SUPERMAN (1978) C widescreen 143m dir: Richard Donner

w/Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Trevor Howard, Jack O'Halloran, Valerie Perrine

From The Movie Guide: "'You'll believe a man can fly,' the ads said, and by SUPERMAN's end that's just about true. Christopher Reeve essays the title role and makes it his own, combining correctly chiseled features with a likable comic humanity, while the film itself nicely balances special effects with the romance of Superman and Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). The story opens on the planet Krypton, where Superman's father (Marlon Brando) sends his son off to Earth, where he grows up to be 'mild-mannered reporter' Clark Kent. Flying around in tights and cape, Superman-alias-Clark saves the day --- and Lois --- a number of times. Eventually he rescues all mankind from the evil Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) and his assistants (Ned Beatty and Valerie Perrine, in an excellent bit of comic caricature) as they plot to take over the world. ... The film burdens itself with too many story lines and an overlong (though beautifully photographed) prologue, but things really get moving when Reeve takes the screen. A worldwide hunt was conducted to find the right man for the role, with Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Nick Nolte, Kris Kristopherson, Sylvester Stallone, Ryan O'Neal, Clint Eastwood, and Charles Bronson among the candidates. So excellent is Reeve, however, that it is nearly impossible to think of anyone else as the Man of Steel."

SUPERMAN was adapted, of course, from the exploits of the hero in the D.C. comic book strip created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster; Mario Puzo (of THE GODFATHER fame) adapted the story and wrote the script with David Newman, Leslie Newman, and Robert Benton (THE LATE SHOW). The cinematographer for the film is Geoffrey Unsworth, who also served in the same capacity for the SUPERMAN II sequel (which is even better than SUPERMAN), and the visual aspect of both films is outstanding.

Nominated for Oscars for Best Editing (Stuart Baird), Score (John Williams), and Sound (Gordon K. McCallum, Graham Hartstone, Nicolas LeMessurier, and Roy Charman).