| Superman (1978) | |
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Rating: 7.4/10 (186,896 votes) Director: Richard Donner Writer: Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Mario Puzo Stars: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman Runtime: 143 min Rated: PG Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Released: 15 Dec 1978 |
| Plot: 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. | |
Richard Donner’s 1978 superhero film had quite an effect upon the 5-year-old version of myself as I sat and watched it at the cinema. Only a year earlier had I been thrown into a galaxy far, far away, and now I was believing a man could fly. It probably was the one moment that sparked my fascination and love for comic book characters who dress in costumes and fight crime, although bizarrely I never took to Superman comic books as well as I took to Marvel’s output. It is one film that I can return to time and time again and experience the same surge of emotions that I had as a child. So, returning to the film now was never going to be a chore, and in fact was a great pleasure.
The opening sequence shows us the comic book history of the character before thrusting us into the opening credits, whilst John Williams’ epic score build behind them, stirring our emotions even before the story has begun. We are then presented with an origin tale that sees how Kal-El, son of Jor-El, was sent from his dying world by his father to go to earth, where he will grow to become their protector and defender. Found and raised on Earth by the Jonathan and Martha Kent, he grows to become a newshound, Clark Kent, by day, his disguise from his true identity as Superman. Throw in support characters such as Lois Lane, another reporter at the Daily Planet who provides love interest, and Lex Luthor, an evil genius who will become Superman’s nemesis, and the stage is set for an adventure that sees love, loss, and action.
The film was originally intended to be completely shot back to back with the second film, and indeed Donner did complete a substantial chunk of that sequel, but due to pressure in editing and time constraints work was stopped on the sequel so he could cut this film down to size. In doing so a few ideas were moved around, such as the ‘reversing time’ sequence, which was initially intended as a closing of the whole two part story but was moved here to offer some climactic ending to the first film. This film was initially intended as the first act in the story, the set-up for the events of the second film, but the script was juggled around to allow it to stand as a solo outing should it fail to ignite the box office. It is easy for us to forget these days how risky a comic book film was back in the 70s, so to even consider a sequel in the first place was extremely daring for the studio, which likely explains their cold feet over the idea.
There are plot contrivances and unexplained moments throughout, such as Lex somehow automatically knowing that kryptonite could be used against Superman, and how reversing time seems to negate so much damage that was done (seriously, just because he reversed time it seems to actually prevent the earthquake taking place near Lois). But the whole film is played with such a charm and sweetness that it is easy to gloss over the more bizarre or nonsensical moments. Reeves himself manages to captivate when on screen, either as the humble Kent or the commanding Superman. In fact, the whole cast are well assembled. Margot Kidder shares such on-screen chemistry with Reeves that makes their moments as a dappy duo of reporters, or love-struck man of steel and journalist, truly sparkle with energy. Marlon Brando famously refused to memorise his lines, always insisting that he prefers doing things naturally for the first time, with the result that he had notes with his dialogue posted around the set for him to glance at, actually working in favour of the scenes in which he conveys his concerns and desire for his son as the planet falls apart around them. Gene Hackman adds great comic menace to Lex Luthor, aided by Ned Beatty as Otis, his bumbling henchman. Glenn Ford, Jackie Cooper, Susannah York, and everyone else involved all work to ensure that whilst light in nature, they never see the film as a cheap comic-book movie, and instead give the tale the dignity it deserves. We also get a short glimpse of things to come via the trial of Terrence Stamp’s General Zod which opens the film, and in those moments alone as Zod tells Jor-El that he will make him bow down before him, Stamp ensures that any audience watching will be waiting for him to return in future films.
The film established quite a few things which were then adopted by the comic books, such as the ‘S’ symbol actually being a representation of the El family crest, the crystalline technology of Krypton, Jonathan Kent dying of a heart attack, Lois frequently misspelling words, and so is held in high regard by many as a definitive origin tale film. The action takes a while to arrive – it is over an hour before we first see Superman in action saving Lois from a helicopter crash – but when it does it delivers. The earthquake sequence gives us Superman inside the earth’s crust fixing the fault, a school bus in peril on the golden gate bridge, a damaged trail rail that threatens a high-speed locomotive, Lois buried alive, a dam breaking, all of this within minutes of each other, and leading to an emotional decision which would have repercussions later on.
All in all, Superman may not be perfect, and the film does suffer from a few oversights and contrivances, but even with the dated effects work it is still easy, when watching, to believe a man can fly, thanks to the fantastic direction, the great cast, and that perfect score by John Williams adding emotional undertone to every scene.
