Thursday, June 16, 2011

Superman (includes Extended Edition) Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG (Peril, Some Mild Sensuality and Language)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 23 Minutes (original), 2 Hours & 31 Minutes (extended)

Cast:
Christopher Reeve-Clark Kent/Superman
Margot Kidder-Lois Lane
Gene Hackman-Lex Luthor
Marc McClure-Jimmy Olsen
Jackie Cooper-Perry White
Glenn Ford-Jonathan Kent
Phyllis Thaxter-Martha Kent
Valerie Perrine-Eve Teschmacher
Ned Beatty-Otis
Marlon Brando-Jor-El
Susannah York-Lara Lor-Van
Terence Stamp-General Zod
Sarah Douglas-Ursa
Jack O'Halloran-Non 
 
Directed by Richard Donner

You'll believe a man can fly...
Note: Part of the "Superman Motion Picture Anthology" Blu-Ray set.

‘You’ll believe a man can fly.’ Boy, on December 15, 1978, everybody did! Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and making his first appearance in Action Comics #1 in 1938, Superman has become the most iconic superhero in the entire world. Every other superhero that came after owes, at least in some part, to Superman. In fact, the first comic book I ever picked up was Superman (it was through comic books that I learned how to read) and although the issue number escapes me now, I remember that it involved him battling the unstoppable Kryptonian monstrosity known as Doomsday, who remains as the only villain to have ever succeeded in killing the titular superhero. Richard Donner’s “Superman,” despite being released over three decades ago, has remained as not only as one of the best comic book-to-film adaptations ever but also the most epic in scope and grandeur, perfectly capturing the true essence of what made the character so popular and timeless to a legion of fans, young and old. Others have tried to emulate Donner’s example, with varying degrees of success, but with the exception of Sam Raimi and Christopher Nolan, none have really succeeded. “Superman” is the quintessential superhero film; it has adventure, romance, and humor but it is iconic due in part to the perfect casting of Christopher Reeve and no other actor—past, present or future—will ever come close to matching his performance. 

On the planet Krypton, a brilliant scientist named Jor-El (Marlon Brando) and the rest of the Ruling Council sentence a group of insurrectionists, General Zod (Terence Stamp), Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O'Halloran), to a lifetime of imprisonment in the Phantom Zone. Later, Jor-El attempts to convince the rest of the Council that their sun will soon become supernova and the resulting explosion will engulf and destroy Krypton. Unfortunately, the Council dismisses such claims and force Jor-El and his wife, Lara (Susannah York), to remain silent to avoid causing widespread panic. Jor-El takes matters into his own hands and builds a life-sustaining spacecraft for his infant son, Kal-El. Shortly after the ship is launched on its journey towards Earth, Krypton is destroyed by the resulting shockwave from their sun and all its inhabitants perish. The ship crash-lands on Earth three years later in the middle of Smallville, where Kal-El is found and adopted by a kindly couple, Jonathan (Glenn Ford) and Martha (Phyllis Thaxter) Kent. They name the boy…Clark Kent. Tragedy strikes when Clark turns eighteen as his father passes away from a heart attack. After the funeral, he finds a glowing green crystal hidden in the remains of his ship, which compels him to travel to the Arctic. The crystal builds the Fortress of Solitude and inside, Clark finally meets his true father in hologram form. Over a twelve year period, Clark is trained in his powers and responsibilities. When his training is finished, Clark dons a colorful red, blue, and yellow costume and becomes SUPERMAN (Christopher Reeve)! He creates a mild-mannered civilian identity and manages to land a job as a reporter in Metropolis for the newspaper The Daily Planet, whose editor-in-chief is Perry White (Jackie Cooper). Clark also meets the feisty Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), a no-nonsense reporter who’s unafraid to get her feet wet when chasing down a lead. Lois immediately becomes infatuated with Superman when he saves her from plummeting to death during his first public appearance. Meanwhile, a criminal mastermind named Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) is hatching a plan to sink California using a nuclear warhead in a twisted real estate scheme. He is aided by his two accomplices, the bumbling Otis (Ned Beatty) and beautiful Eve Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine). However, in order for his plan to succeed, he must destroy Superman once and for all! 

When Richard Donner was brought onboard to helm “Superman” in 1977, his motto during production was ‘verisimilitude,’ to achieve a sense of realism in the film despite its outlandish fantasy elements. Producer Ilya Salkind first conceived of a Superman film in late 1973 and after long negotiations with DC Comics, he and his father, Alexander Salkind, managed to purchase the film rights a year later. Mario Puzo, famous for his 1969 novel The Godfather, which was adapted into a critically-acclaimed film in 1972, was hired to write the screenplay for a two-part film. Unfortunately, it was overly long and bloated, and carried a campy tone, prompting Donner to hire Tom Mankiewicz to do an entire rewrite which would treat the character seriously. However, the Writers Guild of America refused to credit Mankiewicz so despite Puzo’s script being virtually thrown out, he received sole story credit as shown in the opening credits. Donner credited Mankiewicz as a ‘creative consultant’ on the film, much to the chagrin of the Guild. Both “Superman” and its sequel, “Superman II” were filmed back-to-back but Donner was removed from the project and replaced with Richard Lester due to continued creative disagreements with the Salkinds despite the fact that he had already filmed three-quarters of the second film. Looking back, the story presented in “Superman” isn’t all that special; it’s a classic good vs. evil tale that set many of the standard tropes found in modern comic book-to-film adaptations. However, what were amazing were how faithful to the source material and epic in scale the film was, all the while grounding the character and making his humanity the main focus. Sure, there are some issues but they are relatively minor when taken as a whole. Yes, I am referring to the climax where Superman, in anguish over the death of Lois Lane, turns back time by flying around the Earth in a reverse orbit. It required too much suspension-of-disbelief, even for a “Superman” film but it did emphasize the relationship between him and Lois. 

“Superman” is best remembered to this day for the pitch-perfect casting of then-unknown actor Christopher Reeve. His performance is so memorable and sincere that he has become virtually inseparable from the character. In fact, whenever one thinks of Superman, Reeve immediately springs to mind and every future portrayal will inevitably be compared to him. Reeve embodied not just the physicality of Superman but all of his ideals: ‘truth, justice, and the American way.’ With his warm smile and natural charisma, he won over the audience and created not just a performance but something iconic. As Clark Kent, Reeve portrayed him as a good-natured but bumbling fool. Many a fan have poked fun at Clark’s simple disguise of wearing glasses but Reeve made Superman’s civilian identity so markedly different from his alter-ego that casual passers-by would find it hard to believe this awkward man is the greatest superhero who ever lived. There’s this great scene where Clark and Lois get mugged in an alley but Lois being Lois, she refuses to give up her purse and kicks the thief in the head, making his gun go off. Clark catches the speeding bullet and slumps to the ground. He explains that he fainted and then subtly breaks the fourth wall by giving a knowing smile to the audience. Unfortunately, Reeve suffered a spinal cord injury while horseback riding on May 27, 1995, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. He tragically passed away on October 10, 2004 at the age of 52 due to cardiac arrest but he will forever be remembered as Superman. 

Another piece of perfect casting is Margot Kidder as Superman’s one and only true love, Lois Lane. Kidder does not fit the shallow definition of sexy that most Americans seem to be enamored with. She was attractive in a homely sort of way and it helped ground the romance between her and Superman. Reeve and Kidder have natural chemistry together and in the film’s grandest moment, Clark, seeing Lois dangling precariously from a malfunctioning helicopter, rushes to change into Superman. Lois loses her grip and falls but Superman catches her just in the nick of time and with a smile he says, ‘Easy miss, I’ve got you.’ Shocked at being caught by a flying man, Lois blurts out, ‘You’ve got me?! But who’s got you?!’ Later, Superman asks if she’s all right and still in shock, Lois just shakes her head, her eyes wide. Before he flies away, our hero gives one more piece of advice, ‘Well, I hope this little incident hasn’t put you off flying, miss. Statistically speaking, it’s still the safest way to travel.’ The most romantic scene in the film is when Superman arrives at Lois’ home to be interviewed and then takes her in his arms for a trip around Metropolis (which is actually New York City). All the while the love theme, “Can You Read My Mind,” composed by John Williams, with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and sung by Maureen McGovern, plays in the background. Unfortunately, Kidder simply recites rather than sings the lyrics but her delivery manages to capture the wide-eyed, schoolgirl awe she is in when she flies with Superman. I always get a smile from seeing Reeve and Kidder interact on-screen as Donner successfully captures what makes Lois and Clark the quintessential superhero couple in all of comics. 

Playing Superman’s eternal archenemy Lex Luthor was Gene Hackman, who is noticeably not bald but it is revealed later that he has a penchant for wearing wigs. Much of the humor, which may come off as cheesy to modern audiences, is derived from Hackman’s portrayal of Luthor and while he chews the scenery, he never really becomes more than an annoying pest to Superman and this is emphasized by the company he keeps. Of course, “Superman” managed to score a big name for their cast—Marlon Brando. However, Brando’s scant fifteen minute screen-time did not justify the ridiculous salary ($3.7 million plus a percentage of the box office receipts, totaling $19 million!) he received and his performance is rather dull, to be honest. The special effects of “Superman” look primitive after three decades but despite the obvious blue-screen and wire-work being employed, I still get chills whenever Superman soars to the skies. There’s plenty of spectacle, especially during the climax as Superman rushes to stop a nuclear warhead from destroying a city in New Jersey. As earthquakes begin rollicking through California, Superman saves both a school bus full of children and a speeding passenger train. He also flies under the Earth to stabilize the San Andreas Fault and creates a makeshift dam to stop a nearby town from drowning in river water. Yes, he never throws a punch at anyone, which might not sit well with modern audiences watching the film for the first time (who hasn’t seen this film already?) but there is no written rule stating that a superhero film is obligated to have fight scenes. Its goal is to tell a story, not bury itself in an avalanche of meaningless battles, something which is lost in today’s summer blockbusters. Finally, there’s the famous John Williams score, whose iconic orchestral theme for the film has remained a timeless classic and like Reeve, has become inseparable from Superman. It would be doing Williams and the character a disservice if the theme wasn’t used in some capacity in Zack Snyder’s upcoming 2012 reboot. 

“Superman” arrives on Blu-Ray courtesy of the “Superman Motion Picture Anthology” box set which includes the original theatrical version and the extended edition. The theatrical version runs at 2 hours and 23 minutes while the extended is at 2 Hours and 31 minutes, eight minutes longer. For the most part, there’s no major difference between the two; some scenes are extended and the only new addition is when Superman returns to the Fortress of Solitude to speak with the hologram of Jor-El after rescuing Air Force One. Both versions are virtually identical in picture and audio quality, although I’m sure someone will take the time out to do a frame-by-frame comparison. While this is the best that “Superman” will ever look in HD, the picture is marred by a hazy softness. Still, colors are bold and vibrant, especially those on Superman’s costume, and textures look fairly detailed. Despite its age, watching “Superman” on Blu-Ray is akin to experiencing the film for the first time all over again. Audio is a different matter altogether and it soars while Williams’ triumphant score plays in the background. Ambiance may be limited and sound effects dated but dialogue remains very clear. Both the theatrical and extended editions feature a cavalcade of special features; unfortunately the material is in standard definition but the sheer amount of extras makes up for it. There’s too many to list here but it has the usual audio commentaries and making-of featurettes, plus deleted scenes and screen tests. A nifty extra included is the 1951 film “Superman and the Mole-Men,” which introduced George Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman to the world. 

“Superman” was released into theaters on December 15, 1978 to widely positive reviews and it currently holds a franchise high of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics wrote that the film ‘deftly blends humor and gravitas, taking advantage of the perfectly cast Christopher Reeve to craft a loving, nostalgic tribute to an American pop culture icon.’ It was also an instant box office success with a worldwide gross of $300 million against a $55 million production budget (unusually high at the time). The film was also nominated for three Academy Awards in 1979 for Best Film Editing, Original Score, and Sound but it only received a Special Achievement Award for visual effects. There are some flaws but “Superman” remains a classic comic book-to-film adaptation, so reverential to the DC Comics character even as it thrills us with its sense of fantasy escapism. I have no doubt that future adaptations will turn out great but they will never come close to achieving the kind of magic that Donner imbued into his film. Such a thing only happens once. For two-and-a-half hours, we truly did believe a man can fly and “Superman” will remain as not just the quintessential superhero film but a timeless classic.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

“Can you read my mind? Do you know what it is that you do to me? I don't know who you are. Just a friend from another star. Here I am, like a kid out of school. Holding hands with a god. I'm a fool. Will you look at me? Quivering. Like a little girl, shivering. You can see right through me. Can you read my mind? Can you picture the things I'm thinking of? Wondering why you are... all the wonderful things you are. You can fly. You belong in the sky. You and I...could belong to each other. If you need a friend...I'm the one to fly to. If you need to be loved...here I am. Read my mind.”