Rating: Summary: Supergirl...Super-mediocrity Review: Alexander and Ilya Salkind should have stuck with Superman. This film was an effort, but unfortunately, that's all it was. Christopher Reeve, at this time, did not agree to be in this movie because he believed he had moved on from playing Superman(much to the blame of what a joke Superman III was). Ironically, though, he hadn't moved on, only to star in Superman IV in 1987. The film simply starts out in Argo City, not explaining why or how Argo split off from Krypton,(during the explosion) leaving a few unknown survivors.Kara tells her relatives in Argo City something to the effect of, "I'll get to see my cousin Superman", but when she arrives on earth, she never does.They try to fill the hole of Superman not being there,but it doesn't exactly work. There are a few nice touches in this movie, such as featuring Lucy Lane being Linda Lee's roommate, and Jimmy Olsen's (Marc McClure)role.There are very little explanations of how villainess Selena(Faye Dunaway) got her miraculous powers. There are numerous plot holes, and the movie is extremely dull. I expected it to be exciting and entertaining. The heavy overtones of Witchcraft, magic,etc.(all played for campiness)are disappointing. Did all the real villains leave town? Supergirl also seems very alone, never having anyone to talk to, but it's amazing how well she gets along without learning anything about earth. Supergirl is okay,the effects are very good, but the problem is, it's not extremely good or bad, it's just dull and mediocre.Leonard Maltin's review sums it all up in a few words:"Dull, heavy handed...Slater is cute but bland in title role."
Rating: Summary: So cheesy it's awesome Review: I saw this in the store the other day and I put American Beauty back to purchase this. I love this movie, it's one of those movies that the all out Supergirl walks behind the tree as a blonde and comes out as having brown hair. cheesy factor makes it that much more enjoyable. I love the part where Faye Dunaways performance was just spectacular as was Peter Cooks. I do have to give it 4 stars because the audio transfer to DVD was below par, the music was too loud and the dialogue was to low. And there were some parts that just carried on for too long, like the runaway backhoe and the phantom zone scenes.
Rating: Summary: Cool movie! Review: Supergirl, while not the best movie succeds in being a fun fantasy film. The flying sequences are great! I had only seen the film previously on vhs, so on DVD they are beyond cool. It is a fun non-taxing on the brain kind of movie! Having Faye Dunaway in it is just icing on the cake! Mommie Dearest as the bad guy!
Rating: Summary: Interesting revival, curious audio failure Review: There are plenty of reviews of this film already on file - and I have little to add other than to say that inspite of less than Shakespearian acting or "writing" - it's nice to see the entire movie. All too often commercial considerations force the trimming of material whose absence detracts from the film and, all too often, destroys its inner structure and logic. Such was definately the case here. My one complaint? Considering the trouble that was gone to to put together the "uncut" version of the film, I was astonished to note that the soundtrack, dialogue and all, was compressed into a not-very-effective MONOPHONIC mix! This was, technically, a major disappointment for what is otherwise a technically reasonable job. If it's a "kinder, gentler" Super... epic you wouldn't mind showing to your kids (witchcraft and the like notwithstanding), this is as close as you'll get. You have all the effects without the extended or detailed violence and gore.
Rating: Summary: BUY THIS SUPER-DISC OR REGRET! Review: I saw the 138+ minute director's cut recently and was very(VERY)amazed by it. It's covers up certain holes in the story and expanded some of the characters' development. It also explains why Kara(Supergirl is so smart on Earth and the other way round in her sheltered home. The director's cut also made Selena a tad more evil and cruel then the other versions of the film. It's incredible that they cut some of the most important dialouges and special fx out from the international version. Although Supergirl is flawed in a number of ways, but it's still SUPER-FUN and was never boring at any point of the film. Higly recommended to fans and non-fans. This is one film that deserves on your collection. Buy this Limited Edition disc today or REGRET!!!
Rating: Summary: Good flyingsequences! Review: This movie really does su**,but the flying sequences are very well made.I remember that Sidney J Furie(The director of Superman IV)was asking the people who made the flying secuences and all the special effects in Supergirl for help(or advise),of how to make good flyingsequences that would please the audience. They did a great job!
Rating: Summary: You'll Believe She Can Fly Review: I know, most critics did not like this movie. But that did not stop me from buying this special edition, which is limited to 50,000 copies. I truly believe Anchor Bay has outdone itself in presenting Supergirl in both the International and Director's version. The DVD also contains great stills from promotions and from the movie. My only complaint about this DVD is that the Director's version, which is on a separate disc, is not encoded in DD 5.1. (Of course, the International version is.) Obviously, I did not buy this DVD for special features. I truly do like this movie. For one, the special effects were well ahead of its time and still quite fun to watch. The so- called "flying ballet" sequence is one of the most beautiful and convincing flying scenes I have ever seen. You will believe Supergirl is actually flying. The movie also offers some platonic romance between Supergirl and Ethan (Hart Bochner) which is surprisingly welcome. The scene where Supergirl rescues Ethan and flies him to safety is reminiscent of the "Can you read my mind" sequence from Superman I. When discussing the virtues of this film, it is impossible to omit Ms. Faye Dunaway. Faye, like all great actors, has the ability of turning a potentially ridiculous and embarrassing role into an acting lesson. Before Glenn Close's Cruella DeVille, we have Faye as Selena, the has-been witch turned supervillain by the power of the Omegahedron. It is Faye's intense and campy performance that stands out above everything in this movie, including Helen Slater's Supergirl looks. So, what went wrong with this film that made Supergirl a box-office bomb? I have to blame the scriptwriter. The first half of the movie truly does not make much sense, nor does it serve to help the viewer understand the logic of the remainder of the film. For example, when Supergirl arrives on earth and emerges from her spaceship, she is fully clothed in her Supergirl outfit. How? Nobody knows. Later, when Supergirl decides to become Linda Lee, she changes hair color and uniform in the twinkling of an eye. I'm sorry, but magical uniform changes were not one of the original Supergirl's powers. Whatever enabled her to do this should have been explained in the beginning of the movie. This also would have been a time to explain why she had such an understanding of her new powers and the culture on earth. If you can get passed these deficiencies (chalk them up to details left out in script rewrites), then you will truly enjoy this film, especially the second half. Otherwise, you're better off passing on it.
Rating: Summary: Fantastic DVD, under-rated comic book movie adaptation.. Review: Strangely, SUPERGIRL has obtained the reputation of being one of the worst blockbusters of all time - the question remains though, WHY? Criticisms that it lacks the "maturity" or flair of the first two SUPERMAN films just aren't really fair. I mean, surely the director didn't want the film to just be a SUPERMAN film with the only difference being the lead character? Indeed, SUPERGIRL certainly has it's own identity and rarely feels like a SUPERMAN clone, so hats off to the filmmakers on that one. Helen Slater is actually perfect for the part, and it's a shame that she seems to have disappeared these days, whilst the supporting cast are hugely impressive, particularly the always reliable Peter O'Toole, whose scene with Slater in the Phantam Zone remains the most effective of the movie. Faye Dunaway makes a splendidly over the top villain, even if her humorous portrayal means she lacks the danger that Hackman's Lex Luthor displayed in SUPERMAN, and Peter Cook is wonderfully sarcastic as the school teacher who likes to dabble in sorcery. The real star of the film though is Jerry Goldsmith's amazing score, which lends the film a power it just wouldn't have otherwise. A genuine classic score, it's testament to Goldsmith's talent, that he's able to bring so much to the quality and atmosphere of a movie like this. Special effects wise, SUPERGIRL also impresses hugely, outclassing the SUPERMAN movies at evry turn. Not only are the flying sequences absolutely stunning (helped by Slater's graceful presence), but the big-scale street sequence is still, for my money, one of the best "live" special effects sequences I've ever seen. Superb. Congratulations to Anchor Bay too, for presenting such a great DVD of an overlooked movie. From the THX sound to the excellent, vibrant picture, it's a top class job that many other companies would do well to learn from. The animated menus also add a nice finishing touch, and the extras are also brilliantly researched, with a very interesting commentary, an impressive gallery of pictures, photos etc, and best of all, the original making of documentary (over 50 minutes long) which is one of the best makings of I've seen on a blockbuster movie. I can not recommend this Limited 2 disc DVD enough!! Shame however, that the Directors Cut is only in mono. Go Supergirl!
Rating: Summary: MAKING A "CLUNKER" FLY ON DVD Review: Supergirl, is not by any stretch of the imagination, a great movie. In fact, it is pretty much a "clunker". Especially when compared to the first Superman film. Having said that, I still think that the movie does have some good points and the two disc set is worth the extra dough. First, the special 140 minute version on the 2nd disc does contain some footage that I think enhances the film.Second, hearing Jerry Goldsmith's score in THX is also a plus. The special features contain some nice little gems. The best is 47 minute documentary on the making of the film which, as I understand it originally ran on ABC, that may be true, but I don't remember it. The only downer is the for me was hearing Director Jeannot Szwarc go on and on about how he thought that his movie was better than the first Superman film. C'mon! That is a bit much. Thanks Anchor Bay for making an ok film much easier to watch
Rating: Summary: Buyer Beware Review: I purchased the Limited Edition set and had trouble playing both on my dvd player. They played fine on the computer, but not on the player. Really strange. I returned my copy to amazon and they quickly sent me a replacement which had the same problems-extremely slow startup-if at all. There must be some copies that were botched during processing. I love the film! Just think I'll wait till a new batch come out and I can get a decent copy. I have hundreds of dvds and this is the first problem with one (twice!) I've had.
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