Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!. Those famous words may not have been written for the 1978 screen adaptation of the most famous comic book character of them all, but they might well have been. Superman: The Movie is a wonderful big-screen telling of the origins of the Man of Steel, with a good old battle with arch-villain Lex Luthor thrown in for good measure.

The first in a series of four films that featured Christopher Reeve in the title role, Superman: The Movie sets the stage for the future films by showing us how young Kal-El got to Earth from Krypton and how he became the Man of Tomorrow.

As our story opens, prominent Kryptonian scientist Jor-El (Marlon Brando) is desperately trying to convince his fellow members of the ruling council that the planet is doomed and must be evacuated. The council rejects Jor-El’s theories outright and forbids him to warn the populace. Jor-El realizes he cannot circumvent the will of the council, and secretly builds a spacecraft capable of carrying his infant son to safety, to refuge, to the planet Earth.

As the planet Krypton dies around him, young Kal-El is rocketed through space until it lands in the midst of a Smallville, Kansas wheat field. Kal-El is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent (Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter) who raise him to adulthood, all the while concealing the great strength and fantastic powers Earth’s lighter gravity and yellow sun have bestowed upon him.

Superman: The Movie does not spend a great deal of time exploring young Clark Kent (see the current WB hit series Smallville for more of that). Instead it focuses on adult Clark Kent’s time in Metropolis as the man of Steel. Shortly after arriving and accepting a job as a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet, Kent emerges as Superman, a name he is given by reporter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) following an exclusive interview she arranges with him. The super-feats Superman performs during his-coming out are lots of fun.

The activities of the Man of Steel do not go unnoticed by evil criminal mastermind, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). Luthor has planned a devious and malevolent plot to increase his desert land holdings in California and Nevada by detonating a nuclear warhead at the precise area in the San Andreas Fault where it would send most of California tumbling into the sea and turn his own real estate into a waterfront paradise.

Luthor has also figured out Superman’s weakness (Kryptonite), and uses it to prevent the Man of Steel from interfering with his plans. Only the timely interference of Luthor’s girlfriend Miss Teschmacher (Valerie Perine) allows Superman to save the day.

All in all, the film has a clever, comic book inspired plot that goes beyond a simple exposition of Superman’s origins. It incorporates a top-notch musical score written and conducted by famed composer John Williams (Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark) and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The music is definitely an integral part of the film, with Krypton, Superman, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor all having their own unique themes. The main theme, Superman’s, is the most inspiring and sets the mood for the film from the opening sequence.

Equally impressive are the special effects, not only for the time the film was made but by today’s standards too. You really do believe a man can fly when Superman is soaring through the air. The supernova of Krypton’s sun is nicely done too, and the super-feats sequences are very eye-catching indeed. There are a few exceptions, though. The cities of Krypton look every bit the plastic models they are in the crisp detail that DVD provides. I don’t recall them looking that way on the big screen. Superman’s make shift dam scene seems to have come straight from a Godzilla movie.

The acting here is absolutely first rate, but how could it be otherwise with such an all-star cast? The casting is stellar if you’ll excuse the pun, just about every character being depicted spot-on. Christopher Reeve was an unknown before being cast as Superman, but he quickly made a name for himself with his exceptional performance in the dual role of Clark Kent and the Man of Steel.

Reeve did a better job escaping being typecast in the Superman role than his most famous predecessor, George Reeves (no relation), did. Reeve appeared in multiple films including Deathtrap, Somewhere in Time, and Monsignor following his appearance as Superman. Reeves, following his portrayal of Superman in the popular TV series The Adventures of Superman that ran from 1953 to 1958, had an impossible time finding any other acting work.

Ironically, tragedy came to both Supermen. Reeves committed suicide in a hotel room in 1959. Many speculate it was a result of his depression over the state of his acting career. Reeve was thrown from a horse in a riding accident several years ago leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

Marlon Brando makes a convincing Jor-El, and Ford and Thaxter are very believable as the Kents. Margot Kidder brings Lois Lane to life in spectacular fashion, from her independent streak to her competitive nature to that ever-present suspicion about Clark being Superman. Jackie Cooper was the perfect choice for the cranky, curmudgeonly editor Perry White. Marc McClure makes a great Jimmy Olsen.

If there’s one actor who comes close to stealing the show from Reeve, however, it’s Hackman as Lex Luthor. Luthor is evil, he’s a genius, he’s conceited, and Hackman displays these qualities perfectly. He’s great fun to watch. Unfortunately, Hackman also embodies the main flaw in the film by appearing with hair. Luthor is bald, as everyone knows, and the error of portraying him wearing wigs is all the more evident when we see how much more closely he resembles Lex at the end of the film when he removes his wig.

I recently purchased the DVD edition of Superman: The Movie, which was only released for sale about a year ago. It features a crisp, clear digitally re-mastered picture, stunning Dolby Digital soundtrack and deleted scenes not shown in the original release. Some of these scenes definitely add to the film and one wonders why they were ever edited out.

Special DVD features include a music-only audio track, multiple languages, theatrical trailers, Superman lore and special DVD ROM goodies for your computer. This is the definitive version of Superman. It is in my opinion the finest comic book character movie ever made. I was a kid when I saw Superman: The Movie for the first time, and maybe that has something to do with my feeling this way. Then again, part of the charm of the movie is how it makes you feel like a kid all over again. Now, as in the late seventies, that’s something we can all use.

Recommended: Yes

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