Superman: The Movie 4K UHD (1978)

[Dragon Ranger]

Originally Posted by TXMoviebuff77

. Superman II is better

[ditcin]

I can still just watch the main titles and be entertained. I remember being in the theater and being awed.

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I remember loving this film ad a kid.

So I picked up the 4K release last week, having not seen it in many years.

To be honest, it didn’t hold up as well as i hoped it would.

The opening 20 minutes on Krypton are the best part. After that it gets a little silly at times. The special effects don’t hold up that well. Some, like the shot of Clark running alongside the train, just look downright silly. I doubt that even looked good in 1978.

The plot involving Lex Luther feels like random episodic television.

Gene Hackman is still funny.

Count me as someone who thinks the Richard Lester cut of part 2 is the better film.

Its still one of my all-time favs but I have no desire to buy it in 4K. Its cast perfectly which helps it out. Reeve IS Superman. Kidder IS Lois. Hackman IS Luthor. On and on. Im not surpised the effects seem dodgy. This is where 4k probably does NOT help out an older film. This wont be the last time an older release in 4K magnifies specific issues like this.

The Lester cut of #2 is the better movie but I do like some of the extra and/or different scenes in the Donnor cut. How Lois finds out about Clark being Superman is clever as hell in the Donnor cut, IMO.

The end battle with Zod is better in the Lester cut and of course its more smooth since the added footage is all weird looking and off in many scenes.

[Croweyes1121]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

The special effects don’t hold up that well. Some, like the shot of Clark running alongside the train, just look downright silly. I doubt that even looked good in 1978.

Sometimes I think we conceptualize a year like 1978 as old, but not AS old as it truly is. We're talking about over four decades ago here, and it is truly all relative. It's easy to sit here in 2020, look at effects from 1978, and say they don't hold up. Keep in mind that people actually panicked and ducked when they first saw a movie of a train coming into a station. This film won a special achievement award in 1979 for visual effects. Much like Star Wars, the effects on this film were completely pioneering - nothing like them had ever been attempted before. Go back and watch a bit of the George Reeves "Adventures of Superman" series or some of the 70's Spider-Man films for some reference as to how people had seen superpowers represented up until that point. Of *course* Clark running next to the train looked amazing in 1978. And it still does today with the proper perspective.

[Scott in UK]

I'v never wondered how they was doing that effect of Clark running fast beside the train, but the conversation on here has put the image in my mind and made me remember seeing a behind the scenes clip of them creating that shot, (probably on one of the Blu-Ray extras) and it's being done in a very simple manner, or in a way that it probably wouldn't of crossed my mind, but all it is, is he's just being raised off the ground slightly by either a wire or crane, and i think maybe off the back of a truck, and moving his legs quickly.

So in that respect it shouldn't look bad because it's being done practically, but because his feet arnt touching the ground (even though they are meant to be) if you think about it, that motion of moving your legs quickly or in other words pretending to run with your feet off the ground cant help but look unnatural i suppose. So that would explain why it's always looked abit odd.

[dcx4610]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I remember loving this film ad a kid.

So I picked up the 4K release last week, having not seen it in many years.

To be honest, it didn’t hold up as well as i hoped it would.

The opening 20 minutes on Krypton are the best part. After that it gets a little silly at times. The special effects don’t hold up that well. Some, like the shot of Clark running alongside the train, just look downright silly. I doubt that even looked good in 1978.

The plot involving Lex Luther feels like random episodic television.

Gene Hackman is still funny.

Count me as someone who thinks the Richard Lester cut of part 2 is the better film.

Had the same reaction. I was obsessed with Superman as a kid. He was probably my first hero that I can remember.

It's a very dated movie and has a really goofy vibe. I was still entertained but it's certainly a product of its time. The special effects were actually ground breaking at the time but seem like a B or C-movie with modern eyes.

I still think Reeves is awesome and charismatic and Margot Kidder makes a good Lois Lane. Hackman had me laughing out loud at some of his dialogue. Definitely a funnier movie than I remembered.

I don't regret the purchase at all since it was such an important part of my childhood but I can't say it's going to get many repeat viewings.

[Dragon Ranger]

I feel a bit sorry for people who have the the outlook of "oh it doesn't look like I remember, the effects have aged badly" etc etc

I can watch Superman The Movie and feel the same happiness I did when I was young (am pushing 40 now); the beautifully shot opening with the comic book; the music; the otherworldly look of Krypton; the stunning vistas of Smallville; the iconic look of Metropolis. That's before I even get onto the cast; their unbelievable chemistry; the perfect balance of drama and comedy.

It's an iconic movie and always will be.

[kwisatzhaderach]

Originally Posted by Dragon Ranger

I feel a bit sorry for people who have the the outlook of "oh it doesn't look like I remember, the effects have aged badly" etc etc

I can watch Superman The Movie and feel the same happiness I did when I was young (am pushing 40 now); the beautifully shot opening with the comic book; the music; the otherworldly look of Krypton; the stunning vistas of Smallville; the iconic look of Metropolis. That's before I even get onto the cast; their unbelievable chemistry; the perfect balance of drama and comedy.

It's an iconic movie and always will be.

Amen.

[Nitroboy]

Originally Posted by Croweyes1121

Keep in mind that people actually panicked and ducked when they first saw a movie of a train coming into a station.

That's pure myth.

[brian9229]

Originally Posted by Nitroboy

That's pure myth.

[brian9229]

Originally Posted by Nitroboy

That's pure myth.

I suppose people dressing up to watch television in their home when it first arrived, because they thought people could see in through the screen is a myth too?

[Hedji]

Originally Posted by Nitroboy

That's pure myth.

"This is no fantasy"

[fighthefutureofhd]

Originally Posted by Nitroboy

That's pure myth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzMfzPFcvJU

[TXMoviebuff77]

Originally Posted by Dragon Ranger

Ok then how about just as good. I liked how you just cropped that part. I’ve always thought of Luthor as a weak villain imo. Yea I get it he’s a manipulative genius, so what? Reeves will always be the best Superman period. Is that better for you junior? Oh by the way good point in your other post about the movie being iconic & still brings happiness. People’s mentality today is just different. Mine is more well it’s in 4K so I want it & yes it holds up & no words like the Blu showed. I mean sure you can tell when it’s a model like the train & homemade dam sequences. But to criticize the movie for being outdated is just wrong.

[nick4Knight]

Originally Posted by Dragon Ranger

I feel a bit sorry for people who have the the outlook of "oh it doesn't look like I remember, the effects have aged badly" etc etc

I can watch Superman The Movie and feel the same happiness I did when I was young (am pushing 40 now); the beautifully shot opening with the comic book; the music; the otherworldly look of Krypton; the stunning vistas of Smallville; the iconic look of Metropolis. That's before I even get onto the cast; their unbelievable chemistry; the perfect balance of drama and comedy.

It's an iconic movie and always will be.

It's cool. We (at least me) feel sorry that you have to revert to a childlike state to see all these things in the glowing light you once did.

I can step into my 10 year old shoes to REMEMBER (as pure memory) Indiana Jones again since the first time I saw on VHS. But never have I slipped back into that mindset to watch it now as I also love it as an adult in an entirely different and equally profound way. The movie transcends time and this mental game you are having to pull off.

Superman: The Movie is hard to see in the same light in an adult 2020 lens

[Show spoiler], as a 30 something year old I have been when last watching. It really is a kids adventure movie. Even the love scene is like a teenage girls diary with a lowkey overture an adult might read into. Very veiled though.

The movie was groundbreaking. Had cinema magic (at the time)... No doubts. But iconic is a stretch, to me. That implies it holds up today and always. It's just going to get more quaint and irrelevant in culture. I have a deep fondness for it that lives in the past.

[guachi]

The only effects sequence I think looks poor is one I've always thought looked poor and that's the dam breaking and the water rushing everywhere. Water flowing in miniature never looks good, imo.

[Geoff D]

Does STM play like a product of its time? Of course it does. Do I still think it's the greatest comic book movie ever made? You bet your sweet red underpants I do. It thrills me, it chills me, it makes me laugh, it brings a tear to my eye, it's just majestic.

[TXMoviebuff77]

Originally Posted by nick4Knight

It's cool. We (at least me) feel sorry that you have to revert to a childlike state to see all these things in the glowing light you once did.

I can step into my 10 year old shoes to REMEMBER (as pure memory) Indiana Jones again since the first time I saw on VHS. But never have I slipped back into that mindset to watch it now as I also love it as an adult in an entirely different and equally profound way. The movie transcends time and this mental game you are having to pull off.

Superman: The Movie is hard to see in the same light in an adult 2020 lens

[Show spoiler], as a 30 something year old I have been when last watching. It really is a kids adventure movie. Even the love scene is like a teenage girls diary with a lowkey overture an adult might read into. Very veiled though.

The movie was groundbreaking. Had cinema magic (at the time)... No doubts. But iconic is a stretch, to me. That implies it holds up today and always. It's just going to get more quaint and irrelevant in culture. I have a deep fondness for it that lives in the past.

Opinions right? So you’re saying myself at 42 years old shouldn’t still feel joy watching this movie because I’m an adult? You must be the life of parties with that type of social mentality?

[Scott in UK]

Originally Posted by guachi

The only effects sequence I think looks poor is one I've always thought looked poor and that's the dam breaking and the water rushing everywhere. Water flowing in miniature never looks good, imo.

I've mentioned before on these forums that i was a massive Knight Rider fan as a kid. That dam sequence was also used as the climax scene in a season 1 episode of Knight Rider called 'Not a Drop To Drink'.

[Dragon Ranger]

Originally Posted by TXMoviebuff77

Ok then how about just as good. I liked how you just cropped that part. I’ve always thought of Luthor as a weak villain imo. Yea I get it he’s a manipulative genius, so what? Reeves will always be the best Superman period. Is that better for you junior? Oh by the way good point in your other post about the movie being iconic & still brings happiness. People’s mentality today is just different. Mine is more well it’s in 4K so I want it & yes it holds up & no words like the Blu showed. I mean sure you can tell when it’s a model like the train & homemade dam sequences. But to criticize the movie for being outdated is just wrong.

I enjoy II but when it comes to the theatrical cut the comedy is overplayed; using Lara instead of Jor El just smacks of cheapness and ruins the whole father/son dynamic running through the first movie which should have continued into the second and the action scenes lack the impact seen in the Donner cut. I love that the Donner cut exists but it will forever be a piece of frustration that we never got to see it fully realised.

And Junior? I'll be 40 in a couple of months but thanks for the passive/aggressive compliment/put down.