Superman (1978)
Directed by Richard Donner

Film Review

One year on from George Lucas's sci-fi extravagnza Star Wars (1977) came another genre-defining fantasy blockbuster, Superman, the film that in one fell swoop established the superhero genre and one of cinema's most successful franchises.  There had been a Superman movie prior to this - the 1954 film Superman and the Mole Men starring George Reeves, who played the caped superhero in the popular long-running American television series Adventures of Superman, which ran from 1951 to 1958.  Before this, generations of school children had assiduously followed the exploits of Superman in his original medium, the DC comic books which began in the 1930s.  To its credit, the 1978 film recognises its comic book origins and provides a slick action-adventure romp that is fast-moving and funny, a gutsy feel-good treat  for audiences of any age group.  The film was made on a budget of over 50 million dollars, but took 300 million dollars at the box office.  For sheer entertainment value, no superhero movie made since can hold a candle to Superman.

After a long and traumatic gestation period, producer Ilya Salkind finally brought in Richard Donner to direct the film, having been impressed by his work on The Omen (1976).  Various big names actor were considered for the principal role, including A-listers such as Robert Redford, Paul Newman and Burt Reynolds.  In the end, the decision was made to give the part of Superman to an unknown actor, Christopher Reeve, who undertook a strenuous bodybuilding regime so that he could equip himself with the required physique and avoid the necessity to wear a muscle suit.  Marlon Brando created a media sensation when he agreed to make a cameo appearance as Superman's father for a fee of 3.7 million dollars (plus a percentage of the profits, which amounted to 19 million dollars).  A slew of other distinguished actors appeared in the film, including Trevor Howard, Glenn Ford, Susannah York, Maria Schell and Terence Stamp, and the main  villain of the piece was played, with relish, by Gene Hackman at his comedic best.

Although the special effects used in Superman look primitive by today's standards, they were state of the art for the 1970s and some - particularly the model shots - still hold up extremely well.  Blue screen technology was in its infancy when the film was made, so the sequences depicting Superman flying against a projected landscape are rarely convincing, although you could say that this adds to the comic book charm of the film.  The opening sequence depicting the destruction of the planet Krypton is particularly effective and grabs the audience's attention right from the start, a mouth-watering hors d'oeuvre for the visual feast that lies ahead.  Yes, Brando was massively overpaid and is clearly reading his lines off cue cards, but his presence adds considerable weight to a sequence that otherwise could easily have been kitsch and tacky. 

Christopher Reeve's Superman is often characterised as Christ-like, but the Christian symbolism is there only if you are determined to look for it.  Most audiences will see only a classic good-versus-evil adventure yarn, one that is sustained by some good-natured humour, great action scenes and well-developed characterisation.  Reeve's mild-mannered journalist Clark Kent is easily the most likeable thing about the film, providing a very welcome refuge from the tedious infallibility of his super-everything alter ego.  His scenes with Margot Kidder (superb as the orthographically challenged Lois Lane) are some of the film's most enjoyable.  Red underpants and blue tights don't exactly suggest iron-limbed machismo (especially if they are donned in the wrong order), but Reeve somehow manages to pull off the combination without looking either overtly gay or ridiculous (well, almost).  The actor became an instant star through this film and gratefully reprised the role of Superman in the next three sequels, before his meteoric career was cut short by a terrible horse riding accident in 1995, which confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his days.  Towards the end of his life, Christopher Reeve became a Superman of an altogether different kind, actively championing the cause of others with severe spinal cord injuries. 

After the staggering worldwide success of Superman, its sequel, Superman II, was rushed out and released in 1980, another major box office hit.   The superhero was back in town, and he was here to stay.  It would not be long before Batman, Spiderman and all the rest would be scrambling aboard the super-bandwagon, fuelling the digital effects revolution that was about to blaze onto the scene and change action cinema forever.  You'll believe a man can fly.

Film Synopsis

Unable to convince the Ruling Council of the planet Krypton that their world faces imminent destruction, the scientist Jor-El launches a spacecraft that will transport his infant son Kal-El to the planet Earth in a distant galaxy.  The spacecraft lands in the desert on the outskirts of a rural American town, Smallville.  Its occupant is discovered by a childless couple, Jonathan and Martha Kent, who decide to adopt him as their own.  When he has reached his 18th birthday, the child, now known as Clark Kent, leaves his adopted home and journeys to the Arctic, where he creates a fortress from a crystal salvaged from his spaceship.  A recording from his now long dead father makes Kal-El aware of his true identity and that he has superhuman powers.  Some years later, Clark Kent is working as a journalist on the Daily Planet newspaper.  No one, least of all his co-worker Lois Lane, has any idea that Kent's humble, awkward persona conceals a superbeing of remarkable physical and mental powers, who spends his leisure hours fighting crime and rescuing stranded pussy cats.  It's a pity he has absolutely no dress sense, as the cape-and-tights look is  not exactly the one to get hardened criminals quivering in their boots.  This compulsive do-gooder attracts the attention of Lex Luther, a master-criminal who is planning the crime of the century in his underground lair.  He intends to hijack a nuclear missile and divert it into the San Andreas Fault, causing the whole of California to fall into the sea and thereby raising the price of land that Luther has so wisely purchased on the other side of the fissure.  Aware that Superman threatens his evil enterprise, Luther acquires the one thing that can neutralise his powers, Kryptonite...