Superman: The Movie Blu-ray offers solid video and great audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
The enduring adventure spanning the Man of Steel's life, from his Krypton infancy
and Midwest boyhood to his career as Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent, and through his
titanic struggle with archnemesis Lex Luthor.
The special effects, sets, haircuts and wardrobe may all look dated, but Superman: The
Movie
remains among the most beloved films of the 1970s. Director Richard Donner brings the comic book
hero to life in Christopher Reeve, who admirably adapts from the bumbling Clark Kent to the
ultimate caped crusader. The entire cast is brilliant in its supporting roles. Gene
Hackman gives a great
performance as the unapologetically wicked Lex Luthor. And Margot Kidder delivers a portrait of a
strong, ambitious Lois Lane at
a time when women were starting to break the glass ceiling. But it is Donner's dedication to the
spirit and style of the original Superman's comic book roots, as well as to inject a heavy dose of
humor, that make
Superman: The Movie a classic. In some ways, it has still not been surpassed, even by the
CGI effects and
faster-paced action of today's superhero movies.
Christopher Reeve shows Superman's emotions and vulnerabilities in addition to his fight for justice.
The film starts on planet Krypton, the way Jerome Siegel's original comic book saga began in the
1930s. Jor-El (Marlon Brando in the highest paid role of any actor at that time) and Lara
(Susannah
York) are celebrating the birth of their son, Kal-El, but their elation is tempered by grave danger.
Krypton's sun is expanding. Jor-El, a respected scientist and leader, predicts it will soon engulf and
destroy the planet. Although Jor-El advocates evacuating Krypton, the high council will not let
him
go public with his prediction and forbids him from leaving. Unable to save himself or his wife, Jor-
El
builds a capsule for Kal-El. The capsule and other crystalline sets of Krypton are futuristic
considering the film's original
release date, but they are dated by today's standards.
As disaster draws near, Donner
shows the
sets shaking, and the people of Krypton panicked. Jor-El and Lara place their son in the capsule,
share a moment with him and Kal-El begins his journey to Earth, where the yellow sun will give
him power and
strength far beyond those of ordinary humans. Jor-El's plaintive advice is quite powerful with
Brando's voice: "Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are
needed. Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people,
Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all--their
capacity for good--I have sent them you, my only son."
With a lifetime's worth of lessons packed into materials in the capsule, Kal-El's journey across
space ends when he crashes in a field in Midwest America. Raised as Clark Kent, his powers are
quickly recognized, but his identity is protected. He learns
valuable lessons in morality and the beauty and frailty of human life from his adoptive parents.
As he transitions into adulthood, he becomes aware of one of the crystals saved from the capsule
built
by Jor-El. Now painfully aware of his differences from normal humans and unsure of his identity
or path on Earth, Kal-El takes the
crystal , leaves his widowed mother Martha Kent (Phyllis Thaxter) and travels to the
North Pole. The crystalline ice reminds him of his ancestral home and he uses
the crystal to create a sanctuary. There, he finally learns the full truth about his past and his
identity. When he leaves the fortress of solitude, he emerges as Superman.
The rest of the film focuses on Superman's emergence in Metropolis, his dual existence as the
caped crusader and the Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent and his race to avert a nuclear
disaster set in motion by Lex Luthor. A few minutes of bonus footage included in the Blu-ray is
not in the theatrical version, including heavily outdated special effects as Luthor
tries to freeze and burn Superman. Of greater success is Hackman's villainous charm, which is
the perfect vehicle for Luthor's
lines. He frequently calls himself, "the greatest criminal mind of our time" and his sarcasm is
especially good: "It's kryptonite, Superman. Little souvenir from the old home town. I spared no
expense to make you feel right at home."
With its VC-1 encode at 1080p, the resolution of this Blu-ray is far superior to even the most
recent DVD version. Still,
the picture is not what anyone would call perfect. Most scenes are quite vivid and sharp, with
superb color vibrancy
and good depth. In other scenes, the vibrancy is lacking and the picture appears to emerge from
behind a thin layer of noise. Still, even the moments of weakest picture quality are no worse than
one would expect from a movie three decades old. Overall, the definition is very good and
watching
the film in its true aspect ratio at 1080p is a revelation. It may not compare favorably to
reference
quality BDs, but compared to every previous version of Superman: The Movie, the
Blu-
ray appears more lifelike.
The night scene when Superman is first making an impact fighting crime in Metropolis is
especially
clear and vivid. With good gradation between blacks and greys in the darkness and shadows,
colors
and resolution are of equal clarity to daylight scenes. For that matter, watch the excellent depth
of
the shots of the countryside as Lois Lane's car meanders the open roads during her investigation
of
Luthor's land grab. The hillsides and foliage show good definition. While some grain is visible, few
will
have complaints about the video performance of this Blu-ray disc. It is a very significant upgrade
from NTSC versions of Superman: The Movie in terms of the resolution and film-like
qualities of the picture.
It would be nice if Warner included a lossless PCM track on all of its catalog titles, but
unfortunately
they didn't. Part, if not all, of the reason was that Warner released the same titles on HD DVD
at the time, and needed to develop content that would fit on the lower-capacity format. It is likely
that is the reason that the BD version of Superman: The Movie has only a Dolby Digital
5.1
surround track encoded at 640 kbps. Surprise--that is the exact same content as the HD DVD
version, even though a BD-50 disc was used, with much of the capacity going to waste. Too bad,
as
one can hear the somewhat thinner soundstage and imprecise definition reminiscent of DD. The
good
news is that this particular mix is not bad at all, with ample LFE and surround content, and a
strong vocal presence
and orchestral score that is virtually free of distortion.
The DD track features very good
detail, but it can get a bit muddled during busy passages when many sounds are vying for
attention in the mix. The busy Metropolis scenes do an admirable job in resolving the orchestra,
street traffic and some dialog, without becoming too congested. Listen to the scene when
Luthor's sidekick, Otis (Ned Beatty), makes his way through the crowded streets into the subway
while being tailed by police, all while a comical score played. The audio is crisp and clear and
doesn't sound like it was recorded too "hot" even when the train roars by. There is definitely
much room for improvement, but the DD is better than average. Certainly it is no reason to avoid
the
BD.
Since Warner couldn't be bothered to produce a high definition audio track for Superman: The
Movie, it's not surprising that the bonus content is not in high definition either. While, plenty
of good material is included, it's all basically NTSC. You might as well be watching it 30 years ago
on your CRT television. The content is ported from the Spring 2000 DVD release, which was one
of the more
acclaimed reissues in Warner's catalog, restoring some of Donner's original content, and
providing material he was finally able to expose to the film's fans. Unfortunately, not all the
bonus material made it on the BD version. But the inclusion of much of it raises the rating for
supplementary material. Good stuff.
As most Superman fans know, the rift between Donner and producers Ilya
and Alexander Salkind created many problems. Cast and crew began to split and align with one
faction or the other. The tension and drama of the behind-the-scenes politics in some ways
rivaled that of
the film itself. Christopher
Reeve proved to be the hero not just of the film, but of the "making of" story, too, by virtue of
his power to bring people together and keep up the hectic pace of the production. Donner was
fired after shooting the
entire first film and
most of the second, Superman II, which was later released in 1981. He was replaced by
Richard Lester,
who did not share Donner's commitment to or fascination with the original comic book story and
went for a more humorous, campy approach that some have described as "cheesy". While the
real drama of the rift is explained in more
detail within the extras of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, the first Blu-ray
includes 80 minutes worth of instructive extras.
Taking Flight: The Development of
'Superman and Making Superman: Filming
the Legend. provide extensive, lengthy interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with
Reeve, consultant Tom Mankiewicz, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, editor Stuart
Baird, composer John Williams, the effects team and, of course, Donner himself. One gets a sense
of his frustrations with the Salkinds and
the studio, but he discusses what happened in a professional, forthright manner. Above all, his
dedication and passion for the film come across strongly. The behind-the-scenes footage is an
eye-opener and probably the most entertaining feature of the bonus materials.
A highly detailed audio track is also included, in which Donner and Mankiewicz comment on the
challenges and expenses involved in writing, shooting, casting and feuding. To cut production
costs and efforts, the script was continually revised until both Superman: The Movie and
the sequel could be filmed together, and not require separate shoots for every scene. One is left
with a new understanding of the brutal nature of the film industry and a glimpse of how the
creative minds behind a movie can get no credit in the end. If not for the advent of home video
and Warner's willingness to revisit the first two Superman films, Donner's story may never have
been widely told.
Rounding out the supplementary materials are screen test with Reeve, John
Williams' full orchestral score in DD 5.1, a teaser, trailer and TV spot, which
brings us back to yesteryear (especially in video quality).
For those of us who grew up in the 1970s, Superman: The Movie will always be special. It
emerged as the first Star Wars film was still the state-of-the-art in action/adventure. But
Superman hit closer to home and brought to life the ultimate superhero straight out of comic books
and Saturday morning
cartoons. Reeve's Superman epitomizes the values of America and the role made him a legitimate
movie star. The goal of the actor was honesty--what Donner called "verisimilitude"--to convey
Superman's underlying earnestness and message of truth, justice and the American way. Donner
and Mankiewicz added plenty of light, humorous touches. The pace of the film is also enjoyable. It's
a welcome addition to the catalog titles available on Blu-ray.
Blu-ray bundles with Superman: The Movie (5 bundles)
Warner Home Video has announced The Superman Motion Picture Anthology for Blu-ray release on June 7. The 8-disc collection features all five Superman movies (Superman, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and Superman Returns) with 5.1 ...
Spanish site Zona DVD is reporting that Warner Home Video is preparing the Blu-ray release of Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition, including all the existing Superman movies (Superman: The Movie, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and ...
