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  1. #16
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    Great to hear all the different view points, clearly its down to individual taste. Those old enough to remember the first film being released can definitely shed some light on the subject where I can't. I just remember watching it for the first time in the 80s and straightaway superman was my favourite of all action heroes. I was obsessed and like others, seeing that that big 'S' appear across the screen just felt epic.

    I'm not someone who likes to pick apart every negative or plot hole from a film otherwise I'd rarely ever enjoy one. I wasn't around when the first films came out and thus far, I haven't read the comics from that time either, only later ones. Found some vintage superman comic books for sale so i'll prob buy a bunch of them and work my way through. I think that you have to forgive a little when a film is completely true to the comic as they are different mediums. I'd be quite keen to watch the third one again with fresh eyes after hearing some of the comments. Nobody seems to be mentioning the 4th movie though so I'm guessing the consensus is that it was the weakest of the bunch.
    Last edited by read; 04-27-2016 at 11:40 PM.

  2. #17
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    My memory of how it was screened in the theatre is that you would sit in your seat and the first thing is the red S would be projected on the curtains of the theatre screen. They had curtains in those days--I don't guess many movie theatres still have curtains now.

    So that was the first thing you saw, which got you excited. Oh what's going to happen? There were no trailers (or if there were they were shown before, then the curtains closed and the S was projected . . .). Next the theatre curtains opened and you saw another theatre screen with curtains, in black and white, and those curtains opened. And you know the rest after that.

    So you were taken on an adventure, one curtain opens into another, a comic book opens into an old movie the old movie opens up into outer space, outer space takes you past all the planets and the credits roll and you travel through the cosmos to Krypton.

    At every level, you're moving beyond this world to some other world, the world of a black and white movie theatre, of a comic book, of an old fashioned newspaper publisher, of the solar system and of the depths of space. Of a distant alien world.

    The movie keeps doing this.

    We move through space to the agrarian world of Smallville (much more rural than was usual in the comics at the time), to the great wheat fields from which young Clark Kent is torn away, after the death of his father, that parting with his mother (which is one of the greatest single scenes as it speaks to some archetypal reality of all human experience). The hero must begin his journey to enlightenment, leaving behind the safe world he has always known.

    He journeys to the world of the far North, ethereal, to a crystal kingdom where he enters the inner world of understanding. Then to the world of Metropolis and the worlds it contains.

    Then to the subterranean world (the literal underworld) of Lex Luthor--to which Superman must eventually travel (this scene was much longer but cut in the final edit), the hero's journey to the underworld being another archetype in many epics. There in the water, a metaphorical womb, he nearly dies but is brought back to life by a selfless act--from Miss Teschmacher of all people.

    Then begins his apotheosis. Superman rises and conquers one challenge after the other and when set with the greatest challenge, the death of the woman he loves, he powers past that challenge to change the world itself.

  3. #18
    Astonishing Member Johnny Thunders!'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Kelly View Post
    My memory of how it was screened in the theatre is that you would sit in your se"at and the first thing is the red S would be projected on the curtains of the theatre screen. They had curtains in those days--I don't guess many movie theatres still have curtains now.

    So that was the first thing you saw, which got you excited. Oh what's going to happen? There were no trailers (or if there were they were shown before, then the curtains closed and the S was projected . . .). Next the theatre curtains opened and you saw another theatre screen with curtains, in black and white, and those curtains opened. And you know the rest after that.

    So you were taken on an adventure, one curtain opens into another, a comic book opens into an old movie the old movie opens up into outer space, outer space takes you past all the planets and the credits roll and you travel through the cosmos to Krypton.

    At every level, you're moving beyond this world to some other world, the world of a black and white movie theatre, of a comic book, of an old fashioned newspaper publisher, of the solar system and of the depths of space. Of a distant alien world.

    The movie keeps doing this.

    We move through space to the agrarian world of Smallville (much more rural than was usual in the comics at the time), to the great wheat fields from which young Clark Kent is torn away, after the death of his father, that parting with his mother (which is one of the greatest single scenes as it speaks to some archetypal reality of all human experience). The hero must begin his journey to enlightenment, leaving behind the safe world he has always known.

    He journeys to the world of the far North, ethereal, to a crystal kingdom where he enters the inner world of understanding. Then to the world of Metropolis and the worlds it contains.

    Then to the subterranean world (the literal underworld) of Lex Luthor--to which Superman must eventually travel (this scene was much longer but cut in the final edit), the hero's journey to the underworld being another archetype in many epics. There in the water, a metaphorical womb, he nearly dies but is brought back to life by a selfless act--from Miss Teschmacher of all people.

    Then begins his apotheosis. Superman rises and conquers one challenge after the other and when set with the greatest challenge, the death of the woman he loves, he powers past that challenge to change the world itself.
    That's the movie I saw, plus the theme song!

  4. #19
    Astonishing Member phantom1592's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adekis View Post
    I have a lot of problems with the first two movies. Christopher Reeve's performance is 100% perfect, but I actually think it gets better in Superman III, when he starts portraying Clark as a a fuller person instead of just a disguise. I don't think Superman's relationship with Lois Lane has a lot of depth or realism to it compared to his relationship with Lana in Superman III, and Lois herself measures up poorly to her predecessors: Kidder's Lane lacks both the no-nonsense badass attitude of Phyllis Coates and the charm of Noelle Neil. Superman III also has an action scene for a Jimmy Olsen who is otherwise fairly one-note gee-whiz in the first two films. Jackie Cooper is a very memorable Perry White, but his dialogue consists of so many cliches and one-liners and his screen time is so little that he never really gets to flesh out the role. Hackman's Luthor is a comical joke, to say nothing about how irritating Otis and Miss Tessmacher can be.
    The first two? I love Reeve's Superman. I like it better than anything before or since. Live action, comic, cartoon... whatever. He IS superman. Nobody else has come close. As such I forgive a lot of sins in the movies.

    Personally, I prefer the 2nd one... though even as a kid, I noticed some serious flaws. The teleporting... the celephane S trap... Just the idea that when writing a story about someone with ALL the powers of SUPERMAN... they needed to create MORE??? That always took me out of the story. Donner cut was better, but it had it's own things...

    I love Superman III.

    All the talk about Richard Pryor bashing and what not... people forget that Richard Pryor was INSANELY popular at the time. Him being there was a SELLING point.

    Superman 3 was probably my favorite. I'll admit I never liked Kidder's Lois. She was MEAN. She wasn't attractive. As a kid I could never understand why Superman fawned over her so much. She was just... a bad person.

    Lana on the other hand? She was nice. She was kind. She liked Clark for who HE was. Just a better girl all around, and Reeves played an amazing Clark. Lot of people complain about Superman vs. Pryor... or Superman vs. a Computer... but there was SOOOO much more that I loved about that show then 'just the villain'

    EVERYTHING in Smallville was awesome. Again, Clark and Lana. Superman going 'bad' and that junkyard fight to regain his soul... MAN I loved that sequence..


    And yeah.... Superman 4 was pretty terrible. Even watching through nostalgia and keeping an open mind (I'm VERY good at finding the best parts of bad movies) I still dislike it.

    I think there was issues with branding for starters... I think if the computer was named Brainiac, and Nuclear Man was called Bizarro... they could have been great shows. Just a couple steps shy though.

  5. #20
    Incredible Member Jon-El's Avatar
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    Here's how different an era that was. I was watching the 50's ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN decked out in my homemade costume. Suddenly, the TV spot for the movie comes on. I stood with my mouth open. I'm not sure I understood it was an ad for a movie. What's crazy is, I never saw that spot again & heard nothing about the movie until it had been out awhile. Now we can pick trailers apart & have access to so much info.

    That there were no other super heroe movies made the film so special. It's amazing to think that today, there are usually 3 comic book movies released every year!!

  6. #21
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    I loved Superman 3. To me it is underrated. Richard Pryor was hillarious. I felt 1 was okay, same with 2. They cheaply used the whole time travel deal in Superman 1, when they should have saved such a big gun for later, such as 2. I also liked the fact that Superman had to fight his evil self in 3, and also had a pretty straightforward powerset, and he defeated the villain with his wits.

  7. #22
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    Wow! Great thread! Although I don't get why anyone would have anything to complain about in these movies. To me they are near perfect - and no criticism I read can change that!
    The first movie to me is the greatest superhero movie ever made. Bar none. None of the tales of behind the scenes shenanigans change that. Same with the second one.
    To be honest though - maybe I'm biased. These movies were my first exposure to the character. This is where I met him so to speak. Not comics, not anything else. THESE MOVIES.
    I'd only just been born when the first one came out (I think) and was literally only a baby when the second one did. So I didn't see these at the cinema. It must have been on the TV or Betamax (yes really!) video. I've literally grown up with these films - and my Dad took me to see the third and fourth movies when I was a small boy. I can remember vividly seeing the third one at the cinema and being absolutely terrified at the bit where that woman got turned into that horrible robot. Still freaks me out thinking about it, and I'm 38!

    I guess the first movie to me is the best out of these. Although I do love the second one. Many criticise the scene where Clark erases Lois' memory with a kiss. Whilst I can understand these concerns - I actually think that's a beautiful note to end the film on and it's a very touching scene.

    I actually have a personal connection to these films aswell. You see, I'm from a town called Iver Heath and that is where Pinewood Studios is located. It was literally a ten minute walk from my old house. Behind Pinewood Studios is Black Park which is often used for outdoor filming. When it's not being used for that purpose it's open to the public. When I was a kid my Mum used to take me there from time to time. Usually on a Sunday afternoon when the roast was in the oven. We used to walk around the exact same lake that General Zod walked on (and scared the hell out of that innocent fisherman). I feel an attachment to the James Bond films (of which I'm also a huge fan) for the same reasons.

    That association actually makes me feel pretty proud to be from that town.
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  8. #23
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    Pinewood Studios is the stuff of myth and legend among cinephiles, so anyone who grew up close to it and walked its locations is a figue of awe. Huzzah!

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Kelly View Post
    Pinewood Studios is the stuff of myth and legend among cinephiles, so anyone who grew up close to it and walked its locations is a figue of awe. Huzzah!
    Sure is. Don't live there now but I love to go back from time to time.
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