Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best DVD's ever!!!!!!
Review: For a film made in 1978, this movie looks brand new on DVD, I was really impressed, this is by far the best comic-book adaption ever, director Richard Donner really brought human emotion to th character of Superman, the film begins on Krypton where three villians are cast into space for crimes(villians of "Superman II), Marlon Brando stars as Jor-El,a scientist who knows Krypton's fate is at hand, knowing this he dispatches his son to outer space for his journey to earth just before Krypton's destruction, once there his son Ka-el is found by a childless couple who take him as their own, the film the proceeds with Ka-el better known as Clark Kent as a teenager who discovers he has unlimited powers, after his adopted father dies, he is lured into the family barn where a mystical crystal has called to him, a crystal that echoes his roots, he soon leaves & delivers it to an isolated area in an iced region, where it builds his fortress & where he discovers his true identity, the film soon takes us to Metropolis where Kent is a reporter, we soon meet Lex Luthor(Gene Hackman) who has a plan for California that involves earthquakes, a freak accident involving Lois Lane brings out the hero in Clark Kent where Superman is revealed for the first time, aware of his existence Luthor attempts to destroy Superman so he can proceed with his plan, but his plan fails, & soon after Superman is chasing missles that Luthor has rigged to hit California, the missle chase is awesome where you see determination in Reeve's eyes, who does a wonderful job as Superman, the earthquake in California is intense as Superman attempts to stop its destruction, this was a well made film that had a very good sequel & is one of the best DVD's around, with added scenes such as Luthor's lair that Reeve enters, as he tries to take out Superman with machine guns, fire, & snow & ice, which have no effect, a great scene that is somewhat comical, the best Superman period!!!
Rating:
Summary: SUPERMAN for ALL SEASONS
Review: Richard Donner's cinematically mythic incarnation of the origin
and initiating adventures of THE MAN of STEEL is a pleasure to watch. ... It's one of few films with all-ages appeal that endures as great entertainment. The script--whether by Puzo or Mankiewicz--is superb in plot and pace. The SUPERMAN score(digitally enhanced;content-expanded for special re-release)is John Williams'undisputed popular music masterpiece.The acting of the enormously talented cast speaks for itself. CHRISTOPHER REEVE incarnates unashamed kindness totally devoid of pseudo-hipness(actually the manner Gene Hackman does essay LEX LUTHOR).TV's "surprisingly" successful SMALLVILLE seems to have captured this essential goodness;and perhaps took its cue from Jeff East's marvelous cameo as young Clark Kent. SUPERMAN THE MOVIE is great stuff. For what it's worth, SUPERMAN II should have been the CONSUMMATE sequel.But Brando's super-ego prevented the story Donner intended from being filmed.[[Most film buffs know it was Superman's defiance of PRIME DIRECTIVE(not to alter human history)for love of Lois Lane by warping the SPACE-TIME continuum to "resurrect"her that shatters the Phantom Zone freeing Krypton's arch-criminals intent on world domination-in-vengeance:You shall bow down before me,Jor-El; and one day...your heirs!" The multiple ironies impied in this plot ARE mythic, virtually Biblical. SUPERMAN'S "original sin" jeopardizes the humanity he's supposed to guide. Perhaps that's why Brando didn't think a sequel could be made without him. I think Richard Lester did well with potential disaster...which Superman IV was...but SUPERMAN II is its own story.]] Standing alone,SUPERMAN-THE MOVIE does stand alone.It's a magnificent, sometimes stirring modern fairy-tale. Christopher Reeve plays the jaded world's Knight-in-shining-armour; a mythical hero joining ranks of very few from Hercules and Odysseus,to King Arthur and 007.As Reeve essays him,he's a SUPER GOOD GUY,a Superman for All Seasons......
Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: A great movie concerning the origins of 'The Man of Steel'. Christopher Reed will always be Superman in the eyes of many people. I have no complaints about the movie it's great. However, never in my life have I seen a movie with such long opening credits. I've never timed it, but I swear the outer space sequence with the constant 'Whoosh' of names just goes on forever. I still remember seeing this in the theater with my parents. As soon as the credits began I had to go to the bathroom. My dad took me and then we waited in line for snacks and drinks for the rest of the family. I was edgy because I didn't want to miss a second of Superman. After what seemed an eternity, we made it back to our seats. We had time and a half to spare. My mother then went to the ladies room, she came back and the credits STILL flew on the screen. My dad commented "I think everybody made this movie". The crowd around us began to laugh.
Rating:
Summary: Superman Vs. Lex Luthor!
Review: This is a terrific movie. Christopher Reeve is in my opinion the definitive Clark Kent/Superman and the rest of the cast is top notch too, Gene Hackman, Margo Kidder, etc. And as a side note to Leonard Snerdley: Lex Luthor was in the movie, he was played by Gene Hackman and was called Lex Luthor several times, you must have been in the bathroom or at the consession stand or something when his name was mentioned. Anyhow, this is an terrific movie and I highly recommend it and I like the movie so much I'm going to buy the DVD!
Rating:
Summary: Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's....
Review: Well, you know the rest. That's the great thing about this movie, it's uplifting and entertaining. Makes you want to believe a man can fly (hence the tagline used in the original promotional campaign). And what this DVD does best is show you how they did that. Three full-length documentaries take you back to 1977, when there was no CGI and computer animation to create breathtaking stunts in mere days. Back then you had to do it with blue screens, wires, gimbals, some trick photography, and months of work (the film took two years to make), and still you had to cross your fingers that the result would turn out right. It's truly fascinating to see how different things were and how well they pulled it off. Other bonuses are the screen tests featuring actors such as Stockard Channing and Lesley Ann Warren reading for the part of Lois Lane, as well as a young and skinny kid named Christopher Reeve in his first screen test in the red and blue suit. The documentaries also feature present-day interviews with the director, special effects crew, and the actors. If you saw this movie when it was on TV in the early '80s you'll remember most of the additional 8 minutes of footage (including the "gauntlet" where Lex Luthor tries to shoot, burn and freeze Superman, to no avail). I do somehow remember some more scenes which are not here, such as Otis wiping his arm across his forehead and smearing the missle codes (which is why he messes them up) but two additional scenes are provided which are not integrated into the movie: Otis feeding Luthor's "pets" (whatever they are), and Superman rescuing Miss Tesmacher from same "pets" after saving Lois. The audio quality is incredible, and the video is crisp and clear (which, unfortunately, tends to highlight the limitations of the blue screen technique). The disc is double-sided, with the documentaries and screen tests on "side B" (although it is not so marked which can be annoying). Overall this is a great addition to any DVD collection.
Rating:
Summary: Superman DVD gets A+
Review: Last night a friend that works at Warner Brothers brought over a surprise: The Superman-The Movie two disc DVD! And after watching it, I've got some good news, and some bad news. First the good news- This new version is even better that the original edit of the film. A lot more of Marlon Brando's scenes. And the really cool sequence in Lex Luthor's underground hide out where he tries to kill Superman with bullets, fire & cold. Plus more... The picture quality is just stunning. Krypton has this insane glow to it. And the new sound rivals brand new movies. The music is bright & vibrant, swirling all around you, and the entire 5.1 mix is used very well. Now, the bad news- There's only the one version of the movie. I had hoped you'd be able to play the original, too. More good news- The second disc has an enormous amount of brand new special features (almost two hours worth.) In their entirety, they seem to transport you back in time to relive the fascinating story of how the two Superman movies got made--up until director Richard Donner was stupidly fired, and not brought back to finish the second film. There's a lot of never-been-seen before, behind-the-scenes footage. In the casting tests you can see early versions of the Superman costume as Chris Reeve plays against many actresses including Leslie Warren, Anne Archer (both who were very good,) and of course Margot Kidder. And then there are the two exceptional documentaries with new interviews from almost everybody. They follow the history of the two films, and include very interesting business aspects. Chris Reeves' story is very touching. Also included is a documentary on the special effects with neat(!) early flying tests. Now more bad news- My friend took the discs with her. To some up: this is the most complete, classy & top notch DVD package I have ever seen. Very well done ! A+
Rating: 
Summary: Should be a two disk set however....
Review: With this DVD, you only get half your money, while Warners put some great bonus features as well as great restored movie print of the film, they decited just to use one disk and have the movie on one side and the bonus features on the other. This is a bit cheap and since Warners is now making more two disk DVD sets of some of their more successful movies, they should re-release this movie on DVD as a two disk set. It would look better and be more worthy of a great movie that this is.
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Summary: Still the Best Comic to Film Ever Made....
Review: One of the reasons why this movie is still as great as it is because Richard Donner belived in the project. Wanted to do a good movie on Superman and just got together the best cast and film crew together to do it, and he really brought that degree of team effort and ethusaism for the project and that brought about the same feelings for the cast and crew to really make the best picture that they could. It worked. For twenty years afterward, Superman was still seen as the best comic book movie ever made and had a lasting effect on the public where as so many other productions on the same genre failed to do. It's kind of ironic that while this movie has influced the current generation of film makers to do better quality movies on the superhero story, this only seems to be for directors who do these movies at other studios, and not at Warner Brothers. They own DC Comics, and yet their recent efforts at doing films based on DC characters have really fallen by the wayside. They are either not made, or they get made but turn out to be really poor pictures. Warner Brothers tries to promote and talk about the 1978 Superman movie as much as possible, and yet they themselves can not seem to make a good picture on any other DC characters and that's a shame.
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Summary: The Man of Steel is Real...
Review: Superman-The Movie soars because of Richard Donner, Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Geoffrey Unsworth, Roy Field, Zorin Perisic, and so many other brilliant players. There will never be a "family" like this one again who came together and created magic in filmmaking. This film is not about special effects. It's an actor's, director's, and cinematographer's film. The writing is unmatched (especially when you compare it to the other Superman films), and the performances are powerful, innocent, charming, and original. Christopher Reeve is THE reason for watching this movie. He was born to play the character. What made his performance so perfect (besides his good lucks, charm and acting talent) was that he purposely underplayed the characters, especially Superman. There will never be another Man of Steel, on film or in real life, like Chris. I was research consultant on the DVD restoration (see my name as the last credit in the documentaries), and what an honor and thrill it was to be involved in such a fun and exciting project. I was extremely pleased with the results. I saw the remaster projected in San Antonio in March 2001 and was blown away. It definitely looked and sounded superior to what I remember in 1978. I sent about 100 pounds of photos and promotional items to Warner Bros. for consideration in the documentaries/supplemental section of the DVD. A lot was used, however, a stills gallery was rejected because WB wanted to stay with a one disc, dual-sided DVD package. I decided to create the CapedWonder website to showcase the images that didn't make it on the DVD. Check it out sometime. To all who made this wonderful film from March 1977 to October 1978, and to those who remastered it in 2000 and 2001...Thank You! I believe... This movie has heart. You'll remember how much once you've seen this edition! Jim Bowers
CapedWonder
Rating:
Summary: More Powerful than a Locomotive....
Review: The 1978 film Superman (and its companion piece, Superman II, more a continuation of the first film than a sequel) is, simply, the greatest film adaptation of a comic book character ever. The film is not without flaws, but is essential viewing. It is that for a number of reasons. First is the loving and respectful adaptation of Superman, who is now more than a comic book character. Superman is an archetype, a myth, a folk hero. He is to us Americans what Hercules was to the Greeks, or Sir Lancelot to the English. The makers of this film actually *understood* this, and worked *with* and not *against* the mythic power of the character. (It sounds simple enough, but a generation of filmmakers afterward have failed to grasp the importance of this basic concept.) Kudos to writer Mario Puzo (of Godfather fame) for his original script, even if the prodcers felt it necessary to hire two other writing teams to lighten his somber vision. Kudos to director Richard Donner, whose work on this film may occasionally clunk along rather than soar, but whose understanding of what makes Superman truly heroic never falters. Kudos to Gene Hackman, for offering us the seemingly impossible--a lovable Lex Luthor. (You'd be laughing right along with this guy, even as he dropped a nuke on your house.) Kudos to cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth and the special effects team. The effects hold up surprisingly well after all this time. The truth is, Superman was never a quantum leap forward in effects the way, say, Star Wars or The Abyss were. The genius of this film was, and is, to emply a variety of effects--wires, bluescreen, miniatures, animation--to depict the same scene, then quick cut from one to the other. The viewer was, and is, usually not given enough time with any one effect to figure out how it's done. The eye is fooled into accepting the vision. There is real magic here, but it didn't come from the special effects lab. It came from the heart and soul of Christopher Reeve, who plays both Superman and Clark Kent to perfection. In the end, it is Reeve that makes the movie credible, who makes you care. Check out the scene in Lois Lane's apartment where Reeve changes from Clark Kent to Superman and back again in a matter of seconds. There're no special effect at work, just Reeve using his voice and his body. That, my young friends, is what we used to call "acting." Even in the age of CGI, It still has the power to knock you over.
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