Rating: Summary: Superb DVD of the original film, but what about the sequels? Review: Having been looking forward to seeing the newly restored and remastered Superman:The Movie on DVD for what seems like ages, I was simply hoping and praying that Warner's wouldn't let us down when the film was finally released. I wasn't expecting the film to look like it was shot yesterday, especially as the prints shown on TV and available on video were so damaged and worn by now, but I was hoping that Warner's would pull out all the stops. So when I placed the double-sided disc of Superman in my DVD player, I was simply awestruck at what I heard and saw as soon as the credits started rolling, with John Williams' infamous theme sounding so full of vibrancy and life that you'd think he recorded the score last week, and not over 20 years ago! When the film actually started, with Marlon Brando on Krypton, I knew that the people involved with this special-edition had outdone themselves. Quite simply, this is one of the best restorations of any film you are likely to see, and having only seen the film on video or TV before, it was like seeing the film for the first time. Hardly any grain is noticeable throughout the print, and the colours are given new life, with Superman's costume appearing at last as it should, with the blues and reds jumping off the screen with a vibrancy they previously didn't have. The new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is also a winner, and has given much more edge to the countless explosions and action sequences the film has to offer. It also works well during the more tender, emotional moments, such as Clark saying goodbye to his mother, with Williams' score sounding as emotional and powerful as it should. Only very occasionally did the 5.1 mix sound as if it was tampering with the original feel of the soundtrack, and it's hardly noticeable. The countless special features are also excellent. From the three informative and "new" documentaries, to the equally interesting commentary, Warner's have done a superb job on filling the disc with as much quality supplemental material as possible. So, all in all, Superman:The Movie is a special-edition DVD that can not be missed. Well done to everyone involved. When it came to the sequels though, Warner chose not to put any real extra work in at all. Not surprising I suppose when you consider how much went into the making of the original film's DVD, but a real shame when you realise how much supplemental material must be available. Superman II, III and IV all have theatrical trailers and that's it. Not even the soundtracks have been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, and whilst the Dolby Surround soundtracks sound okay, they are sorely lacking when you've just heard the 5.1 mix on the original. Superman II is the film that suffers most, with a print that whilst clear and more than watchable, is now showing signs of age, with many blips, scratches, and color wash-out evident throughout. The soundtracks also sounds the worst of the four films. III and IV fare better, with both the prints of these two average sequels looking very clear and far better than they have ever looked on TV, video or laserdisc. The biggest crime for me, is that Warner's didn't think to put a director's cut of Superman IV on the DVD, as the film suffered due to being cut by some 40 minutes or so! Whilst Superman IV does have many faults, including some poor special effects, it's nowhere near as bad as many claim, and I'm sure the full uncut version would be much better. In the case of the sequels then, and Part IV particular, Warner's have slipped up. However, the sheer quality of the first film, makes this set more than worthwhile, and it's nice to have all 4 films available on DVD anyway!
Rating: Summary: A Great Deal for Collectors. Review: I think that the Superman Collection was a long overdue addition to the DVD format. I feel that this collection is a great deal for those like myself who really enjoy collecting DVD's.This kind of packaging makes getting the entire collection of a certain series easy and ofcourse makes it nicer for a collection to have a box set. I only hope that they can do the same with the Batman Movies, which would make a very collectable box set aswell.
Rating: Summary: First one is fabulous, others OK Review: I have been a collector of Superman comics and memorabilia for over 25 years. I can remember seeing the first movie in the theater, and the fascination and anticipation that went along with it. So I have been awaiting the release of the DVD's with anticipation as well. The first movie does not disappoint-it has been remastered beautifully, the audio makes my walls shake and it has all the great extra features mentioned in other reviews. The other three movies are somewhat of a disappointment, though. The video is obviously not as sharp and the audio is only in 2-channel digital instead of 6. While watching Superman II, I could actually hear original master tape hiss during the quiet parts. The quality of the picture and sound is no better than that of a good videotape, the only thing worthwhile about the DVD's is the letterboxing and the digital convenience features. It would have been very nice if they had given the deluxe treatment to Superman II, the others don't concern me as much. But if you are a collector like me, you will probably want to get the whole set, as this is likely to be as good as it gets (at least for a long while).
Rating: Summary: A Super Collection From Superman Himself! Review: Superman has always and still be my greatest super hero of all time.I love the collection pack of this DVD.The sound and picture quality are SUPERb.The movie really took me down to memory lane when I was a kid watching this movie over & over again.This DVD collection pack is a must for all the SUPERMAN fans.
Rating: Summary: Superman Review: The quality of the first disc in the set more than makes up for the others. It features superbly remastered image and sound, 3 informative documentaries, highly entertaining screentests, and a rounding-off text passage highlighting the history of the Superman story. I haven't mentioned the commentary, because frankly, whilst it contained enough nuggets of information about the film to keep the amateur film buff happy, much of it is taken up by director Donner & creative-man Mankiewicz saying the actors lines for them, much as the annoying person sitting behind you in the cinema might. But still, this is one of those happy occasions when you don't need to buy the film for the extras, which are simply a fantastic bonus. That goes again for Superman 2, though this time - no bonus (a trailer, cast list, and, ahem, "interactive menus"). It all goes horribly wrong with Superman 3 - and with no extra features worthy of mention (a terrible give-it-all-away trailer for a terrible film, anyone?), it's simply a bad film, in an average presentation on a lousy disc. Part IV is the same.. though a slightly better film (until the quality of DVD allowed me to see WIRES suspending Superman as he lands on the moon - I never spotted THAT as a kid! That single moment ruined any nice thoughts I was having about the film). Finally, a shimmeringly lovely box rounds off the collection, though where's the collectible booklet, Warner? If you like DVD, you have to own the first disc. If you like Superman, Part 2 is a must. If you want these two, you may as well pay a bit extra to get the box and two extra films that are, at least, worth a revisiting - from time to time.
Rating: Summary: You will belive a DVD can fly? Review: Ok this is a great set and well worth the money for any fans of superman. The first movie gets the full treatment with tons of extras but the rest they went cheapo on and rushed them out the door, But you know while the last movie is not that great but hey you get all of them and their fun . Fun movies like superman don't come along much and they all look clear as can be and the color and sounds pop out at you making this a very nice set.
Rating: Summary: Better than LV or my first VHS Review: After seeing this movie in the theater in 1978 I bought the BETA version when it first came out. I got ripped off as it was not in wide-screen, it was time compressed and the end of the credits were missing. I paid $.. back then. Now I have the entire series for $.. and it is in wide-screen and with many added scenes. The director's commentary is terriffic. The print quality is impeccable. They could not have done a better job. This is a DVD at it's finest.
Rating: Summary: A good value Review: Ive been waiting for Superman to come out on DVD for alooong time. In fact if they just make the Indy Jones & Satr wars films and Once Upon a Time in the West on DVD, then the DVD powers that be will have satisfied me. This 4 part set is a good value. For the most part you are primarily paying for Superman and Superman II, as these were outstanding movies overall, while III is not good and IV is just plain unwatchable. Both had great action which displays superman's abilities in a beleiveable way and both have scripts and characters that most viewers can buy into. Superman is an epic and looks like one, with sweeping cinematography, a perfect cast and great character interation. Superman II is a logical sequel to the first film whoich flows well, further developing the Superman mythology and showing us super-cool battles between Supes and 3 super powered Kryptonian villlians. Awesome fight. Superman III and IV suffer from having such ridiculous scripts, insultingly improbably situations and poor character development (in fact in IV they just seem to be repeating by rote lines and scenes from Superman I to try to relive what was a good thing the first time around, but awkward in the rehash by 1987). Superman III is a mean film that just plain makes Superman look like a scoundrel without doing much to redeem him (also how did the bad guys know that Superman would turn back to good in the final sequence?). The fight scene between Superman and Clark Kent was kind of interesting though, even if there was no logical premises for it. Superman IV's concept of Superman declaring himself the supreme ruler and micromanager of the world by "forcing" us all to be "peaceful" as he absconds with the worlds nukes in order to make a little boy feel good is pretty lame. If that had actually occured in 1987 then Russia and the US would not have had the self-determination to end the cold war; instead Superman would be the world's protective dictator and massive conventional warfare would have sparked up immediately upon the removal of the nukes from Earth. Also, the dialog was silly and repetitive of Superman I. The not-so-special effects were just plain bad and took a major step back from the first 3 films. In Superman IV it did not appear that a man could fly. Instead it look like someone was manipulating a cardboard cut out of Chris Reeve to make Superman "fly". Also, perhaps the writers don't know this, so I will give them a quick science lesson: Human beings cannot breath in space! In fact they will freeze to death, depressurize and die immediately if in space without a spacesuit. (I even knew this when I saw it in the theater when I was 10). Still III and IV might be good for laughs or for compulsive completists to have in their collections. While II, III and IV do not have really anything in the way of extras, Superman has tons of great extras such as deleted scenes (about 20 mintutes of relevant ones are put into the film) and screen tests of Lois and Supes. Its interesting to see how lame all of the other Lois candidates were. If you ony want the best of Superman however, dont buy the set, just get Superman and Superman II.
Rating: Summary: Good Collection of Films Review: The Complete Superman Collection on DVD is a mixed blessing. We finally get the Superman movies on DVD. However, only the first film was given royal treatment. Superman I has new scenes, 5.1 soundtrack, loads of extra's and widescreen presentation. Superman II, III and IV are all in widescreen, but they lack 5.1 sound or extra's. Each film has their own charm to it, but each film lost a little quality. However, III and IV are not as bad as you may remember. Despite bad special effects and obvious postproduction cutting, Superman IV has many nice moments. If you are a Superman fan as I am, this is the collection to own. Casual viewers may want to stick with Superman I.
Rating: Summary: Great story... But, DVD Junk Review: The Superman story is great... BUT, the DVD is terrible. It looks like they took the VHS copy turned up the gain and put it on a DVD. There is WAY too much color saturation and intensity, the light colors (white, yellow, red, etc.) are too bright and wash out the rest of the scene. This is a SLOPPY, LOW QUALITY copy and NOT what a DVD should be.
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