UNCUT - Superman: The Movie (1978) (THEATRICAL)

Even when I went to see this in the theater at nine years old I was underwhelmed by this movie. I found it really slow and too sappy. And I hated the way the time travel ending didn’t really make sense. As an adult, I can appreciate the cinematography and visuals and practical effects. It really is a good looking movie. And the performances are really good. But my overall Opinion about this movie is pretty much the same. It’s still too slow and sappy. The relationship between Lois and Superman is rushed. A lot of the plot points don’t make sense. Luthor’s plan is too goofy. And I still don’t like the cold, icy, angular style of the Kryptonian designs. Hate the spinning around the world. Even as I nine year old I couldn’t understand what happened to all the other stuff he fixed before turning time back.

I haven't seen the recent "Superman and Lois" series, but specifically on the subject of the Clark vs. Superman personality switching, I slightly prefer Dean Cain's portrayal in the 90's TV series "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" as the best I've seen. Don't get me wrong, Christopher Reeve acts the part superbly, but from a writing perspective, I'm not a fan of Clark Kent being such a deliberate 'performance' for the sake of hiding his identity. I think the character works better if "Clark" is his natural personality as someone living in human society, hiding nothing except the fact he has superpowers, with "Superman" being a public-facing persona as a superhero, being open about his powers but secretive about everything else. The main difference being: in these movies it's clear that "Superman" is who he really is, and "Clark" is just a buffoonish disguise he puts on to hide his identity. In "Lois and Clark", it's clear that "Clark" is who he really is, and "Superman" is a larger-than-life persona he puts on to hide his identity.

That guy with the moustache is in a lot of things……. Isn’t he don’t call me tiny from search for Spock?

Alex and Josh haven’t watched smallville? Smallville reaction unlocked?

The prairies and Smallville scene were shot in Alberta, Canada where I live

Holey heck. Superman reaction? Should joined earlier!

This was a fun watch with you guys. Thank you for helping me escape reality for awhile. ❤️ 💙 💜

On a side tangent, has anyone here seen Hollywoodland? It’s a fictionalization of the death of George Reeves who played Superman I one movie and the entire run of The Adventures of Superman in the 50’s. It’s pretty good and you get to see Affleck in the Superman suit.

Did anyone ‘miss’ the Jor-el action scene from Man of Steel? 😂 It was nice to see Jor-el and Lara calmly accepting their fate. I haven’t watch this movie in many years. I saw it in theaters when it came out, I was 9. Loved it then and really loved watching it with Alex and Josh

That was fun. I don't think I've seen this since the mid '80s, so it was nice to 'watch with you.' As far as backstory knowledge... This came out when I was in high school. We grew up on Saturday morning cartoons including Superman and, of course, Adam West's Batman. I'm sure we watched some of the old b&w Superman episodes when they were on. My older brother read comics in his youth, as did the boys on the street and in school so they'd fill in things we "might not know" after episodes aired. We'd all meet on the street Saturday afternoons, 5-13yo kids, boys and girls, and talk about everything we'd watched, and occasionally re-enact our favorite parts of whatever struck our fancy (usually a Munsters episode). So we girls knew both Batman and Superman and at least a summary of their origins. When this came out everyone I knew went to see it. Christopher Reeves was a draw for young women (I'm sure to more people, but I speak what I know, lol) and Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Marlon Brando, etc., added an element of "it must be good if they're in it" for the older folks. (I can't tell you how many times I heard "Jackie Cooper was a Little Rascal" whenever the movie was discussed around old people.) It was a safe movie to take the little kids to (4 a few years younger than me and the folks enjoyed it). Long winded and veered off topic, but basically the point is: they didn't have to explain the back story because everybody more or less knew most of it. :) Edit to add: I'm sure there were also girls who read comics - didn't mean to sound sexist... but it was a rather sexist time so you didn't publicize if you went against the grain. Thankfully young people can embrace whatever they want to do and be whatever they want to be now! <3

Great! Love getting everything synced up and ready to go. Just to find out there's no way I can watch this with you guys. That really sucks

I'm a little late to the party, so I doubt anyone will actually read this. It's been some years since I'd seen this, and I caught something I never noticed before. When Clark arrives at the Fortress of Solitude and hears the first message from his father, Jor-El says, "By now you'll have reached your 18th year as it is measured on Earth. By that reckoning, I will have been dead for many thousands of your years.'" However, later in the movie, Lex Luthor reads quotes from Lois' newspaper article where Superman states that Krypton exploded in 1948, only 30 years before the time of the interview. So is it 30 years or many thousands? Is this a continuity error? Also, it's clearly stated that Krypton was in a different galaxy. Considering that the closest galaxy to ours (Andromeda) is 2.5 million light years away, it's truly remarkable that a piece of rock could have drifted from Krypton to Earth in such a short time. Sometimes it's best to not think about these kind of things too much and just enjoy the story.

Baby Kal-El (Superman) was played by Brit Lee Quigley, who died age 14 from drug overdose.

Now you need to see the second one (theatrical cut and skip the others). They did know they were making the sequel. They had 75% of it filmed before the first one came out.

Phyllis Coates was the all time quintessential Lois Lane. Truest to the original character.

I loved watching along with you on this one. Thanks so much for doing it. I had to set aside the time to do it, so I couldn't do it right away. You said you never watched Smallville, but I recommend you *at least* watch the pilot episode of Smallville as it brilliantly fills in Clark Kent's life in High School. It is SO good and pays honest tribute to Christopher Reeve's Superman.

One major issue with Man of Steel was that while Amy Adams is a great actress I really like, they gave her a pretty boring Lois character to work with. They basically drained all the fun and humor out of her. They wasted a good actress.

This was the superman I grew up with, even though the 4 Reeve films released before I was born. He does the best of any Superman actor to distinguish between the 2 personas. I think what really sets Reeve's performance apart is not the feats we see on screen, those have long since been surpassed. It's about the ideals he embodies, and how he inspire others. Perhaps the closest modern equivalent is Captain America. That's really driven home in Jor El's speech. "They can be a great people, Kal-El, and 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." Also that helicopter catch scene, combined with Williams' score remains IMO one of the greatest superhero moments to this day. No supervillains, no world ending threats, just a guy with powers helping out in an emergency because he can. Also the execution of the scene was pretty flawless. I think it was Big Bang Theory where they said at the speed Superman was going up and the speed Lois was falling, he would have basically cut her in half. But during the scene, when he catches her the windows continue to go down several floors before they start going back up, which is great attention to detail. Same deal when he caught the chopper. Now I also have to say, regarding the opening sequence of the film, it always baffled me that such an advanced civilization capable of building intergalactic escape pods and presumably much more, would chalk up the death of their star to "Kyrpton shifting it's orbit". We already know when and how our sun is going to die. It'll grow to a red giant before collapsing to a white dwarf. Krypton no doubt had a larger star that could fuse heavier elements until eventually it went supernova. L:ittle old backward humans could have diagnosed that problem. I guess no matter where you go in the universe, one constant remains; Politicians are idiots. Hackman also delivers a fantastic foil to Superman in Lex Luthor. I liked Spacey's Luthor well enough, but Hackman's performance remains the gold standard. And as family friendly as the movie is, Luthor really is pretty ruthless. The way he calmly delivers "no, by CAUSING the deaths of innocent people" is pretty dark. Also he either killed or hired someone to kill the museum guards to get the kryptonite. And of course let's not forget "Lex, my mother lives in Hackensack", "(checks watch) yeeeaaahhh, only for another 20 minutes or so". Just a timeless movie with a great cast. I like Henry Cavill but I don't find his take on Superman as convincing. To be fair, he worked with what he was given, but Superman doesn't work when he's dark and broody, and Clark Kent doesn't work when he's a Chad with glasses. It's why I have a soft spot for Superman Returns and wish it had gotten a couple sequels. Routh did a respectable job paying homage to Reeve's Superman.

THIS is said to be THE MOVIE that went on to inspire ALL of the current-day superhero movies. It's witty dialogue, attention to the original comic book material and style, its optimism and HOPEFUL story line (what everyone of the day, myself included) made us all say THIS is how we always envisioned such a superhero would look as a movie. Its success was a hit with the public, the critics, AND with other superhero creators such as Stan Lee, who went on to make the new Marvel movies we now have. Yeah, like the first Star Wars film, this one had a long-lasting impact which resonates even to this day.

Some fun items: MARIO PUZO, the writer of this movie and its sequel, also wrote THE GODFATHER - which had Marlon Brando in that film's title role. Puzo had once worked as a clerk for a railroad in New York City (where he grew up and where his family settled after migrating to America, having lived in that city's "Hell's Gate" community.) Puzo is said to have been a fan of the original Superman comics and was well-versed in the lore, so his bakground in railroading and his love of comic books and writing led to the movie's inclusion of so many trains. (The 1950s TV series began with a phrase describing Superman as being "More Powerful than a Locomotive".) This film's Editor, Stuart Baird (who went on to direct the 10th Star Trek movie), made the "Kansas Flyer" train scene in Smallville super exciting -- after Clark jumps past the engine's nose -- with second-long cuts of the train's wheels, grass blowing under it, the rails jiggling, closeups of the windows flashing by the camera and more, making it a fun sequence not just to see, but to EXPERIENCE as audience members. This movie did more - the "NH" on the engine nose where Otis disappears into the station tunnel is a real railroad - the New Haven RR, which I believe Puzo worked for. People living in NY City who saw the movie would recognize the names and logos. The Amtrak train seen in the earthquake sequence was the "Superchief" - named after a famous Santa Fe passenger train which ran the Cajon Pass route also seen in the earthquake. Those details would have been known by railroad men like Mario Puzo, and in the credits is "Superchlef Driver" (the British title for the American Amtrak engineer). Then there are iconic vehicles in the Golden Gate Bridge scene: a motorcycle, a Volkswagen, a red Trans-am, and a small typical American school bus full of children. T1his was a movie made mostly in England, and much of the product placement items were the most well-known brands to Europeans at the time. Besides product placement such as Cheerios and Timex (Lois's wristwatch in the rooftop scene), the Amtrak train in the earthquake was another. And still: the Newspaper Headers where Perry White orders his staff to find all they can about "This flying Whachamacallit" are "real," also: The name Metropolis simply replaced New York for all of them on the page title headlines. You will get a kick of the making of videos, I'm sure......................... there's much more there to discover about this amazing film.

There are numerous "making of" videos for this movie, and there ia likely a lot of that material on the DVD you have. A huge number of back-story videos on the making of this moving have popped up in recent years - search YouTube and you'll find them.

Great reaction here. You guys should definitely check out Smallville for a deeper dive into Superman lore. As much as I love Star Trek I still consider Smallville my favorite tv series of all time.

I am with you, Josh, on the Christopher Reeve performance of Clark Kent compared to Superman. I like his performance as Clark better.

If Superman truly existed, he would not be able to have sex without killing his partner. As soon as he achieved orgasm, he would shoot off his partner's head, let alone the possibility of crushing from passion.

The girl that he rescued the cat for is Tasha Yar

It's probably impossible to describe what it felt like going to the theatre to see this as a ten year old. This was as far above what we had gotten for super heroes as Star Wars was to Invasion of the Flying Saucers. Check out Legends of the Superheroes (1979) TV specials to see what we had at the time for live action. There's an aspect of this movie that seems to be missing from modern day ones that reflects this as well. When Superman flies by or lands in the street, cars stop, people race to the window for a glimpse. He's completely unique. Super Heroes are almost instantly common place inside the movie and TV worlds of today.

For an excellent, thorough, and funny blog on the making of this film, check out "Superheroes Every Day" by Danny Horn. It will answer every possible question you may have about Superman: The Movie: superheroeseveryday.com/chapters/

In addition to Superman 1-4, don’t forget about 1984’s “Supergirl” movie, set in the same shared universe. That film is a bit of a train wreck (in the best possible way, an enjoyable campy watch) with some of the greatest flying effects in the franchise, a scene-chewing main villain, and memorable score by Jerry Goldsmith.

I would like it if you guys watched both versions of Superman II: the theatrical version & director's cut.

A few interesting trivia nuggets: * Perry White was one of the original Little Rascals from the 1930s. * The mother in the train that YOUNG Clark runs near in that open field was played by the original Lois Lane from the George Reeve TV series. * Marlon Brando was paid $3.7 million plus 11.75% of the box office gross profits for his role as Jor-El. And he was only on screen for 10 minutes.

I think it would be a fun time for you guys and the audience if you do decide to react to Adam West Batman content.

When you guys watch it again, take a look at the real estate overlay that Luthor lays over the map. On the side you will see a couple of little mountain icons named "Teschmarker Peaks". That was Miss Teaschmarker's place (and a bit of a joke).

I hadn't watched this one in quite some time, and enjoyed this reaction. Hopefully you'll do Superman 2 eventually, since it's a direct sequel, continuing the Zod situation.

For me personally (and probably a lot of Gen-X) Christopher Reeve set the gold standard for playing not only Superman/Clark Kent but really any super-hero/secret identity pair. And can I just say how grateful I am that you guys didn't beat the dead horse of "How can Superman reverse the rotation of the Earth and turn back time?!?" thing I see all the time on the internet. We all know it's a visual metaphor for him breaking the time barrier and time travelling to set things right (shades of Sam Beckett). But I also loved your response to it too! Great reaction guys!

I love the first two-thirds of this film. The final act is a mess and makes no sense. I hate the time travel nonsense. Makes no sense even within the logic of this film.

Loved this reaction! I hope you guys do Superman 2. The ORIGINAL! Not the so-called "Donner Cut", which isn't a complete film, throws in test footage, and even cuts out one of the most iconic lines in all of superhero films.

Great reaction. This is definitely a classic. The turn back time was not supposed to be the ending but they made it work after the studio stopped them from making the two movies back to back which led to why there are two versions of Superman 2. I knew the actor who played Otis. He’s done many more serious films but this is what most people mentioned when he passed. Definitely up for some Adam West Batman. That movie or it’s sequel that just got chopped up into episodes and aired as part of the series in the US.

This movie pushed the envelope of effects as much as Star Wars. Most flying scenes were done with front projection, sometimes utilizing a synchronized process where they would shrink the background projection on the screen at the same time they zoom the camera in. The effect was Christopher Reeve smoothly flying to the camera. I don't know if you picked up on where Superman flies off Lois's terrace and then she goes to open the door to Clark Kent without a cut. Superman flying away is actually a front projection filmed previously.

Excellent reaction guys. Geoffrey Unsworth was the cinematographer responsible for those amazing shots of Smallville. Gave this film a true epic feel. Jeff East played young Clark Kent, wearing a prosthetic nose to look more like Reeve, and his voice was dubbed by Reeve. Recommendation for your continuation of these films. Watch in this order: Making of Superman Documentary (from DVD release…has Donner wearing ‘no fur’ button). Beautifully detailed behind the scenes doc Superman II: Theatrical Ed Making of Superman II Donner Edition Documentary Superman II: Donner Cut The behind the scenes drama (needlessly created by the Salkinds) is a tragic story that really kept the Superman sequels from being as amazing as Superman. The hirings and firings that happened in between S1 and S2 changed the tone and look of the series, and not for the better.

Absolutely bring on Batman '66. And/or Lego Batman, if we're looking for a good, goofy time in Gotham

After this one won the lottery I went to watch it on Max through my Amazon Fire Stick on my TV since I hadn't seen it for quite a while. I don't know if it was my network or Fire Stick or maybe Max burped, but the movie kept jumping and skipping and eventually crashed completely. I was able to finish watching it on my phone through the Max app with no problems. Now I invested in the Blu-ray collection, so everything went great for watching the reaction. The sync was perfect. I'm glad you loved it. I've only seen this one and Superman II, but my new set also has the expanded edition of this, the theatrical release and Donner cut of Superman II, Superman III and IV, and Superman Returns from 2006, which from what I remember hearing about at the time is pretty much a sequel to Superman II and ignores III and IV. That may or may not be true. There's also a bonus disc that I haven't explored yet, but it looks like it has tons of good stuff. Since I saw Frozen and the "Let it Go" scene when Elsa is building her ice castle I think of the building of Superman's Fortress of Solitude. They even look similar.

When Clark dropped out of the window, yes that was just a super speed change of clothes. As for where his regular clothes went, The comics answer that. At the time, in the comics, Clark's clothes were made of a collapsable material that could be folded up and put in a special pocket in his cape (dead serious).

Psyched to watch with you guys but I think I have to put it off til next weekend

The scene where Superman flies off the rooftop & Clark knocks on Lois’s apartment door is one continuous camera shot achieved with rear projection.

Though often depicted as being stand ins for New York and Chicago respectfully in modern takes, Metropolis and Gotham, historically, are supposed to be in Delaware and New Jersey. Nope, not making that up. Metropolis is essentially supposed to be where Wilmington DE is and Gotham across the river in Southern NJ. At the time Batman was created, it wasn't long after the events that 'boardwalk empire" was based on. So Gotham was essentially a west coast of NJ version of Atlantic City in its heyday., complete with corruption, gangsters, and casinos, etc. But at some point they just kind of became a stand in for NYC and Chicago.

1:32:55 Of course he's a virgin.

1:30:20 WHERE ARRRRRRRE YOUUUUU??

I'd forgotten how good this film is. Actually I only remember about 1% of this film. I've also forgotten how ridiculous a lot of the "saves" actually are. The helicopter was not an emergency. Air Force One would have been just fine with three engines. etc etc

The story of the criminals at the beginning on Krypton picks up in Superman II. My maternal grandfather was named Otis.

The cat rescue from the tree is referenced years later in Batman v Superman when Bruce Wayne berates Clark Kent and the Daily Planet for doing puff pieces like Superman rescuing cats from trees.

Any chance you guys are interested in reacting to SMALLVILLE? ... a "Superman" series that lasted 10 seasons, over 200 episodes ... and it is awesome. I'm watching it right now for the 10th time.

Yes, Martha's maiden name was Clark, which is how they chose to name him.

That's Lois Lane as the little girl on the train.Her parents are played by Kirk Alyn (Superman from 2 movie serials in the 40's) and Noel Neill (Lois Lane from those serials and the 1950's Superman TV show).

My favorite parts of this film are the scenes on Krypton and young Clark. But why are everyone on Krypton so old? Does it matter that the planet exploded when they were all going to die soon, anyway?

"How big are you?" she asks, because the readers of The Daily Planet really need to know that.

If anyone is wondering where to steam it, it's on Max in the US.

An absolute classic.

I'm ready! Let's start this… When this came out-I did believe a Man could fly!

November's lottery - Sneakers (1992)

Don't forget James Horner for soundrack scores.