{"id":7293,"date":"2009-06-18T13:44:26","date_gmt":"2009-06-18T20:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7293"},"modified":"2022-04-21T11:41:43","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T18:41:43","slug":"superman-1978","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7293","title":{"rendered":"Superman (1978)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;m here to fight for truth, and justice, and the American way.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Superman-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Superman-Poster-206x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-63424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Superman-Poster-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Superman-Poster-88x128.jpg 88w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Superman-Poster-185x270.jpg 185w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Superman-Poster.jpg 411w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe infant son of a scientist (Marlon Brandon) from the dying planet of Krypton is sent to Earth, where he is adopted by the childless Kents (Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter) and grows into a misunderstood teen (Jeff East). When young Clark grows up (played by Christopher Reeve), he moves to the bustling city of Metropolis, where he becomes a reporter at the Daily Planet and falls for a co-worker named Lois Lane (Margot Kidder); meanwhile, his alter-ego Superman fights to protect the world against scheming criminal Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), who is plotting to destroy California&#8217;s coastline.\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aliens<\/li>\n<li>Christopher Reeve Films<\/li>\n<li>Comics and Comic Strips<\/li>\n<li>Fantasy<\/li>\n<li>Gene Hackman Films<\/li>\n<li>Glenn Ford Films<\/li>\n<li>Harry Andrews Films<\/li>\n<li>Journalists<\/li>\n<li>Margot Kidder Films<\/li>\n<li>Maria Schell Films<\/li>\n<li>Marlon Brando Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken Identities<\/li>\n<li>Ned Beatty Films<\/li>\n<li>Romance<\/li>\n<li>Superheroes<\/li>\n<li>Susannah York Films<\/li>\n<li>Terence Stamp Films<\/li>\n<li>Trevor Howard Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary notes, this &#8220;wonderful surprise&#8230; blockbuster&#8221; likely &#8220;wouldn&#8217;t have worked at all if unknown Christopher Reeve&#8221; &#8212; possessing &#8220;the handsome, square-jawed face of a classic movie hero&#8221; &#8212; hadn&#8217;t been &#8220;the ideal choice to play the most famous comic-book hero&#8221; in American history, a man &#8220;as honest, kind, loyal, dependable, and moral as he looks&#8221;. <em>Superman<\/em> is indeed an &#8220;epic film&#8221;, one which takes its time relating the story of Superman&#8217;s background. First we see his origins on the planet Krypton, where his father Jor-El (infamously played by a wildly overpaid Marlon Brando) and mother Lara (Susannah York) reluctantly prepare to send baby Kal-El to Earth in an attempt to save his life. Next we see vignettes from his childhood and adolescence with the kindly Kents (Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter &#8212; both perfectly cast), and we watch his &#8220;coming-of-age&#8221; as he heads north to learn about his destiny as a superhero on Earth.  <\/p>\n<p>Once Superman (now played by Reeve) arrives in Metropolis, the meat of the story begins, as we&#8217;re introduced to both the film&#8217;s villain (Gene Hackman) and Reeve&#8217;s love interest, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder, who Peary argues is &#8220;also perfectly cast&#8221; &#8212; though many fans seem to disagree). Like Peary, I&#8217;m not fond of the &#8220;broad comedy involving Luthor and his cohorts&#8221; (Ned Beatty as Luthor&#8217;s right-hand man Otis is particularly annoying), but agree that the rest of the film &#8220;smoothly mixes myth, lyricism&#8230;, comedy (mostly deadpan), science fiction, romance, suspense, and tragedy.&#8221; Reeve was (sadly) never better than here in his first, most iconic role; he has great fun embodying both sides of Superman&#8217;s personality, and makes for a genuinely empathetic superhero. His scenes with Lane are surprisingly romantic, with their nighttime flight over New York City a particular highlight of the film (indeed, the special effects &#8212; while a tad &#8220;old fashioned&#8221; &#8212; are just as fun now as they once were). Film fanatics will likely be pleasantly surprised when they revisit this must-see blockbuster, which set the standard for future superhero flicks. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Christopher Reeve as Superman<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-reeve.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-reeve.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8758\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Margot Kidder as Lois Lane<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-kidder.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-kidder.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8759\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Superman&#8217;s nighttime flight with Lois<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-flight.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-flight.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8756\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Striking set designs<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-sets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-sets.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8757\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter as Clark&#8217;s Earthly parents<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-thaxter-ford.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-thaxter-ford.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"385\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8751\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-hackman.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-hackman.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8753\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Superman&#8217;s many heroic feats throughout the film<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-heroic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-heroic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8754\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Oscar-winning special effects<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-special-effects.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/superman-special-effects.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8755\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Geoffrey Unsworth&#8217;s cinematography\n<\/li>\n<li>Humorous dialogue: [Lex Luthor] &#8220;We all have our little faults; mine&#8217;s in California.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>John Williams&#8217; memorable score<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a genuine blockbuster classic.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0078346\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/superman\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1978\/12\/15\/archives\/screen-its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-a-movie.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/91973\/superman-the-movie#articles-reviews?articleId=66930\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/sciencefiction\/superman-1978-superman-the-movie.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/75658\/superman.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.supermanhomepage.com\/movies\/movies.php?topic=m-movie1\">Superman Movie Home Page Plot Overview<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m here to fight for truth, and justice, and the American way.&#8221; Synopsis: The infant son of a scientist (Marlon Brandon) from the dying planet of Krypton is sent to Earth, where he is adopted by the childless Kents (Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter) and grows into a misunderstood teen (Jeff East). When young Clark grows up (played by Christopher Reeve), he moves to the bustling city of Metropolis, where he becomes a reporter at the Daily Planet and falls&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7293\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7293"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83198,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7293\/revisions\/83198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}