DVD : Superman - The 1948 & 1950 Theatrical Serials Collection

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- CRAPPY PICTURE QUALITY
I HAVE THE ORIGINAL VHS VERSIONS OF BOTH SERIALS, AND WAS HOPING FOR
IMPROVED PICTURE QUALITY....WRONG.
THE PICTURE QUALITY IN BOTH SERIALS IS JUST NOT GOOD.
SAVE YOUR DOUGH AND GET A BOOTLEG.

Rating:

- Disappointing quality
It's nice to have this on DVD, and the price is good, but the picture quality is pretty poor. I know the source is old, but that's not enough to explain all of the problems I see. I don't see the defect mentioned by Ford Prefect, but the picture is not very sharp, there are artifacts to the left of vertical boundaries between light and dark areas, and rapid horizontal movement sometimes results in what looks like interlace lines. I would gladly have paid more for remastering and better DVD mastering. *sigh* The quality of the Adventures of Superman DVDs is much better (and even that should have been cleaned up). Boo Warner Brothers.

Rating:

- What's happened to Warner's Quality Control?
Warner has long been the studio that put out quality product, but lately something really bad has happened to their quality control, at least with regard to DC comic characters. First they release the first Justice League Unlimited set with episodes in the wrong order and an audio glitch in the English soundtrack of one episode. Now they put the serial collection out on defective disks. I had been looking forward to this set for a long time and resisted the impulse to buy a bootleg copy on ebay because I knew this set was coming out. What a disappointment to find it defective. Right in the very first chapter of the first serial, as Jor-El is finishing his speech to the council on Krypton, the picture and sound breaks up and pixilates obliterating the picture and dialogue for about 15 seconds as the council votes. It does resume normalcy after that, but I don't know if the problem recurs anywhere else as I stopped watching at that point. At first I thought I just had a defective copy so I exchanged it for a new one. But the same problem occured at exactly the same spot on the second copy. I exchanged it again, this time with less optimism, because experiance has shown me that when this happens on more than one disc it means the whole pressing run is defective. Sure enough, the same problem occured at exactly the same spot, so I know it isn't my DVD player. As I refuse to except this from a legitimate release I simply returned the third copy for a refund. It's sad when a bootleg copy is better than the official studio release. It's even more sad that Warner has let it's quality control go to hell. Most of the other reviews for this DVD were written BEFORE the DVD even came out, so if you haven't bought this set yet be forewarned. You're likely in for a big disappointment.

Rating:

- A great time to be a Superman fan
Whatever the future holds for the world's greatest superhero, 2006 will surely be remembered as one of the greatest times in history to be a Super-fan. In addition to the terrific Superman Returns, we've seen a real "return" of the character to our t.v. screens as well. With the release of these serials, we now have ALMOST every filmed version of the Man of Steel at our fingertips (still M.I.A.: the cool 60's animated series).

I'm too young to have seen serials play in the theaters back then, but what a treat it must have been! These admittedly low-budget adventures were packed with action and interesting characters. Much has been said about the money-saving animated flying effects, but I still think they're cool. These things were designed for the big screen and aimed at kids. . .not for today's superior digital clarity and the ability to freeze a single frame of film with the push of a button.

Of the two serials, ATOM MAN is clearly better. For one thing, it affords Superman much more screen time. Often in the first serial, Supes would perform some heroic deed (like saving Lois or another character from the previous week's cliffhanger) and then disappear for the rest of the chapter. The other benefit of ATOM MAN is that it features Lex Luthor (though only his surname is used), something the (admittedly better) George Reeves series didn't manage in six whole seasons.

Since the Superman serials have been largely unavailable for years--and can now BOTH be purchased for less than what I paid for ONE of them on VHS some 10 years ago--this a great opportunity for fans to complete their collections.

Rating:

- A rare look at a forgotten Superman: Kirk Alyn.
These serials have rarely been shown on TV except on only a couple occasions. This was Superman in his earliest form. Here you can actually see Superman literally leap from comic book page, to animated hero, and finally to live action hero. Kirk Alyn is the oldest and most forgotten Superman, and time has all but erased his presence from the collective memmory of the public. His Superman was one of savy intellect and smarts and was a true trail blazer for the actors that would don the legendary suit later. Together with Noel Niel (the worlds first live action Lois Lane) they follow an usual band of crooks and villians that are far more entertaining and carismatic than the run of the mill crooks that plagued the TV series. This is the silver screen gems of yesteryear that any true Superman fan simply must pick up, simply for it's historic and entertainment value alone. Many have greatly criticized these serials for the animation but fail to realize that these serials were produced on the slimmest of shoe string budgets because at the time they were made they were viewed as a kids film short only. Superman had not yet achieved the fame and world wide acclaim that he now has. The wholecast is very colorful and entertaining and these shorts will certainly give you thrills that are evry bit as exciting as the later movies and shows despite their lack of technology. Don't waste another minute, buy Superman: The 1048 and 50 serials Collection Now!

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