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Superman II is a must-watch. Still fond of 3, for Reeve's scenes rather than Richard Pryor's, and it does have enough new ideas to be at least memorable. Superman IV should only be watched if you're interested to see how bad a Superman film can be.
Superman 2. Then scrap the other two Christopher Reeve Superman's.( Not Christopher's fault) Money hungry Hollywood execs..bad scripts, cut FX budget. Very depressing.
In 1978, the true, real, face of Superman was revealed in Christopher Reeve. He was, is, and always shall be the standard by which all Superman actors will be judged. RIP Christopher Reeve.
Yeah that movie piss me off big time it also suck big time it was 18 damn years almost 20! years from the last Superman movie in 87 which was Superman 4 they had all that damn time to give us something special and they gave us a shit Superman so so sad.
One year after Star Wars a New Hope...1978...Summer. No streaming , if you wanted to see a blockbuster, had to go to a local Theater. I'm telling you now, the lines were around the block..for weeks. The FX, ( Star Wars set a new standard)...were off the charts. But what makes this great is the heart.❤!
Silent movie actor Harold Lloyd was never recognised in public without his signature glasses. This inspired the use of glasses to hide Superman's identity. So the premise is possible, in that it happened. When you say the only difference is the glasses, bear in mind that when Chris Reeve was in a the cafeteria dressed as Superman people were all over him, dressed as Clark Kent nobody noticed. It's not just the glasses, it's Reeve's mannerisms and posture. He plays two different characters and occasionally blends them both.
The other thing people miss is that no one ever really "notices" Clark. He is deliberately making himself as unobtrusive as possible. If you watch carefully, you'll see that none of the Daily Planet crew, and certainly not Lois, ever really looks at Clark, let alone SEES him. And a third factor is nobody ever thinks they'd be someone who's friend is secretly Superman. So few people are ever looking closely at the people around them to see if they're Superman. And a final factor is that this was before the era of smart phones and social media, so relatively few people have ever seen both Clark and Superman face to face.
I really love Bill’s monologue about Superman in Kill Bill 2. How other superheroes like Batman are born as people, and they become superheroes, while Superman was born Superman, and has to become Clark Kent… “His alter ego is Clark Kent. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. He’s weak, unsure of himself, he’s a coward.”
@@BDogg2023 And I hate that monologue, because it shows that Quentin Tarantino doesn't understand Superman at all. For one thing, that's not how Clark is written in the comics. It's mostly a cultural artifact of this movie, which is fine. Maybe Bill never read the comics. But Clark is typically written as a competent, though mild-mannered, investigative journalist. He isn't a coward at all. For another thing, Clark Kent is Superman's real personality. It's who he really is in private, when no one's looking. Contrast this with Bruce Wayne, whose real personality is Batman, while the playboy billionaire is his pretend self. Tarantino's take on Superman assumes that Supes is a power fantasy: what would it be like to have god-like power? But it's not. Superman is moral fantasy: what would it be like if someone with god-like power was truly good?
Not really it's a similar universe not the same. At the time of release the were playing with the idea they were the same but have since backed off. Even Burton and Schumacher Batmen are now considered separate universes.
@@TheBlond49 Funny because then it negates Supergirl, Superman III, and Superman IV and guess what Flash established the Chris Reeve Superman and Supergirl do exist on the same planet as it was when Supergirl was made.
The Superman theme is *easily* my favorite John Williams score of all time. It immediately fills me with a deep sense of nostalgia and I get chills every time I hear it. An absolutely brilliant piece of music.
This film had everything that Man of Steel (2013) lacked. It had the charm, personality, and inspiration of Superman and Christopher Reeve, as Superman and Clark Kent were amazing. His Clark Kent went beyond Superman in Glasses, changing his personality and, most importantly, his body language and posture. Man of Steel can be seen as the 'Nolan Batman' edition of Superman, drawing inspiration from the successful narrative structure, writing, tone, and overall visual language of those films. In contrast, Superman (1978) is a pure embodiment of Superman's goodness that has yet to be surpassed in any other movie. But I can't be too hard on Man of Steel as Zack set out to answer the question, "What if Superman existed within our world?". One without superheroes highlights a more jaded Clark Kent, who is locked away from developing his powers at a young age until his early 30s. And I think he did an excellent job with that goal; I wouldn't say I like that idea, so it wasn't for me, but I respect it. An Elseworlds take on Superman. Superman Comic recommendations: Superman: Secret Origin (Definitive Origin) Superman For All Seasons (Peak Superman) All-Star Superman (Everything that makes us love Superman) Batman/Superman: World's Finest (Batman & Superman being friends)
Look, this movie suffers epically because of the cheesiness and camp. They didn’t know how to make a superhero movie back then. It’s a milestone in filmmaking, but it’s just sooooooo cheesy🙄 Gene Hackman squandered his chance to play a REAL Lex.
@@portalina But that's exactly how comic books were in the 1970's. The cheesiness and camp was a long-standing tradition, Comic books were just comic books - they didn't take themselves as seriously as they do today.
I think Man of Steel was also trying to hard to “compensate” for Superman Returns! The main criticisms of that film were that it was too boring and the action was terrible! I happen to like that movie, but Man of Steel was definitely trying to be more “exciting!” But I think it went too far in that direction!
@@marcusisahooper Definitely, it had promise, but went to far with the non stop action, Christopher Nolan made a big mistake chosing Zack Snyder for that project.
Differences between Superman and Clark? Yes glasses, posture, demeanor and . . . Clark has his hair parted on his right side - all the difference in the world!
Yea that rock slide scene with Louis was a new fear unlocked for sure. I wanna say I've had nightmares like that. I think the 'bad guy with idiot henchman' has never been done better than Lex and Otis
One thing Snyder got right with Cavill's Superman is his display of strength and power; till this day his Superman is still unmatched in that aspect. But he lacked in understanding Superman's charm and personality.
@@LordVolkovthis is the same guy (Snyder) that doesn't understand why batman isn't supposed to kill. And also wanted film a scene where batman is raped in prison. He shouldn't be making movies.
Something I’ve come to realize re: the whole glasses thing is that, even more than the glasses, part of what contributes to Clark’s disguise is how little attention Lois pays Clark. It feels like a very intentional directing/acting choice that Lois almost never looks Clark in the face. It makes total sense she’d barely even register that he and Superman look similar.
You are quite right: much of the outdoor scenery is Alberta. Other Canadian connections include Margot Kidder (Lois Lane) who was Canadian as was Joe Shuster, the co-creator of Superman. Also, Glenn Ford (Pa Kent) was born in Quebec.
Coolest thing about Superman can be summed up in two words when he first meets Lois: he's a friend. A friend to humanity, a guy you can trust to always do the right thing, and no act of heroism is too big or small - one minute he's saving Air Force One from crashing, the next minute he's helping a kid get a cat out of a tree. Yeah, he's powerful and stuff, but thats kind of an afterthought to him. "It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then...he shoots fire from the skies, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him." - Batman from Superman/Batman #3. That much power to destroy us all, and the first thing he thinks to do with it is ask "How can I help the world?" That's Superman. Zack Snyder missed the point, he was more enamored with how cool certain shots are, whcih is one of the reasons why, even though Man Of Steel was okay, it just didn't feel like the character we all grew up with in the comics and the other movies. That being said, I can't wait for the James Gunn reboot, because the buzz around this one is gonna be BIG!
@@KimStinson-cf7vx That's very unkind! How cruel. (And shame on the wretched people who "liked" your comment, too.) You're lucky she "bothered" to create this for your entitled pleasure at all. Why not bother yourself to apologize to her and say a simple, "thank you," instead? Superman is all about kindness and decency. Perhaps you didn't bother to learn his simple lessons--the whole point of this movie. It's so easy to be cruel. Superman inspires us to be kind. Not very hard at all.
@@davidgradwell8830The internet world is not one filled with class, or even the mental competence to surmise that the “full” version was not the one shown in theaters and may be more difficult to source than the theatrical version. Whoever suggested the movie most likely did not specify which version she should watch. If the triggered infant who complained about it had “bothered” to think for about three seconds they may have deduced that themselves.
It's most likely that highway you described in Alberta, since many of the exteriors scenes, particularly the Smallville scenes, were shot in and around Calgary.
The biggest differences for me is the deaths of the Jonathan Kent. In Snyder's film he allows himself to die because he fears humanities reaction to Clark and thus installing a mistrust of humanity. Which given what happened to Smallville and Metropolis humanities fear of Clark does seem justified. Vs a father simply dying of a heart condition leaving Clark with the lesson there are things even he can't fix.
That's because Snyder hates the character. That entire movie gave me a headache. It takes a lot to make me walk out of a movie, but I came very close watching "Man of Steel".
Snyder doesn't like comicbooks that don't have sex, violence, incest, gore, he has no interest in the character's cores/values as said in recent interviews.
I recommended this movie to a friend in high school. (About ten years ago). He didn't like it at the time, said it was too dated. Then, about a month ago, he rewatched it and said it was amazing, giving special praise to the prologue in Krypton and the death of Pa Kent.
The most heroic thing Superman does is send money home to his widowed mother. Many of think if we had powers we’d save the world. But many of us have money to help those in need but would rather have one more iced coffee instead. This shows how good he really is.
About skydiving sooner rather than later: I had a friend named Doug - a World War II Submarine Veteran - who went skydiving for the first time at the age of 95. He told his cardiologist about the experience afterward and his doctor was outraged. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to go skydiving?!" "If I told you, would you have let me?" Doug asked. "No, of course not!!" the doctor responded. "That's why I didn't tell you beforehand," Doug replied with a smirk.
I tried the cigarette holder w/a J before & it was a pain in the butt. Maybe if it was rolled in cigar leaf/paper it woulda been easier? It just didn’t…work. For me. It was an old cigarette holder, too so maybe that was part of it? Idk. But I wanted it to be amazing & it was not. In any way.😉
I grew up with Christopher reeve as my superman and my hero. When he was paralyzed, i lost it. I cried like a baby because i couldn't believe that superman had gotten hurt.
The teen Clarks voice is completely dubbed by Christopher Reeve (I forget why)...the adults seen on the train are played by actors from the 50s tv show of Superman 🎩
Incorrect. They are the actors from the 1940s films. Although Noel Neill (Lois) did repeat the role with Season 2 of the 1950s tv series starring George Reeves (who committed suicide). as Superman. That story was also made into a movie HOLLYWOODLAND starring Ben Affleck as Reeves. So Affleck has played Superman, Batman, and Daredevil. Thats enough superheroes for any actor.
30:47 It's interesting that you say that, because back in the day "we" (audiences) loved miniatures too! We knew that it was a miniature but it was about how detailed it was, and how good it looked on film. A miniature is still a miniature but we could still be impressed by how well done it was.
It's a suspension of disbelief--the magic of movies. For two hours you immerse yourself in the impossible: a doomed Planet Krypton, an alien child who grows up on Earth and adopts the entire world as his family--a strange being from another planet with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, a great, kind man who uses his powers for the forces of goodness and who dedicates himself to helping others and righting wrongs, fighting wickedness, putting scheming villains in their place...So we happily forget the real world for a while and just go along with obvious little model houses playing real houses, pebbles playing boulders, creating a giant improvised dam, water gushing from a garden hose to create an impending flood, little blue matte lines around this fantastic flying man, of all things!--obviously printed onto a background shot--all because we enthusiastically lose ourselves for a little while to willingly believe in a great beautiful total fantasy we wish were real. For two hours, the great Superman is completely real for us, and good triumphs over evil. A dream comes true. The magic of movies!
At least compared to other versions, Superman does not look exactly like Clark Kent. For one, Clark is "shorter" (Reeve always slouched when playing Clark). And Clark and Superman part their hair in opposite sides, and Superman of course has the classic 'spit curl' that he had in the comics. And you already pointed out that Reeve used a higher pitch in his voice as Clark as well as being much 'klutzier'. Of all the versions, I think Reeve did the best job in terms of making Superman and Clark appear to be two different people. I saw this movie in the theater on its opening night and while the special effects may seem outdated today, we were absolutely amazed by it in 1978!
Kaiielle, I think the word you're looking for in describing the beauty type that Margot Kidder contrasts to is "glamourous". I agree that her face wasn't the sort that would be found on most fashion mag covers back then, but still the honest and simple sort of beauty that a principled guy like Superman would find attractive. Also, it's worth noting that Christopher Reeve didn't have that build when he was chosen for the role. Those muscles were hard-won, thanks to training under David Prowse (the man who filled Darth Vader's armour in the original Star Wars trilogy). As a kid, I remember reading that the muscle training he endured was so grueling, Reeve admitted to throwing up after his first session. But as we can all see, the end result was worth it.
Thank you for the watch. I did see this when it first came out. And... I loved it. It's a little slow now. But, when it came out it was great. The tagline: "You will believe a man can fly." We hadn't seen anything like that before. Oh, sure... I watched the TV show when I was growing up. Adventures of Superman, with George Reeves. That was from the 50's, which is a little before my time. But, through the miracle of reruns... Lois Lane was played by Noel Neill. (Another comic book sounding name.) I never read any of the Superman comics growing up. Spiderman, and other Marvel folks were my taste. So, the TV show was my only exposure to Supe Baby (which is what Lex Luthor called Superman. The captions got it wrong. He was being condescendingly familiar, which is what supervillains do, especially when they believe they have the upper hand, which he did.) I'm sorry Gene Hackman reminded you of Kevin Spacey. Gene Hackman is an excellent actor. He's been in lots of stuff, all of which is... excellent. This is probably one of his least good roles. But, I think he does a fine job with it.) Regarding Lois Lane, I think Margot Kidder was more of the spunky brunette that Noel Neill was. I think that's what they were going for. But, like I said... I don't know how Lois is portrayed in the comics. She was fine. A different aesthetic, but I liked her just fine in the role. Yeah... 1978 was back before everything changed in the entertainment industry. Ironically, though, it was at the end of the first big shift in the late 50's and 60's and the first part of the 70's, where movies were made to be less magical, more gritty, more real. The lines of morality were purposely blurred. Good vs evil. They had gotten away from that. And, folks like George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg were lamenting the missing magic of movies from when they were kids. In the 40's and early 50's. Star Wars (the original) was pure entertainment. Done well. Simple story. Good vs. evil. Superman. Same thing. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Same sort of thing... but with a hero who has a... somewhat checkered backstory... but for the purpose of the movie... good vs evil. I'm glad you watched it. I'm sorry you watched the Man of Steel first. If you hate Kevin Spacey, you might consider watching Superman Returns, which casts him in the role of Lex Luthor. That's a kind of strange Superman story. So... Superman 2 is okay. It's not great. And, I can't say if the theatrical version is better than the Donner Cut. The theatrical version is what I saw in the theaters. So, I like it better. But, that's me. The other 2 Christopher Reeve Superman movies are subpar. Even though I own them in the box set, I never watch them. They're that bad. Well... in my opinion. Thank you again for the watch. I'll look forward to whatever comes next!
Noel Neill was the red-haired lady on the train that Clark outraced in Smallville. (Lois' mom!) Her first Superman was Kirk Alyn (in the two serials in the 1940s---before she co-starred with George Reeves in the 1950s TV series.) And the guy who sat across from Noel Neill on that train was Kirk Alyn--the first live-action Superman! Now playing Lois' dad! A Superman Reunion In-Joke--and a homage!
I was seven when this movie came out; Christopher Reeve was the Clark Kent/Superman I grew up with and he is still my favorite. He was so amazing in the role and he made you believe a person could fly. Of course, my respect for him grew even more after the horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed for the remainder of his life. He never gave up on the dream that he would someday walk again. And seeing him, before he died, on the TV series Smallville for a few episodes, was a symbolic passing of the torch to Tom Welling, who played Clark Kent on that series. And Annette O'Toole, who played Clark's high school sweetheart, Lana Lang, in Superman 3, also played Martha Kent, Clark's adopted mother, on Smallville.
HAIR PART AS WELL! Clark vs Superman part their hair on opposite sides. Good guys generally move left to right across the screen in movies, bad guys or weak guys the other way, subconsciously differentiating the two even if we don't outright notice it.
5:00 Fun Fact: Teen-aged Clark had his voice dubbed over by Christopher Reeve. The reason...by this time, he had already gone through puberty and his voice SHOULD sound the same when he's older.
Chris was probably the only actor to ever play Superman without a padded suit, and he actually worked out for a couple of years to get his physique. As for the miniatures, remember that when people saw the twin towers fall in 2001, many actually thought they were models, so that gives you an idea how jaded that CGI has made us. I saw this as a teen in 1978, and it was absolutely magical to see it on that 70 foot screen. I'll never forget it!
27:34 If you hadn't spotted him, that mustache man is John Ratzenberger, aka THAT VOICE in every Pixar movie, also Cliff(Cheers) and he was also in Empire Strike Back running battles in the base in the Hoth scene
Part of the fun of writing a Superman story is to invent an incredible dire emergency and imagine how Superman--with his amazing powers--would solve it. :)
Yes, I talked about that in my review when reflecting on the movie as a whole. Remember you're just hearing my initial thoughts in the moment as the film is happening.
couple Notes: Noel Neill, who played Lois in the 1950's Serials, and subsequent Superman series plays the girl's mother on the train. And the Girl on the train is a young Lois. Kirk Alyn plays the Girls father. Alyn played Superman in the old Serials!
One of the reason Reeves was the most believable as superman, not only did he cover himself up with glasses, but he also hunched over as Clark to make himself shorter plus the personality change as Clark he made himself completely in noticable.
I was 8 yrs old when this movie came out. So I got to watch it in theatre as a kid. It totally blew me away. I had not seen a movie like it ever. Big special effects movies were extremely few and very far between at that time. So this movie was monumental. Then Superman II came out and was even better so definitely watch it. 😊. After that…
You should totally check out Smallville. It’s one of my favorite TV shows of all time (next to Supernatural) and Christopher Reeves makes a guest appearance in the show along with Margot Kidder. 🇺🇸❤️❤️ Love to you and your channel from my mom and I in So. Cal USA 🇺🇸
Just a little nerd trivia. A beam of light can circle the Earth about 7-8 times in one second, so when Superman was flying around the Earth to reverse its spin, and then back again .... at his peak speed, he was flying at almost the speed of light! 😳
Many supporting characters are played by older stars of Hollywood's (and British cinema's) past such as Glenn Ford (Gilda), Trevor Howard (Brief Encounter), Harry Andrews (The Hill), Susannah York (Tom Jones) and Jackie Cooper (one of the most popular child stars of the 1930s).
Not sure if they still do it, but there used to be helicopter rides from Vegas down into the floor of the Grand Canyon. Loved it. Being a Marine, I was whooping and having a blast with the pilot. My business partners weren't doing so well in the back 🤢, especially when I goaded the pilot into doing some ground to air evasive 🤣
One of my favorite parts was sitting in the theater and listening to the orchestral version of the Love Theme and being totally surprised by the end where it says, "Next Summer: Superman II." The whole theater gasped.
I always loved the John Williams theme leading into the "Love Theme". I loved the way it ended. It sounded very pretty and peaceful ( if that makes any sense). I always loved the promise of Superman 2 coming. Incidentally the actual name of the "Love theme" was Can You Read My mind by Maureen McGovern. Lois lane recites some of the lyrics to the song in a voice over (it's supposed to be what she's thinking) while her and Superman are flying.
Waiting to get back home tonight to watch this classic. Side story: When EBAY was new, my buddy, a HUGE Superman fan, bought Superman on VHS, but it was a recording off ABC back in 1980 WITH commercials and EXTRA SCENES not seen in theaters. Some of the commercials were talking about the Olympics taking place at the time. We had a blast seeing commercials we hadn't seen in forever.
19:30 I always make it a point to show this to everyone who always asks why no one recognizes Superman and Clark Kent are the same person. It is not just the glasses it is everything else, the body posture, confidence, bravado, and the way his voice sounds deeper as Superman compared to the bubbling Clark Kent. I mean if we are in their world it is ridiculous to think that someone as clumsy as Clark is the all powerful Superman. Margot Kidder (Lois Lane) in a documentary said that Chris was adamant that his Clark would be different from his Superman which is a testament to Christopher Reeve as an actor in knowing and understanding the iconic character he's playing. And that's not a knock on Henry Cavill because he himself is a Superman fan and a comic book nerd and was not keen on how dark his Superman is portrayed. Among *8 actors who played Superman only Christopher Reeves and Brandon Routh had a very clear distinction between their Superman and Clark Kent. I hope next year's Superman (David Corenswet) will follow Reeve's and Routh's example. *Those 8 actors are Kirk Alyn (1948) [TV Serial] George Reeves (1951-1958) [TV Series & Movies] Christopher Reeve (1978-1987) [Movies] Dean Cain (1993-1997) [TV Series] Tom Welling (2001-2011) [TV Series] Brandon Routh (2006, 2020) [Movie, TV series guest role] Henry Cavill (2013-2022) [Movie universe] Tyler Hoechlin (2016-2024) [TV Series]
The dvd copy of this I picked up years ago has an audio track option that's nothing but the score. I think it tells the story happening in the visuals, simply by feel, as much as the dialogue does in the standard viewing.
5:56 Fun Fact: Depending on what version you're watching, it was revealed that the little girl on the train is Lois Lane...Her mother is played by Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in the 50's TV Series. Her father is played by Kirk Alynn who played Clark Kent/Superman in the 1947 Movie Serials.
Neill was also Lois in the Kirk Alyn films. Phyllis Coates took over the role in the 50s tv show but quit after season 1. So they brought in Neill for S2. (Coates was a much better Lois)
Fun fact: the parents of Lois in the train at the beginning of the movie are Kirk Allyn and Noel Neill....Superman and Lois Lane from 1948 tv show. Btw. The question about how fast can Superman fly is foreshadowing the end...now we know he can be faster than light and so go back in time.
It's funny that you say Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor looks like Kevin Spacey because Spacey plays the role in Superman Returns (legasequel to the Reeve Superman films)
GENE HACKMAN!!! WAS A BIGGER ACTOR THAN SPACEY…checkout his film list…immense…try enemy of the state sometime 😉 superman is the greatest superhero and Christopher reeve will never be topped in the role
I'm surprised you don't know Gene Hackman as Lex Luther. One of the best actors of his generation. Check out French Connection or maybe The Royal Tenenbaums. You will love them both. Great reaction by the way. Thanks 👍
"The only difference is he's not wearing glasses"?? That may be the case for Henry Cavill's take on Clark Kent, but not Christopher Reeve's. Reeve went to great lengths to create a clear distinction between Superman and Clark Kent, he changed his posture (making himself appear a little shorter), the pitch of his voice, smiled on the opposite side of his face, and adopted a socially awkward persona. One of the reasons why Christopher Reeve is remembered with so much affection, and considered the definitive Superman, is because he was exceptional with both guises of the character.
The first superman movie was made in 1951. Superman and the Mole Men quote- First feature film based on a DC Comics character. Served as a backdoor pilot for the 1950s Adventures of Superman television series and was later split into a two-parter episode to close off the series' first season.
There are two cuts of the sequel. The theatrical cut was directed by Richard Lester because Richard Donner was fired before he could finish the movie. The other cut is the Richard Donner cut.
Mr. Reeves will always be my Superman. I remember seeing it as a five year old in theaters, and my parents had to hold me during the destruction of Kyrpton as I covered my eyes. It was the scariest thing I had ever seen at the time.
Interesting that you saw the resemblance between Gene Hackman, who plays Lex Luthor here, and Kevin Spacey, who played the same character in Superman Returns, which takes place more or less in the same universe as this Superman movie.
Gene Hackman has been in maybe 70 or so movies for around 60 years or so, has won the Academy Award for Best Actor and for Best Supporting Actor as well as other awards and she called him "this guy." And thought he looks like Kevin Spacey?!
Am Americanized ,Hollywood ,feel good, cinematic version of Nitzsche's Ubermensch . Great film ,fantastic performance by Mr. Christopher Reeve. The best Superman there ever was !
Not sure if anyone else mentioned it, but the woman next to the little girl on the train that teenage Clark races is played by the actress that played Lois Lane in the Superman live action, black and white series. Superman in that was played by George Reeves (no relation to Christopher Reeves).
Not these actors most famous roles, but worthy watches... "Eve Teschmacher" - Valerie Perrine - "Montana Wildhack" in Slaughterhouse Five - 1972 "Otis" - Ned Beatty - "Bobby" in Deliverance -1972 "Lex Luthor" - Gene Hackman - "Det. Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle" in The French Connection - 1971 "Clark Kent" - Christopher Reeve - "Richard Collier" in Somewhere in Time - 1980
Yeah. “Man of Steel” was a morose and headache inducing dumpster fire that contained zero positivity and inspired no hope or joy. I’m so happy they killed off that version of DC.
Yes please watch number two, Henry Cavill Superman was a good Superman for the modern era, but there were some things about his portrayal that were not true to the character of Superman overall, while Christopher Reeve did it perfectly, his portrayal is the true Superman.
It‘s funny that you compared Gene Hackman with Kevin Spacey, because the latter played Lex Luthor in „Superman Returns“. Fun fact, Christopher Reeves got into shape with the help of David Prowse, who played Darth Vader. Great miniature work by Derek Meddings, whose last film was „Goldeneye“, the first James Bond movie with Pierce Brosnan. While there definitely weren‘t any digital effect back then, blue screen had been used decades before, although most of the flying scenes actually use front projection. The score is still a clear highlight. According to the director‘s commentary by Richard Donner, the potential composer switched from Williams to Goldsmith and back to Williams, when the project was delayed. He remarked that the main theme is basically singing „SU-PER-MAN“.
Great reaction to this SUPER classic...see what I did there? :-D In regards to the Christopher Reeve films, 'Superman II' was very good (no matter if you watch the 'Theatrical/Richard Lester Version' or the re-edited 'Richard Donner Cut'), considering that much of 'Superman II' (about 70-80% of the sequel) was filmed at the exact same time as 'Superman: The Movie'. ....now I personally enjoyed 'Superman III' & it was a success at the box office when it was released (and I even enjoyed, the spin-off movie, 'Supergirl' that came out a year later after, as well - Christopher Reeve was supposed to make a cameo but pulled out at the last moment, so that was a missed opportunity in my opinion) while other people may despise both of them. I think there are some good materials found within those two movies and they are all professionally made (if I was doing a Superman movie marathon, I do include 'Superman III' and 'Supergirl' too) but I do admit both of those movies ('Superman III' & 'Supergirl') do have their own flaws and are not perfect but they are entertaining. Now Superman IV: The Quest For Peace is a complete dumpster fire for a whole host of reasons (everything from the storyline, acting, cheap looking effects, etc). There are tons of articles and videos on why 'Superman IV' was so bad & was a box office bomb (and even took down the Cannon Films studio), that I don't need to repeat what was already said before. It is not a fun movie to watch unfortunately and I personally skip it (sad that it was the last Christopher Reeve Superman film and ended on such a sour note)...
Kevin Spacey played Lex Luthor in Superman Returns and it's basically intended to be the same version of Lex that Gene Hackman as it is technically a sequel to Superman 2
Let's acknowledge how beautiful Valerine Perrine was as Miss Tesmacher. I remember DC comics having a contest with the winner getting to appear in the movie.
Having his father die of a heart attack was a much better decision than the tornado in man of steel. It makes a much better point showing that despite all his powers he can't control anything. The tornado made Clark punk out . he could have found away to save him but he didn't choose to.