Rating: 
Summary: This is a great film that deserves to be re-examined.
Review: This film is one of the greatest. I love the musical score, the effects, and especially Helen Slater--and I am sixteen! Contrary to what people have said about the characters not being "fully developed", they *were* fully developed, that is, if you have seen Jeannot Szwarc's complete director's cut, released only outside the United States, until recently. If you live in the United States, you have been stuck seeing the hacked-down 105-minute version, both in theaters and on video. This is the fault of TriStar Pictures. Warner Bros. originally produced the film. It was originally set to be released in the summer of 1984, but Warner Bros. couldn't release it in the United States at the right time, due to unforseen circumstances. When they gave TriStar the rights in November, TriStar took it upon themselves to re-edit the film by 21 minutes, without even asking for Szwarc's permission! The film originally ran 126 minutes. The characters are fleshed-out better in the longer version, and the story is expanded. Sure the campy acting contributed to the film's box office failure, but the factor that contributed greatly to the film's box office failure--a factor even greater than the campy acting and all other factors--was the fact that Japan's Pony Video had distributed the complete 126-minute version on imported laserdisc and VHS, 6 months prior to the United States theatrical release. This video release, in turn, kept audiences out of theaters, and generated low box office receipts. If you have been stuck seeing the 105-minute version for 15 years, or if this is the version with which you judge the film bad, I urge you all to take a look at Anchor Bay's videocassette of the 126-minute version. It is so much better.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad movie, not a great one either.....
Review: I know this movie is known far and wide as a flop, a disaster, an altogether awful movie. But I don't think it's really as bad as everyone says it is. "Supergirl" has some great actors. Helen Slater, and Faye Dunaway to name a couple. They're not at their best, but they give an overall good performance. Also, the musical score by Jerry Goldsmith is great. Especially the Supergirl theme. The special effects are, contrary to others opinions, actually some of the best I've seen in a Superhero movie. The flying sequences are great. The story, however, could use some work. Overall, though, Supergirl is an enjoyable movie for fans of Superman or Supergirl. It's entertaining and worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining!!
Review: Though a lot of bad things have been said about this movie, I only wish to say good things. True this movie wasn't made all that well and the script and acting have problems, but I still love to watch this movie. It's fun, entertaining and has a lot of good humor and action scenes. It's a great movie for the family! It has a killer musical score by Jerry Goldsmith and a reasonable plot. It's worth a viewing!
Rating: 
Summary: Virtually nothing going for it
Review: This is yet another failed attempt to transform a comic book into live action fare. It fails miserably, as does almost every comic book adaptation attempt (even Batman missed the mark). In this case, this movie suffers from severe plot holes, annoying and often painful bad acting, and cliches that make you cringe (why is it women heroes must fight women villains?). The only thing this movie has going for it is Jerry Goldsmith's excellent music and an absolutely stunning wire-work flying sequence, which, of course, lasts barely 90 seconds, and the film continues back on its downward spiral. The most unfortunate aspect of this whole movie is that it actually had the basic elements to be something very good. With an intelligent script and some ample money, a good movie could have been made. Unfortunately, it winds up being a fairly painful movie to watch as you bang your head asking why someone wasted an opportunity to make something good. Buy the movie not because it's good, but to see how not to make a movie. The elements were there to make it good, they just weren't executed. What a shame.
Rating: 
Summary: Who says a "Man" can be Super?!
Review: This movie is for everyone! It makes you wish you can fly! It funny, and filled with action!
Rating:
Summary: This movie was good, but the characters could use work
Review: If you like the Superman movies then you would like this one. It tells of his cousin, Kara (Supergirl). The characters were not developed fully and some could have been left out and the you would get the same effect.
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: Time to Believe a Girl Can Fly...!
Review: "Supergirl" hit the American theater screens in November of 1984, it did fairly well that first weekend, then faded into the backwash of movies that pop up from time to time at 3:00 in the morning while your up with a sick kid. The film is of little or no importance to film historians, usually looked upon as "The movie that was better than Superman III". The film eventually found a niche among a small band of followers that saw it for what it was, a heck of a lot of fun! Helen Slater débuts as the Girl of Steel, Superman's cousin Kara from a doomed chunk of Krypton that's survived the planet's explosion. (All of this is only breezed over in the film, of course.) Slater does for this film what Reeve did for the other movies in the franchise, she -is- Supergirl when she's on screen, much as Reeve -was- Superman, their presence is almost tangible, you forget it's an actor in a silly costume and simply accept them as the characters. The effects are, in a word, breathtaking, knocking the previous flying shots in the super-films to the ground hands-down. The "first flight" Supergirl takes is among one of the most watchable effects sequences ever committed to film, and was done in a time before CGI... Yes, the acting is often hammy and over-the-top (Particularly from the major "names" in the film), and, no it's not a knock-your-socks-off action/adventure...it's more a fairy-tale, as stated in the commentary track of the DVD. If you let yourself ease into it, it's one heck of a lot of fun. The colors on the DVD transfer are incredible, from the swirly red and blue mists and fantastic chromes of the opening credits to the muted colors of the Phantom Zone, the movie looks better than it did in the theater. If you've only seen this film on cable, or in the American Theater (or the dreadful quality VHS release of a few years back), give it a chance with this release, you haven't seen "Supergirl" at all. The directors commentary track explains a lot about the "Supergirl" movie that almost was (initially slated to have been "Superman III," I believe, as some of the storyboard cards presented in the supplements state) which would have featured Reeve as Superman, it makes us wonder what we may have missed... But we've got this, and, all things considered, it ain't half bad...time to watch "Supergirl" again, for the first time...let the child inside out for a couple of hours...and believe a girl can fly...!
Rating:
Summary: Not awful... but not 'Super', either
Review: Before I get down to the review proper, please note that I'm reviewing the 124-minute-long international version DVD of 'Supergirl' (available at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/6305842051/qid=1089790747/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-1200342-3991361?v=glance&s=dvd). I'm just letting you know this so as to avoid any confusion, seeing as how there are three different versions of this movie on DVD, and Amazon has decided to lump all reviews together, rather than separate them out by whichever edition each one was submitted under. BTW I wanted to do a write-up of the super-tricked-out 2-disc edition (available at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6305842027/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_1/102-1200342-3991361). Unfortunately(?), none of the local rental places had it in stock, so I had to take what I could get...
Anyhoo, let's get on with the show... In the mood to complete my viewing of the entire Salkind-funded Super-films, I finally decided to give 'Supergirl' a look. After watching it twice (once by itself and once with director commentary), I found it a fair-to-middling entry in the canon. It didn't quite stack up to Supes 1 or 2, but it wasn't quite as silly as Supes 3 or 4. Like most mid-quality comic-book-based flicks it has the usual case of overacting by most of the cast-- especially Faye Dunaway as the show's big heavy, and Peter York as the big heavy's scorned love interest. Fortunately, the overacting is cheesily counterbalanced by the UNDERacting of Helen Slater in the title role, and the just plain dopiness of our heroine's love interest played by Hart Bochner. Helping provide a link to the 'Superman' franchise is Marc McClure doin' his overly-cheerful aw-shucks routine as Daily Planet photog Jimmy Olsen. And even though it never quite reaches the level of hilarity that Gene Hackman and Ned Beatty attained in the original 'Superman', the quirky interplay between Dunaway's character and her sidekick (Brenda Vaccaro) helps add a decent level of levity to the whole affair. As you'd expect, there's plenty of special & visual FX thrown about, many of which haven't aged all that well. Some of the stuff still looks pretty good though, including most of the Supergirl flying sequences with the painted-out harness wires. Most of the bluescreen stuff, however, isn't quite as convincing. Especially glaring is one scene featuring three transitions in one "pan" that weren't aligned all that well. BTW if you listen to the commentary track featuring director Jeannot Szwarc while watching the movie, you can usually tell which effects weren't quite up to snuff in his estimation when he brings up how much better a particular shot would've turned out using modern CGI effects. The director commentary track also includes the usual bits of info regarding the movie's production, as well as Szwarc's thoughts on the thespian capabilities of various cat members, and a few somewhat amusing anecdotes thrown in for good measure. But for me the most interesting part of this track was the revelation that the producers wanted further links to the 'Superman' movies in the form of brief appearances by Christopher Reeve as Superman and (rumored) Margot 'Lois Lane' Kidder. Reeve apparently had voiced interest in being involved but eventually decided against it, which forced the film's crew to write and produce a new opening act. Them's the breaks in show biz... Also included with this edition of the DVD are the usual array of TV spots, theatrical trailers, and an hour-long documentary on the making of the movie. This doc covers the usual "making-of" ground such as how the whole project got started, the casting, and special effects. Unfortunately I didn't find much of interest here, save for the building of the small Midwest town set in the middle of a clearing somewhere in rural England for the "out-of-control backhoe digger" sequence. I tell ya, it was almost a shame to watch the rampaging machine trash half the town in the movie after seeing how much effort the set builders put into making it look like an authentic slice of Americana. Eh, they were just gonna tear it all down after filming was finished, anyway... Bottom line: while not exactly a high point in the annals of comic-book celluloid, 'Supergirl' ain't a complete waste. There's enough campiness thrown about to keep the average fan of cheeseball cinema reasonably entertained. It's worth at least a rental, if for nothing more than to get the curiosity outta yer system... 'Late
Rating:
Summary: The Limited 2-Disc set is a must-have for Supergirl fans!
Review: Sure, the movie has flaws, and there are plenty of them; the horrible overacting by Faye Dunaway as villainess Selena and Peter O'Toole as Zaltar, ineffective cameos by Mia Farrow and Simon Ward as Supergirl's parents, bad writing, an extremely convoluted plot involving the search for something called an Omegahedron, and a silly love triangle between Supergirl, Selena, and a gardner. But then there are the good things; Helen Slater gives a good, if mannered, performance as Kara/Supergirl, and Hart Bochner makes hearts flutter as her love interest. Brenda Vaccaro, Marc McClure, and Maureen Teefy provide amusing support, and the flying scenes with Slater are great, a combination of flying and ballet and she looks so natural- her first scenes on Earth were the best thing in the movie. But what makes this film a 4-star movie are all the great extras; two versions of the movie, one with nearly 30 minutes of deleted scenes, including a hilarious ad-libbed scene about Jehovah's Witnesses, a great making-of documentary, in which we get a brief look at Supergirl's original movie outfit, headband and all, that was featured in the DC comic book, and insightful and often times funny commentary with director Jeannot Szwarc and Scott Michael Bosco, and a great booklet all combine to make this limited edition of Supergirl a real winner. As good as Superman or Superman II? Of course not! But it is better than Superman III or IV, and it's appropriate for the entire family.
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