From one comic book superhero movie to another. The granddaddy superhero movie of them all. The one that took your favorite heroes and made them marketable to moviegoers everywhere. The dozens of superhero movies that have been released in the past twenty years can get on their knees and thank Superman. Well mostly Batman '89, but that has Superman '78 to thank so boom. Transitive property.
Superman was written by Mario Puzo and later re-drafted and edited by Tom Mankiewicz. Being a Mario Puzo story, the film was destined to be an epic. Indeed, the screenplay was split up into basically a three-act play. Act I is known as "Krypton", or before Superman arrives on Earth. Act II is "Smallville" which shows Clark in his formative years and Act III is "Metropolis" which shows Clark as an adult and is the debut of Superman. Clark Kent / Superman are played masterfully by then unknown actor Christopher Reeve. Reeve did what very few of seldom ever done (though Henry Cavill has come close) which is dutifully and notably separate the two identities so that more than just the glasses makes them distinct. Reeve plays Clark like a bumbling oaf and awkward nerd who's too shy, mumbles and stutters everything he says and is a giant clutz. His Superman is firm, confident, tall and imposing...yet caring. It goes without saying that no matter who they get from here on out...though again, Henry Cavill has come very, very close...that Christopher Reeve was, is, and forever will be Superman.
Supporting characters for this movie include world-renowned actors Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman as Superman's dad Jor-El and Superman's worst nightmare, Lex Luthor, respectively. Gene Hackman notoriously refused to shave his mustache for the role until director Richard Donner pranked him into doing it. Marlon Brando was paid top dollar for five days work in typical Brando fashion. Playing the role of love interest Lois Lane is Margot Kidder, basically one of the best Lois Lanes out there but Dana Delaney still wins it for me as the voice of the animated Lois Lane, but that's a whole different beast there.Complete with John Williams' masterful score including the now-legendary "Superman March" that has become synonymous with the character, Superman is a triumph for both the world of the modern day blockbuster and the modern day comic book movie. As I've said, any comic book movie today owes something to either Batman '89 or Superman '78, but my vote is Superman '78. It's iconic, it's legendary, it's euphoric; while it can drag at times and seem a little boring, it's story adapts a character that even at that point had been around for a while and made it modern-age and classic at the same time. Superman is a timeless classic no-matter how you slice it. Enjoy the opening credits and try not to fall in love too hard.
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