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Post by Popeye Doyle on Oct 16, 2018 13:19:56 GMT
The 3rd act of the movie - We see Luthor and Co. change the coordinates on the missile. We then cut back to Jimmy at the dam and Lois doing her story on someone buying up all the land; this occurs during daylight hours. Luthor, back in Metropolis, contacts Superman. They have their meeting and Luthor reveals his plan to sink California. Superman manages to escape and stop one of the missiles, but the second strikes while Jimmy and Lois are still out West during daylight hours. All this happens in one day?
At least the movie sets up its sequel very early on.
Couldn't Marlon Brando at least pronounce Krypton right?
The production values remain terrific. I'm especially found of Luthor's lair.
Although only in his mid 20s during filming, Reeve's Superman has a confidence beyond his years. The scene of him rescuing a cat out of a tree is impossibly cute.
The shot of Clark running against the train looks pretty goofy.
From Pauline Kael's review - "poorly lighted and, for the most part, indifferently composed". Nuts to that! |
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Post by politicidal on Oct 16, 2018 13:51:13 GMT
Yeah if it has any great strengths, it's the pacing. Pauline Kael's criticism was never appealing to me. Just another Bosley Crowther only with boobs.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Oct 16, 2018 14:06:04 GMT
Superman (1978) is my second most favourite comic book movie ever (and sometimes I feel like pushing it to the top spot). For me it remains a timeless classic. The Superman theme/opening credits can never be beaten as far as I'm concerned, and Christopher Reeve has not yet been surpassed in my mind as the perfect Clark Kent/Superman (his portrayal was actually inspiring, unlike certain other portrayals of the character) and he's perfectly matched by Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor, in my opinion. Sure, some of the effects might look 'dated' now, but I think the movie rises above all that and delivers what I think is a truly great comic book film. For me personally, I don't think any other one comes close to matching the 'magic' of this film.
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Post by twothousandonemark on Oct 16, 2018 15:16:51 GMT
A+ ...my #29 all time.
Often imitated, never duplicated. Esp its origin story arc.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Oct 16, 2018 16:05:39 GMT
I have a fond memory of watching it on a large, packed theatre when it came out. When Superman first appears in uniform and flies towards the camera, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause – something that I don’t remember seeing in a movie theatre before or since.
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Post by drystyx on Oct 16, 2018 16:23:58 GMT
It won't be accepted by the sheep who love the usual Hollywood hate and usual Hollywood clichés, but it's for the mature crowd who don't mind seeing something positive for a change.
The Beavis and Butthead crew can't handle something that isn't hateful. 1978 was in the middle of the biggest Hollywood hate preaching agenda, making people feel depressed, trying to induce as many "losers' as they could into committing suicide. That was their sole purpose.
This was an extremely brave, risk taking reaction to the hatred praised by most directors, actors, producers, and especially movie critics, all of whom were mob plants by this time. Probably one of the ten biggest risk taking films ever made.
It was everything it should be. It presented a better world than what Hollywood wanted. How it got past the censors is a miracle.
I gave it 9/10. I actually liked the second one better. The bully in the second one gave it that little push into the classic territory with the perfectly placed comedy.
But Superman 1978 was incredible. My 9/10 is more like 9.4/10
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Post by President Ackbar™ on Oct 16, 2018 16:29:37 GMT
The absolute perfect superhero film.
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Post by Nalkarj on Oct 16, 2018 16:40:53 GMT
What’s weird about it is how much of it is flawed from a filmmaking perspective: the tone is wildly inconsistent (science fiction/Christ allegory/fantasy/realistic drama/slapstick comedy/‘30s screwball comedy/farce), and the ending is a huge cheat, and some of the effects, especially the backgrounds, aren’t that great.
And yet.
It’s perfect. It’s lightning-in-a-bottle. I wouldn’t change a single thing, even those flaws above. And I’m not exactly sure why, but it is the film more than any other that convinces the audience that a man can fly. I think it’s the only superhero movie that is going to last the ages; it’s the classic of the genre, the one to which all the others aspire.
And Reeve and Kidder… Dear God, what can one say about them that hasn’t already been said? Reeve does the impossible—makes a big blue boy scout in tights not only likeable but also truly interesting, so much so that we care about him. When he flies as far as he can go at the end, torn between god and man because of his love for Lois, it’s emotional. It’s powerful. And Kidder is beautiful and comes off as a real journalist and has chemistry with Reeve in bucketloads, and Hackman is hilarious, and everything works. Even the flaws. What a movie.
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