Superman (film)

For the film series, see Superman (film series).
Superman

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Donner
Produced by Alexander Salkind
Ilya Salkind
Pierre Spengler
Screenplay by Mario Puzo
David Newman
Leslie Newman
Robert Benton
Tom Mankiewicz
(uncredited)
Story by Mario Puzo
Jerry Siegel
(characters)
Joe Shuster
(characters)
Starring Marlon Brando
Gene Hackman
Christopher Reeve
Margot Kidder
Music by John Williams
Cinematography Geoffrey Unsworth
Editing by Stuart Baird
Michael Ellis
Studio Dovemead
Film Export A.G.
International Film Productions
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) 10 December 1978 (1978-12-10) (United States)
21 December 1978 (1978-12-21) (United Kingdom)
Running time 143 minutes
Country Panama
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $55 million
Gross revenue $300,218,018
Followed by Superman II

Superman (also known as Superman: The Movie) is a 1978 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Richard Donner directed the film, which stars Christopher Reeve as Superman, as well as Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Valerie Perrine and Ned Beatty. The film depicts the origin of Superman, from infancy as Kal-El of Krypton and growing up in Smallville. Disguised as reporter Clark Kent, he adopts a mild-mannered attitude in Metropolis and develops a romance with Lois Lane, while battling the villainous Lex Luthor.

The film was conceived in 1973 by Ilya Salkind. Several directors, most notably Guy Hamilton, and screenwriters (Mario Puzo, David and Leslie Newman and Robert Benton) were associated with the project before Donner was hired to direct. Donner brought Tom Mankiewicz to rewrite the script, feeling it was too campy. Mankiewicz was credited as creative consultant. It was decided to film both Superman and Superman II simultaneously.

Principal photography started in March 1977 and ended in October 1978. Tensions rose between Donner and the producers, and a decision was made to stop filming Superman II and finish the first film. Donner had already shot 75%[1] of the planned sequel, eventually giving birth to Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. Superman was released with critical acclaim and financial success. Reviewers noted parallels between the film's depiction of Superman and Jesus.[2] The film's legacy helped create a reemergence of science fiction films and the establishment of the superhero film genre.

Contents

Plot

On the white crystalline planet Krypton, the Ruling Council of Elders banishes three treasonous criminals to eternal imprisonment in the Phantom Zone. The leader of the criminals, General Zod, swears vengeance against their chief accuser, Jor-El. The foremost scientist on Krypton, Jor-El believes that the planet's red sun will shortly explode and destroy their world. Unable to convince the Council of the impending danger, Jor-El prepares a small experimental spacecraft to transport his infant son Kal-El to Earth, a small planet many light-years away where the inhabitants bear a close resemblance to the Kryptonians. The child would have a decided advantage on Earth, since the planet's yellow sun and weaker gravity would give him extraordinary powers, making him almost completely invulnerable. After an emotional farewell, Jor-El safely launches the spacecraft away from Krypton. Shortly thereafter, the sun explodes, destroying the planet and its people.

After traveling many light-years, the ship crashes on Earth near an American farming town, Smallville, Kansas, where Kal-El (now a toddler) is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent. The couple decides to take the child home with them after witnessing the boy easily lift the rear of Jonathan's pick-up truck (after it nearly fell on Jonathan as he was repairing it, saving the man's life). Kal-El is given Martha's maiden name Clark, and the couple lovingly raise the child as their own son.

Fourteen years later, the now-teenaged Clark exhibits other extraordinary powers, outrunning speeding trains, and punting a football into the stratosphere. However, even with these abilities, Clark is viewed as an "oddball" by his peers and is frustrated that he cannot show them what he can do. Sensing this, Jonathan reveals that he believes Clark was sent to Earth "for a reason". Shortly thereafter, while horsing around with his son to cheer him up, Jonathan suffers a massive heart attack and dies. Clark, who is helpless despite the powers he possesses, is devastated.

After Jonathan's funeral, Clark awakens one morning and goes to the Kent's barn as if he is being summoned there. He discovers a glowing green crystal — from the remnants of the ship from Krypton — which had been safely stored in the barn. Dormant for many years, the crystal has now become active. Clark is compelled by the crystal to travel to the Arctic Circle. After bidding Martha an emotional farewell, Clark begins his long journey. After arriving at his destination, he hurls the crystal at an extreme distance, causing the Fortress of Solitude, which resembles the architecture of Krypton, to appear. He enters the Fortress and finds the crystal, using it to trigger a holographic image of Jor-El, who reveals that he is Clark's biological father and that Clark's real name is Kal-El. Jor-El gives Clark background into his origins, showing him how his birth planet appeared before its destruction and educating him in his powers and responsibilities - emphasizing that he must not interfere in the history of humankind. After 12 years Clark leaves the Fortress, his powers fully developed, and now wearing the familiar blue and red caped costume made from his infant swaddling clothes and emblazoned with his Kryptonian family crest (which resembles the letter S in the modern Latin alphabet).

Arriving in Metropolis, Kent dons eyeglasses and a business suit and he finds a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet. To deflect from his true identity, Clark creates a shy, socially awkward personality. He meets and develops a romantic attraction to reporter Lois Lane, but the feelings are not returned as she regards him as merely a friend. When Lois becomes involved in a helicopter accident atop the Daily Planet building, Clark publicly uses his powers for the first time to save her. Not recognizing Clark, Lois asks him who he is, to which he simply replies "A friend".

In costume, he then patrols all over the city, thwarting robberies, capturing criminals in spectacular fashion, aiding children of getting their beloved pets from trees, and even preventing Air Force One from crashing in a severe storm. As the next morning dawns, his heroic exploits have made him a media sensation, fascinating everyone, especially Lois. Later that evening, in costume, Clark allows Lois to interview him at her apartment, for a newspaper article that would reveal to the people of Metropolis who he is and why he is there. He then takes Lois on a nighttime flight above Metropolis. As the romantic flight ends, a bedazzled Lois mutters to herself: "What a super man", and thus is inspired to dub him "Superman."

Meanwhile, criminal genius Lex Luthor with his henchman Otis and his girlfriend Eve Teschmacher plans to make a fortune in real estate by cheaply buying large amounts of desert land and then diverting one of two nuclear missiles being launched from a missile testing site to the San Andreas Fault. This will destroy most of California, killing millions of people and leave Luthor's desert as the new West Coast of the United States. After reading with interest Lois Lane's article titled, "I Spent The Night With Superman", Luthor realizes that Superman is a potential threat to his plans. Reasoning that fragments of Krypton may have traveled to Earth and may be potentially lethal to Superman, he locates one in the form of a meteorite in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Luthor then lures Superman to his underground lair beneath Metropolis. He reveals his true plans involving the missile, then exposes him to the glowing green meteorite which he has dubbed Kryptonite. As Superman weakens, Luthor further taunts him by revealing that he has diverted the other missile to Hackensack, New Jersey, in the direct opposite direction of the first, knowing that even with his great speed, Superman could not prevent both impacts. Teschmacher is horrified because her mother lives in Hackensack, but Luthor does not care and leaves Superman to a slow death.

Teschmacher rescues Superman (but not before kissing him) on the condition that he will deal with the New Jersey missile first which he does by pushing it into open space. Consequently, he is too late to stop the second impact, which causes a massive earthquake as predicted, but Superman saves the West Coast by re-sealing the fault. Superman then struggles to save those caught in the now weakened (but still lethal) earthquake, while Lois, who is in the Mojave Desert on assignment investigating the purchases of worthless desert land by an anonymous buyer, is trapped in her car as a result of an aftershock from the quake. As the car quickly begins to fill with dirt and debris, Lois suffocates and is near death. Sensing this, Superman races to save her only to find that he is too late.

Distraught at being unable to save Lois, Superman zooms into the stratosphere. He decides to ignore Jor-El's warning not to interfere with human history, and instead remembers Jonathan Kent's advice that he must be here "for a reason". Flying at incredible speed, Superman circles the Earth at high speed, creating a force that makes time run backwards, reversing all the events that led to Lois' death. Satisfied that all has been restored, Superman returns Earth to its normal spin. After making sure that Lois is alive and well, Superman captures and delivers Luthor and Otis to prison and then soars into the night sky to his next adventure.

Cast (in credited order)

Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill have cameo appearances as Lois Lane's father and mother. Alyn and Neill were the first actors to portray Superman and Lois Lane onscreen in a live-action format, appearing the film serials Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950). Additionally, Neill portrayed Lois in five of the six seasons of the 1950s-era Adventures of Superman television series. Larry Hagman and Rex Reed (playing himself) also have cameo roles. Two unknowns also have cameos, Edward Finneran and Tim Hussey, who were the teenage boys who won "The Great Superman Movie Contest", appearing as football players (in gray) during the scene with Clark as the equipment manager of the Smallville football team. David Petrou, the author of the making-of book about the movie also appears briefly in that scene.

Production

Development

Ilya Salkind had first conceived the idea for a Superman film in late 1973.[3] In November 1974, after a long difficult process with DC Comics, the Superman film rights were purchased by Ilya, his father Alexander Salkind, and their partner Pierre Spengler. DC wanted a list of actors that were to be considered for Superman. They approved the producer's choices of Muhammad Ali, Al Pacino, James Caan, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood and Dustin Hoffman.[4] The filmmakers felt it was best to film Superman and Superman II back-to-back, simultaneously, and to make a negative pickup deal with Warner Bros.[5] William Goldman was approached to write the screenplay, while Leigh Brackett was considered. Ilya hired Alfred Bester, who began writing a film treatment. Alexander felt, however, that Bester was not famous enough, and so hired Mario Puzo (The Godfather) to write the screenplay at a $600,000 salary.[6][7] Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin, Richard Lester, Peter Yates, John Guillermin, Ronald Neame and Sam Peckinpah were in negotiations to direct. Peckinpah dropped out when he produced a gun during a meeting with Ilya. George Lucas turned down the offer because of his commitment to Star Wars.[8][3]

During the filming of Jaws, Steven Spielberg expressed interest in directing Superman. Ilya was enthusiastic to hire Spielberg, but Alexander was skeptical, feeling it was best to wait for the release "of that fish movie of his". Jaws was released with box office success, prompting the producers to offer Spielberg the position, but by then Spielberg had already committed to Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[3] Guy Hamilton was hired as director, while Puzo delivered his 500-page script for Superman and Superman II in July 1975.[5] Jax-Ur appeared as one of General Zod's henchman, with Clark Kent written as a television reporter. Dustin Hoffman, who was previously considered for Superman, turned down Lex Luthor.[4][6] It was decided to first sign an A-list actor for Superman. Robert Redford was offered a lot of money, but felt he was too famous. Burt Reynolds also turned down the role, while Sylvester Stallone was interested, but nothing ever came of it. Paul Newman was offered his choosing as Superman, Lex Luthor or Jor-El for $4 million, turning down all three roles.[8]

In early 1975, Brando signed on as Jor-El with a salary of $3.7 million and 11.75% of the box office gross profits, totaling $19 million. Brando hoped to use some of his salary for a proposed 13-part Roots-style miniseries on Native Americans in the United States.[9] Brando had it in his contract to complete all of his scenes in 12 days. He also refused to memorize his dialog, so cue cards were compiled across the set. Hackman was cast as Lex Luthor days later. The filmmakers made it a priority to shoot all of Brando and Hackman's footage "because they would be committed to other films immediately".[5][3] Though the Salkinds felt that Puzo had written a solid story for the two-part film, they deemed his scripts too long and so hired Robert Benton and David Newman for rewrite work. Benton became too busy directing The Late Show and David's wife Leslie was brought in to help her husband finish writing duties.[8]

Their script was submitted in July 1976,[5] and carried a camp tone, including a cameo appearance by Telly Savalas as his Kojak character. The scripts for Superman and Superman II were now at over 400-pages combined.[10][11] Pre-production started in Rome, with sets starting construction and flying tests being unsuccessfully experimented. "In Italy," producer Ilya Salkind remembered, "we lost about $2 million [on flying tests]."[3] Over 200 unknowns were tested. Bruce Jenner then auditioned for Superman,[8] while Patrick Wayne was cast, but dropped out when his father was diagnosed with stomach cancer.[12] Both Neil Diamond and Arnold Schwarzenegger lobbied hard for the role, but were ignored. James Caan, James Brolin, Lyle Waggoner, Christopher Walken, Nick Nolte, Kurt Russell, Jeff Bridges, Billy "Green" Bush, David Soul, and Perry King were approached.[8][3] Kris Kristofferson and Charles Bronson were also considered for the title role.[13] Brando found out he couldn't film in Italy because of a warrant out for his arrest, a sexual obscenity charge from Last Tango in Paris. Production moved to England in late-1976, but Hamilton could not join because he was a tax exile.[10]

Mark Robson was strongly considered in talks to direct, but after seeing The Omen, the producers hired Richard Donner. Donner had previously been planning Damien: Omen II when he was hired in January 1977 for $1 million to direct Superman and Superman II.[12] Donner felt it was best to start from scratch. "They had prepared the picture for a year and not one bit was useful to me."[12] Donner was dissatisfied with the campy script and brought Tom Mankiewicz to perform a rewrite. According to Mankiewicz "not a word from the Puzo script was used".[10] "It was a well-written, but still a ridiculous script. It was 550 pages. I said, 'You can't shoot this screenplay because you'll be shooting for five years'," Donner continued. "That was literally a shooting script and they planned to shoot all 550 pages. You know, 110 pages is plenty for a script, so even for two features, that was way too much."[14] Mankiewicz conceived having each Kryptonian family wear a crest resembling a different letter, justifying the 'S' on Superman's costume.[12] The Writers Guild of America refused to credit Mankiewicz for his rewrites, so Donner gave him a creative consultant credit, much to the annoyance from the Guild.[12]

Tom Mankiewicz claims that there were many great strong brutes who couldn't act, and many great actors who weren't physically right for the role. A shortlist was eventually made, giving the production choices of Christopher Reeve, John Travolta, and Mel Gibson, with Reeve becoming the actor to land the role. Casting director Lynn Stalmaster introduced Salkind and Donner to Christopher Reeve. Salkind and Donner met Reeve in New York five months before filming. Salkind claims that Reeve was terrific, but was extremely skinny, so they went back and looked for more people. Casting became so desperate that a full screen test was arranged for Salkind's wife's dentist Don Voyne; and portions of the dentist's test can be seen on the DVD.

For the role of Lois Lane, Stalmaster said that just about every single available actress between the ages of 25 and 35, with most of them coming from casting agencies located in Los Angeles, New York, and southeastern Canada, read for the role. Among them were Stockard Channing, Lesley Ann Warren, Susan Blakely, Deborah Raffin, and Anne Archer. Holly Palance was used for Christopher Reeve's screen test. Margot Kidder eventually tested for the role and won over the filmmakers. Warren had coincidentally portrayed Lois Lane in the TV special of It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman. Channing was Donner's second choice for Lois Lane.

Keenan Wynn was originally cast as Perry White. When he arrived at the airport in England to start filming, he had a heart attack, so the role was recast with Jackie Cooper at the very last second. Both Goldie Hawn and Ann-Margret turned down the role of Miss Eve Teschmacher because they were asking for higher salary, so Valerie Perrine was cast.

Filming

Principal photography began on March 24, 1977 at Pinewood Studios for Krypton scenes, budgeted as the most expensive film ever made at that point. Since Superman was being shot simultaneously with Superman II, filming lasted for 19 months, until October 1978. Filming was originally scheduled to last between seven and eight months, but problems rose during production. John Barry served as production designer, while Stuart Craig and Norman Reynolds worked as art directors. Derek Meddings and Les Bowie were credited as visual effects supervisors. Stuart Freeborn was the make-up artist, while Barry, David Lane, Peter MacDonald and John Glen directed second unit scenes. Vic Armstrong was hired as the stunt coordinator and Reeve's stunt double, his wife Wendy Leech was Kidder's double. Superman was also the final complete film by cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth, who died during post-production while working on Tess for director Roman Polanski. The Fortress of Solitude was constructed at Shepperton Studios and at Pinewood's 007 Stage.[15][16] Upon viewing the footage of Krypton, Warner Bros. decided to distribute in not only North America, but also in foreign countries. Due to complications and problems during filming, Warner Bros. also supplied $20 million and acquired television rights.[7][15]

New York City doubled for Metropolis, while the New York Daily News Building served as the location for the offices of the Daily Planet. Brooklyn Heights was also used.[17] Filming in New York lasted five weeks, during the time of the New York City blackout of 1977. Production moved to Alberta, Canada for scenes set in Smallville, with the cemetery scene filmed in the canyon of Beynon, Alberta, the high school football scenes at Barons, Alberta, and the Kent farm constructed at Blackie, Alberta.[18] Brief filming also took place in Gallup, New Mexico, Lake Mead and Grand Central Terminal.[2] Director Donner had tensions with the Salkinds and Spengler concerning the escalating production budget and the shooting schedule. Creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz reflected, "Donner never got a budget or a schedule. He was constantly told he was way over schedule and budget. At one point he said, 'Why don't you just schedule the film for the next two days, and then I'll be nine months over?'."[15] Richard Lester, who worked with the Salkinds on The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, was then brought in as a temporary associate producer to mediate the relationship between Donner and the Salkinds,[3] who by now were refusing to talk to each other.[15] With his relationship with Spengler, Donner remarked, "At one time if I'd seen him, I would have killed him."[7] Superman would go on to make $300.22 million making it the second highest grossing movie of 1978 behind Grease.

Lester was offered producing credit but refused, going uncredited for his work.[15] Salkind felt that bringing a second director onto the set meant there would be someone ready in the event that Donner couldn't fulfill his directing duties. "Being there all the time meant he [Lester] could take over," Salkind admitted. "[Donner] couldn't make up his mind on stuff."[3] On Lester, Donner reflected, "He'd been suing the Salkinds for his money on Three and Four Musketeers, which he'd never gotten. He won a lot of his lawsuits, but each time he sued the Salkinds in one country, they'd move to another, from Costa Rica to Panama to Switzerland. When I was hired, Lester told me, 'Don't do it. Don't work for them. I was told not to, but I did it. Now I'm telling you not to, but you'll probably do it and end up telling the next guy.' Lester came in as a 'go-between'. I didn't trust Lester, and I told him. He said, 'Believe me, I'm only doing it because they're paying me the money that they owe me from the lawsuit. I'll never come onto your set unless you ask me; I'll never go to your dailies. If I can help you in any way, call me."[14]

It was decided to stop shooting Superman II and focus on finishing Superman. Donner had already completed 75% of the sequel.[19] The filmmakers took a risk: if Superman was a box office bomb, they would not finish Superman II, although others (including Tom Mankiewicz) have claimed that the Salkinds would have taken Richard Donner back to make him complete II.[20] The original climax for Superman II had General Zod, Ursa and Non destroying the planet, with Superman time traveling to fix the damage.[8] On the original ending for Superman, Lex Luthor and Otis were put in prison, with the nuclear missile that Superman did not counter against flying in outer space. The missile would strike the Phantom Zone, freeing the three Kryptonian villains. Donner commented, "I decided if Superman is a success, they're going to do a sequel. If it ain't a success, a cliffhanger ain't gonna bring them to see Superman II."[12]

Effects

Publicity still emulating screen shot.
Actual screen shot for comparison. Suit has greenish hue, for use with blue-screen effects.

Superman is well-known for its large-scale visual effects sequences, all of which were created before the digital age. The Golden Gate Bridge scale model stood 70 feet long and 20 feet wide. Other miniatures included the Krypton Council Dome and the Hoover Dam. Slow motion was used to simulate the vast amount of water for the Hoover Dam destruction. The Fortress of Solitude was a combination of a full-scale set and matte paintings. Young Clark Kent's long-distance football punt was executed with a wooden football loaded into an air blaster placed in the ground. The Superman costume was to be a much darker blue, but the use of blue screen made it transparent.[21]

The first test for the flying sequences involved simply catapulting a crash test dummy out of a cannon. Another technique had a remote control cast of Superman flying around. Both were discarded due to lack of movement. High quality, realistic-looking animation was tried, with speed trails added to make the effect more convincing.

As detailed in the Superman: The Movie DVD special effects documentary 'The Magic Behind The Cape', presented by optical effects supervisor Roy Field, in the end, three techniques were used to achieve the flying effects.

For landings and take-offs, wire flying riggings were devised and used. On location, these were suspended from tower cranes, whereas in the studio elaborate rigs were suspended from the studio ceilings. Some of the wire-flying work was quite audacious considering computer controlled rigs were not then available — the penultimate shot where Superman flies out of the prison yard for example. Although stuntmen were used, Reeve did much of the work himself, and was suspended as high as 50ft in the air. Counterweights and pulleys were typically used to achieve flying movement rather than electronic or motorized devices.

For shots where the camera is stationary and Superman is seen flying towards or away from the camera in the frame, blue screen matte shots were used. Reeve would be photographed against a blue screen. While a special device made his cape flap to give the illusion of movement, the actor himself would remain stationary. Instead, the camera would use a mixture of long zoom-ins and zoom-outs to cause him to become larger or smaller in the frame. The blue background would then be photochemically removed and Reeve's isolated image would then be 'inserted' in to a matted area of a background plate shot. The zoom-ins or zoom-outs would give the appearance of flying away or towards the contents of the background plate. The disparity in lighting and colour between the matted image and the background plate, the occasional presence of black matte lines (where the matte area and the matted image — in the case Superman — don't exactly match-up) and the slightly unconvincing impression of movement achieved through the use of long zoom lenses is characteristic of these shots.

For shots where the camera is tracking with Superman as he flies (such as in the Superman and Lois Metropolis flying sequence) front projection was used. This involved photographing the actors suspended in front of a background image dimly projected from the front on to a special screen made by 3M that would reflect light back at many times the original intensity directly in to a combined camera/projector. The result was a very clear and intense photographic reproduction of both the actors and the background plate with far less of the image deterioration or lighting problems than occur with rear projection.

A technique was developed that combined the front projection effect with specially designed zoom lenses.[21] The illusion of movement was created by zooming in on Reeve while making the front projected image appear to recede. For scenes where Superman interacts with other people or objects while in flight, Reeve and actors were put in a variety of rigging equipment with careful lighting and photography.[21] This also led to the creation of the Zoptic system.[22]

The highly reflective costumes worn by the Kryptonians were the result of an accident during Superman flying tests. "We noticed the material lit up on its own," Donner explained. "We tore the material into tiny pieces and glued it on the costumes, designing a front projection effect for each camera. There was a little light on each camera, and it would project into a mirror, bounce out in front of the lens, hit the costume, [and] millions of little glass heads would light up and bring the image back into the camera."[12]

Music

Jerry Goldsmith, who scored Donner's The Omen, was originally set to compose Superman. Portions of Goldsmith's work from Planet of the Apes were used in Superman's teaser trailer. He dropped out over scheduling conflicts and John Williams was hired.[8] Kidder was supposed to sing "Can You Read My Mind", the lyrics to which were written by Leslie Bricusse, but Donner disliked it and changed it to a composition accompanied by a voiceover.[2]

Themes

"You will travel far, my little Kal-El. But we will never leave you, even in the face of our deaths. The richness of our lives shall be yours. All that I have, all that I've learned, everything I feel—all this and more I bequeath you, my son. You will carry me inside you all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, and see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father the son. This is all I can send you, Kal-El."
— Jor-El

Superman is divided into three basic sections, each with three distinct themes and visual styles. The first segment, set on Krypton, is meant to be typical of science fiction films, but also lays the groundwork for the Jesus Christ analogy that emerges in the relationship between Jor-El and Kal-El. The second segment, set in Smallville, is reminiscent of 1950s films, and its small-town atmosphere is meant to evoke a Norman Rockwell painting. The third (and largest) segment was an attempt to present the superhero story with as much realism as possible (what Donner called "verisimilitude"), relying on traditional cinematic drama and using only subtle humor instead of a campy approach.[2]

Donner, Tom Mankiewicz and Ilya Salkind have commented on the use of Christian references to discuss the themes of Superman.[2][8] Mankiewicz deliberately fostered analogies with Jor-El (God) and Kal-El (Jesus).[10] Donner is somewhat skeptical of Mankiewicz' actions, joking "I got enough death threats because of that."[2]

Several concepts and items of imagery have been used in Biblical comparisons. Jor-El casts out General Zod from Krypton, a parallel to the casting out of Satan from Heaven.[2] The spacecraft that brings Kal-El to Earth is in the form of a star (Star of Bethlehem). Kal-El comes to Jonathan and Martha Kent, who are unable to have children. Martha Kent states, "All these years how we've prayed and prayed that the good Lord would see fit to give us a child," which was compared to the Virgin Mary.[2]

Just as little is known about Jesus during his middle years, Clark travels into the wilderness to find out who he is and what he has to do. Jor-El says, "Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and power are needed. But always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack a light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you..... my only son."[2] The theme resembles the Biblical account of God sending his only son Jesus to Earth in hope for the good of mankind. More were seen when Donner was able to complete Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, featuring the fall, resurrection and his battle with evil. Another vision was that of The Creation of Adam.[2]

The Christian imagery in the Reeve films has provoked comment on the Jewish origins of Superman. Rabbi Simcha Weinstein's book Up, Up and Oy Vey: How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero, says that Superman is both a pillar of society and one whose cape conceals a "nebbish", saying "He's a bumbling, nebbish Jewish stereotype. He's Woody Allen."[23][24] Ironically, it is also in the Reeve films that Clark Kent's persona has the greatest resemblance to Woody Allen, though his conscious model was Cary Grant's character in Bringing up Baby. This same theme is pursued about '40s superheroes generally in Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero by Danny Fingeroth.[23][24]

In the scene where Lois Lane interviews Superman on the balcony, Superman replies, "I never lie." Salkind felt this was an important point in the film, since Superman, living under his secret identity as Clark Kent, is "telling the biggest lie of all time." His romance with Lois also leads him to contradict Jor-El's orders to avoid altering human history, time traveling to save her from dying. Superman instead takes the advice of Jonathan Kent, his father on Earth.[8]

Release

Superman was originally scheduled to be released in June 1978, but the problems during filming pushed the film back by six months. Due to the rushed post-production, no premiere took place. Editor Stuart Baird reflected, "Filming was finished in October 1978 and it is a miracle we had the film released three months later. Big-budgeted films today tend to take six to eight months."[15] Donner, for his part, wished that he'd "had another six months; I would have perfected a lot of things. But at some point, you've gotta turn the picture over."[14] Warner Bros. spent $7 million to market and promote the film.[7]

Superman opened on December 15, 1978 in America, grossing $134.22 million in North America and $166 million in foreign countries, totaling $300.22 million worldwide.[25] Superman was the sixth-highest grossing film at the time of its release, as well as Warner Bros.' most successful (which has since been beaten).[15] Based on 51 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of reviewers enjoyed Superman, with the consensus "Superman deftly blends humor and gravitas, taking advantage of the perfectly cast Reeve to craft a loving, nostalgic tribute to an American pop culture icon."[26] By comparison, Metacritic collected an average score of 88, resulting in "universal acclaim", based on 12 reviews.[27] The film was widely regarded as one of top 10 movies of 1978.[28][29][30][31] Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster gave a positive reaction.[4] Shuster was "delighted to see Superman on the screen. I got chills. Chris Reeve has just the right touch of humor. He really is Superman".[11] It was the second highest grossing movie of 1978 only to be kept off by Grease.

Roger Ebert gave a largely positive review. "Superman is a pure delight, a wondrous combination of all the old-fashioned things we never really get tired of: adventure and romance, heroes and villains, earthshaking special effects and wit. Reeve is perfectly cast in the role. Any poor choice would have ruined the film".[32] Ebert placed the film on his 10 best list of 1978.[33] James Berardinelli believed "there's no doubt that it's a flawed movie, but it's one of the most wonderfully entertaining flawed movies made during the 1970s. It's exactly what comic book fans hoped it would be. Perhaps most heartening of all, however, is the message at the end of the credits announcing the impending arrival of Superman II."[34] Harry Knowles is a longtime fan of the film, but was critical of elements that didn't represent the Superman stories as seen in the comics.[35] Dave Kehr felt "the tone, style, and point of view change almost from shot to shot. This is the definitive corporate film. It is best when it takes itself seriously, worst when it takes the easy way out in giggly camp, When Lex Luthor enters the action, Hackman plays the arch-villain like a hairdresser left over from a TV skit."[36]

Legacy

Superman was nominated for three Academy Awards (Editing, Music (Original Score) and Sound), and received a Special Achievement Award for its visual effects. Donner publicly expressed disgust that production designer John Barry and cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth had not been recognized.[12]

Superman was successful at the 32nd British Academy Film Awards. Reeve won Best Newcomer, while Hackman, Unsworth, Barry and the sound designers earned nominations.[37] The film won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.[38] At The Saturn Awards Kidder, Barry, John Williams and the visual effects department received awards, and the film won Best Science Fiction Film. Reeve, Hackman, Donner, Valerie Perrine and costume designer Yvonne Blake were nominated for their work as well.[39] In addition, Williams was given a nomination at the 36th Golden Globe Awards and won a Grammy Award.[40][41] In 2007, the Visual Effects Society listed Superman as the 44th most influential use of visual effects of all time.[42] In 2008, Empire named it the #174 greatest movie all-time on its list of 500.[43] The film also received recognition from the American Film Institute. Superman was selected as the 26th greatest movie hero of all time.[44] The film was considered for AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers, but didn't make it past the ballot.[45] In 2009, Entertainment Weekly ranked Superman 3rd on their list of The All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture.[46]

With the success of the film, it was immediately decided to finish Superman II. Ilya and Alexander Salkind and Pierre Spengler did not ask Donner to return because Donner had criticized them during the movie's publicity phase.[8] Donner commented in January 1979, "I'd work with Spengler again, but only on my terms. As long as he has nothing to say as the producer, and is just liaison between Alexander Salkind and his money, that's fine. If they don't want it on those terms, then they need to go out and find another director, it sure as shit ain't gonna be me."[14] Kidder, who portrayed Lois Lane, was dissatisfied by the producers' decision,[15] and also criticized the Salkinds during publicity. As a result, Kidder was only given a cameo appearance for Superman III, and not a main supporting role.[47] Jack O'Halloran, who portrayed Non, stated, "It was great to work with Donner. Richard Lester was as big an asshole as the Salkinds."[48] Two more films, Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), were produced. Superman Returns was released in 2006. Director Bryan Singer credited Superman: The Movie as an influence for Superman Returns, and even used restored footage of Brando as Jor-El. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut also was released in 2006.[16]

The film's final sequence, which features Superman flying high above the Earth at sunrise, and breaking the fourth wall to smile briefly at the camera, featured at the end of every Superman film starring Reeve, and was re-shot with Brandon Routh for Superman Returns.

Alongside Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman created a reemergence of science fiction films. Superman also established the superhero film genre as viable outside the world of Saturday matinee serials, although it was a decade before the comparable success of the Batman series and two decades before that of X-Men and Spider-Man.[8]

Beyond theatrical release

The Salkinds prepared a three-hour-plus version for worldwide television reincorporating some 45 minutes of footage and music deleted from the theatrical cut, and specially prepared so that networks and stations can re-edit their own version at their discretion. American Broadcasting Company aired the broadcast television debut of Superman in 1982, with a majority of the unused footage. A syndicated version of the film aired in local television stations in Los Angeles, California and Washington, D.C. in the 1990s included two additional scenes never seen before, in addition to what had been previously reinstated.[49] When Michael Thau and Warner Home Video started working on a film restoration in 2000, some of the extra footage was not added because of poor visual effects. Thau felt "the pace of the film's storyline would be adversely affected. This included timing problems with John William's musical score. The cut of the movie shown on TV was put together to make the movie longer when shown on TV because ABC paid per minute to air the movie. The special edition cut is designed for the best viewing experience in the true spirit of movie making."[50] There was a special test screening of the Special Edition in 2001 in Austin, Texas, on March 23 with plans for a possible wider theatrical release later that year, which did not occur.[51] In May 2001, Warner Home Video released the special edition on DVD.[52] Director Donner also assisted, working slightly over a year on the project. The release included making-of documentaries directed by Thau and eight minutes of restored footage.[53]

Thau explained, "I worked on Ladyhawke and that's how I met Donner and Tom Mankiewicz. I used to hear those wonderful stories in the cutting room that Tom, Donner and Stuart would tell about Superman and that's how I kind of got the ideas for the plots of Taking Flight and Making Superman.[53] Donner commented, "There were a few shots where the Superman costume looked green. We went in and cleaned that up, bringing the color back to where it should be."[54] Thau wanted to make the film shorter, "I wanted to take out the damn flying sequence where Lois is reciting a poem ["Can You Read My Mind"] when they're flying around. I also wanted to take out where it was just generic action. It was like a two minute car chase. Donner protested and the stuff stayed in."[53] It was followed by a box set release in the same month, containing "bare bones" editions of Superman II, Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.[55] In November 2006, a four-disc special edition was released,[56] followed by a HD DVD release[57] and Blu-ray.[58] Also available (with other films) is the nine disc "Christopher Reeve Superman Collection"[59] and the 14 disc "Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition".[60]

Broadcast television version details

When the rights to the first Superman film reverted to the Salkinds in 1981, it was their intention to prepare a television cut longer than what was released theatrically, for the reasons explained above. The so-called "Salkind International Extended Cut", which ended up running 3 hours, 8 minutes (and will be explained further later), was shown internationally on television, and it is from this cut that later domestic TV versions were derived.

The first network American television broadcast of Superman: The Movie occurred in February 1982 on ABC.[61][62] The principal sponsor for the telecasts was Atari. At the time, ABC had a contract with Alexander Salkind for the television rights to his films. ABC's 3 hour-2 minute cut[63] of Superman was originally broadcasted over the course two nights.[64] On the first night it premiered, the film stopped when Lois Lane was falling from the helicopter (the picture froze, creating a cliffhanger-type of ending part one[65]). The next evening, there was naturally, a recap before the film continued[66] until the very the end. This expanded version was repeated in November of the same year,[67] only this time, shown in one night.[68] The next two ABC showings after that was the original, theatrical version. Apparently, in their contract with ABC, the Salkinds were able to get money for every minute of footage shown on TV. So as a result, they crammed in as much footage as possible for the TV networks in order to maximize their revenues. During production of the film, Alexander and Ilya had been relegated to having to sell more and more of their rights back to Warner Bros. in exchange for financial help. Director Richard Donner was not consulted[69] on any of the extended versions. However, due to a clause in his contract, Donner's name remains in the credits.

Also as previously mentioned, some 40 minutes of footage were reinstated for the initial ABC-TV telecasts of the film.[70] Among the highlighted moments:

However, at least one noticeable removal occurred: the recording of "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets, heard in the original film in the minutes before the death of Glenn Ford's character, is replaced with a generic piece of instrumental music in the ABC cut.

When the rights reverted back to Warner Bros. in 1985, CBS aired the film one last time on network television in its theatrical version. When Superman: The Movie entered the syndication[71] market in 1988 (following a play-out run on pay cable[72][73]) TV stations were offered the extended cut or the theatrical cut. The stations that showed the extended cut[74] edited the second half to squeeze in commercials and 'What happened yesterday flashbacks'.

In May 1994 (following a pay cable reissue and obligatory run on USA Network), Warner Bros. offered the aforementioned "Salkind International Extended Cut" (a 3-hour, 8-minute version, prepared by the Salkinds, and from which the ABC version was derived), which was shown in Los Angeles on KCOP.[75][76] This version also surfaced outside of Los Angeles. For example, WJLA Channel 7, an ABC affiliate out of Washington, D.C. aired the "Salkind International Extended Cut" on Saturday, July 27, 1994. Part one aired from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. before breaking for 30 minutes of news. Part two was then aired from 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.

The extended version of Superman: The Movie has never been broadcast in England. The first showing of the theatrical version on UK-TV appeared on January 4, 1983 on ITV. In 1985, Ireland's RTE television aired the extended versions of Superman: The Movie and Superman II in one night. The films ran from roughly 3:00 until 9:00 including the odd commercial and a break for the 6:00 news.

The quality of the extended network TV version is inferior to any theatrical or current home video release because it was mastered in 16mm (using the "film chain system") and a mono sound mix done as by the time the extended cut was prepared in 1981, TV was not yet broadcasting in stereo. Eight of the 45 minutes of extended scenes that were used in the later 2000 director's cut restoration were taken from restored elements.

There are various extended TV versions each broadcast in various countries. Most of these are in pan and scan, as they were made in the 1980s, when movies were not letterboxed to preserve the theatrical aspect ratio on old TVs. None of the various extended versions have ever been made available officially on home video/DVD, although they have been widely bootlegged.

References

  1. ↑ Peter Tonguette. "Bright Lights Film Journal :: The Superman Films of Richard Lester". Brightlightsfilm.com. http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/36/lester1.html. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Richard Donner, Tom Mankiewicz, DVD audio commentary, 2001, Warner Home Video
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Barry Freiman (February 2006). "One-on-One Interview with Producer Ilya Salkind". Superman Homepage. http://www.supermanhomepage.com/movies/movies.php?topic=interview-salkind. Retrieved 2008-09-09. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Richard Donner, Tom Mankiewicz, Ilya Salkind, Pierre Spengler, David Prowse, You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman, 2006, Warner Home Video
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Richard Donner, Tom Mankiewicz, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Lynn Stalmaster, Marc McClure, Taking Flight: The Development of Superman, 2001, Warner Home Video
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Julius Schwartz; Brian M. Thomsen (2000). "B.O.". Man of Two Worlds: My Life In Science Fiction and Comics. New York City: HarperCollins. pp. 135–142. ISBN 0-380-81051-4. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Ivor Davis (December 1978). "Marketing The Man of Steel". Maclean's: pp. 22—26. 
  8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 Ilya Salkind, Pierre Spengler, DVD audio commentary, 2006, Warner Home Video
  9. ↑ Peter Manso (November 1995). "The Way It's Never Been Done Before". Brando the Biography. Hyperion. ISBN 0786881283. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Daniel Dickholtz (1998-12-16). "Steel Dreams: Interview with Tom Mankiewicz". Starlog: pp. 67—71. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Jack Kroll (1979-01-01). "Superman to the Rescue". Newsweek: pp. 34—41. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 David Hughes (2003). "Superman: The Movie". Comic Book Movies. Virgin Books. pp. 5–23. ISBN 0753507676. 
  13. ↑ [2001 introduction to Turner Classic Movies broadcast of Superman by Robert Osbourne, TCM]
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Don Shay (Summer 1979). "Richard Donner on Superman". Cinefantastique: pp. 26—36. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 Making Superman: Filming The Legend, 2001, Warner Home Video
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, 2006, Warner Home Video
  17. ↑ Peter Coutros (June 1977). "Clark Kent Uses Our Lobby for a Phone Booth". Daily News. 
  18. ↑ The Making of Superman the Movie, David Michael Petrou, New York:Warner Books, 1978.
  19. ↑ Richard Fyrbourne (January 1979). "The Man Behind Superman: Richard Donner". Starlog: pp. 40—44. 
  20. ↑ 2000 Superman DVD. Warner Home Video.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 The Magic Behind The Cape, 2001, Warner Home Video
  22. ↑ Nicholas Leahy (April 1982). "How Superman flies". Starburst: pp. 16—19. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Michael Elkin (2006-07-06). "Super ... Mensch?". The Jewish Exponent. http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/10036. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Clark Kent - Superman is 'Jewish'". Contact Music. 2006-06-20. http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/superman%20is%20jewish_1000359. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
  25. ↑ "Superman (1978)". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=superman.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  26. ↑ "Superman: The Movie (1978)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/superman_the_movie/. Retrieved September 1, 2008. 
  27. ↑ "Superman: The Movie (1978): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/supermanthemovie?q=Superman. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  28. ↑ "The Greatest Films of 1978". Filmsite.org. http://www.filmsite.org/1978.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  29. ↑ "The 10 Best Movies of 1978". Film.com. http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-of-1978/14955431. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  30. ↑ "The Best Movies of 1978 by Rank". Films101.com. http://www.films101.com/y1978r.htm. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  31. ↑ "Most Popular Feature Films Released in 1978". IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/year/1978. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  32. ↑ "Superman". Roger Ebert. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19781215/REVIEWS/41011001/1023. Retrieved September 1, 2008. 
  33. ↑ "Ebert's 10 Best Lists: 1967-present". Roger Ebert. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041215/COMMENTARY/41215001/1023. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  34. ↑ "Superman". James Berardinelli. http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=736. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  35. ↑ Harry Knowles (2002-09-28). "Harry talks with JJ Abrams for a Couple of Hours about Superman". Ain't It Cool News. http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=13404. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  36. ↑ Dave Kehr. "Superman". Chicago Reader. http://onfilm.chicagoreader.com/movies/capsules/11755_SUPERMAN. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  37. ↑ "32nd British Academy Film Awards". Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com/Sections/Awards/BAFTA_Awards/1979. Retrieved 2008-01-06. 
  38. ↑ "The 1979 Hugo Awards". Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Hugo_Awards/1979. Retrieved 2008-01-06. 
  39. ↑ "The 1979 Saturn Awards". Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_of_Science_Fiction_Fantasy_And_Horror_Films_USA/1979. Retrieved 2008-01-06. 
  40. ↑ "The 1979 Golden Globe Awards". Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Golden_Globes_USA/1979. Retrieved 2008-01-06. 
  41. ↑ "The 1980 Grammy Awards". Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Grammy_Awards/1980. Retrieved 2008-01-06. 
  42. ↑ "The Visual Effects Society Unveils 50 Most Influential Visual Effects Films of All Time" (PDF). Visual Effects Society. 2007-05-10. http://www.visualeffectssociety.com/documents/ves50revelfin.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  43. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". Empire magazine. http://www.empireonline.com/500/63.asp. Retrieved 2008-09-29. 
  44. ↑ "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains". afi.com. http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/handv100.pdf?docID=246. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  45. ↑ "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers Official Ballot". afi.com. http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/cheers300.pdf?docID=201. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  46. ↑ "Entertainment Weekly's 20 All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20268279_18,00.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  47. ↑ Barry Freiman (2005-02-08). "One-on-One with Margot Kidder". Superman Homepage. http://www.supermanhomepage.com/movies/movies.php?topic=interview-expo-kidder. Retrieved 2008-09-09. 
  48. ↑ Steve Younis (2001-10-25). "Exclusive Jack O'Halloran Interview". Superman Homepage. http://www.supermanhomepage.com/movies/movies.php?topic=interview-jack-ohalloran. Retrieved 2008-09-10. 
  49. ↑ Barry Freiman (January 2006). "Special Edition Superman DVDs on the Way". Superman Homepage. http://www.supermanhomepage.com/movies/movies.php?topic=interview-salkind-SE. Retrieved 2008-09-08. 
  50. ↑ "Superman "Special Edition" Interview". Superman Homepage. http://www.supermanhomepage.com/movies/movies.php?topic=interview-michael-thau1. Retrieved 2008-09-10. 
  51. ↑ Jim Bowers (2001-03-29). "Superman San Antonio Report". Superman Homepage. http://www.supermanhomepage.com/news/2001-news/2001-news-movie.php?topic=2001-news-movie/0329. Retrieved 2009-04-20. 
  52. ↑ "Superman: The Movie (1978)". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Superman-Movie-Vass-Anderson/dp/B000059Z8J/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220808567&sr=1-3. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 Barry Freiman (December 2006). "Interview with Michael Thau". Superman Homepage. http://www.supermanhomepage.com/movies/movies.php?topic=interview-michael-thau2. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
  54. ↑ Steve Younis (2001-03-27). "Exclusive Richard Donner Interview". Superman Homepage. http://www.supermanhomepage.com/movies/movies.php?topic=interview-richard-donner. Retrieved 2008-09-04. 
  55. ↑ "The Complete Superman Collection". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Superman-Collection-Gene-Hackman/dp/B000059Z8L/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220808567&sr=1-7. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
  56. ↑ "Superman: The Movie (4-disc special edition)". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Superman-Four-Disc-Special-Christopher-Reeve/dp/B000IJ79UW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220808567&sr=1-4. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
  57. ↑ "Superman: The Movie (4-disc special edition HD DVD)". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Superman-Movie-DVD-Christopher-Reeve/dp/B000I2JKEC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220808567&sr=1-5. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
  58. ↑ "Superman: The Movie (Blu-ray)". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Superman-Movie-Blu-ray-Kirk-Alyn/dp/B000K4X5XA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220808567&sr=1-2. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
  59. ↑ "The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Reeve-Superman-Collection-Movie/dp/B000IJ79VQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220809380&sr=1-3. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
  60. ↑ "Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Superman-Ultimate-Collectors-Richard-Returns/dp/B000J10ERE/ref=pd_cp_d_2?pf_rd_p=413864101&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000P6XQ50&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1QDRJVHZD4JEGVST5HGR. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 
  61. ↑ Sunday, February 7th. 9:00-11:00 p.m.- ABC airs part 1 of 'Superman The Movie' with footage not seen in theatres.
  62. ↑ Monday, February 8th. 9:00-11:00 p.m.- ABC airs part 2 of 'Superman The Movie' with footage not seen in theatres.
  63. ↑ Superman: The Movie ran 2 hr 43 min in its original theatrical version. For the video release the film was edited to 2 hr 23 min and condensed at high speed to fit a 2 hr cassette. The ABC-TV/CTV-TV 1982 versions added additional unused footage to expand the movie to 3 hr 3 min, while KCOP in Los Angeles expanded it further to 3 hrs 8 min in 1994.
  64. ↑ [1] The first U.S. telecast of the extended version of “Superman” came on February 7 and 8, 1982, when ABC broadcast Superman as a two-part movie event during its "sweeps" month. The running time of the ABC telecast came to 182 minutes, minus commercials. The first part ended on a cliffhanger note during the helicopter sequence, with the movie stopping in mid-action and the words "To Be Continued" superimposed onto the screen. A brief preview of the following night’s conclusion was shown, along with a slightly edited version of the end credits - only the final title card "Next Year: Superman II" was removed from the televised broadcast. The second part began with a brief reprise of the main title credits, a quick recap of events narrated by the late Ernie Anderson (who also narrated the documentaries The Making of Superman: The Movie and The Making of Superman II), followed by the movie’s continuation. It was during the second part’s telecast that some moments from the film were edited for time constraints, to fit the second half of the film into a 2-hour time slot. Among the moments missing from the film were the complete version of Superman and Lois’ night flight, parts of the dialog between Luthor and Miss Teschmacher discussing Superman’s first appearance in Metropolis, portions of the missile hijacking sequence and Clark Kent at the Daily Planet, and other secondary moments. Both parts of the extended telecast of “Superman” garnered very high and very successful Nielsen ratings for the month, at numbers 2 and 1, respectively.
  65. ↑ Sunday, February 7th. 9:00-11:00 p.m.- ABC airs part 1 of 'Superman The Movie' with footage not seen in theatres.
  66. ↑ Monday, February 8th. 9:00-11:00 p.m.- ABC airs part 2 of 'Superman The Movie' with footage not seen in theatres.
  67. ↑ Sunday, November 14th. 8:00-11:45 p.m.- ABC re-airs 'Superman The Movie' with footage not seen in theatres.
  68. ↑ [2] The second U.S. telecast of the extended version of Superman came in November 1982, this time in a four-hour time slot during Thanksgiving weekend. The film once again contained nearly all of the same edits and inclusions, with the only exceptions of the helicopter sequence shown in its entirety and a commercial break following Superman’s rescue of Air Force One. This would be the last time ABC would telecast the extended version of the film, as all subsequent showings of Superman would be relegated to the original theatrical version in a three-hour time slot.
  69. ↑ [3] As the film and its sequels enjoyed its popularity in the early 1980’s, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind took it upon themselves to prepare the film for its eventual television broadcast. In order to market the film to television stations around the world, the Salkinds re-edited the film with approximately 45 minutes of additional footage not released in theaters. Whereas Richard Donner had complete directorial control in editing the film for theatrical release, the Salkinds had control of the film for international distribution and television marketing, and the film was re-edited without Donner’s approval. The added footage brought the running time of the film to 188 minutes, the longest known version of the film to be assembled and shown to audiences around the world.
  70. ↑ [4] Many additional moments fleshed out the story even further, with additional scenes involving a longer discussion between Jor-El and the Kryptonian Council on the Phantom Zone, the Council dispatching a security officer to investigate a series of power drains from Jor-El’s quarters, additional moments extending the destruction of the planet Krypton, an additional clip involving Jonathan and Martha Kent discovering the infant Kal-El, additional scenes involving the teenaged Clark Kent in Smallville, an extended version of the building of the Fortress of Solitude and Clark’s interaction with the spirit of Jor-El, additional moments with Clark and Lois at the Daily Planet and Metropolis, an extended introduction to Lex Luthor, Otis, and Miss Teschmacher, additional clips of Superman during his first night in Metropolis, a brief cameo appearance from Richard Donner, an additional moment involving Otis and Miss Teschmacher discussing Superman’s background, an extended version of the missile hijacking, Superman searching for Luthor and running the gauntlet of doom, additional moments involving the military’s reaction to the missiles’ trajectory malfunction, extended dialog between Superman and Miss Teschmacher, an added scene of Superman intercepting one of the missiles, several added moments of Superman counteracting the West Coast peril, an added moment between Superman and Jimmy Olsen, added dialog between Lois and Jimmy toward the end of the film, and Superman rescuing Miss Teschmacher from Luthor’s "babies". Fans rejoiced at seeing these additional scenes for the first time, as they truly began to paint a larger tapestry of Superman’s first cinematic adventure.
  71. ↑ Monday, May 14th. 7:00-10:00 p.m.- WPIX New York airs the theatrical version of 'Superman The Movie'.
  72. ↑ [5] HBO premieres the theatrical version of 'Superman The Movie'. Sunday, October 12th.- 7:00-9:30 p.m. Thursday, October 16th.- 7:30-10:00 p.m. Monday, October 20th.- 9:00-11:30 p.m. Saturday, October 25th.- 3:30-6:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 29th.- 11:30 p.m-2:00 a.m.
  73. ↑ [6] Home Box Office would soon come to the rescue. In October 1980 HBO showcased the first telecast of “Superman”, and this would mark the first time since the film’s 1978 theatrical release that fans would be able to view the film in as complete a format as possible. (HBO would occasionally present their own full-frame versions of films that were different in panning and scanning as opposed to their home video counterparts, which they, along with some fans, felt deserved a much better video presentation, in order to provide viewers with a vastly improved product in terms of picture content, quality, and presentation. Among the films HBO provided alternate full-frame presentations during the 1980s were Superman: The Movie, Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope, Supergirl and St. Elmo’s Fire, among others.) The running time on this version of Superman was 142 minutes, a significant improvement from the original VHS release at 127 minutes, and while it provided viewers with a better product in terms of presentation, there were some minor nips and tucks along the way. The HBO telecast version of Superman would be repeated twice more in 1981, and it has not since been shown in this version to this date. It is also unknown as of this writing if anyone managed to record this version of Superman.
  74. ↑ [7] By 1990, the extended version of Superman had entered into domestic television syndication. By this time three more theatrical sequels had been released, along with the failed theatrical spin-off Supergirl and the successful syndicated series The Adventures of Superboy, again produced (with the exception of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace) by the Salkinds. With the extended version of Superman now in local hands, television stations could be free to edit the film as they saw fit or broadcast it either over 2 nights or in a 4-hour time slot. One of the most widely seen syndicated versions of the film had been as a two-part telecast, with the first part edited and shown very much like the 1982 ABC telecast and ending in the same cliffhanger moment during the helicopter sequence. The second part, however, suffered the most edits, as the film began with a 20-minute recap of moments from the first part. This led into the continuation of the helicopter sequence, followed by the remainder of the film in a very heavily edited form. More of the footage from the original theatrical version had been removed in favor of the majority of the extended sequences, and in some instances a number of the extended sequences had also been removed, in order to keep the second part within a two-hour format. When removing all of the commercial breaks from both of the telecasts, followed by the end credits shown during the first part, and the recap from the beginning of the second part, the film ran approximately 160 minutes long. Fans wondered if the complete extended version of Superman would ever be seen in the United States.]
  75. ↑ Tuesday, November 22nd. 8:00-11:00 p.m.- KCOP L.A. airs the theatrical version of 'Superman The Movie'.
  76. ↑ [8] It would not be until 1994 that American audiences first saw the complete extended version of the film. KCOP-TV in Los Angeles, at the time a syndicated television station, ran the Salkind international version of Superman on its network, marking the first time that the complete extended version of the film had been shown on television in the United States. Foreign markets had been showing the Salkind international cut for years prior to 1994, but it was not until KCOP-TV had acquired the broadcast rights to the film that viewers would see for themselves just how much had been missing from the film and its previous extended TV broadcasts. It was this telecast that became a highly sought collectible by fans, continuing to this day. Meanwhile, European and Australian markets screened the complete 188-minute Salkind international version regularly, beginning in 1982. All of the footage that had been excised from the ABC telecasts and the 1990 syndicated TV broadcast, including the trimmed nude footage and the profanity, was preserved in the film. But the most significant footage did not occur until halfway through the broadcast. Following Superman’s rescue of Air Force One, the film showed a new scene of Superman conversing with the spirit of his father Jor-El in the Fortress of Solitude. This scene marked the only on-screen dialog between actors Christopher Reeve and Marlon Brando in the film (though the two had filmed other scenes for Superman II). Using music lifted from the cue "Destruction of Krypton" from the original soundtrack, the new sequence added significant emotional depth to Superman’s character. This marked the first time that the complete extended version of Superman was shown on television. Viewers were also treated to additional footage between Lex Luthor and Otis, as well as a large amount of footage focusing on comic moments between Luthor, Otis, and Miss Teschmacher during the missile hijacking. Another sequence that first appeared in the KCOP telecast was a re-edited version of Jimmy Olsen at Hoover Dam, followed by an alternate introduction of Lois’ interview with the Indian chief. This sequence is of importance because it uses as an underscore an alternate version of "Misguided Missiles" that omits the Love Theme motif from the track. (This cue remains unreleased to date in an official capacity.) Another scene extension that makes its first appearance in the KCOP telecast is a discussion between the Army general and a senator about the cost of the XK-101 project. The scene was trimmed from the ABC telecast due to the presence of profanity in the scene: "$280 million spent on this project, and not a (profanity deleted) thing we can do about it."

External links

Film analysis
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope		 Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film
1978		 Succeeded by
Alien
DC Comics films
Serials
Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) • Spy Smasher (1942) • Batman (1943) • Hop Harrigan (1946) • The Vigilante (1947) • Superman (1948) • Congo Bill (1948) • Batman and Robin (1949) • Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) • Blackhawk (1952)
Single films
Superman and the Mole Men (1951) • Batman (1966) • Steel (1997) • Road to Perdition (2002) • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) • Catwoman (2004) • Constantine (2005) • A History of Violence (2005) • V for Vendetta (2005) • Stardust (2007) • The Spirit (2008) • Watchmen (2009) • The Losers (2010) • Jonah Hex (2010) • Red (2010) • Green Lantern (2011)
Film series
Batman

Batman (1989) • Batman Returns (1992) • Batman Forever (1995) • Batman & Robin (1997) • Batman Begins (2005) • The Dark Knight (2008)
Superman

Superman (1978) • Superman II (1980) • Superman III (1983) • Supergirl (1984) • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) • Superman Returns (2006) • Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)
Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing (1982) • The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)
Films directed by Richard Donner
1960s
X-15 (1961) • Salt and Pepper (1968) • Twinky (1969)
1970s
The Omen (1976) • Superman (1978)
1980s
Inside Moves (1980) • The Toy (1982) • The Goonies (1985) • Ladyhawke (1985) • Lethal Weapon (1987) • Scrooged (1988) • Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
1990s
Radio Flyer (1992) • Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) • Maverick (1994) • Assassins (1995) • Conspiracy Theory (1997) • Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
2000s
Timeline (2003) • 16 Blocks (2006) • Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)
1978–1987 Superman film series
Movies
Superman (1978) · Superman II (1980) · Superman III (1983) · Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Other movies
Supergirl (1984) · Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)
Adapted characters
Alura · General Zod · Jor-El · Jonathan Kent · Martha Kent · Lois Lane · Lucy Lane · Lana Lang · Sam Lane · Lara · Lex Luthor · Jimmy Olsen · Supergirl / Kara Zor-El · Superman / Clark Kent · Perry White · Zor-El
Original characters
Lenny Luthor · Non · Otis · Ursa · Ross Webster
In film locations
Smallville · Daily Planet · Fortress of Solitude · Phantom Zone · Metropolis · Krypton · Argo City · Kryptonopolis
Music
"Can You Read My Mind" · Superman III (soundtrack)
Related articles
Kryptonite · Relationship of Clark Kent and Lois Lane · Origin of Superman
See also: Superman in other media · Lex Luthor in other media · Supergirl in other media
Superman in other media
Newspaper comic strips
Superman · The World's Greatest Superheroes
Radio
The Adventures of Superman (US) · The Adventures of Superman (UK)
Film
Superman (1948) · Atom Man vs. Superman · Superman and the Mole Men · Superman (1978) · Superman II · Superman III · Supergirl · Superman IV: The Quest for Peace · Superman Returns · Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Television
Adventures of Superman · Superboy · Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman · Smallville
Animation
Superman (1940s cartoons) · The New Adventures of Superman · The Adventures of Superboy (1966) · The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure · Super Friends · Superman (1988) · Superman: The Animated Series · The New Batman/Superman Adventures · Justice League · Justice League Unlimited · Superman: Brainiac Attacks · Legion of Super Heroes · Superman: Doomsday · Justice League: The New Frontier · Superman/Batman: Public Enemies · Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths · Superman/Batman: Apocalypse · Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam · All Star Superman
Actors
Kirk Alyn · Dean Cain · Bud Collyer · Tim Daly · Danny Dark · George Newbern · Christopher Reeve · George Reeves · Brandon Routh · Beau Weaver · Tom Welling
Superboy/Clark Kent
Gerard Christopher · Bob Hastings · Yuri Lowenthal · John Haymes Newton
Lois Lane
Joan Alexander · Kate Bosworth · Phyllis Coates · Dana Delany · Erica Durance · Teri Hatcher · Margot Kidder · Ginny McSwain · Noel Neill
Jackson Beck · Michael Bell · Clancy Brown · Gene Hackman · Sherman Howard · Stan Jones · Michael Rosenbaum · John Shea · Kevin Spacey · Lyle Talbot · Scott Wells
Novels
The Adventures of Superman (1942) · Superman: Last Son of Krypton (1978) · Miracle Monday (1981) · Superman: Doomsday & Beyond (1993) · Lois & Clark: A Superman Novel (1996) · It's Superman! (2005)
Video games
Superman (Atari 2600, 1979) · Superman: The Game (1985) · Superman (Arcade, 1988) · Superman (NES, 1988) · Superman: The Man of Steel (1989) · Superman (Sega Genesis, 1992) · Superman: The Man of Steel (Master System, 1993) · The Death and Return of Superman  · Superman (Game Boy, 1997) · Superman (Nintendo 64, 1999) · Shadow of Apokolips · Superman: The Man of Steel (Xbox, 2002) · Countdown to Apokolips · Superman Returns · Fortress of Solitude · Justice League Heroes · Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Other media
Stamp Day for Superman · "Lucy and Superman" (I Love Lucy episode) · The Adventures of Superpup · The Adventures of Superboy (1961) · It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman · The Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman · Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman
Parodies
Captain Caveman (The Flintstone Comedy Show segment) · Mighty Mouse · My Hero (UK TV series) · Stupor Duck · Super-Rabbit · Underdog (TV series)
Miscellanea
"Can You Read My Mind" · Hollywoodland · Krypto the Superdog · "Save Me" (Remy Zero song) · Steel · Superman curse