An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 19 wins & 23 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTo obtain the musculature to convincingly play Superman, Christopher Reeve underwent a bodybuilding regime supervised by David Prowse, the man who played Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
- Goofs(at around 44 mins) When Jor-El introduces himself in the Fortress of Solitude, he explains that by this time, he will have been dead for thousands of Earth years. Yet during his teaching during Kal's journey to Earth from Krypton (at around 21 mins), Jor-El refers to Einstein's theory of relativity, which wasn't formulated until long after the destruction of Krypton.
- Quotes
Miss Teschmacher: It's too good to be true. He's 6' 4", has black hair, blue eyes, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, and tells the truth.
Lex Luthor: Miss Teschmacher, some people can read "War and Peace" and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.
Miss Teschmacher: Lex, what has chewing gum got to do with the secrets of the universe?
- Crazy creditsNext Year: "Superman II"
- Alternate versionsThe current DVD, in addition to containing the 2000 restored director's cut, has 2 deleted scenes (both of Lex' babies, and seen in the TV edits in their original context), and alternate audio scoring for 8 sequences (including an unreleased alternate pop version of Margot Kidder's "Can You Read My Mind"). The DVD has the 2000 restoration with the following additions / expansions (all of which were seen in previous expanded television versions):
- Some added dialogue when Jor-El is talking with the council.
- The council calls an "Executioner" to hunt and kill Jor-El to keep the rocket from launching.
- Noel Neill and Kirk Alyn's speaking cameos on the train.
- Little girl sees Clark running faster than train, parents call her Lois Lane.
- In the kitchen Martha Kent takes out a box of Cheerios.
- After rescuing Air Force One Superman returns to Fortress of Solitude and has a conversation with his father.
- In Metropolis when the news of Superman comes out, Clark is a spectator. A stranger (played by an uncredited Richard Donner) comments "that'll be the day when a man can fly"; Clark grins.
- While trying to get Luthor's lair Superman goes through machine guns, flame throwers, ice machines with Luthor taunting on loudspeaker.
- The sequence with the Girl Scouts.
- ConnectionsEdited into Superman II (1980)
This movie has several distinct stories within an overarching narrative. Each one features the title character at a different stage of his life and has its own visual style. Superman is portrayed as a Christ-like figure throughout and many scenes contain subtext on this theme.
The opening sequence is as strong as any great sci-fi movie with Crypton brought memorably to life and featuring a famous cameo from the great Marlon Brando as Superman's natural father. Brando's godlike presence helps to convince you that the son he sends to Earth is going to be someone quite special.
Superman has another Hollywood legend in Glen Ford as his adopted father. Ford was equally as naturalistic an actor as Brando but he brings a more human (no pun intended) and slightly lower-key presence to the second stage of Superman's life. This part of the movie contains some of the best cinematography with its rural landscapes. One image of a train running along a track above a cornfield is one of many beautiful sequences.
Both parts of the movie mentioned above serve the origin purpose of the character and finish quite emotionally. After about an hour I found myself ready for a change of pace and tone, which is exactly what we get as we meet a fully grown Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent in the big city of Metropolis.
What follows is almost like a different movie. It is funny, action packed and contains superb performances from Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder who have excellent chemistry. Reeve is so perfect for the roles of Superman/Clark that one of the reasons later incarnations of the character never worked for me was that he could never be replaced. He looks like the comic book drawing of the character and effortlessly switches between the two versions of the man. Kidder is not your typical leading lady with her husky, smokers voice and ultra confident personality but is the perfect foil for Reeve in Kent mode.
Gene Hackman steals the show whenever he appears on screen making homicidal, megalomaniac Lex Luthor not only funny but feel like a credible antagonist to a virtually indestructible superhero. Ned Beatty and Valerie Perrine provide solid support as his criminal sidekicks.
All of the above performances and the casting decisions made are a massive part of what makes the film last so well and compete in today's market where superhero movies reign supreme.
The special effects were epic in their day but are slightly dated now. Particularly the flying scenes and some shots where scale models can be easily spotted. However some hold up as well as any, such as the Crypton visuals and the helicopter sequence.
The great John Williams wrote another fabulous score and in particular Superman's main theme is an unforgettable piece of music. My four year old daughter heard it once and was humming the tune for days.
I can only imagine what a breath of fresh air Superman must have been on its release. The seventies was a renaissance decade for American cinema but a lot of it came with too much depressing realism. Superman did not showcase quite the same standard of spectacle as Star Wars, but it was far less centred around violence and with it Richard Donner kicked off the superhero genre.
- snoozejonc
- Oct 4, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Superman: The Movie
- Filming locations
- Range Road 264, Blackie, Calgary, Alberta, Canada(The Kents' farm, coordinates: 50.675111, -113.558333)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $55,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $134,478,449
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,465,343
- Dec 17, 1978
- Gross worldwide
- $300,478,449
- Runtime2 hours 23 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1