A Reel 40: SUPERMAN

"A friend."

This month marks the 40^thanniversary of Richard Donner’s SUPERMAN. 

Here in 2018, superhero movies dominate the box office and take over every movie theatre, while having a new life in pop culture outside of their comic book origins. But before December of 1978, there were none to be found, and the notion of a comic book movie was an idea as far away as the planet Krypton. 

The journey to bring DC Comic’s most popular and heralded character began way back in 1973, when producer Ilya Salkind began the long process of acquiring the rights to the red and blue-caped strongman who was faster than a speeding bullet.  The idea was to film SUPERMAN and a sequel back-to-back, but the first film had to be put together first. By 1974 the red tape was cleared, and the first order of business was to find a leading man. Names such as Muhammad Ali, Al Pacino, James Caan, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, and Dustin Hoffman were considered. The task of writing the screenplay would to go Mario Puzo, who was fresh off his success for writing THE GODFATHER and its sequel. 

For the director, Steven Spielberg was considered, but the producers wanted to see how his “fish movie” would succeed first. That fish movie was JAWS, and despite being a massive hit, Spielberg would not helm the man of steel into flight as he immediately committed to different film about aliens, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. By 1975, famed actor Marlon Brando had signed on to play the father of Superman, Jor-El. Shortly after, Gene Hackman took on the role of Lex Luthor, Superman’s arch-enemy. By 1977 sets were being constructed, and the directing job went to Richard Donner, who was coming off his success with the horror film THE OMEN (1976). 

The role of Superman and his alter-ego Clark Kent would finally go to Christopher Reeve, who beat out big names from 1970’s cinema such as Sylvester Stallone, Paul Newman, and Burt Reynolds. The rest of the cast was rounded out by Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Valerie Perrine, Marc McClure, Terence Stamp, and Margot Kidder as Lois Lane…Superman’s lifelong love interest. Filming began in 1977 at the famed Pinewood Studios, with location shooting in New York City, Alberta Canada, and New Mexico. The score would be composed by John Williams, who had just won another Oscar for his work on STAR WARS. 

The results were spectacular. With landbreaking special effects which truly made us believe that a man could fly, SUPERMAN wowed audiences and would finish as the second-highest grossing film of 1978 (behind GREASE), and would finish its theatrical run as the sixth-highest earner all-time. It would be nominated for three Oscars, and would win a Special Achievement Academy Award for its special effects. Reeve would win Best Newcomer at the BAFTA’s that year. In 2017 it would be added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry. 

*

The success of SUPERMAN can be attributed to many things; Donner’s workman-like direction, the perfect casting, the soaring score by Williams, and the great physical performance by Reeve…who transformed before our eyes from dorky Clark Kent to the mighty Superman with no special effects needed. Reeve made the wire-work to make Superman fly function perfectly, and thanks to the pitch-perfect script, embodied Superman’s ideals of truth and justice. Richard Donner’s direction was a great balance of humor, drama, with a whole lot of human heart, and super-sequences such as Superman’s rescuing of Lois from a helicopter crash and saving an airliner, are thrilling. And on top of that, Donner found room to make it a father-son story. John Williams’ score soars as high as the man of steel himself ever did, and today tugs on the heartstrings like no other piece of music can. Forty years after its release, SUPERMAN stands as the grand-daddy of all superhero films. Despite its time-period setting, it still holds up, and still towers over many of the superhero films we get today. It is fun, majestic, true to its character, and most importantly…super. 

“They can be a great people, Kal-El; they wish to be. They only lack the light to show them the way…”