Superman The Movie (1978) - An In-Depth Video Analysis
Sun, February 24, 2013 If you've never had the opportunity to be part of a test screening......now you are.
As promised, here is a preview for our ultimate Superman retrospective series which we hope to bring you in the coming months as we build up to the release of 'Man of Steel'. And it won't be as boring as just covering the six previous films. We intend to do in-depth podcasts on everything Superman has ever touched (television, comics, musicals, you name it).
But I want your feedback this time. I know how many passionate Superman fans are out there and I know how many passionate Superman retrospectives have already been done. So if this doesn't measure up to what you've already seen and you don't care to see any others then it would be really helpful to know.
So please take 90 minutes out of your week to join Phil Gee discuss his favorite film of all time in exhausting detail with Jamie Williams, Randall Maynard, Justin Korthof, and Robert Meyer Burnett.
Note: This is still a rough version without opening or closing credits (cause I haven't made them yet) but the retrospective itself is the full deal. It couldn't very well be any longer could it?
Reader Comments (11)
Fantastic, even for a rough cut. This is my favorite film as well and is a big reason why I'm working in comics today and why I've been a huge Superman fan for my entire life! I so look forward to the final version of this show as well as the rest of this series. Superman!!!
Excellent work, Phil (and everybody involved)! I'm a huge, HUGE fan of this movie, and listening to you guys talk about it with such genuine affection made for a pretty fun time on my end. Can't wait to hear you dig into part II's various versions, and then (hopefully...) thoroughly dismantle the colossal, horrifying misfires that are parts III and IV!
On a side note, I stumbled across Movie Moan last year, and it has quickly become one of my favorite podcasts. You guys talk about film with the perfect mixture of "inside baseball" industry discussion, honest assessments of your reactions to various movies, and - most importantly - a real sense of enthusiasm for the medium of film that mirrors my own. That it's often funny as hell doesn't hurt, either. Keep up the good work!
@ Kal-El Fan
If you liked it sir, then that's all the approval I need. Thank you for your comment.
@ Brett
That's made my day to get a compliment from a listener I didn't know we had. Things are a little dull right now I think. It always is this time of year but it's getting good as we go into the spring and summer so stick with us.
fantastic. amaaaaaaazing
Please say you five are doing all the "Superman" movies and tele shows That was awesome! MORE! MORE! MORE!
Great podcast - I really enjoyed it. (I got pointed here from the CHUD "man of steel" forum thread)
BUT... I have been unable to find or subscribe to the audio version (or video) of your podcast through iTunes, nor have I been able to find a RSS Feed that my podcast subscription software can use to alert me of new podcasts.
Have I just missed the obvious? Or is there a reason you provide no iTunes/RSS feed of the podcast? I'd love to subscribe...
- Lars
@dark_b
Thank you very much.
@Fan of the Superman
The plan is to do everything (every show, even the 70's musical) though Robert won't be able to join us for every single one. He's a very busy man.
@ Lars
We've been trying to get that sorted out for ages but we don't have one set up at the moment. If it helps, the show is always up by Monday or Tuesday night like clockwork. Just bookmark the Movie Moan podcast page.
....or give me your email address. I'll send you our shows personally :)
Ah, but will you cover the seriously-terrible 80's television show, SUPERBOY? I hope so!
Good stuff. My favorite superhero movie by a long shot. Fun fact: watching the Clark/Ma Kent goodbye on Mother's Day is guaranteed sob city.
@Ratty604
It's so funny because I finally sat down to watch the first season yesterday...........do we have to do this one?
We'll try our best. The Superboy show is the hardest one to cover in some ways because they've only released the first two seasons on DVD.
A lovely look back on a true classic. I will throw out that I honestly think that missing aspect STM has and no modern superhero film does for you guys is...likely nostalgia. I grew up in the '90s and can mythologize Batman (1989) in the way you guys do STM, though now I can easily say that STM is better, as are many other in the genre. I like STM, but it does suffer from a villain who lacks threat or menace to the viewer. The one thing about Superman II that is better is not the fight scenes as some fans will drool over, but the fact that Zod actually was an intimidating presence instead of a bafoonish one. That coupled with STM's non-sensical ending of time travel makes it more flawed than a lot of films in the genre. Yes, even those Nolan ones you guys took a few shots at, which actually take a lot from Donner in the sense of grounding it in reality (though Nolan does it moreso because Batman's fantasy arguably works best when the audience is tricked into thinking it isn't one).
Still, I appreciate the in-depth love and thought that went into this. Where you really hit home is the fact that the movie, or at least the first two, is meant to be a self-contained story that works on cinematic terms. In the last five years, superhero movies have both gotten more faithful and less cinematic because the focus is no longer on making great stories, but a serialized fiction that sets up the next 2-3 films. The beauty of STM is its a great piece of earnest myth making that treated its source with the kind of love and respect no other project had done yet. It is the boilerplate that they all still draw from too (Spider-Man, Iron Man, Batman Begins, The Amazing Spider-Man again, etc).
P.S. To risk hate from you guys, Jaws, Star Wars and Jurassic Park are Williams's best scores!
Sorry I'm late to the party but I just found this through twitter.
Like all you guys I am a huge STM fan. I saw it when I was a kid at the theatre and I was blown away. This movie will always be one of my favourite superhero movies and Christopher Reeves will always be who I envision Superman to be. That said, I have high hopes for Henry Cavill and Man of Steel.
This was an excellent tribute to Superman The Movie by true fans. I count myself as one of you with an equal love for the film. It really was lightning in the bottle and the type of movie we may never see again.