Those of us who saw this for the first time in cinemas in 1978 as little kids will never forget the thrill of experiencing this. I'm 49 years old, and every time I see this I feel like I'm 6 years old again. And yes, my train of emotions derails instantly. Watching this opening night with my parents back then. Miss you, mom. Thanks to both my parents for giving me the love of the cinema. Greatest movie opening of ALL TIME!!
Yes, this opening. credits evokes memories. We went to the cinema (when they used to show double features) with dad. And in awe of the vastness of space, and the music is orchestrated with so much gusto, There is nothing to compare - I also like the Star Wars main theme musically but this is beyond that. I can happily sit at home with the curtains drawn, put on my blu ray copy and crank up the home theatre system and watch this movie over and over. And still the best Superman film of all. Even with (compared to therecent versions) the special effects are well done for the time.
+Dave Shields You mean certainly a bigger screen? And a super- good Top sound system! But the sound is already here in stereo, digital very good! I love “JOHN WILLIAMS“ Movie-Soundtracks!!!
I don't care what anyone says, but no movie, not even star wars, has a more epic and goose bump inducing intro than this. Greatest opening credits ever
Mortal Kombat has a dope intro! Jokes aside, this intro is amazing. So full of energy. Gives me hope I also like the opening of Lord Of The Rings, for different reasons
@@rigelbellatrix8410 but we have to respect to the legendary director that formed a new superhero genre and not just the legendary composer who done it too.
@@tctyt Directors sometimes get too much credit for some of the best movies ever made. Where would those great movies be without their film composers and writers?
OK. Who else gets goosebumps when Richard Donner’s name splits in the middle and that huge “WHOOSH” comes as Superman’s crest flies onto the screen? It gives me tears of happiness every single time.
Still remember seeing this when it premiered on The Movie Channel in like 1980 when I was 8. Everytime I hear these opening credits, it takes me right back...
STILL the greatest super hero movie EVER made ! Why ? Runs on 4 pistons … greatest superhero music soundtrack . Nobody has EVER beaten this super hero movie .
The only experience I can equate it to is Avengers Endgame, as far as the end credits go. Some of the biggest cheers for the movie came when RDJ's name came up on screen. But, yeah, Superman was an experience that John Williams made happen.
Can you imagine them sitting John Williams down in the mid-70's and saying... "Right... we need a film score for a movie we're working on..Superman,,, it's got to be memorable "... He sits with a blank piece of paper and comes up with THIS ?
Id imagine like any musician he's probably got dozens or even hundreds of bits of music, ideas, riffs in his head. So he just starts working with the best parts and goes from there
I was SO lucky to have been born in 1969 and able to witness classic films of the 70's in the theatre when they premiered. Star Wars, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark... truly epics for a kid.
Yes, I’m a 69er, too. That was the sweet spot to be born to experience Star Wars, Superman, ET, Close Encounters, Empire and Raiders. John Williams is the man!!!
Without Richard Donner's Superman, we wouldn't have Burton's Batman, Singer's X-Men, Raimi's Spider-Man, Nolan's Dark Knight and Marvel Cinematic Universe Father of Cinecomics! ❤️❤️❤️
Omg. I'm a 44yr old grown man. And this shit STILL gives me chills!! Man this opening credit sequence with the music is STILL awesome to watch. I remember these days when movie magic existed and movies like this we're hard to make and a spectacle when they came out. Now it's all CGI where anything is possible and we're numb to the spectacle and the magic is gone. We're spoiled in alot of ways today in terms of movies, but we lost that sense of awe, a movie like this gave us back in the day. Incredible music by John Williams 👍
I saw it opening day(and many times after) at Graumann's Chinese Theater, one of the biggest screens in Hollywood at the time. On that screen, in 70mm, it was absolutely breathtaking. When the red 'S' exploded onto the screen, audiences would just go nuts. Invariably, there was huge applause when the credits were over. Before the film had even begun! It's easy to be jaded these days, but in '78, it was absolutely groundbreaking technologically, and for audiences, a fantastic game-changer.
He really is, it pisses me off when you hear these snotty gatekeeper music snobs deriding his works as not being proper classical when deep down they know he will still be remembered hundreds of years into the future for his great scores, and even if not centuries it will certainly be far longer then their worthless opinions.
Its Reeve now in this reality not Reeves (watch the credits again im not shitting you) .... you me and millions of others remember Reeves..... WTF is going on?? lol
The audio effect that you don't get from watching this on RU-vid is how they played the 1938 section in mono through the front speakers in the theater until the first blue titles appeared and slipped into surround-sound. Fantastic effect if you were seeing it in 1978.
I remember going to see Superman at the cinema. The lights went down. It starts out with the little black and white bit, then the Daily Planet globe: the music slowly built up and all of a sudden WHAM the titles fly at you and John William's glorious music thunders from the speakers espescially when the S symbol shows up It was the film that EVERYONE at school was talking about. Magical.
Remember, nothing like this had ever been done with opening credits before. These special effects were top of the line. When we first saw these letters slam into the screen with the John Williams theme blasting in our face, it blew the whole theater away!
Not just the credit run, the whole setup. Opening with B&W old style. A young voice reading from the first Superman comic book. The sweep into space. Then, the first credit wooooosh and the music shouts Superman! I swear you could hear lower jaws hitting the floor all over the theater.
My father is buried only about a hundred yards away from Mario Puzo. He’s the man who wrote the story and screenplay for Superman. He also wrote The Godfather. The Italian in me thinks that’s cool but the kid in me will always be grateful this man helped make my childhood so much more wonderful with this piece or cinematic artwork that will live on for as long as humanity exists. My father loved The Godfather also and I’m sure he wouldn’t have objected to having his resting place near Mario
I'm Brazilian, I really like Mario Puzo, especially The Godfather. It's no wonder that Superman was a huge success, because it was written by a genius!!!
Still incredible, watch the scene when superman blasts through the ceiling ready to chase rockets … Christopher reeve making a man look like he can fly will forever endure.
I won't argue since he's my favorite Superman but I'm quite fond of some of the others. George Reeves, who did it before Reeve, WAS Superman for me, for the longest time. I think Dean Cain was fantastic for his time. Cavill has seriously made his mark and has become my favorite living Superman. Even the Supergirl Superman gets a lot right...if hairy.
@@muricaneagle666 I agree that the superhero genre has gotten better over the years but endgame is far from perfection. The MCUs biggest flaw is that it has to involve cheap comedic moments in almost every scene. Take Thor for example. His character wasnt resonating with audiences until Ragnarok gave him a fresh new personality. Infinity War built on his character even more to only be completely shit on in endgame. Instead of giving him real development and an emotional arch to overcome his grief, his entire character was used for a laugh 90% of Endgame completely disregarding all nuanced storytelling possibilities that could have been introduced. If the MCU focused more on telling an emotional story rather than making the audience laugh the franchise would benefit significantly. Look what they did to Hulk. He was the biggest waste of the entire Avengers cast.
‘MuricanEagle I love Infinity War and Endgame but just because Superman: The Movie is somebody else’s favorite movie doesn’t mean you should just shit on their opinions. You know Kevin Feige still considers this the best superhero movie of all time?
IMHO, The Dark Knight is massively overrated (A remake of Heat? lol), The Avengers was mediocre at best (definitely not even top 10 Marvel films), and Guardians of the Galaxy is the worst movie ever made. Absolute rubbish. Turned me away from the rest of the garbage MCU too. The Chris Reeve & Brandon Routh Superman Films, along with the Keaton/Kilmer/Clooney Batman films are the ultimate Superhero films. I wish more were made like them - true to the original comics, with a few fun spins (Chris Reeve's Supes getting more powers, the 89 - 97 Batman films giving the caped crusader a darker, nearly all black outfit) Absolutely amazing. The closest Marvel ever came was the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire. Totally awesome films in their own right, although, in my opinion, just a tad short of the Superman and Batman films.
Such a stylish beginning to a film. For me, the greatest opening credits ever. When the “Superman” title swooshes, and Williams’ score, gives me goosebumps every time.
RIP Richard Donner, you made me believe a man could fly, as a child I jumped off the back of the sofa wearing a tea towel and survived without any broken bones, I thank you.
3:51. I love that musical bit when John Williams' credit comes on the screen as that spark decides to say hello to the camera. John Williams, you truly are a legendary composer.
The most exciting opening sequence of movies history. Adventure, Strength, kindness, Romance...all are packaged here. Reeve doesn't never leave us alone forever. from Japan with love.
I cried when I first saw this. Rest In Peace Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve. To me, you will always be the best portrayals of this legendary couple.
@@BaySean funny you say that as I read your comment. Because a few weeks ago I had this random dream that I had met Christopher Reeve at a convention-like at a comic con-and in this meeting he was not paralyzed at all. He made this very rare appearance there and I had gotten an autograph from him and I told him that you’re the greatest Superman ever. He smiled and shook my hand and said thank you.
Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner, rest in peace and thanks, two real heros!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Brando & Hackman were big stars at the time. Reeve was a newbie. This movie was his big breakthrough. For the others it was just another paycheck. Brando got a particularly good deal: For just 12 days of shooting, he got $3.7 million + 11.75% of the box office gross profits, totaling $19 million. Hackman got 2 million $. Reeves, who carried the entire movie, got 250,000 $.
That's subjective. Watchmen is a superhero movie. Deadpool also qualifies as a superhero movie. Both have different atmospheres compared to this film yet both are also superhero genre. Plus I think you mean Warner Bros. Because Disney wants to know your location.
@@datdumbdude4126 Disney's MCU is a mess and has not really been quality since the first couple of movies being Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. Few exceptions were The Avengers, Civil War and most of Inifinity War though the way they did The Hulk was unforgivable.
For those of us lucky enough to see these opening credits in the theater, it was an experience like nothing to date in 1978. Truly amazing! Thank you for posting this gem!
My dad tells me all the time that people in his theater started crying and cheering when the S came on the screen in the theater. Now thats magical cinema
Well, I saw a screening of Superman 1978 at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas, in 2018. And it was a 35mm copy. People at the theater (including me!) went nuts when the opening credits started to roll!
I remember this wonderful opening. Huge theater, packed full. The style, the music, omg, you could hear a pin drop, the audience was in awe of this wonderful opening. I'll never forget it.
"In the decade of the 1930s, even the great city of Metropolis was not spared the ravages of the world-wide depression. In the times of fear and confusion, a job of informing the public was the responsibility of the Daily Planet, a great metropolitan newspaper, whose reputation for clarity, and truth has become a symbol of hope for the city of Metropolis."
A friend of mine almost immediately disliked the whole musical score. That was the vinyl record, and for a few years I've had the CD. Yes, an appropriately soaring theme. It's the ideal musical version of "It's a bird! It's a plane...!"
Literally! John Williams intentionally build the theme using the cadence of these words as a starting point... "Up up and away su-per-man Up up and away Superman!.." Brilliant technique. :)
This movie was a master class in film making. The opening is just more evidence of that. Notice how the words are flying towards the screen and when the /S\ pops up it comes from out of the screen. Starting in black and white and then transitioning , the music , everything is calculated and it works.
Its Reeve now in this reality not Reeves (watch the credits again im not shitting you its Christopher Reeve) .... you me and millions of others remember Reeves...and 7 years ago when you commented is was definitely still Reeves with as S!.. WTF is going on?? ..... is this some of that Mandella Effect shit???? lol
Dear James Gunn, now that you're in charge of the DCU, and if you've by chance have come back to this video to revisit the greatest intro of ANY Superman film, please please please, bring back John Williams' theme back for "Superman Legacy" 🙏
Still do. When they made the Graphic Novel Kingdom Come, they dedicated it to Christopher Reeve (he was paralyzed but still alive) saying "To Christopher Reeve- Who Still makes us believe a Man Can Fly."- I can't even type that without choking up.
its by design. Movies now just show destruction and sadness/anxiety. -. Movies used to be escapist and inspiring. now they’re just giant post modernist propaganda tools
@MB IT was actually John Williams score of Raiders of the Lost Ark that lost to Chariots of Fire (Chariots and Raiders came out in 1981, Empire came out in 1980).
I have come to the conclusion that Academy Awards should only be voted on and given 10 years after the film comes out, to remove the "popularity contest" element. Want to see the best score of 1978? Go into a crowd sometime and say "Quick, someone hum the theme to Midnight Express! Anyone? Okay, how does the theme to Superman go?"-- nuff said.
as a little kid in the early 80's I woke up in the early morning at 5:00 am just to put the VHS cassette into the old recorder and watch the movie......
It blows me away how john William's comes up w/ such memorable themes. Donners superman is the gold standard of all superhero films. He set the bar so high. Its perfection
Times the audiences cheered like never before: -The S appearing and the opening theme starting. -The opening credits finish. -Clark opens his shirt to reveal the S underneath. -Superman rescues Lois and catches the helicopter. -Superman flies over the planet and smiles to the audience as the closing credits begin. Hollywood just doesn't make movies like that anymore.
+preving The nearly miraculous tightrope walk he made was allowing Luthor to play almost as a comedy team with two other terrific actors (Valerie Perrine and Ned Beatty) but still be a credible and threatening opponent for Superman. I don't know of anyone who could have pulled off that duplex better than Hackman, and very few as well (Spacey was able to get the menace, but came off as only resentful and whiny in other scenes).
if you look at Fathom events schedule, they are releasing this in theaters on Nov 25th and 27th. Waited so long for this, to see this in a theater again. hopefully a viewing in your area.
Agreed. This opening title sequence is brilliant moviemaking. And how the hell did Midnight Express win the Oscar for Best Original Score in 1978?! This is perhaps the best musical score of any film, let alone films from 1978.
+trha2222 Good trolls strive for variety. Two reference to OTC drugs shows a lack of creativity. Hopefully you'll learn to step up your game and join the majors.
+lagunagil oh I know what it was trying to do. It just failed rather miserably. There was plenty of enjoyable stuff in the film, but it tried to do too much and ended up not doing much of it well.
I just got back from watching Superman: The Movie on the big screen for the first time since I saw it in the theater upon its initial release and it has lost none of its power. The opening credits on the big screen backed by John Williams' stunning score is so magical... it makes you feel like your flying.
With today’s ( Monday, July 5th 2021) sad news of his passing, of course he did many films but this is THE ONE that stands out for me. And filmmakers such as Bryan Singer, Christopher Nolan and more have stated that this 1978 epic is the template used to making today’s superhero movies. Rest In Peace Mr Richard Donner and thank you for making us BELIEVE A MAN CAN FLY!
I love the whole opening sequence, the B&W curtains opening slowly on some theater, as if we're all about to view a regular serial of Superman. It cuts to the child reading reading from the first Superman comic, which blends into a real-life looking Daily Planet building. The camera pans upward toward the moon and beyond. Then we get those really amazing 3-D like credits and the Superman march theme music by John Williams. I think I was 25 years old, but that opening opened a lot of buried memories, and I found my eyes glassing over. Whoever conceived those opening moments really knew his stuff. I was grabbed.
+Thor Odinson It is a terrific moment when the first credit pushes through the small square screen into the wide Panavision screen. The first moment when the film says: we're here to be BIG.
When the curtains disappeared and the music build up, that was the moment that superhero movies were brought to the modern age and cinema was changed forever
This soundtrack is fantastic, in addition to the film and its wonderful cast, Superman was and always will be something that will be part of our childhood, a unique character that is in our hearts.
![Superman [1978] - Opening Titles/Credits Sequence (720p)](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
