Directed by Richard Donner
Written by Mario Puzo et al from a character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
1978/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
Superman: I’m here to fight for truth, and justice, and the American way.
Lois Lane: [laughs] You’re gonna end up fighting every elected official in this country!
I’m not a fan of modern day comic book movies but I must admit enjoying the hell out of this one mostly for the comedy.
Everyone knows the Superman origin story, right? Anyway, the baby superman was sent to earth by his parents (Marlon Brando and Susannah York) immediately before the planet Krypton was destroyed. When he arrives he is adopted by childless Ma (Phyllis Thaxter) and Pa Kent (Glenn Ford).
The child grows up to be Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) nerdy, clumsy newspaper reporter. But when trouble strikes he becomes Superman. Reporter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) rejects all of Clark’s advances but falls in love with Superman.
Criminal mastermind Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) figures out a scheme that will allow him to rule the world when he discovers that kryptonite will rob the caped crusader of his powers. Luthor is not as smart as he thinks he is and his assistant Otis (Ned Beatty) is even dumber. Secretary Miss Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine) is the voice of sanity in this little group but no one pays any attention to her.
Luthor puts his plan for mass murder into effect. Will Superman save the day? With Jackie Cooper as editor Perry White.
I just love Gene Hackman in this movie. He should have done more comedy. The dialogue in his parts of the film is delicious. I think Brando was massively under-utilized. The special effects seem clunky now but do not detract from the fun. The John Williams score is iconic. If you are looking for a good popcorn watch, look no further.
Uh, I was so close to picking this one up for my off-List movies for 78. I ended up with four options for two slots and this fell out. In hindsight, I would likely have preferred it to Convoy…
I share your dislike for cartoon based (superhero) movies, and this was likely the deciding factor. I had forgotten Gene Hackman was Lex Luthor, that might have tipped the balance.
Let us see if I can do something about giving access to comment on my blog. I really think Google is trying to sabotage blogspot, as if they want people to move to a different platform. It is super annoying.
I like this movie more than the others because it is so tongue in cheek. There is plenty of dramatic Superman action but even that is done in a kind of over-the-top funny way. I remember liking Superman II a lot too. The movies were produced back-to-back with the same cast and director.