superman: the movie
Before James Gunn’s Superman reboot comes out on the 11th, possibly my most anticipated film of my lifetime (I’m literally counting down the days), I thought it’d be fun to revisit the film it seems to draw the most inspiration from: the one that started it all. The most important and influential superhero flick of all time.
Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie from 1978, the first majorly successful superhero film based on a comic book, juggles two different purposes. Given the castings of dramatic and serious titans Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman (who get the top two billings, pushing Reeve to third place in his own movie) and the story being written by Mario Puzo, author of the Godfather, it was clear Superman was supposed to be a sweeping, dramatic epic- almost historical. But given the film’s light-hearted nature, caricature characters, cartoonish antics and colorful set pieces, it was also supposed to be a throwback to a bygone era. Lois teases Clark for using the, apparently at-the-time-outdated, word ‘swell’, and the film even starts with a black-and-white comic book flipping-through set in 1938, making me think that Superman was supposed to be nostalgic even for the time. Some may take criticism with the film’s multiple angles, but I think it was handled brilliantly.
This film feels the most like an event or presentation out of any I’ve watched recently. Watching it on HBO Max gives a two-minute rundown from a presenter telling the audience about the film they’re about to watch as if it’s being shown off at a museum, which launches into the aforementioned ‘flashback’ before it skyrockets into the electric, symphonious and goosebump-inducing intro credits. Yes, they’re long and drawn out, and yes, modern audiences are used to seeing these at the end. But there’s something about these snazzy and colorful credits set to one of the greatest film scores in history that makes taking it all in so magical. The bigger-in-budget portions of the film have sets designed like old disaster flicks like The Towering Inferno, elevating the epic scale further, and the groundbreaking special effects for the time made this a must-watch in the 70s, as well as today. Superman: The Movie has been and always will be a tremendous feat and a joy to look at because of this.
Speaking of the score, it is a serious contender for the most iconic and well-known film soundtrack in history, rivaled only by Star Wars and Harry Potter. It is triumphant, bombastic, and absolutely beautiful. Chills every single time, especially in combination with the film’s many epic and cheer-worthy moments. Nothing else to say- everybody knows this score already, right?
Casting an unknown at the time for the big blue boy scout was definitely risky, but they struck obvious gold here. Christopher Reeve is Superman. He has a charm and power and magnificence about him that’s unmatched in his field, and he brought the comic book character straight off the page and to life with style and opulence. The tagline for the film was “You’ll Believe a Man Can Fly”, and Reeve makes you believe it, with the way he takes off into the sky, banking when he turns in beautiful and serene fashion. The transformations between awkward and clumsy reporter Clark Kent’s and Superman’s body language and voice are seamless and incredibly satisfying. Margot Kidder was also a huge standout, being the spitting image of her comic counterpart yet helping evolve the character forward in many ways. She’s electric, confident, and extremely fun, bouncing off Reeve effortlessly. Their chemistry is the best part of the next one, and one of the best parts of this one.
Hackman is an outstanding cackling Silver Age villain with the perfect touch of sinister and terrifying. Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, the performances are all great- for the most part. Marlon Brando, whom I do not like as a person or actor at all, is incredibly lazy and phones it in big time for this movie. Between telling the director he could only do one take for each scene to keep his performances “fresh”, not bothering to pronounce the word “Krypton” correctly, and reading his lines off the baby’s diaper near the start of the film without memorizing them, he is the epitome of arrogance and laziness in Hollywood, taking the money and running. Thankfully, his role is small, and the wide and diverse ensemble cast more than picks up the slack.
The characters and the dynamics between them are another immense plus. Clark’s transformation and development, making the tough decision to turn back time to save Lois’ life, is extremely satisfying, and every character is set firmly in their wheelhouse purpose-wise- there is little to no deconstruction of any archetype, instead opting for simple and straight-forward, while still fleshed out, characters. Unlike other interpretations of the Man of Steel, Superman: The Movie proudly proclaims that there is nothing wrong with an optimistic, hopeful character that does the right thing for the sake of it, nor is there anything wrong with a classic, cackling, maniacal billionaire baddie. You want to see these characters succeed or fail because of this- it’s a deceptively simple system that elevates the excitement to new heights. The most exciting action sequence isn’t a hugely budgeted punch-up with a villain of equal power; it’s Superman chasing at the speed of sound after a missile, and that’s really cool.
Puzo and crew’s dialogue is snappy and quick-witted for the most part, while still placing heavy emphasis on the vital character dynamics. There are a few really solid jokes, my new favorite being Lois asking Clark upon first meeting “Any more at home like you?” and Clark’s blank-faced, straight “Not really, no”, which made me choke on my drink despite the fact I’ve seen this before. Otherwise, “You’ve got me? Well, who’s got you?” is a terrific and grin-inducing line, but there are some examples of outdated and frankly unfunny moments, as much as it pains me to say it. There are some elements that wouldn’t fly today, including multiple non-consensual kisses, and the dynamic between Lex, Otis and Eve is firmly established yet still strange. The bumbling, sitcom-esque antics, i.e., Otis missing a number that he wrote on his arm, are extremely silly and are indicators of the film’s two wildly different tones. They are absolutely charming and at the very least a little fun, but they are nowhere near the film’s strong suit, making the emphasis placed on them feel odd.
The most common criticism with this movie, however, is its pacing, taking roughly half an hour, or even an hour for some people, to get started. The awkward jump from the drawn out destruction of Krypton to the long voiceover over empty galaxies and space particles to the crash landing on Earth trudges the film’s momentum unwillingly through molasses. After that block, however, it breaks into a jog; by the time Clark moves to Metropolis, it kicks into overdrive; and by the time Superman triumphantly catches the helicopter with the now-iconic “easy, miss, I've got you”, you're wishing the film would never stop.
Superman: The Movie is a perfect blend of grandiose, epic and hugely scaled, with hopeful, colorful and old-school quaint. There is truly something magical and surreal seeing Christopher Reeve, not Superman, look into the camera with a nod and a grin, telling the audience everything is going to be okay. I absolutely adore this movie, and it’s one of my favorites in the genre. The final product is dated, and is absolutely not for everybody, being best enjoyed by those either old enough to have grown up with it or appreciative enough of cinema to treat watching it like going to a museum. However, I do think there is, at the very least, just a little bit for everyone here.
It may not have been the wartime, Great Depression-era climate in desperate need of a Jewish-created mascot symbol of hope and champion of the oppressed when this film was released, but Donner and every glass-half-full cast and crew member apart of this behemoth project looked inward and asked “do we even need a character like this anymore?” And the answer was a resounding yes- right now, we might need him more than ever.
