Rating: 
Summary: Awesome set
Review: For any Superman fan, this box set is a must. The Superman movies all look awesome on DVD format for the first time. Superman: The Movie is beautifully done, with a full restoration and new, restored sound effects. The film has never looked so good. There are also three very informative documentaries about the film, plus lots of other goodies. Superman II, III, and IV are not nearly as packed with extras, though. In fact, they have none except for the original theatrical trailer. But I must say the DVD versions of these films look so much better than any old VHS version you can find. Plus, they are in widescreen which is the only way anyone should ever watch a film. If you love the Superman movies, this set is for you. If you've never seen them, this is the best way to see them for the first time.
Rating: 
Summary: The Complete Superman Collection 4 DVD Box Set
Review: Despite it having the last two barely decent sequels ("III" and "IV") of the series, The Complete Superman Collection is a fine edition to a DVD collection. "Superman" and "Superman II" are , of coarse, the high point in this collection. "Superman" has received a great treatment in a Special Edition format. The commentary with Director Richard Donner was really facinating, it made me see the film in a whole new light, and made me appreciate the creation of the film like never before. Other higlights in the supplements of this classic film, were the two insightful making of featurettes hosted by Marc McClure ("Jimmy Olsen") and the screen test for the various roles, including Superman & Lois Lane. The actual film has received a decent transfer & D.D 5.1 Mix. While it isnt the best that I have heard, I did take into consideration the age of the film and compared it to the VHS, this DVD wins hand's down. The widescreen image helps a lot, I never realized how terrible the cropped VHS was until now. "Superman II" was robbed of having the Special Edition treatment. While it's great to see it in Widescreen, it lacks a D.D 5.1 Track, and any other extras (except for a Theatrical Trailer). This bothered me, becuase "II" is a complete extenstion of "I", and should have been given something better then this. "III" and "IV", with "IV" being the best of the two, even though no where near as good as the first two, should have also been given better releases, and not this lazy bare boned release. Perhaps the theory of "Can a good DVD, make a bad movie good?" could have applied to these two films. Remember I said PERHAPS. I gave this collection 4 Stars based on the overall look of the collection, the spectacular SE treatment of the first one, and the classic style of film making of the first two. But individually I would give the films the following ratings: "Superman" - 4 1/2 out of 5; "Superman II" - 4 out of 5; "III" - 2 1/2 out of 5; "IV" 3 out of 5.
Rating:
Summary: A must for any fan of science fiction, fantasy, adventure!
Review: This movie-- certainly the first two-- transcended the low-budget roots of comic-book/strip based feature films. Remember Buster Crabbe's "Flash Gordon" serials, complete with balsa-wood space-ships? Anyway, Richard Donner deserves more credit than he gets for making this movie a big hit-- both critically, as well as commercially-- As is revealed in the DVD special interviews, he actually directed most of SUPERMAN II; but was unceremoniously fired by the producing Salkind brothers, and no support was given by the Warner Bros. studio, despite the apparent success of the first film at the box office. Richard Lester was hired to essentially do a brush-up job on II, then helm an entire film on his own in III. The differences in those two films are rather glaring-- if II succeeded (for the most part) in maintaining a straight-face amidst all of the fantastic goings-on, then III made no attempt whatsoever for conceptual continuity. Jokey from start to finish, it essentially reflected the the attitude that most of the general public had towards Superman and such fantasy films-- ripe for parody. Witness Clark Kent 'accidentally' mistaking dog food for pate'-- you would figure, with his super-senses, he could tell the difference-- also, Superman, when stricken by artificial kryptonite, experiences a major mood swing: he starts ignoring disasters, then starts causing them (he pushes the Leaning Tower of Pisa upright, blows out the Olympic torch), begins drinking heavily (how many beers does it take for Superman to get drunk?), and even has a "rendezvous" with the villain's mistress. The jaded among the public might venture to say that he becomes "normal"... Ironically, III holds up better in retrospect, than it did when I first saw it. Even back then, I was somewhat disappointed by the seemingly relentless slapstick. The plot is reflective of the times-- the 80's Home Computer boom, propelled by Commodore, Apple, and IBM; and the paranoia of what the increased proliferation of computers in our daily lives meant.. It is bittersweet to see Richard Pryor in this film-- None of the effects of his legendary substance abuse problems were apparent here, and now that Multiple Sclerosis has debilitated him, it makes you miss seeing him on the screen now. Ironically, Pryor was dating Margot Kidder at the time III came about, but Kidder only has an extended cameo as Lois during an early scene and at the end-- presumably shot during the same day then edited later-- It was rumored that Kidder's public support of Donner led the Salkinds to reduce her role as Lois, and bring in Annette O'Toole as Lana Lang, Clark's high school sweetheart.. Part IV was the "worst" of the movies. CANNON films, under the guidance of Menahem Golan & Yoram Globus, financed the RAMBO films, as well as a string of similar action flicks (like AMERICAN NINJA and several CHUCK NORRIS vehicles); they bought the SUPERMAN rights from the Salkinds, and proceeded to make their own sequel. Reeve, allegedly reluctantly, came back, as well as all the principals from the first film-- except Marlon Brando, of course-- The Daily Planet is bought out by a tabloid magnate, and the staff is furious-- Though Clark, reluctantly, is willing to work things out-- In an interesting plot twist, Mariel Hemingway, as Lacey (the new boss' daughter), chases after the nerdish Clark, while Lois still pines for Superman.. A double-date scene is handled rather well-- Also, Jon Cryer, in his brat-pack heyday, plays Lenny Luthor, the teenaged nephew of the un-reformed criminal genius Lex. Gene hackman doesn't miss a beat as Lex, after not appearing in III. His wonderfully broad portrayal of Luthor went beyond the boastful posturing of the character that had become a staple in the comics-- what's more, he didn't wear a purple & green uniform, either. This may be the first case of when a movie portrayal of a comic book character is eventually used in the comic books-- A more subdued, business-like Luthor would be introduced to the comics in 1986, under John Byrne's stewardship.. The same can be said of Superman himself-- Byrne was so impressed with the first film, that he used that as a template to write new stories. Gone were the arguably tedious aspects of Superman's comic-book past, like the super-pets who escaped Krypton (a dog, monkey, cat, and horse, incidentally-- all looking perfectly like the earth specimens); gone was Superman's female cousin, Supergirl; gone was his own teenaged heroic career as Superboy; he now was revealed to have discovered his powers at a much slower rate than before-- And was truly, honestly, the LAST thing to survive from his home planet-- Mark Pillow is rather forgettable as "Nuclear Man"-- already, we saw a similar super-powered being-- in fact three of them, in PART II. So the physical threat was, essentially, a retread. The plot was reflective of the 80's cold war concerns, specifically, the state of the arms race-- After reading a young schoolboy's letter, Superman vows to rid the world of nuclear arms-- by collecting them in giant nets and hurling them into the sun, no less-- but Lex Luthor sabotages one of the missiles with a genetic clone device (connecting to a CURRENT public concern), and thus, the Nuclear Man is 'born'.. There is much talk of a "Superman Curse" in relation to this film series-- Aside from Pryor's problems, Margot Kidder's career never really took off beyond doing TV-movies, straight to Cable/Video films, and occasional guest spots-- not to mention her notorious public breakdown a few years ago-- Mariel Hemingway, whose sister Margaux committed suicide, similarly has had only middling success after SUPERMAN 4. And of course, Christopher Reeve's fateful riding accident has, arguably, made him a more high-profile celebrity than most of his feature film work since the Superman films-- he has become a public spokesperson for the disabled community, and an advocate for more research to be done on spinal-cord injuries.. Still, for great cinema, you can't beat this boxed set--
Rating:
Summary: GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: All I need to say is this set is FLAWLESS!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: good not great
Review: Superman is fine, but the sequels in this set should have some extras too. If someone's buying them all, that means that they like them all, so why not give more info on what we like. I guess we should all be thankful for the trailers being included, but I think a lot of time and effort was spent making these sequals and few will truly every grasp that effort without seeing membors of the production describe such effort. I'm sure Reeve would love to talk about his accomplishment and the accomplishments of everyone else involved so why did they do this? The answer may be just time. Maybe they had the first one ready and thought a quick box set would make money. If so they're right and wrong. True fans bought this set, others wised up and only bought the first movie seperatly.
Rating:
Summary: Let's save you a little time, and grief.
Review: This Box Set is OK. Superman I and II are very good movies, III and IV really suck. I wish I would have just bought the first two at $19.99 each. III and IV are just a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Mixed Blessings
Review: OK. Despite the fact that only the first Superman movie has the special treatment, the other three are not that bad off either. I am somewhat disappointed that II, III, and IV do not have the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound that the first one has, but I'll let it fly because they do have anamorphic widescreen. I'll rate these one by one... "Superman: The Movie" - ****1/2 out of ***** Quite possibly the best superhero movie ever done (Sorry Tim Burton, this one wins hands down). The way this movie was done was completely brilliant, right down to the religious referrences in the film. And Christopher Reeve is probably the ONLY choice ever to play Superman. Good going. The special effects were excellent at the time and earned a much deserved Oscar for it. The only bad spot in it, the one that keeps me from giving this the full 5 stars is Margot Kidder...there is OBVIOUSLY A BETTER LOIS LANE OUT THERE!!! Not only that, but watching the DVD version was like viewing the whole film all over again. There is a LOT that I missed in the pan and scan videos, such as the ambulence scene which I was wondering where Miss Tessmacher was in the ambulence when Otis tells Luthor of his (not so good) reprogramming of the missiles, Superman using his X-Ray vision to check both sides of a desk (it just shows the X-Ray thing moving across the screen in the pan-and-scan version), and others. You need widescreen to appreciate this movie fully. The additional footage was also pretty good, though I know there were even longer TV versions of it. And the sound FX were redone! "Superman II" - ****1/2 out of ***** An excellent sequel. I know the DVD treatment is not exactly what the first one got, though I'll go easy on it. Despite the fact it's not in Dolby Digital 5.1 and bare-bones in features, at least it has a good picture and anamorphic widescreen. This features Superman's best villains, the evil trio from Krypton. I enjoyed Terrence Stamp as General Zod ("These humans are beginnign to bore me!"). And the desperation of when the President calls for Superman, after he gave up his powers! Even though I knew Supes was gonna get his powers back, it still felt desparate. Again, what keeps me from giving this a full 5 stars is the fact of Margot Kidder, AND the fact that it doesn't fully explain how Supes got his powers back (it was definitley the green crystal at least). "Superman III" - *** out of ***** This film is a guilty pleasure to me, I have to admit. I like it, even thoug most don't. This one seems a lot more like a comedy, obviously with the presence of Richard Pryor. I liked the Supercomputer set as well as most of the other environments of this film, so I can't complain that much. Also, this movie gets us away from that screamy Lois Lane and gives us Annette O'Toole as the cute Lana Lang. And Brad Wilson (from the first Superman who taunted him) gets his just desserts at the end. Chris Reeve did a good job as evil Superman, and I liked the chemical fire sequence. It's not bad as some people think. "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" - *1/2 out of ***** We taped this back in 1987 on a Pay Per View channel, my mother didn't like it. I never knew why; I never got the gyst of film critics until much later. I also heard this movie has lously special effects. All true...I liked the nuclear arms part as well as seeing the Fortress of Solitude again. However, the rest of this film...uh... The flying effects were LOUSY!! HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO US?!!! Even worse is when Superman lands on the moon, you can actually see the FREAGGIN STRINGS!!! This ruined most of the film for me, it also had a lousy opening credits sequence (the other three were better) and the ending credits didn't have those cool "blue streaks" among the stars like the previous three ones did. The whole Lois Lane and Clark Kent/Superman thing falling from a building was totally out of place. Superman still had Kent's GLASSES ON FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! GEEZ!!!! Added to the fact that Lacy whoever-she-was was carried out into space by Nuclear Man, where in reality she would die out there. I can't blame the Razzies for nominating this flick for worst special effects.
Rating:
Summary: Super Sequels a Super Disappointment
Review: The DVD for the first movie was pretty good, despite the fact that they screwed up the sound effects, and didn't have the original cut for completeness. The others should have had more features. I don't know about you, but a trailer and a "Cast & Crew" per disc isn't enough for me. A DVD of Donner's Superman II with features galore would be better than what is available. A complete version of Superman IV would be great, too.
Rating:
Summary: SUPERMAN ON DVD!
Review: It's about time! I waited for the DVD package for well over a year. Two of my all time favorite movies, and 2, well, may as well have the set. Maybe they play better when I'm drunk or something. On to my reviews. The first Superman on DVD. This is a great movie with plenty of extras. But there is a flaw. Warner Brothers did not provide the original edit of the movie. Sometimes this is not a bad thing. Many of the other DVDs I own offer up two seperate edits of the movie & I usually select the longer take. But I probably would have made an exception for Superman. There are 2 inserted scenes that I had problems with. The first was early on in the movie where the council sends a guard to arrest Jor-El. The guard goes on his way & disapears. Undoubtedly he was killed en route when Krypton blew up, but it felt like a hanging plot point. The other problem scene takes place after Superman reveals himself to Metropolis. A certain tone & pace is established in this movie at that scene which is thrown off by a sudden cut back to the Fortress of Solitude where Jor El counsels Superman on the importance of maintaining a secret identity. It isn't a bad scene, but it throws off the pace of the movie. The commentary track by Richard Donner & Tom Mankiewicz is informative and makes me wonder how much more wonderful Superman II would have been had Donner been allowed to complete the picture. Apparently they had filmed Marlon Brando's scenes for the movie & for reasons I will never understand, those scenes were excised by Richard Lester. It made me crave a completely alternate edit of Superman II. I would also like to have seen the original ending for Superman I which was also discussed in the commentary track. Superman II. Great fun. Effects aren't as good as the first Superman, & the disc is woefully light on extras. One can also see camp elements at times threatening to overwhelm the picture, particularly when the three villains are blowing at the citizens of Metropolis. Scenes like that didn't bother me before, but annoyed me here. Maybe I'm getting old. Still the movie carries on quite nicely from where I left off & is highly satisfactory as entertainment. Superman III showed the Salkinds getting desperate with their franchise. Or maybe they just didn't know how to manage it. The camp buries all sense of adventure & wonder in the first two films. The only way they could have excused such silliness is if they had made the villain Mr. Myxlptk or whoever the little irritating imp is in the comics who turns up to harass Superman every now & then. That would have provided an excuse for scenes involving walk & don't walk street lights getting into a fight with each other. Margot Kidder was written out of this movie because she protested the firing of Richard Donner during Superman II. I hope she laughed in the Salkind's faces after they released this one. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. This was the first time I actually sat all the way through this movie. It has lots of problems, beginning with Superman saving a runaway subway train when the driver suffers a heart attack. Lois Lane is on the train & when it speeds up she is the only one screaming for help. The other passengers are jostled a bit but nowhere near the panic that Lois is displaying. That is very out of character. Then, when Superman stops the train, he actually keeps some rescue workers from getting to the injured driver so that he can deliver a short speech on the safety of Metropolis's subway system. Not so super. Scriptwise they were about 4 drafts away from something presentable. In terms of special effects, this is diametricly opposed to the first Superman movie. The special effects in Superman I were great with one or two bad effects shots. In Superman IV the effects by and large were bad with one or two good effects shots. And why did they have Nuclear Man take Mariel Hemingway into outer space? It was a very very stupid scene. It would have played better if they were just high over the city. Yet all in all I am satisfied by this set.
Rating: 
Summary: Two really good movies...
Review: so why are there four of them? "Superman: The Movie" and "Superman II" are the real stars here. Five stars each, as a matter of fact. They are perfect examples of bringing a comic book to life. Unfortunately, they didn't stop there. "Superman III" is the perfect example of what happens when you put the Man of Steel into a bad Richard Prior movie. The only redeeming scene being the fight between the good and evil Superman. Then there is "Superman IV: The Quest for (Another Quick Buck)," with it's pitifully bad story, special effects and color matching. Save the time of buying this set and just buy the first two discs. The last two are just a waste of valuable DVD space.
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