Rating: Summary: WWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!! Review: Even though there wern't many canges this completly changed the way I even LOOK at Superman. The changes are so much for sombody who has looked at Superman in one specific way all there life.
Rating: Summary: For this fan, it's a childhood dream come true! Review: Like many have said before, watching "Superman: The Movie" is not like just being a kid again, it's better! Especially, with this new DVD version! It was great to watch the interviews they had with the cast and crew! Along with the theatrical trailers to the movie, and the deleted scenes(which are probably some of the best and funniest moments in the film)! What makes it more cool is when you can just listen to the soundrack (music by the master himself John Williams), and just read the subtitles to the film, it gives you a true feeling of being part of a silent film where the music really tells the story! But the actual Superman story itself is a true piece of magic! This wonderful story where Kal-El, the soul survivor of Krypton, grows up in Smallville, then goes to Metropolis to become Superman (and who disguised as Clark Kent), and fight for truth, justice, and the american way! Superman is really the greatist hero for all of us to have, and somedays I wish he was real, and he could handle the major problems of the world! A must for all devoted fans!
Rating: Summary: Super MOVIE!! Review: Who could not like the film?Gene Hackman's sardonic portrayal, Christopher Reeve's "goody good" Superman role, and Margot Kidder's mind-in-the-clouds Lois Lane are all superb and flawless. Granted, Brando was paid a ridiculous amount of money for reading a couple of lines (w/ top billing to boot). $3.2 million? Wow,...I wish I could make that money giving a conference at my work...and I talk more than that! Beautifully-written dialog and a story that goes from origins to potential disaster in a single sweep of a movie is breathtaking and ambitious. Not many movies (this one is 143 minutes, roughly "uncut") can catch your attention for that long and leave you yawning. Too bad old Lex couldn't have spent more of his time bald...still, the 70s touch was nice.
Rating: Summary: Superman is BACK and BETTER THAN EVER!!!! Review: WOW!!!!!!! I must tip my hat to AOL-Time Warner for this DVD. They gave it preferential treatment, and it shows. THe DVD is just loaded with extras. If you want it, it has it. The extras weren't the fantastic part of the DVD, the fantastic part is the actual movie. Richard Donnor, the director of the 1st and most of the 2nd installment, did a fantastic job on putting in added footage to the movie. There's an added scene in the first few minutes with Marlon Brando, and i am suprised it was never in the original release, because it just helps explain Krypton better. Then, there's another added scene where Lex Luthor tries to kill Superman with bullets and stuff, and I'm suprised that wasn't in the original release. The visual transfer of the movie is amazing. It is extremely clear, and a joy to watch the visuals. The audio has been remastered in Dobly Digital. I have a subwoofer on my sound system, and all I can say is that it really was put to excellent use during th earthquake. The movie is also in anamorphic widescreen, which I love. Movies shoul always be viewed in a widescreen, and never pan and scan. I'll admit, I grew up loving Superman. Now, with this DVD, that love has be rekindled. If anyone is looking to build their DVD collection, this is an absolute must. Once Superman II gets the same treatment as the original, then I will purchase that one too. I hear that next year, there will be a Superman II: Special Edition.
Rating: Summary: Was great in it's time,but now is just a curiosity. Review: I realize that what i'm about to say is going to be considered sacreligious to all you S-Man fans,but DVD does nothing to hide the fact that "Superman the Movie",and the rest of the series have not aged well.I loved them when i was young,but now,even with the enhanced sound,and fairly decent DVD transfer,there is nothing appealing about the man in tights.I tried to enjoy it with the same youthful wonderment i did as a child,but i soon realized there's times when you can't go back.I did'nt even finish watching it,that's how boring and outdated everything felt.If you are a fan,you probably pre-ordered the original,or the collection the day it was announced,but i would caution the undecided to maybe rent them first,to see if the magic is still there.You'll be glad you did.
Rating: Summary: The best comic to film transfer ever made. Review: Richard Donner's huge and exciting epic on the man of steel was no doubt an ambitious project for them 23 years ago.The salkind team gave it life and made one of the best comic to film transfers ever , the very reason why Superman works lies in it's magic and the very charm of it's cast and crew who all struggled to make an authentic film that would appeal to comic fans as well as mainstream movie goers but no one could have ever anticipated what Superman would do , but it sky rocketed at the box office , having the second longest box office run in history.Even the director says that no one could have played the role of the man of steel like Christopher Reeve for the hour and a half that he was in it he was Superman and the uniform never looked better on him better than any comic book could show him. It's cast includes the great Marlon Brando,Christopher Reeve,Margot Kidder,Gene Hackman,Jackie Cooper.The film starts on the i'll fated Krypton where after a trail with 3 mysterious foes.Kalel played brillantly by Brando has a warning sign that Krypton is in danger,but the counsil refuses to beleive him fearing the worst he and his wife prepare to send his only child a son named Jorel to Earth as he sends the starship on his way the planet is self distructing twords the sun until final distructon. When the starship lands in Smallville,Kansas he is now introduced to an elderly couple who will be his future family.The film skips to Clark Kent's teenage years who is played charmingly by Jeff East but must be embarresingly dubbed by Reeve is the most centimental part of the film as he tries to cope with having super powers but when he looses his father he dicovers a crystal and then discovers where his future lies to the North Pole where he magically makes a fortress of solitude , there he will begin to learn about his past his father and why he is on earth after all is said and done his father is now ready to give the world his son and we shall know him as SUPERMAN. In the film we switch scenes yet again to the Daily Planet in New York where he plays out his secret identity and meets the specal woman that will capture SUPERMANS heart Lois Lane played humeriously by Margot Kidder when an accident happens atop a building when she is sent in for an assignment , the world will get there first encounter with the man of steel an sets Lois heart afire,the most romantic scene is a flying scene a memerable one with Superman and Lois, but just as things are going well for Superman he meets his nemisis Lex Luthor who is played even more humeriously by Gene Hackman who devises a plan for world domination and gives Superman a taste of his own planet Kryptonite.Superman delays Luthors plans only to find the Lois is a casulty Supeman brakes the rules to save her and sets the tone for the exciting Superman 2. Packed with options such as a theatrical trailer and deleted scenes one of them being Lex Luthor testing Superman in his gauntlet it is humerious.3 documentarys and for the first time ever Superman in Dolby Digital now you can hear Jhon Willam's amazing and awsome score in digital sound a treat even for people that have already seen this movie grab Superman on DVD it is the only way to see this huge and epic classic it spawned 3 sequals the last two are forgettable while Superman 2 is good companion peice to the first film.
Rating: Summary: A very good but hardly a perfect DVD. Review: Let me start off by saying that the video transfer is outstanding and any true fan of "Superman: The Movie" should snap it up. With that said let me get to the reason I can't personally give this DVD release 5 stars. Audio wise this version blows aways all previous home video versions of the film. Still, the dialogue track at times sounds a bit flat in comparison to both the music track and new foley track (which I personally have no problem with at all). The layer switch point is a bit akward and points out a minor print flaw that at normal speed would not be visable. A better switch point would have been immediately following the air force one sequence (which would not have had affected either the commentary track or the music only track). The deleted scenes section is beyond skimpy with only two scenes, this is a DVD-18 release and the supplemental section is not exacly what you'd call packed with goodies. Call it a hunch but I'm sure all of the unused scenes could have been included (note: the "Jaws" DVD was single sided and featured a far more generous offering of outakes and deleted scenes). With all of that said I still recomend that you purchase this DVD version of "Superman: The Movie" for your DVD collection. :)
Rating: Summary: Disappointing Sound in Superman Special Edition Review: Of course, the movie is as awesome as ever. However, after seeing the movie on video and laser 100 times since 1980, it was very disappointing to NOT HEAR the loud "metal-hitting-metal" noise as Superman grabs onto the falling helicopter. Also missing is the exterior "jet noise" as the scene changes from the cockpit to the exterior of Superman. Another disappointment was the deletion of the scene where he rescues "Ms. Tess" from the lions at the end.
Rating: Summary: Best DVD transfer I have ever seen! Review: This DVD just plain rocks.It ranks up there with the Matrix and the X-Men in being the best DVD ever made.What is surprising about this movie is that it looks and sounds SOOO good after being made 23 years ago!! Watching this DVD for the first time you would think that the movie was made recently,it really is that high in quality.You should get this movie just for the awesome surround sound.I just can't say enough about this DVD.Buy it just to see the MANY actresses who tried out for Lois Lane alone.There are WAY too many extras to list them all,I'll just say that you have to flip the disc over there are that many.
Rating: Summary: If you don't get this dvd, then NO SUPES FOR YOU !! Review: The name Superman brings back so many memories doesn't it? Well watching this special edition brought back all of those feelings and more. This is a FANTASTIC dvd! All dvd's should aspire to be this good! The other reviews seem to mostly touch on the sound and picture quality (which are great), but I thought I would do a review mostly on the EXTRAS on this disc which are just incredible. First of all, there are 3, approximately half hour, documentaries on the making of Superman. These are the real gems of this disc. They're great! One involves pre-production, one involves production and one involves the special effects. They are all roughly a half hour each and they are all well worth your time. You see the original screen tests for both Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder plus screen tests of ... Anne Archer, Leslie Ann Warren, Stockard Channing and other famous actresses all tested for Lois and you see them all. I didn't notice anyone famous trying out for SUPES because they decided early on that they wanted an unknown but there are screen tests of plenty of unknowns including the dentist of one of the producers wives! Too funny. There are some great scenes here. The great thing about all these documentaries is that you get to hear from everyone involved in NEW interviews, even Christopher Reeve. Many documentaries or featurettes on other dvd's try and cut together old interviews and try and fool you into thinking you are getting something new. Not here! This is all new stuff! The second documentary even touches on the shady dealings of the producers of this film and all the wrangling done to get this film to the big screen. It's all quite fascinating. The third documentary is on special effects and it shows you numerous flying tests that they tried to get the man of steel to fly. Some are really bad and some are funny, but in the end, they figured it out. Flying is just one part of this documentary, they also go into matte painting, rear projection, front projection and many other techniques that were new to the biz and even effects that had never been attempted until this film. It really shows you the innovations that this film achieved that would set a precedent for future films to come. There's a lot more stuff in these documentaries but I think I'll just let you discover them for yourself. There are ADDED scenes that were not shown theatrically but that are edited back into this "director's cut" of this dvd version. Most of them are throw away scenes or "bridges" for other scenes but I can't for the life of me figure out why they cut out the "FIRE AND ICE" sequence in the original theatrical version. It's fantastic. I also got a kick out of "little Lois" on the train. There are 2 deleted scenes, that don't add much to the movie and I can see why they were deleted, but I did laugh at one of them. Some of the deleted scenes and the added scenes have been shown in expanded tv versions of this film but if you have never seen them, they are quite a treat and it's just good to have them in your home in such a high quality dvd transfer. The alternate music scores I didn't get much out of and I doubt you will either unless you are a big follower of music scores. The commentary by Director Richard Donner and Creative Consultant Tom Mankiewiczwas was great. You could tell that these two really had a lot of fun making this picture and a lot of love for the final product. They told some great stories on their troubles filming certain scenes, how they hired certain actors and even giving kudos along the way to the behind-the-scenes folk who helped out. There's some great insight on this commentary on how much hard work it really took to get this picture made. Tom has a great memory and seemed to tell a lot of "little things" that even Richard Donner had forgotten. The trailers and tv spots were cool to see and they brought back definite memories, including a teaser trailer that I remember way back when, that caused roars of applause from the audience. If you have even a little nostalgia for this film, you are going to love it! Some of the effects don't hold up in this day and age , but a surprising number of them do! I found myself thinking to myself "how did they do that back in 1978?". The answer: By Hand. The story is timeless and even though today's younger audience might be jaded with all of today's computer wizadry, I think this movie stands the test of time. Just the EXTRAS alone make this disc worth it. After watching this film, you too will believe a man can fly ... I know I did ... ENJOY!
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