Superman is a comic book superhero created in 1932 by writer Jerry Siegal and artist Joe Shuster. The Man of Steel first appeared in "Action Comics #1" June 1, 1938. He was featured in a number of other comics (DC Comics, etc.) and there were changes to the artistic team. Superman also was popular in serials on radio, television, and film. The 1948 movie serial starring Kirk Alyn is one of the highest grossing chapterplays ever made. A TV series (1952-1958) starring George Reeves produced 104 episodes and the pilot episode was released theatrically as SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN (1951).
SUPERMAN (1978) consists of three segments, each with its own style and mood. The first part deals with the destruction of planet Krypton and baby Kal-El's trip to Earth where he is adopted by the Kents. Secondly, Clark Kent's life in Smallville is shown. The third part is about adult Clark Kent as newspaper reporter and Superman in Metropolis. On Krypton, scientist Jor-El (Marlon Brando) and his wife Lara (Susannah York) send their infant son Kal-El (Aaron Smolinski) to Earth just as their planet explodes.
Lara: "Have you finished?"
Jor-El: "Nearly. It's the only answer Lara. You realize that if he remains here with us, he will die as surely as we will."
Lara: "But why Earth Jor-El? They're primitives, thousands of years behind us."
Jor-El: "He will need that advantage to survive. Their atmosphere will sustain him."
Lara: "He will defy their gravity."
Jor-El: "He will look like one of them."
Lara: "He won't BE one of them."
Jor-El: "His dense molecular structure will make him strong."
Lara: "He'll be odd. Different."
Jor-El: "He'll be fast, virtually invulnurable."
Lara: "Isolated. Alone."
Jor-El: "He will not be alone. He will never be alone."
Kal-El's spaceship crash lands in Smallville, Kansas three years later. The boy is adopted by Jonathan (Glenn Ford) and Martha Kent (Phyllis Thaxter). who name him Clark after Martha's maiden name. Clark (Jeff East) has super powers but hides them and tries to fade into the background socially. Jonathan dies of a heart attack and Clark is sad that even with his powers, "I couldn't even save him".
A few months later Clark (Christopher Reeve) goes to the Arctic and uses a green crystal to build his Fortress of Solitude, a crystal palace in the architectural style of Krypton. From holographic recordings of his father he learns his purpose and role on Earth. After 12 years of education in his Fortress, he flies off in a red cape and blue costume with the El family symbol on his chest.
In the city of Metropolis he is hired as a reporter for the Daily Planet. Perry White (Jackie Cooper) is editor-in-chief, teenager Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) the photographer, and Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is the star journalist. Perry White says, "Lois, Clark Kent may seem like just a mild-mannered reporter, but listen, not only does he know how to treat his edidtor-in-chief with the proper respect, not only does he have a snappy, punchy prose style, but he is, in my forty years in this business, the fastest typist I've ever seen."
Clark secretly loves Lois and soon rescues her from a helicopter accident as Superman. Later the Man of Steel has a date with Lois and takes her for a romantic flight over Metropolis, after which she says, "What a super man", pauses and says "Superman!", giving our superhero his name.
Super criminal Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) plans "the greatest real-estate swindle of all time" with the help of a test launching of two missiles. Luthor hopes to create a major earthquake in California with the missiles that will cause most of the state to slide into the Pacific Ocean. Then the desert land he owns will become the new West Coast of the US and he will be extremely rich. Luthor says, "We all have our little faults. Mine's in California."
Luthor realizes Superman is a threat to his plan, so he traps him with a piece of kryptonite, the only thing that can incapacitate Superman. Fortunately, Luthor's assistant Eve Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine) helps Superman escape. The missile hits the California San Andreas Fault, triggering an earthquake, but Superman saves the state by reinforcing the fault line and building a dam caused by the breaching of Hoover Dam. Then he realizes Lois Lane was crushed to death inside her car.
Angry and depressed, Superman flies above Earth and hears Jor-El's voice forbidding him to interfere with history. Undeterred, he flies around Earth faster than the speed of light and reverses time. This stops the earthquake, prevents the Hoover Dam burst, fixes the fault line, and saves Lois. He flies to Lois, departs, and Jimmy Olsen mentions that Clark has never seen Superman. Lois suddenly suspects they may be the same person, then dismisses it as "the silliest idea".
Superman: "Is that how a warped brain like yours gets its kicks? By planning the death of innocent people?"
Lex Luthor: "No, by causing the death of innocent people." and "You were great in your day, Superman. But it just stands to reason, when it came time to cash in your chips, this old... diseased... maniac would be your banker."
Superman captures Lex Luthor and Otis (Ned Beaty) and takes them to prison. The warden (Roy Stevens) thanks Superman for his work: "This country is safe again, Superman, thanks to you." Superman modestly replies, "No, sir. Don't thank me, Warden. We're all part of the same team. Good night", then flies away.
Also in the cast are: Trevor Howard (1st Elder), Jack O'Halloran (Non), Maria Schell (Vond-Ah), Terence Stamp (General Zod), Sarah Douglas (Ursa), Harry Andrews (2nd Elder), Vass Anderson (3rd Elder), Diana Sherry (Lana Lang), Paul Tuerpe (Sgt. Hayley), and many others. Writing credits are Jerry Siegal, Joe Shuster, Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton, and Tom Mankiewicz. The musical score was composed by John Williams. Richard Donner directed.
SUPERMAN is an excellent movie that has withstood the test of time. It's dynamic, very entertaining, with great special effects and fine tongue-in-cheek humour. Superman does not use his heat vision in this movie, one of his most famous powers. Young actor Reeve asked veteran Gene Hackman about his motivation in playing his role. Hackman responded, "You mean, besides the million dollars?"
SUPERMAN was originally released in December 1978 with a run time of 143 minutes, edited from the three hour director's cut. In 1981 the film was re-edited for international TV distribution with 45 minutes of deleted footage added. This "Salkind International Edit" version runs 188 minutes. Only the theatrical version was available on home video until 2001, when the special edition DVD was released at 151 minutes. SUPERMAN was followed by three sequels: SUPERMAN II (1980), SUPERMAN III (1983), and SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987). There is an ongoing debate regarding whether the first or second movie is the best, so let's just say they're equally good.
