Superman: The Movie - Extended Edition Review

Jor-El: This is no fantasy - no careless product of wild imagination. No, my friends. These indictments that I have brought to you today, specific charges herein against the individuals. Their acts of treason, their ultimate aim of sedition. These... are matters of undeniable fact. I ask you now to pronounce judgement on those accused.

In mid-December of 1978, after a long and sometimes difficult production process, Warner Bros. released Alexander and Ilya Salkind's big-budget film Superman: The Movie.

Directed by Richard Donner, co-written by Mario (The Godfather) Puzo (with David and Leslie Newman, Robert Benton and an uncredited Tom Mankiewicz) and starring Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman and the then-unknown Christopher Reeve, Superman: The Movie was (in its original theatrical cut) a 143-minute long adaptation of the then-40-year-old DC Comics hero who is known as The Man of Steel, The Man of Tomorrow, The Last Son of Krypton and, of course, simply as Superman.

I was 15 at the time of Superman: The Movie's first screening in Miami, and though I had never been much of a comics book reader, I wanted to go see it for two reasons.

First, I didn't want to repeat my experience of just a year earlier when I initially resisted going to see Star Wars based on my misconception that it was just a movie for kids.  It was intended - as George Lucas has stated many times - a movie aimed at young people, but it was not a dumbed-down tale set in space.  I thus missed out - for the first four months of its first theatrical run - and almost ended up not qualifying for the Star Wars Fan of the 1977 Generation label.

Second, even though I had only liked the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons and not the Saturday morning cartoons (Super Friends particularly annoyed me),I was enthused by the fact that Star Wars' production designer John Barry and composer John Williams were integral members of the production crew, (I had no idea who Richard Donner was since I had not started my training as a film reviewer, but I did know who Barry and Williams were, and I was also familiar with Mario Puzo's name, as well as those of Brando, Hackman and a few of the other cast members.)

I still remember that my mom drove my friend Carlos Vega and me to what was then the Dadeland Twin Theaters, where Superman: The Movie was being screened in 70mm Panavision glory.

I also recall little but telling details about the impact of Superman: The Movie on us in the audience, the most memorable being:

• The hush that came over the audience - which had been more or less talkative during the Coming Attractions trailers - when the dedication to Geoffery Unsworth, the late director of photography, came up on the screen.
• The big Whoa! when, after the Prologue - with the little kid doing the "In the decade of the 1930s..." voiceover and the camera flying over the Daily Planet globe and the Moon, the John Williams score picked up in pace and the now-famous "Whizzing Main Titles" soared into view
• The utterances of Wow! Ooh! and Neat! when Christopher Reeve "flew" on screen for the first time.

In fact, Carlos and I were so impressed that we went back to see the film a week later, much to the chagrin of our parents, who didn't understand why they had to shell out more money for us to see the same movie in that short time span.

"You'll Believe a Man Can Fly"

What I can say about the Extended Edition of Superman: The Movie is that of the five movies in the series, this first one is the best. Yes, the special effects are a bit dated by our CGI-dominated 21st Century standards, but for the late 1970s these mostly hand-crafted visuals were eye-popping and wow-inducing.

But effects alone do not make a good movie; Mario Puzo, David and Leslie Newman's smart, fast-paced script, Richard Donner's steady direction, Geoffrey Unsworth's fine cinematography, and John Williams' wonderful score combine with great visuals and interesting performances by such cast members as Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Christopher Reeve. (I can't say enough about Reeve's acting: in essence, he plays Clark Kent very differently from Kal-El/Superman.)

Superman: Easy, miss. I've got you.
Lois Lane: You - you've got me? Who's got you?

Like 2002's Spider-Man, Superman: The Movie is essentially an expository tale that sets up a continuing series, in part because Puzo's original draft for the screenplay was so huge it had to be divided into two films. The movie's three acts, each with its own subtly different look and emotional context, can be described as:

Act I: The destruction of Krypton and Clark Kent's boyhood.
Act II: Clark Kent/Superman arrives in Metropolis.
Act III: Superman confronts Lex Luthor.

The story of Superman: The Movie follows Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman (Reeve) from the cataclysmic death of his homeworld Krypton to his first big confrontation with archnemesis Lex Luthor. There is also a prelude depicting the trial of General Zod (Terence Stamp), Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O'Halloran), which on the surface was a clever way to introduce Jor-El (Marlon Brando in perhaps the most expensive few minutes in film history up to that time), but in reality was a neat way to plant the seeds for Superman II. It's not a terribly complicated plot, since it basically involves Clark Kent meeting important characters in the Superman canon (Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White) and his caped alter ego stopping Lex Luthor from perpetrating "the crime of the century."

My Viewpoint:

Although there were - at the time - fears that the film would have followed the "campy" presentation of the 1966 Batman feature film and the TV series,  the Puzo-Newman-Benton-Mankiewicz screenplay and director Donner's insistence on "verisimilitude" or "truthfulness" (i.e., taking the Superman story and treating it seriously) adds depth and emotional context to a story that could have collapsed if interpreted in a campy manner.

Additionally, actors Reeve, Hackman, Ned Beatty (Otis), Margot Kidder (Lois), Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen) and Jackie Cooper (Perry White) all infused their characters with human feelings and personality traits that are truly believable.

Adding to the power of the story, performances, and directing was John Williams' bravura score, which further enhanced both the action scenes and the relationships between the characters. Whether it is in the thrilling Main Title march or the sweeping and nostalgic Leaving Home cue, Williams's music gives Superman: The Movie such an emotional boost that it stands alone as a storytelling device. (Indeed, viewers can choose the Music Track option and watch the film as a silent movie -- just don't forget to turn on the subtitles!)

This 2006 Blu-ray disc presents Superman: The Movie's Extended Edition in its full widescreen glory and with a crisp and clear transfer from film to digital. The movie itself is about eight minutes longer than the theatrical or VHS versions; the studio allowed Donner to restore material cut from the 1978 release version (but later seen on its ABC TV presentation). I personally don't know if that was really necessary, but I don't object violently to it, either.

The sound quality is good, although since I don't have a home theater type sound system I can't claim to be an expert on the quality of Dolby Surround or stuff like that. It sounds good on my TV, that's all I can say for that aspect of the Blu-ray.

Since the mid-1980s, I've owned the original VHS edition of Superman: The Movie (which was presented in the then-prevalent fullscreen pan-and-scan television-friendly format) as well as the 2001 DVD of the slightly-longer (by eight minutes) Extended Edition.

That particular edition contains everything that the 2006 Blu-ray version has, but it had two wealk points that I don't like. 

First, it (like Schindler's List) comes in a two-sided disk, with the movie on Side A and the "making of" extras and other goodies on Side B.  Perhaps it saved Warner Home Video time and money to do it that way rather than go the safer two-disc route, but it means that one has to handle the disc extremely carefully lest one of the two sides gets a serious scratch.

Second, the 2001 DVD comes in those flimsy cardboard-and-plastic DVD cases Warner Home Entertainment used until a few years back.  Whether this was a money-saving feature or just the company's desire to have unique packaging, I have no idea.

So, as much as I hate duplicate purchases, when I received not one but two Amazon Gift Certificates as part of my Amazon Visa's rewards system, i decided to buy the Blu-ray edition because (a) the feature's resolution has been upgraded from its DVD standard of 480i or 480p resolution to high-definition 1080p levels.  (The extras, unfortunately, remain in their 'lesser" 480i or 480p level but at least they're no longer on the B-side of the disc, since Blu-ray Discs - BDs - can hold way more data than DVDs.)

Extra Features:

The extra features are also good. While the audio commentary is not focused on technology used in the shooting of the movie, Richard Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankeweicz do provide some fascinating insights into the movie and its cast. Furthermore, they have good speaking voices and never bore you to death. Another nifty feature (for John Williams fans) is a music-only track that allows you to watch this movie as a two-hour-plus music video.

The Blu-ray Disc's extra features are;

Behind-the-Scenes Documentaries: The Magic Behind the Cape (Special Effects) Making Superman: Filming the Legend (Production and Release) Taking Flight: The Development of Superman (Preproduction)

Feature-Length Audio Commentary by Director Richard Donner and Creative Consultant Tom Mankiewicz

 Superman, Lois Lane, & Ursa Screen Tests

TV Spots and Theatrical Trailers