Rating:  -
There are many problems with this movie keeping me from liking it. One, the opening with young Clark just drags on for far too long. I could deal with that, though. The thing that kills the movie for me (spoiler alert, assuming you've been on a deserted island for the last 25 years) is the end. Not only do I think every show/movie that uses time travel to undo some tragedy is a cop out, it was also performed in the most unbelievable way possible. The world is not a big tape!! You can't rewind it! Even as a kid when I first saw this, I realized that spinning the earth backwards would not reverse time. (It would cause some good ol' fashioned world wide devastation that would have made Luthor's scheme look like nothing in comparison.) Also, if he can fly that fast, why couldn't he catch the missles in the first place?
Rating:  -
This is a classic as I remembered watching it throughout my life. To now watching it in high definition, I couldn't believe I was watching the same movie. There were a few scenes that couldn't or didn't get the restore treatment, but in general, the whole film was restored.
Rating:  -
Have not been able to see this movie on my HD Dvd, even after a re-shipment as Zoneing may have been an issue. All other DVD's work 100%.
Rating: -
I had only ever seen the TV version of the original Superman movie until I bought the HD DVD. So, as you can imagine, on TV it was in hideous pan and scan and with several scenes missing. In reality, I have never seen the 'full' movie until now. And I have to admit, it's far, far superior to Bryan Singer's self-indulgent mess of Superman Returns.
It actually takes quite a while to get going, but there's so much going on that the running time certainly doesn't seem two and a half hours. Richard Donner shot it back to back with Superman II, so there's an extended opening act that establishes the plot of the sequel at the same time.
Anyone who doesn't know the story of Superman must be from another galaxy, but for those people I will give you a quick soundbite. Kal El is the orphan of the planet Krypton, which has recently blown up. He comes to Earth as a baby and lands in Smallville where he is quickly adopted by a farmer and his wife and renamed Clark Kent. His dense molecular structure and his ability to defy Earth's gravity give him advantages over humans and ultimately he becomes...SUPERMAN! But who doesn't already know that?
Clark Kent assumes an exaggerated, clumsy, meek newspaper reporter persona to distance himself from the Superman guise. Somehow everybody, including secret love Lois Lane, falls for it even though the glasses and the hair are all that is different. Hypervillain Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) doesn't take well to the man of steel as he might interfere with his plans for Real Estate Domination (the modern term for World Domination). But does he really think he can win? Hypervillains never know when to be humble.
Just about everything that was terrible about Superman Returns is completely right about this one. The cinematography, the music, the editing, the pacing. I won't call the SFX fake, since it doesn't ever take you out of the film, so I'll just call them 'quaint'. For 1978 they're good and even though they are all done optically it's still better than the CGI crapfest of Singer's interpretation.
Christopher Reeve's ultimate fate does kind of upset me, so it's good to see him in his prime and being made immortal in a way. The cast of this film does have a lot of big names. Along with the huge scope and spectacle, such a large cast adds to the epic feel of it. Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Margot Kidder, Terence Stamp and Glenn Ford just seem like a far more dynamic bunch of actors than Kate Bosworth and Kal Penn. Don't you think?
It's been 29 years since this film was released and people still make a big fuss over it today. In 29 years, will be still be talking about Superman Returns? Outside of ridicule, I think not.
The HD DVD features a nice 2.4:1 1080p transfer with Dolby Digital Plus sound and loads of extras.
Rating:  -
A great movie from start to finish, with great acting, photography, and an outstanding score!
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