Superman: The Movie Review

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My friends I'm not given wild unsupported statements

And I tell you that we must evacuate this planet

immediately Jor -El Be reasonable Once there

was a civilization, much like ours, but with

a greater intelligence, greater powers and a

greater capacity for good. Moment. That world

was destroyed. But there was one survivor. Now

wouldn't that be it all, get out. Because of

the wisdom and compassion of Jor -El. Because

he knew the human race had the capacity for goodness.

He set us his only son. His name is Kaleo. He

will call himself Clark Kent. But the world will

know him as Superman. This year, Superman brings

you the gift of flight. Superman The Movie Hello

and welcome to MWIRE Movie Week in Review. I

am one of your hosts, TFJ and Mike. Joining me

is movie director, Dan. Hello. Hello. Look, up

in the sky, we have how many weeks until Man

of Steel? A month or so. Yeah, this is about

a month or so until Man of Steel. And in honor

of that, we are finally, after X amount of years,

getting around to doing our DC Spotlight Volume

2. now i did look back at uh... episodes twenty

five to thirty of m wire also long ago when we

did when steven i did batman eighty nine through

the dark night uh... we i believe in those of

the so that did call it the dc spotlight but

it's not titled the dc spotlight as far as the

actual post titles and stuff uh... but because

Certain other numbered episodes are going to

be Steve's coming up this summer as we boldly

go places This is the DC spotlight volume 2 and

we're going to be talking about over the next

month and a half We're going to talk about the

Superman movies and this time around we're talking

about Superman the movie Obviously neither Dan

or myself being born in 80 or 84 have seen this

in theaters Unless it's on a real like we didn't

we weren't even alive when this thing came out

in 78 so There is that I'm trying to remember

the first time I saw this I honestly don't remember

I remember seeing it as a kid I'm guessing VHS

or something. There's a few scenes that I remember

as a kid that's took out but it wasn't I think

For me it wasn't really a movie that was extremely

popular as a kid I think most of that went to

the the Batman the 89 Batman was more notorious

than this film But I still remember watching

it and I want we know I watched the old classic

cartoons of the day And I think I gravitated

towards those more than an actual movie So but

I honestly don't know the first time I've seen

it. It's one of those things that it's kind of

Yeah, it's one of those things where it's kind

of blurry What I remember is I know this is wrong

Because I know it's not the order that it happened

in the film, but for some stupid reason as a

kid I saw The helicopter scene where he saves

Lois and then the drop -off point where he drops

off Luther and Otis and like I saw it it seems

to me as a child that I saw those back to back

obviously that's wrong because the helicopter

scene happens in the beginning of the movie and

obviously dropping Luther and Otis off in jail

happens at the end of the movie but I do remember

seeing this I do remember liking it I do remember

enjoying it because the thing was I was maybe

four or five it had to have been 84, 85, 86,

somewhere around there that I had seen this movie

as a kid. And the reason why I remember it so

well is because at that time, I was watching

the reruns of Super Friends. So I remember watching

those. I remember watching the Fleischer cartoons.

I remember having a cassette of one of them.

I forget if it was an audio cassette of the Fleischer

stuff or I don't know. i remember seeing this

movie and i remember i think the the most infamous

scene obviously uh... you know here for the grid

rocker i can just toss right in the pool uh...

you know as far as like superman versus lex luther

uh... now what watching this again i i like this

movie i think it's a good film there's there's

things that just for me just don't hold up with

this movie anyway we'll get to that here in a

few minutes because we need to head it over to

Canada and let JT give you the just the facts

for Superman the movie Superman the Movie opens

on the planet Krypton, where the scientist Jarrell

is presiding over the trial of three fellow Kryptonians

who attempted to overthrow the planet's government.

The three are former Planetary Security Chief

General Zod, Ursa, Zod's murderous second command,

and the giant mute killer Nod. After they are

found guilty of their crimes, Jarrell sentences

them to be sealed away in the mysterious Phantom

Zone. Once they are sent through the Phantom

Zone portal, Jor -El confronts the Planetary

Council with his latest discovery. He has found

out that the internal pressure of the planet

will cause it to explode within the month. The

Council, however, refuses to take him seriously

and forbade him from speaking about it to anyone

else. Jor -El plays along, but also sets about

constructing a spacecraft that will carry his

infant son, Kal -El, to the planet Earth. According

to Jor -El, the lighter gravity and yellow sun

will give Kal -El incredible powers which will

ensure his survival. Just as Jor -El finishes

the craft, the final moments of Krypton's existence

arrive. Planetary quakes and eruptions start

to swallow the populace as Jor -El launches his

son into space and on his path towards his destiny.

The planet soon explodes, the radioactive remains

trailing after baby Kal -El as the ship carries

him towards Earth. During the years -long journey,

the baby is educated by recordings of Jor -El,

a final gift from his father. Upon reaching the

Earth, the craft crash -lands outside Smallville,

Kansas and Kal -El is discovered by Jonathan

and Martha Kent. They discuss what to do with

the newfound infant while Jonathan fixes a flat

tire. However, the Jack gives way and Jonathan

is nearly crushed by the truck, but Cullell effortlessly

lifts the truck up, amazing the Kent's. We then

skip ahead 15 years to find Cullell, now called

Clark Kent after having been adopted by the Kent's,

attending high school at Smallville High and

serving as the water boy for the football team.

After being teased by one of the jocks, Clark

kicks a football into orbit and decides to let

off some steam by running home. And brother,

does he run. In fact, Clark runs so fast, he

outpaces a passenger train running through the

town. When he gets home, Jonathan and Clark have

a little heart -to -heart talk, and then race

each other up the driveway. But Jonathan suffers

a heart attack and dies in the middle of the

yard. At the funeral service, Clark admits to

Martha that he blames himself for his adopted

father's death. Days later, Clark is awoken when

worried by a strange sound that he traces to

the barn, where he finds the remains of the craft

that brought him to Earth. He finds a green crystal

inside and is filled with the urge to travel

north. Clark slowly makes his way to the Arctic

Circle, eventually stomping in the proverbial

middle of nowhere, and acting on instinct, tosses

the green crystal out into the frozen wastes.

The crystal melts into the snow and constructs

a crystalline fortress out of the ice. Upon entering

the fortress, Clark makes his way to a central

control board laden with various crystals. He

plugs one of the crystals into a receptacle and

activates a living hologram of Tyrell, who greets

his son. Drell then takes Clark on a journey

whereby he completes Clark's education of the

universe and his purpose in it. Once this journey

is finished, some years have passed and Clark

is sent out into the world to protect it, clad

in a colorful costume adorned with his Kryptonian

family's crest. We then move to the city of Metropolis,

New York, specifically the offices of the great

metropolitan newspaper The Daily Planet. Photographer

Jimmy Olsen is passing the time, taking pics

of reporter Lois Lane, and Lane is soon called

into the offices of gruff editor Perry White.

He introduces her to the newest member of the

writing staff, Clark Kent, who has chosen to

disguise his powers by acting like a clumsy goody

two -shoes. Lois is taken back by Clark's seeming

naivete and shyness, even more so when they are

later cornered by a gun -wielding mugger. Clark

fakes fainting when the mugger opens fire, catching

the bullet in his hands as he falls. When Clark

comes to, Lois is all over him for his actions

and he defends himself in a manner all his own.

When they exit the alley, Lois and Clark pass

a dim -witted man by the name of Otis, known

henchman of criminal genius Lex Luther. Otis

heads for Metropolis's Grand Central Station,

unaware that he is being trailed by two plainclothes

police officers. Otis makes his way down to one

of the lower platforms and onto the tracks heading

for the secret door to Luther's lair. Otis stands

in an alcove, waits for a train to pass by, using

it to cover his entrance into the lair. The whole

ordeal is watched by Lex Luthor, who sees one

of the cops trying to find the entrance and activates

a booby trap that pushes the cop into the path

of another train. Eve Teskmacher, Luther's girlfriend,

is horrified by the scene, but Luther laughs

her off saying, these things are inevitable when

you're with the greatest criminal mind of the

20th century. Otis soon enters the lair and hands

Luther a copy of the planet, while Luther chastises

him for being followed again. Luzu's face lights

up, however, when he reads the paper noting that

two live nuclear missiles are being transported

across the country for live testing. Later that

evening, Lois heads to the helipad on the roof

of the planet, intent on flying to the airport

to interview the President when Air Force One

lands. But as the chopper takes off, the updraft

causes a power cable to become wrapped around

its landing skids, and the drag causes the helicopter

to crash on the ledge of the building. Lois tries

to crawl out of the chopper, but it shifts and

she ends up dangling over the side clinging to

a seatbelt. When Clark leaves the planet, he

finds one of Lois's shoes and looks up to see

her hanging over the street. He quickly tries

to find some cover, deciding upon a building

with a revolving door. After spinning around

at super speed, Clark emerges as Superman and

takes off. Superman arrives just as Lois loses

her grip and catches her. Superman arrives just

as Lois loses her grip and catches her. He also

catches the chopper and carries them both back

up to the roof. When Lois finally finds her tongue

again, she asks her cape savior who he is and

Superman replies with just two words. Well, I

certainly hope this little incident hasn't put

you off flying, miss. Statistically speaking,

of course, it's still the safest way to travel.

Right. Great! It is but the first of many such

heroics that night, as Superman does everything

from foiling a cat burglar, to rescuing a young

girl's pet cat from a tree, to saving the President

when Air Force One is struck by lightning. When

the news of Superman's heroism reaches Luther,

the arrogant and narcissistic villain sees him

as a natural challenge and vows to learn all

he can so he can then destroy Superman. Perry

White makes a similar vow, and sends every reporter

in the Daily Planet bullpen out to learn all

there is to know about Superman. Lois, however,

gets a huge leg up on the competition, when she

finds a request for a dinner date at her apartment

that night from a friend on her desk. Lois meets

Superman that evening, interviewing him, and

they conclude the evening when Superman takes

Lois flying with him. After returning Lois to

her apartment, Superman bids her goodnight and

flies away. Lois, still dumbstruck by the night's

events, calls him a real Superman and uses the

term to identify him as such in her front page

story. Luther reads the story the next day and

also have traveled to Earth, and he surmises

that they would emit deadly radiation that could

cripple the man of steel. Luther decides to test

the theory by stealing a green meteorite that

landed in Ethiopia. He also enacts his plan for

the nuclear missiles, where he fakes a car crash

and has Ms. Teskmacher distract the military

convoy while Otis sneaks on board the trailer

and resets the missile's coordinates. The bumbling

henchman manages to enter the wrong coordinates

into the missile's computer, causing Luther to

nearly crash the getaway car when he tries to

strangle Otis. When they intercept the next missile,

Miss Teskmacher climbs aboard and programs the

missile correctly. A few days later, Luther sends

a hypersonic message that only Superman can hear,

warning him of a poison gas that will be released

into the city killing the entire population.

Clark changes into Superman and traces the signal

to Luther's hideout. When Superman breaks into

the lair, he demands to know where the gas is,

and Luther admits it was all a hoax to get Superman

here. Luther reveals to Superman his plan is

to use the missiles to trigger the San Andreas

Fault and sink California into the ocean. After

having bought up almost all of the desert land

in the interior, Luther's new beachfront property

would then be worth millions of dollars to the

survivors. The criminal supergenius then tricks

Superman into opening a lead -lined trunk, thinking

that there's a detonator in there for the nuclear

missiles, but it really contains a chunk of kryptonite.

Overcome by the kryptonite, Superman collapses

and Luthor places it around his neck, while also

boasting that the misprogrammed missile is going

to destroy part of New Jersey and there's no

way for Superman to stop both missiles. Luthor

then tosses Superman into a swimming pool to

drown, but he is rescued by Miss Tessmacher who

has had a change of heart and switches to Team

Superman. After he gains a second wind, Superman

leaps into action. The misprogrammed missile

dodges Superman at first, but he soon overpowers

it and sends it off into space. The Man of Steel

then turns back to stop the second missile, but

it's too late as it detonates inside the San

Andreas Fault. The resultant earthquake echoes

the destruction of Krypton, and Superman dives

deep into the earth to arrest the quake, and

then engages in a series of heroics that include

saving a bus full of school kids, becoming a

living rail for a passenger train, and rescuing

a small town from a huge flood. But it's all

for naught, as Superman is unable to save the

woman that he loves, Lois Lane, from dying. While

out west investigating some weird land dealings

that have Luther's fingerprints on it, Lois'

car falls into a fissure in the ground and she

is smothered by all the dirt. Superman arrives

moments later and picks the car out of the ground,

gently craling Lois' body for a moment before

setting it down and flying off in a rage, howling

in anger. As he flies off, Superman is struck

with an idea to save Lois, but he hears the words

of Jarrell warning him not to interfere with

the course of human events. Superman ignores

this and proves that he has more power than anyone

thought he has, as he turns back time by flying

around the world counter -clockwise. Superman

rewinds time to a point just before the quake

struck, then flies down to see Lois safe and

sound, a look of relief plastered on his face.

After making sure she is alright, Superman then

travels back to Metropolis and captures Luther

and Otis, delivering them to jail until they

can stand trial. The Worden attempts to thank

Superman for his many good deeds, but the Man

of Steel humbly dismisses the praise, flying

off into the night, continuing his never -ending

battle for truth and justice. Directed by acclaimed

film and TV director Richard Donner and produced

by father and son producers Alexander and Ilya

Solkine, Superman the Movie opened in theatres

during the Christmas of 1978. During its original

theatrical run, the film became one of the first

comic book movie blockbusters, raking in over

$300 million at the box office. The cast included

Christopher Reeve in his first big screen role

as Superman, Hollywood heavyweights Marlon Brando

and Gene Hackman as Jarrell and Lex Luthor, Margot

Kidder as reporter Lois Lane, Jackie Cooper as

Perry White, Mark McClure as Jimmy Olsen, and

Ned Beatty as the bumbling Otis. The film also

had cameos from Terrence Stamp, Jack O 'Halloran

and Sarah Douglas, who would return in Superman

2 as the three villainous Kryptonians. And there

was also a cameo by the late, great Larry Hagman

as an army colonel giving this test -mocker mouth

-to -mouth. Superman the movie received much

praise from critics upon its release in 78. Roger

Ebert loved the film, saying Superman was a wondrous

combination of all the old -fashioned things

we never get tired of. He also went on to praise

Christopher Reeve's performance, saying he was

perfectly cast for the role. Online film critic

James Bernardelli also enjoyed the film, saying

it was a flawed film, but it was one of the most

entertainingly flawed films he had ever seen.

Some critics, like Pauline Kael of The New Yorker,

were not impressed by the movie. In her 2013

review of the film, Kael said Superman doesn't

have enough conviction to be solidly square and

dumb. Well, I guess you can't please everyone.

Despite the naysayers, Superman the Movie currently

enjoys a certified fresh rating of 93 % on RottenTomatoes

.com. The production of the film itself has some

interesting trivia. Before Christopher Reeve

was cast as the Metropolis Marvel, other more

well -known actors were considered for the role,

including Warren Beatty, Burt Reynolds, Chris

Christopherson, Robert Redford, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Yeah. Producers also went through several scriptwriters

before hiring Mario Puzo, the author of The Godfather,

to complete it. Richard Donner directed the film,

but there were some other directors considered

as well, including Francis Ford Coppola, Sam

Peckinpah, and even Sir Steven Spielberg. Originally,

Richard Donner brought in composer Jerry Goldsmith

to work on the score after working with him on

the horror film The Omen. However, Goldsmith

had to drop out due to scheduling, and John Williams

was hired instead. The classic Superman theme

music crafted by Williams would go on to become

a staple of not only the film series, but the

Superman franchise as a whole, and would even

be used in the series finale of Smallville in

2001. Whenever anyone asks me about what one

of my favorite comic book movies is, I almost

always answer with Superman. It was one of the

first movies I ever saw as a kid, and I have

always loved it. Christopher Reeve was Superman,

not unlike how Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man.

He completely embodied the characters of Clark

Kent and Superman, effortlessly switching between

them at a moment's notice. He truly did make

me believe that a man can fly. And Gene Hackman

was awesome as well, playing the conniving Lex

Luthor with just the right mix of camp and menace,

so as to make it seem as if Luthor had actually

leapt off the comic book page. This was Just

the Facts for Superman the Movie. I'm JT from

Saskatoon and now I'm sending it back to the

rest of the guys on M -Wire. Alright, we are

back. Thank you very much, JT, for those Just

the Facts. Now, I gotta pick on JT for a bit,

because I know what he meant, I know what he

was meaning, but he said it incorrectly when

he was talking about the John Williams score

being used for the series finale of Smallville

in 2001. Now, I wanna... kind of defend JT he

did say it wrong but he did get one date right

2001 is when smallville premiered it it finalied

in 2011 so there's that um yeah i didn't know

like for me what the what what i find interesting

about jt is just the fact is that yes i i've

heard of the sol kinds but i didn't realize like

back then apparently the executive producer or

the producer role was more like today we always

hear oh this person executive produced this or

this you know Michael Bay is executive producing

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or you know Robin

Williams you know is starring and producing that

you know we always hear executive producer or

producer or whatever else today and we think

oh well that's that's the every man job that's

the that's the The role of executive producer

is a role that, you know, someone does every

single thing. But I didn't realize how involved

and how much that title meant back in 78 because

I always just thought it was Warner Brothers

and Richard Donner. You know, I didn't, you know.

Well, it depends on the movie. And I think even

today there's certain producers who have more

weight than other producers like Jerry Bruckheimer,

obviously. When he was going, he had a lot of

weight. with what he's... But the reason why

the producers of this film had so much power

was because Warner Brothers actually didn't have

much faith in the Superman movie. They're the

ones who actually put all their money... Warner

Brothers wouldn't put really any money towards

it. It was their project. They're the ones that

thought, you know, here we're going to try to

do this movie. So that's why they, you know,

they have so much control and why there's a lot

of issues and why there were so much... controversy

on the set why this film along with especially

Superman 2 have so many different cuts just because

they they're trying to do everything on the cheap

because they're using their money and they try

to shoot both of Superman 1 and Superman 2 at

the same time some like you know Lord of the

Rings was shooting all of them at the same time

and that caused some issues but yeah they they

really had most of the control yeah and one thing

I want to comment on before we get too far into

Superman is that You know Warner Brothers owns

DC DC Comics DC Entertainment DC whatever just

like now Disney owns Marvel I heard an interview

with Dan DiDio the co -publisher current co -publisher

of DC Comics over on Kevin Smith's podcast fat

man on Batman and Dan basically said that Yeah,

Warner Brothers as a parent company when they

wanted to make a superhero movie, they would

just go make it on their own because even when

someone was just, oh, you should talk to the

guys over at DC and they're like, ew, those are

the com, you know, it's kind of like, you know,

it's kind of like, you know, ew, those are the

nerds, get away from, you know, it's kind of

like one of those high school things. And it

really frustrates me to all hell that Warner

Brothers and DC, Warner specifically will not

just Jump on board and say hey let's go to these

people who are creating these things in comics

and and Go to them and see what their ideas are

for making movies because look at it. You know

you look at the landscape of DC films Batman

and Superman are the only two films that have

longer than one movie You know yeah, and we never

got to know Stop it. Just don't go there but

like d .c. has so many characters like okay i

i get it to a certain extent of oh batman and

superman they're the big two and you know wonder

woman essentially is the also part you know wonder

woman batman and superman are the big three of

d .c. they're the they're the mainstay characters

of d .c. comics and and all that but it's like

they could do so much if if wonder brothers would

just put some faith behind behind it like what

You know, Marvel is done with their movies. I

mean, look at that cinematic universe they've

created. Yes, granted, I really don't care about

Thor, but my point here is even back then, Warner

Brothers didn't care. They were just going to

go make whatever movie they wanted to make. So

I can see why the Salkinds had to put up so much

of their own money and why they had so much control.

Like I was saying before, JT is just the facts.

I rewatched this film and I like this movie.

I do, but there are just certain scenes that

I just cannot watch anymore. I watched this twice

in order to be able to, you know, say this effectively

here on the podcast. I hate the love scenes between

Superman and Lois. I cannot friggin' stand them.

Like and I'm not even speaking like love as in

sex scene. I'm speaking as in Oh superman. You're

the best. Oh my god. Oh Don't let me fall. I

just let her fall I just like Whenever we watch

this I was like, oh my god is this flying scene

over yet? Well, it's cool to see Superman fly

It's not cool to see granny flying and you know

see Lois flying in her granny panties just Oh

my God. And I love Margot Kidder as Lois Lane.

Don't get me wrong, I do. I just, I don't believe

the chemistry between the two of them. And of

course, you know, everyone's going to say, oh,

well, technically Clark was stalking her, which

is pretty much true because, you know, if you

really think about it, you know, how does he

know, like once they, you know, because it is

the same guy, you know, Lois's brain should have

turned on and said, hey, How did you know when

to come to the door, blah blah blah, because

it's not even two seconds after Superman drops

her off that Clark shows up. Yeah, I mean that's

the always the conceit with Superman, like how

do you not know he's Superman when he looks exactly

the same. But I think in this it's... works in

a lot of ways because of Christopher Reeve and

his performance. Oh yeah, no, I'm not saying

I don't like it because of his performance, but

go ahead. Regarding the relationship between

them, I honestly didn't really have an issue

with it. I think you kind of need that relationship

because Superman is just the Relationship between

this how Superman is treating in this and like

in Jesus Christ is pretty evident Just the way

they treat it and I think you need that character

to kind of place some humanity and within the

character Trying to make him more than this godlike

figure. Yeah, I mean is there a lot of chemistry

there? Not necessarily you do tend to mark She

just tend to overplay it and go for more of the

comedic angle at times And there's some really

cheesy moments especially that flying scene like

you mentioned that goes on too long. But overall,

for this one, for Superman 1, I think it's not

really an issue. I think it gets further issued

in Superman 2, as it's more of a part of the

movie. But for me, there wasn't much of a relationship

there to really get all that annoyed with, I

guess. Well, it's mainly not that I'm annoyed

with it. It's more so that, like, You know how

when a scene goes on too long that's that's really

what's annoying me is the length of Yes, I agree

with you. It needs that, you know that whole

scene of them flying, you know that that needed

to happen It didn't need to be as long as it

like sure, you know show her how to fly Like

let her go have her drop like half a foot Catch

her take her up to the moon You know one leg

kiss and then drop her ass back off at home Like,

it didn't need to be as long as it, because that

scene has to be at least two and a half, three

minutes long. It could have been cut in half

of that time for me. And then, and this is just

me talking as a, you know, 33 -year -old adult,

and I'm used to movies now. Not spending so much

time on one, because movies now is like, I mean,

technically Superman is supposed to be some sort

of action film. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's

it's supposed to you know But you know you it's

kind of like classic action versus modern action

where modern action now It's like bang boom,

but you know look at look at Iron Man Look at

Iron Man and Iron Man 2 how many? Action scenes

are in those films compared to romance scenes

with Pepper Potts There's maybe one or two in

each of those films and the rest of it's all

action And I understand this is nearly what is

it? It's not 75 it's um 78 it's 35 years ago

that this movie was made and I know that you

know Filmmaking back then was different than

it is today, but it's just like as a as a as

a movie watcher now Have to fast -forward some

of the scenes in this film. They're just so bad

to me. I Mean the pacing is It is odd. I mean

it takes about 45 minutes till Superman shows

up and at all. I mean you get the beginning with

Krypton and then his origins in smallville And

then building the fortress of solitude before

he eventually become a Superman but like you

mentioned it's A lot of it, it's that delayed

gratification where it's all building up to specific

moments. It's all about kind of... I think a

big part of it too is considering the fact that

this was really the first ever superhero movie

ever of this on this scale. And before this,

only relationship people had with superheroes

really was the Hulk series and the campy Adam

West Batman series. So I think what they did

is... try to establish a lot of Realism to it

as much as possible and a lot of people look

at nolan and what he did with batman and there

I think a lot of that groundwork started with

superman and you um, but I I I don't disagree

that there are certain moments that could be

better edited and it could have gone through

a little things a little faster, uh, or just

Make it more connected like the smallville stuff

is kind of It's really disjointed. It kind of

goes from him being into a kid to a random scene

of him at a football stadium. And then suddenly

he's, you know, his dad dies and now he's becoming

Superman. I think there could have been honestly

been more to that and less to the stuff on Krypton.

I think. They had Mon Brando so they're like

we had need to use him as much as we can You

know, we need to give him the screen time that

he deserves as an actor. That's what it was Yeah,

I don't mind this stuff. Oh good. Oh, yeah I

just I think that could have been cut down because

that goes on for a long time and the setting

up of Superman 2 in the beginning there I could

see why they did it but I don't know necessarily

if it was necessary They could have waited for

that to this to the second movie Yeah, I mean

like the whole Krypton scene in the beginning

You know and they and they chopped it up for

Superman 2 they Superman 2 and we'll get to this

next week or whenever As far as when these episodes

airs because these these these podcasts will

air every Saturday until the release of Man of

Steel But when we get to Superman 2 I have problems

with that movie in general Doesn't matter which

cut it is Because it's it's essentially the first

five minutes of Superman 2 is basically recapping

what happened here and Really the only scene

as far as like the whole Lois Clark Lois Superman

thing that I really have an issue with is the

flying scene. It's great to see him fly, but

That's the one scene that I think has the slowest

pacing for me And that's the one scene that I

always have to fast forward the rest of it is

fun i do love food i love when we get too metropolis

i was in new york since that's where they filmed

i think alone they get to metropolis and intense

meeting perry white and jimmy olson lois and

all this and all that and you know something

happens in he needs to go find a long booth and

Even back in the in the early 70s or 80s or whenever

this is so Whenever the movie is supposed to

be taking place as far as the decade goes Because

didn't she say she was going to meet the president

wasn't the president Reagan or something at the

time So I think I think within the movie it takes

place after Reagan was president No, I think

it was a dummy person the Reagan wasn't president

yet. I think it wasn't okay. Well anyway I love

when he goes to try to find a phone booth because

that's Superman's staple. Mine's a payphone that

is not a booth. He just looks at it. That's a

testament to Reeves' acting, because he just

looks at it like, oh, seriously. And then he

goes into a revolving door. And I'm sorry, regardless

of how powerful or how fast Superman is, you

mean to tell me no one saw him go through that

revolving door seriously? Well, you know, faster

than a speeding bullet. You can miss it, right?

Yeah, I guess I don't know. I don't know. I I

like this movie I really do there are just certain

things about it that I just don't don't really

care for like the whole land development thing

with Lex I get why he's doing that and that's

that's But see the thing is in like super friends

and stuff like that and in in the comics in the

early comics Just from what I've read online

and because I haven't I've never read any early

Superman comics, but just what I've read online

and what I've seen from different DVD special

features and stuff like that. That was the thing,

the phone booth. And the thing with Lex, he was

originally a mad scientist. And I get that they

were trying to go for the fact of, oh, hey, I'm

a mad scientist business, that they were trying

to combine both of them. Gene Hackman is by far

one of the best if not the best Lex Luthor there

has ever been at least in live -action You know

Clancy Brown doing the voice of Lex Luthor in

the DC animated universe is damn good as well,

but I mean like like When you think of Lex Luthor,

that's the first person you think of as Gene

Hackman. I 100 % agree. He's he's amazing in

this yeah him and like I love the his his Kind

of campiness in a way, but he brings a certain

gravitas because he's Gene Hackman He can deliver

lines that are kind of ridiculous, but it's he

can make it seem realistic and just it almost

He almost kind of seems like he doesn't like

being in the movie But he and he's kind of making

evident with what he's saying He's kind of making

fun of everything as he goes along, but I love

him as as as as Lex Luthor, like you said, there's

no other Lex Luthor besides Kaepernick, except

for some of the animated stuff. And I think the

performances as a whole, especially Christopher

Reeve, I think makes me kind of get over those

other things that don't hold up that well, because

there are certain things. through the test of

time that don't really hold up, like the moment

where he's trying to outrun the train as a kid,

and he looks like he's running like a Muppet.

You know the Muppets would walk along the stream?

That's kind of like the image I get in my head

every time I see him running, just like his legs

aren't really touching the ground. It's special

effects from the early 70s, what are you gonna

do? But it's just one of those moments that I

always find hilarious. But what did you think

of Christopher Reeve? I love him. Christopher

Reeve is the ultimate Superman as far as live

action goes. I love how quote unquote dumb he

plays because the thing with Superman is who

is who? Is Clark Kent the real character or is

Superman? It's the same thing with Batman. Who

is the mask? is batman the mask or is bruce wayne

the mask? and in batman's case bruce wayne is

the mask and with superman's case i think that

honestly i think clark is the mask because we

never really see like sure we see you know the

high school kids picking on him and we see him

you know out running them and you know meeting

up with them blah blah blah but like superman

as an alien needs a disguise and Clark Kent is

his disguise whereas Batman after Bruce's parents

died that's all he you know that was his destiny

he was going to stomp out crime in Gotham City

without using a gun you know and and and that's

the thing where Batman is his one true personality

and Superman I I don't know I guess it could

be argued either way but we don't we never really

get to see the The emotion from the Clark Kent

persona at least in this film we don't yeah,

I always always felt with Superman his personality

fell somewhere in between Clark ends up bubbling

kind of uncoordinated Cluts and Superman is this

you know picture -asked human being And I think

in a lot of ways the reason why he kind of doesn't

go to either just because I think he tried it.

He tries to he's a he has a split personality

and in certain ways it's kind of like inner Superman

complex, but What's really surprising about Reeve?

It's just he's a lot of comedic chops like he

is a really smart comedic moments in this that

are really funny and Kind of if I wonder I honestly

wonder if people didn't know the story behind

it if they could actually fall for it like the

people in the movie do that Clark and is actually

Superman because he plays them completely different.

It's really impressive Press I mean, it's you

know, I just I always I've been referencing Batman

so much cuz cuz for me between the two of them

I Not just in general as far as character characters

go for the most part. I'm more of a fan of Batman

than I am a fan of Superman I'm not saying that

I dislike Superman. I don't but You know, you're

saying that Christopher Reeves plays them to

totally it's it's just like when in 92 Kevin

Conroy got the job of Batman Bruce Wayne. He

was the first, and to this day, the only person

that changed in voiceover that changed the vocals

for the two characters. His Bruce Wayne voice

is soft and regular. It's more of Kevin's actual

real voice. And the Batman voice is kind of deep

and not necessarily gravely like the... like

some other movies would have you believe but

it's it's a deeper deeper voice and the same

thing with here with Christopher Reeve it's like

oh my god he's playing two very different characters

at the same time you know you take the scene

when when he you know after the slow -ass flying

scene when he's you know drops or Lois off at

her apartment. He's like Lois. I have to tell

you something. Oh, okay. She's not paying any

attention He takes the glasses off or he puts

the glass on. I'm Clark Kent. I'm Superman. I'm

Clark Kent. I'm super So yeah, I mean he does

play it very very well. He's for an unknown at

this time He's a damn good actor Yeah, I'm surprised.

He didn't really have a career That much after

this after Superman. Well, you know, you know

you get cast as a godlike figure to most people.

I'm not saying Superman is God, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm just saying that he has... Well, right. Like,

yeah, the movie does. The movie does say... I'm

personally not saying that. I'm saying that Superman

is, you know, outside of what humanity is because

of his alien status. And, you know... Once yeah,

it's kind of getting typecast like you First

thing first thing you think of when you hear

the name Mark Hamill. What is it? Yeah, Star

Wars, of course Star Wars or the Joker. Yeah,

not saying mr. Hamill is is just those two roles

But that's that's the same thing here with Christopher

Reed. Yeah, you know he he is typecast as The

man of steel he always will be You know sure

he's done other stuff, and I think part of it

is You know he he got sick in the years since

You know what I mean, so it's one of those things

where There wasn't too much for For him to really

do once his illness happened, and I'm trying

I'm looking at it right now It was like 90 it

wasn't 90 said he Well, he fell off. After learning

to ride the film Anna Karina, he was initially

allergic to horses. He fell off his horse in

95 and sustained a cervical spinal injury that

paralyzed him from the neck down in 1995. If

the Superman movies, because I think Superman

4 was 89, I think I'm not looking at it, ladies

and gentlemen. I'm just guessing Superman 4.

No, Superman 4 was 94. Holy crap. Wow. Yeah,

Superman 4 was a year before he got injured.

So that was kind of like the last... But you're

right. You know, you look at stars these days,

you know... I don't want to go to the cruise

staple, but who could I go to that does a lot

of films? Take Brad Pitt, for example. You know,

in one year, that guy might do 12 movies. He

might take a year off, two years off, and do

three or four or five movies. Whereas Reeve,

as far as what we know from him, is Superman

and that's it. I'm not saying that's all he did,

because I'm going to look again up at his filmography

and stuff. But it's one of those things where

this is what we know him as. He was in Grey Lady

Down in 78 before Superman, but who even knows

about Grey Lady Down? I've never heard of it

until I've seen this. He did a role in Somewhere

in Time before Superman 2. uh... in eighty two

he was in death trap uh... monsignor uh... superman

three eighty three obviously eighty four was

the bostonians eighty five was he's had roles

he's he has he's you know between the time uh...

you know between the time of his injury and the

time of his debut in seventy eight he's had plenty

of roles over the years but looking at all of

these you know looking at all of these these

um... these roles most of the people most people

will know him as superman or or someone who is

on our show that is you know playing the i guess

you could say the christopher reeve character

because he was on an episode of frazier as the

voice of leonard uh... he was on television he

was in uh... well it doesn't list it here but

i know he was in smallville He was a guest star

in three episodes as Dr. Virgil, Swan, and Smallville.

Of course, that was obviously after he was paralyzed,

but it's just one of those things where everyone's

gonna know him as Superman no matter what else

he's done. Yeah, and just the Superman form came

out in 87, actually. Any yeah, you're right.

Sorry listeners, but anyways like Going more

back to the movie as a whole How do you how do

you feel about the actual you know plot of the

film? Well, I mean it's kind of you know You

have that origin aspect in the beginning kind

of you know your classic three arc structure

then the whole finale with Lexica Luther's grand

scheme for land, you know for Land rights land

rights. How do you feel about the actual plot

of the movie? I like the plot. I love watching

the journey. I think it's a little creepy that

he's traveling in a spaceship surrounded by crystals,

because hello, what if an asteroid hit that thing?

Glass would go into that baby's chest like no

tomorrow. I like the plot of the movie. I think

it's a good plot. I think it's just a while before

we figure out what the hell is going on. The

origin, the beginning, that's all well and good.

We know, from seeing the beginning of this film,

something, at some point, is going to be happening

with those three villains, with Zod, Nan, and

what's -her -nuts. You know, we know that something,

somehow, someway will happen with those three

villains, even though they've gone off, quote

unquote, into the Phantom Zone in the glass shard.

I just... I wish somehow, and this is not just

because of this film, but I wish somehow someone

would tell a Superman Kryptonian origin story.

Where and I don't I don't know if they've done

this in the comics or not. I do not read Superman

comic, so I'm not sure Where the Other elders

would have just shut the fuck up and listened

to Jor -El and they were able to you know escape

you know what I mean like, you know i mean i

guess it you know i guess it wouldn't really

work because of hey he is the last son of krypton

and that that you know if that had happened it

wouldn't really you know wouldn't really work

but the smallville stuff it was all right i think

uh the scene where he wakes up That's and I guess

cuz I'm not I'm more of a city kind of person

I like like that that would drive me nuts living

out on the farm it just would but that city that

That that early morning scene when he wakes up,

and you know thinks he hears something whatever

else that scene is slow Like that old bedroom

scene is slow he gets up gets out of bed stands

at the window for about three minutes And then

finally goes up to the barn and finds the the

the green shard That scene is a little too slow

and I just I don't know. I just didn't really

Care for it. I like obviously when he gets to

metropolis He meets all the people and everything

else and what I liked about the metropolis stuff

before that, you know At the same time you've

got the Lex Luthor thing going on. I Like that

they show him, you know saving stopping you know

saving people and stopping crime like you know

obviously the beginning he has to save Lois right

away but like everywhere else you know the cat

you know the the whole standard oh Superman has

to save a girl's cat you know Superman has to

stop you know a robbery you know stuff like that

I like that Lex's plot why am I reminded of an

old James Bond movie. It does feel very James

Bond -like with how crazy scheme, how much of

a crazy scheme it is. It does seem kind of out

there. A long way to go to just try to make money

by trying to separate California from the rest

of the world. But what I think this plot does

do successfully, it covers a lot of ground. It

does. There's a lot of stuff going on. You might

say the pacing's a little slow, but even within

that, you have that origin, you have the stuff

in Smallville, you have his origins within Metropolis,

and then you have, at the same time, Lex Luthor

and his plot, and then the final climax. And

there's luck within that, and I think it handles

those really well. And I think you mentioned

that scene being really slow when he's looking

out his window. I think in a lot of ways, there's

some purpose to that, that life in... Smallville

being really slow and mundane compared to when

he gets into metropolis and he's in the daily

planet and everything is just quick and Everything

like you have that great scene when he's like

they're looking at the article and it's like

there's only there's only one P in rapists All

those great moments and just how and you know

the world that he came from compared to this

fast -paced environment But he's Superman obviously

he's a fan and it's kind of hilarious that he

got the job because he's a fast typer That's

so awesome But yeah, the plot is a little out

there but you know what Superman it's it's something

I can accept for the most part it does seem kind

of Strange that like one of the big plot points

of having two nuclear missiles go off at the

same time was done by an accident And some of

the comedy with like Otis for example was kind

of a little bit too much at times and that does

feel like some of the campy James Bond movies

and I'm sure that was an influence on this because

it's probably a decent comparison between the

styles but overall it is really well done origin

as a whole and you look at movies like the first

Spider -Man film and there are a lot of similarities

with how they're handled and the montages and

things like that and I think this movie set the

stage for a lot of the movies that we're watching

today. Origins are something that we are kind

of been overdone at this point. But of all the

origin films that have been done, I think Superman

still remains one of the best. Yeah, no, I agree.

It does. The problems that I will have as far

as I don't know if it's a plot device or a plot

MacGuffin or whatever, whatever you want to call

it, but the whole. him breaking his father's

rule about changing human history and Reverse

rotation of the earth for time Yeah, like don't

get me wrong. I in the watching this first movie

Even now it's fine Going to Superman 2 Which

we'll talk about next time on here on M wire

is the thing of why Lester versus Donner And

it's so much better to me, the Lester theatrical

cut, than the Donner cut because of the - and

I'll bring this up next time - because it affected

- you get the same friggin' thing happening twice!

Well, originally he didn't want it to be in this

first film. Like, the whole - If he didn't want

it to be in this first film, the Salkinds should

have let him make it what he wanted to make it.

And then if they were in, and I know, production

and whatever else like you said earlier, I get

that. But they, oh god, good. That's why in the,

I guess we can talk more about Sovereign 2 next

week, but it does relate because of this ending.

In Lois Lane, When this was when this was first

the first concept of the ending of Superman the

most that moment Everyone goes to where he reversed

his time. It's ridiculous. It makes no sense

Neil Neil deGrasse Tyson and he's he's a he does

a star talk podcast he has a great kind of a

commentary on what that would do if that actually

happened because you know, we wouldn't stop spinning

we kind of you kind of would just kind of fling

everybody off the earth and we would be gone,

but Besides this kind of the ridiculousness of

that why why he has it in the second one as well

as the first one When it was first conceived

they weren't gonna have Lois in the finale, but

they thought okay We need to have her in some

way. So they put it in there and then he Had

us he couldn't savor. So then he had a reverse

dear in the actual original idea the this the

second he The second bomb he throws in the space

there is like the first new going to New Jersey

those in the space that explodes and that releases

Zod and all of his army and then he stopped in

the first one he still can't stop but he's able

to You know do everything he needs to do and

just Lois isn't there But they wanted Lois to

be in there because they thought okay We need

to have Lois there because it's Lois Lane in

Superman So they kind of inserted her there and

then they brought in what he wanted as a finale

for the second film into this one so in Superman

2 he puts the original ending he wanted first

and then you have the rest of his cut. So that's

why it's kind of odd like that where he uses

it in both spots. That's why I say the Lester

cut is so much better. But anyway, any of the

other cast members we want to talk about? I mean

obviously Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando, but

do we want to talk about any of the other cast

members? I mean, you had Ned Beatty as Otis.

I wasn't a big fan of his character. Like I said,

it was just kind of... I like this. He's a little

funny. Yes, his comedy is some kind of... But

he... Wait, why did he... Why did he get an MTV

Movie Award for Best Villain? Wow. I guess he's

not for this because MTV didn't exist yet. Yeah.

But no, I like, I like Ned Beatty as Otis. I

thought that's, I thought that was really, really

interesting. Yes, of course, Mr. Luthor. Otis,

wait till I'm out of the pool. I do like, you

know, Mom, Paul, Kent, Glenn Ford, and I wish

there was more there. We only get a little bit

of it. Like, there's only really that one moment.

and then he ends up passing away. I kind of wish

they had more of that relationship. I think that

would have been something they could have explored

a little bit more. And I think in Man of Steel,

which we'll eventually get to down the line,

it seems like that's a central point of the film,

is that relationship between his adopted father

versus his actual biological father. So I think

I kind of liked the little interplay that was

there. The relationship he also had with his

mom was also, for what was there, I enjoyed.

But, nothing, no of the other performances really

stand out to me all that much. I mean, Jackie

Cooper versus Perry White, he had some great

lines, like I mentioned. He's not in there that

much, but he does a little bit, he does a lot

with his limit scream time, but any other performances

stand out to you. Well, you know Marlon Brando

is Jor -El Jean Hackman is Lex Luthor Margot

Kidder over time Over the over the course of

the films. I really got to like her as Lois Lane

this first film. I wanted to just smack her half

the time because she just I understand the concept

and I understand the whole contrast of what you

were saying earlier about you know small -ville

is you know super slow nothing happens in the

big city everything happens right then and now

but she just is how she can call herself a reporter

is beyond me because she is so fucking clueless

in this movie not even not even about the fact

of oh glasses on glasses off not even about just

in general she's clueless about everything It

just oh god and But not Jean Hackman is as Lex

and Marlon Brando is as Jor -El and Jackie Cooper

did an amazing job because You got to think if

you're you know if you're a kid in the 80s You

know if you grew up in 80 or 84 like like you

and I did because we're both born those years

it's one of those things where you grow up and

you watch super friends and you watch whatever

else and you see other incarnations of Lois besides

this and and it's just one of those things where

uh you know and you see other incarnations of

Perry White where yeah you're right Jackie Cooper

with what he had it's he does a damn good job

like chief don't call me chief you know and the

whole great Caesar's ghost and all this and all

that and everything else and um what I love is

and this isn't directly for this but um speaking

of other incarnations of perry white i love how

in lois and clark the new adventures of superman

when lane smith was perry white instead of great

sieges of ghosts they use great shades of elvis

i think it's like it it's a it's like twist on

on the classic line um as far as the parents

in this i they're not on screen long enough for

me to care and they're too old I'm to the point

now where like you know Smallville and Martha

and Jonathan were younger or even in even again

referencing Lois and Clark they were old in that

but they weren't old and you know halfway decrepit

Just I just don't feel that the actors portraying

the parents in this film Did that good of a job?

like sure Jonathan Kent gave his son the lesson

or Jonathan Kent told his boy the lesson or whatever

else but it was just That scene just blew by

I Don't know. Yeah. I mean they didn't have much

time. I mean, they're really had what three or

four scenes at the most but Like I said, I think

they could have explored that relationship further.

What I did like though was, I felt, you say they're

too old and I could see that, but I guess the

fence they're adopted, it kind of makes it work.

And I think it puts a lot of understanding of

why they're so accepting of this kid because

they obviously probably were trying to have children

and they weren't. Successful at it. So even though

this kid may have had special powers and come

from a different planet They're gonna do what

they can do because they you know, they're need

for their want to have a child So I think maybe

that's why they decided to go with people that

a little bit older compared to something like

smallville Hmm. Oh, no, I agree but I just Everything

seems to everything in this film seems to be

a plot device or a plot setup to get him where

we know him to be, to get him to Metropolis,

to get him to his adulthood. And, like I said,

I enjoy the origin scenes more than I do the

small, like, sure, the small little scene, kicking

the football and whatever else, I enjoyed that.

But, like, the whole, like, I didn't feel any

emotion at all. I felt more emotion when Superman

is screaming, Lois, no! You know, I felt more

emotion there than I did when it started. than

when his dad died. There was no emotion in that

scene whatsoever. Part of that too is probably

the fact that the person who was playing young

Clark Kent was not very good. Mostly because

there was nothing really, that was the second

time we saw them together so it's kind of hard

to have a heartwarming or heart tragic moment

when there's nothing there to really Be all that

upset about because you really don't know this

relationship at all One moment that we probably

should or one thing in general we should probably

talk about is the score by John Williams and

his his uh Oh, yes. Oh my god The score is so

good before we get to that. There's one other

actor. We got a he's one of the actor we got

to bring up General Zod himself Terrence Stamp.

Oh my god. I He was amazing in this from what

little time he had in this but I forgot what

else he's been in since this movie Oh my god,

he has been everywhere since the Superman films

He was in I didn't even know this I didn't even

recognize I have to go back and watch that stupid

Phantom Menace movie He was Chancellor Valorum

in Star Wars Episode 1 Wow, I did not know that

I didn't know that either until I looked at his

filmography here. In a complete 180 roll reversal,

he was the voice of Jor -El in Smallville. So

that's very interesting, bringing him back into

the Superman universe. Recently, as of 2008,

he was Siegfried in Get Smart. He was in the

adjustment bureau Last year. He was in song for

Mary and this year. He's supposed to be in the

black marks I mean, he's still acting he's still

you know, he's still going on and doing stuff

and you want to talk about an Act like this dude

knows how that this dude's been everywhere. He's

just so awesome as an actor. But yeah, I mean

Yeah, the But the John Williams score. Oh my

everyone know that knows this theme just the

the Like the first two notes Everyone like immediately,

you know You know what I mean? It's yeah, it's

awesome. Yeah, and I guess I was gonna say it's

probably the best the only real theme song any

superhero has but I guess you can also count

89 is Batman but also like how They kind of place

it in moments in the movie too, like when Clark

Kent, with baby, baby Kal -El, is pushing up

the car that led his, led his father put the

tire in and it kind of hits a few notes of the

classic Superman theme as a kind of, you know,

to punctuate that moment. They do it here and

there, like we, they kind of bring it in, they

start it off and then they transition to a different

theme and they, until they finally... Bring it

into all of its glory when you finally see Superman

and all his garb the first time flying at you

At the screen and I love them that Honestly,

maybe my favorite moment just that Superman reveal

where you know, he's learning He's getting all

this knowledge and suddenly he's flying towards

you and I think it looks really great for these

this day I mean the tagline of this movie was

you'll believe a man can fly and maybe in today's

standard Just doesn't hold up that well But that

moment does because it doesn't feel like wire

work compared to other times like the the flying

moment with Margaret Kitty when they're they're

flying you you just can see the blue screen while

you're watching it that what that was one moment

that felt like I couldn't see the wires compared

to the other times. But yeah, I love this theme.

Besides just the theme and the score as a whole

really sets it up. And I think it wouldn't be

nearly as memorable without that theme song,

which is what a good score should do. Oh no.

And see, that's the thing. The score. The Superman

main title theme. uh... what is it called it's

called uh... prelude in main title march that

theme since it was used in this film has been

used not everywhere else but a lot of other places

since then or alternate versions of it have are

different like using different parts of the theme

have been used and it's you're right it is that

is superman's theme that will forever be his

theme just like You know, say the Danny Elfman

Batman the Intermittent Series, you know, just

using his Batman 89 theme for the Batman the

Intermittent Series opening titles, you know,

that will always be the BTAS. It's one of those

things. When a superhero or, you know, comic

book character gets a theme, that's their, whatever

that individually unique theme is, like Batman,

Superman, Spider -Man. Yes, Batman and Spider

-Man themes were done both by the same guy, but

you get what I'm saying. It's like once they

have that, that music is theirs and you're right

it's so interesting to see where the theme pops

up before the reveal or even after the reveal

like like during times of when he's Clark before

he has to change it's just it's so unique how

they used in the movie and it's so awesome so

so awesome where do we want to go for from here

Well, I mean we talked about the different cuts

and all the crazy production in this We talked

about the music I guess Where Let's talk about

the releases because the releases are This movie

has been released so many times over the years

Was it back in 2000? Yeah back in 2000 late 2005

early 2006 they released and this is the one

that I have and this is the one that I really

enjoy I'm I'm not the person I know everybody's

like oh high definition I want it on blu -ray

I want this I want you know I use my computer

to watch movies so you know regular DVD is fine

for me but in 2006 they put together Superman

the ultimate collector's edition in this giant

metal tin case Basically for the first two films

four disc editions for Superman three and four

And we'll bring this up in those episodes as

well it had I think two or one discs each And

then of course Superman returns had had x amount

of desks and there was two a dish two or three

additional bonus desks one was brian singer's

video documentaries making superman returns the

other one was the special look up in the sky

the overall history of superman and i forget

what the other one was off the top of my head

i'm not looking at the set right now But, um,

it's that to me, the Superman, the ultimate collector's

edition is what you really want to get. You can

get it both on in DVD and the special packaging,

or you can get it on Blu -ray nowadays. Um, but

if you're, if you want all of the movies and

all of the features, get the ultimate collector's

edition. I mean, sure, it's been on VHS, all

of the films have been on VHS DVD, but like,

if you want the ultimate experience, get that.

That's the one you need to get. because it's

been released so many times let's talk about

the really quickly let's talk about the rebroadcast

and television version oh yes there's there's

a million different cuts of superman well pretty

much all the superman films but the especially

there was one just it made in particular for

television Yeah, and I'm going to read this directly

so now so I don't get it wrong 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 aforementioned reasons So -called Salkind

international extended cut which has ended up

running three hours eight minutes was shown internationally

on television It was from its original cut later

And it is from this cut later domestic tv versions

were derived the first network american television

broadcast of superman the movie took place in

february 1982 on abc the principal sponsor for

the telecast was atari i find that so funny at

the time abc had a contract with alexander salkind

for the television rights to his films abc's

three hour two minute cut of superman was broadcast

over the course of two nights 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

for the part one. The next evening there was

naturally a recap before the film continued.

This expanded version was repeated in November

of the same year, only this time shown in one

night. I am so glad I have never seen this on

television. I've never seen the actual TV cut.

I've seen the additional, like the extended cut.

Right, yeah. The expanded 2000 edition, yes.

I've seen that, but I'm saying like, I'm so glad

I wasn't around yet, or I was, but I wasn't old

enough yet to have seen this. Cliffhangers are

made for television They're not made for movies

people like that would have like if I had seen

that that would have pissed me off so much Yeah,

that is kind of a cheap way to kind of I think

the reason they did it too is When you sell a

movie to a network, they pay for the time, the

hours. So making it three hours, that's more

money without you having to make more of a movie.

So we talked about them pinching every penny.

Well, they also tried to get as much money out

of it as they could. So they did stuff like that

to try to make more money. in maybe not the most

ethical ways possible, because expanding that

movie to three hours is unnecessary in my opinion.

Yeah, it is. The extended version of Superman

the Movie has never been broadcast in the United

Kingdom. The first showing of the theatrical

version on UK TV appeared on January 4th, 1983.

Let's see what else the quality of the extended

network TV version is inferior to any theatrical

or current home video release because it was

mastered in 16 millimeter using the film chain

system and a mono sound mix done as by the time

the extended cut was prepared in 1981 stereo

was not available in television broadcasts Yeah,

ladies and gentlemen just get the ultimate collection

don't Don't try to find this on television nowadays

This got a bunch of awards If I is 100 years

100 heroes and villains Superman was number 26

Lex Luthor was nominated If I is 100 years 100

songs, can you read my mind was nominated? Kind

of surprising yeah AFI is 100 years, 100 movie

quotes, I'm here to fight for truth, justice,

and the American way was nominated, 100 years,

100 film scores nominated, 100 years, 100 cheers

nominated, 10 top 10 nominated fantasy film.

That's the other thing we gotta talk about. Classification

of not only this movie, but the rest of the Superman

movies at least Superman 1 through 4 and Supergirl

Are they fantasy films or are they superhero

films? Obviously not until later on does the

term superhero or comic book movie come into

play But what would you classify these this this

this first film as is it fantasy or is it action?

I have a hard time saying it's an action because

there's actions are limited. I mean, if you're

not going to place it within the comic book context

of a comic book movie, which has become its own

genre at this time, obviously it wasn't. If you're

going to I would probably say it does fall into

the fantasy aspect. Yes, Superman powers do have

scientific roots. But just looking at the costumes,

like looking at Krypton, like that looks like

a fantasy world. Just. You know with the shiny

metal suits and the crystal landscapes so I can

understand why you'd put it in fantasy because

it's not necessarily I Wouldn't call it an action

movie. It's the action movie made more sure more

so for Superman 2 but in this it's more of a

Drama in a way that I would say action Right

now you mentioned the whole shiny suits thing.

I did listen to the director's commentary on

this film and all as they did was If you look

at the Kryptonian suits specifically to Jor -El

and One scene it's all white in another scene.

It's it's it It's all white with a black ass

and another scene. It's all black with a white

ass The reason why they became all white Was

because they basically just shown giant light

bulbs on the good. It's not a different costume

It's the same friggin costume. They just put

light on it. That's how they got it that that

glowy if you know That's how that happened. I

heard Richard Donner say that on the commentary.

A couple of quick notes here as far as comic

book continuity. Many elements of the Superman

mythos which were once unique to the film have

since been incorporated into the regular continuity

of the DC Comics universe. The crystalline base

technology of the planet Krypton. Superman's

S logo originates as the L family crest. Ursa

and Non characters created specifically for the

film. are imprisoned in the Phantom Zone with

General Zod. Computer Generate's Simulcrum of

Jor -El survives in the Fortress of Solitude

to advise his adult son, Kal -El. Clark Kent

commences his public superhero career as the

adult Superman rather than the teenage Superboy.

Louis Lane first meets Superman. When he rescues

her, she falls from a disabled helicopter in

Metropolis. Let's see, although she is an excellent

reporter, Lois frequently misspells words. Which

is why they get Clark Kent, because he's an amazing

typer. Yes, exactly. Of course, we all know Lois

is the first one who names the hero Superman.

I like the first film. I like whatever the original

theatrical cut is on the collector's edition,

like the expanded edition, the 2000 edition.

It's alright. It just adds in scenes, doesn't

it? There's a few more action beats. There's

actually a pretty cool scene when they expand

upon when Superman's entering Lex Luthor's lair.

He's in all these cool moments where he's getting

shot by machine guns. Oh yeah, I remember seeing

that. It's probably the best edition out of that

entire That entire version of it, but but overall

there's it's not a huge change like Superman

2's different cuts Right. Yeah. Yeah. All right.

So really quickly we are gonna go to a break

Here's some ads and we'll come back and we'll

rate the film and we'll give our final thoughts

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of this and every other. We are back here on

M -Wire and before we give our final thoughts

Zero to five stars. What do you give this? Zero

to five. Let me think I would give it I yes it

has issues but considering its place within comic

book lore its importance what it's done and Over

time, I feel if you looked at some of the best

comic movies of today and waited 30 years, a

lot of the same issues would probably come up.

So even with some of the nitpicks, I still give

it a solid five, just because if I'm going to

look at a solid origin film and explain how it

can be done well, it's always gonna come back

to Superman, the original version. So yeah, a

five for me. Yeah, I agree even though I have

those nitpicks and and They're just small nitpicks

like you know the whole pacing of certain scenes

like that's a small nitpick that doesn't take

away from My overall enjoyment of seeing Christopher

Reeve as Superman Even the kid they got to play

cuz actually you know what the funny thing is

and I haven't looked this up in between our break

and now I probably should have but the kid that

plays young Clark Kent Almost thought that was

a digital effect on Reeve Like I know it's it's

a it's an effect as far as his voice goes It's

kind of like that whole thing they did in 82

with with Knight Rider with David Hasselhoff

Having the voice and it but it's a different

actor. It's the same thing here But no this this

movie five out of five stars. It's it's just

so So awesome as you said it's one of the Best

origin stories told through film Absolutely,

love it even even even with the nitpicks So Yeah,

we are Gonna go ahead and tell you that we hope

you enjoyed our review of Superman the movie

here in myers DC spotlight volume 2 I wish you'll

join us next week when we'll be talking about

Superman 2 Lester versus daughter Thank you for

listening until next time keep your eyes in the

skies ladies and gentlemen just listen to Movie

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