilliant. The man who left the Star Wars tune in our heads did it again with Superman. He captures the essence of the greatest super hero that will always be remembered, and makes us believe to always look up in the sky.

I did have some issues with the story, and the main one being spinning the Earth in reverse to turn back time. Once everything was set properly wouldn’t things unfold the same way again with all the disasters occurring like they did? Or, in some brilliant move, did Superman manage to stop both missiles before anything could happen? I know it’s supposed to be left up to my imagination, but I need some closure to this. It’s killing me. The Lois-Superman flying scene was okay, but a bit too long. Kidder’s voiceover made it worse though. It felt like nails scratching on a chalkboard. Yes, I need to fast forward that scene because I don’t want my ears to bleed. I also felt the ending was a bit of a letdown (almost like reading any Dan Brown novels). All he had to do was turn the Earth back? It pretty much negated all the great rescues he made prior to that.

Despite a few shortcomings, this is arguably still the best super hero movie ever made. It’s amazing to think that back in 1938 the concept of the “super hero” started with Superman, and many, many more followed suit using him as a model. Now with Superman: The Movie the same thing is happening again as other super hero movies are being compared to this one. Why? Because Superman set the bar before and will always do so.

Superman isn’t about a being from another planet with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. He stands for an ideal regardless of his super powers. He reminds us about hope and our ability to rise up to overcome any challenge in life. We don’t need extraordinary powers to do that, just a little bit of courage.

Once in a while, it’s good to look up in the sky.

Hmmm, maybe he does have a Messiah-complex.


Also Included:
• Commentary by Director Richard Donner and Creative Consultant Tom Mankiewicz
• Superman: The Legacy
• Documentaries:
—“Taking Flight”: The Development of Superman
—“Making Superman”: Filming the Legend
—“The Magic Behind the Cape”
• Cast & Crew
• TV Spots
• Trailers


Other Comic Book Movies
Batman Begins
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
The Batman Superman Movie
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Spider-Man
X-Men


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8