Superman I-Movie (1978)

"...hits the characters, feel and look of the comic spot on, especially Reeve in the title role.  Chris Hewitt, Empire
"...smart screenplay...striking cinematography...winning performance by Christopher Reeve...  Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
"...a wonderful, chuckling, preposterously exciting fantasy.  Variety

Editor's Note The Superman myth is well told, from his birth on the doomed planet Krypton to his childhood in a small Kansas town and beyond, in Richard Donner's blockbuster. After he comes of age, young Clark Kent, as his Earth parents have named him, learns the truth of his alien birth on a voyage of discovery to the Arctic. It is there that he learns--through a link to his long-dead birth parents--of his superhuman abilities and his responsibility to preserve and protect "truth, justice and the American Way." Once he adjusts to life in the big city, Metropolis, he discovers that hiding his superpowers as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) isn't easy as he flirts with hard-nosed Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) and battles supervillain Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). The film's all-star cast includes Jackie Cooper, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty, Glenn Ford, Terence Stamp, and Valerie Perrine, among others, all camping it up wonderfully.

	Christopher Reeve
	Gene Hackman
	Glenn Ford
	Jackie Cooper
	Margot Kidder
	Marlon Brando
	Ned Beatty
	Trevor Howard
	Charles F. Greenlaw - Producer
	Geoffrey Unsworth - Cinematographer
	Ilya Salkind - Executive Producer
	James E. Myers - Original Music By
	John Williams - Original Music By
	Mario Puzo, et. al. - Writer
	Richard Donner - Director
	Stuart Baird, et. al. - Editor

This star-packed extravaganza brings the comic book legend to the screen in grand style. It begins with Superman's scientist dad sending the infant superhero down to Earth just as the home planet, Krypton, explodes into a zillion pieces. Taking up permanent residence on Earth, the young Superman grows up into supernormal reporter Clark Kent, wooing winsome colleague Lois Lane and keeping his true identity hidden from the world. But when three villains come up with a dastardly real estate scheme that involves shoving California into the ocean, Clark Kent decides it's time to don his cape and fight the forces of evil.

"You've got me? Who's got you?"----Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) to Superman (Christopher Reeve)

Variety
"...A wonderful, chuckling, preposterously exciting fantasy....Reeve is excellent....Superman's ultimate triumph involves a lot more than super-feats of strength, exercising the heart muscles as well..." 12/13/1978

New York Times
"...Good, clean, simple-minded fun....[Reeve] manages to be both funny and comic-strip heroic..." 12/15/1978 p.C15

USA Today
"...The movie still makes you believe a man can fly..." 05/04/2001 p.7E

Premiere
"Its overall design continues to be the template for comic-book-movie success..." 12/01/2003 p.13

Ultimate DVD
5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he definitive superhero movie....This release offers a brand new lease of life for one of the most loved Science Fiction films of all time." 05/01/2007 p.84

ReelViews 9 of 10
To date, the 1978 theatrical version of Superman remains the only motion picture based on a comic book to have a lush, epic feel. Developed by Godfather scribe Mario Puzo with reverence for the venerable superhero, Superman pays homage to the legend's mythology without losing sight of the character's essential humanity. Other superhero movies have attempted to recapture the feel and intent of Superman; to date, none has succeeded...Taking Superman as a whole, there's no doubt that it's a flawed movie, but it's one of the most wonderfully entertaining flawed movies made during the 1970s. It's exactly what comic book fans hoped it would be, and it never apologizes about its origins. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
"Superman" is a pure delight, a wondrous combination of all the old-fashioned things we never really get tired of: adventure and romance, heroes and villains, earthshaking special effects, and -- you know what else? Wit. That surprised me more than anything: That this big-budget epic, which was half a decade making its way to the screen, would turn out to have an intelligent sense of humor about itself...And then the special effects. They're as good in their way as any you've seen, and they come thick and fast...The movie is, in fact, a triumph of imagination over both the difficulties of technology and the inhibitions of money. "Superman" wasn't easy to bring to the screen, but the filmmakers kept at it until they had it right. - Roger Ebert