Quick questions about the Helicopter Scene in SM1978

[Mutant 77]

Sorry, I have a bunch of questions about Superman 1978 (The Movie):

1- When Lois is hanging from the helicopter/roof, holding on simple metal bars, and you can see that the street below was VERY DISTANT... do you think that the length between Lois and the street below was "realistic" for the Daily Planet building?

2- Was the sequence in which Superman grabs Lois, and then the helicopter, still spectacular in your view? I would have preferred a less tall/lower highscraper, in order to raise the stakes and make the scene more frightning. Or maybe am I wrong?

3- Do you think that Superman was at the middle of the highscraper when he grabbed Lois?

Thank you so much.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Sorry, I have a bunch of questions about Superman 1978 (The Movie):

1- When Lois is hanging from the helicopter/roof, holding on simple metal bars, and you can see that the street below was VERY DISTANT... do you think that the length between Lois and the street below was "realistic" for the Daily Planet building?

2- Was the sequence in which Superman grabs Lois, and then the helicopter, still spectacular in your view? I would have preferred a less tall/lower highscraper, in order to raise the stakes and make the scene more frightning. Or maybe am I wrong?

3- Do you think that Superman was at the middle of the highscraper when he grabbed Lois?

Thank you so much.

Like with most iconic moments in film history, they're not meant to be picked apart logically (despite the clickbait cottage industry revolving around 'plot holes').

Film works best when it engages us emotionally. And that's why that scene works for audiences.

[Jim Kelly]

The Planet building is established as a very tall building. I'm not sure why you'd want it to be short, unless you're thinking that if it was a shorter distance then it would take less time for Lois to fall and go splat. But to me the extreme height makes it more tense (I have vertigo) and, given physics, the higher the height the faster she falls as she gets closer to the ground. This also gives Clark some time to do all the things he has to do between spotting her and flying up to save her. If that sequence was shorter, then the audience would not have time to get nervous. The delay between spotting Lois and saving her gives us time to anticipate what could happen and then be surprised by what does happen. It's the ticking clock scenario--time is running out but not so fast that we don't have time to worry about what may happen.

It's hard to judge distances in movies, because the lenses used distort distance. A deep focus lens makes objects far away look even further than they actually are and shallow focus does the opposite. Later in the movie, Clark jumps out of a window (but not at the top of the building) and falls while changing into Superman, so that gives you some idea of the height as the camera tracks downward. Of course, since they use process shots in the movie (one image superimposed on another), what you see is faked to some degree.

When I saw this in the theatre, it was quite spectacular. I saw the movie about twenty times when it played originally and it was great to watch it in a full theatre. People applauded when Superman caught her. The excitement was palpable. The reaction from the audience to this scene and others often made it hard to hear the dialogue--peppered with great lines--thus going to see the movie over and over again, I could pick up things I missed previously.

[Mutant 77]

The Planet building is established as a very tall building. I'm not sure why you'd want it to be short, unless you're thinking that if it was a shorter distance then it would take less time for Lois to fall and go splat.

When I saw this in the theatre, it was quite spectacular. I saw the movie about twenty times when it played originally and it was great to watch it in a full theatre. People applauded when Superman caught her. The excitement was palpable.

You're right, it's spectacular. I have massive vertigo too, so that scene gives me a very bad time LOL.

I was talking about "HEIGHT" just because having a shorter building would mean that the Helicopter could fall faster and crash on the people below, just because they (the people in the street) wouldn't have enough time to escape. I guess.

On the other hand, firemen could not save Lois even through a giant LIFE NET, because the jump was too big. And I guess that firemen, as well as people in the street, did not know that the helicopter was about to fall down.