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Superman (1978)

🕑 Added 2025-08-14 12:00:08 +0000 UTC

Comments

Angela D. Mitchell

And great acting. Part of the reason Superman works so beautifully and still holds up is that the actors are terrific and most of all that Christopher Reeve is just incredible in the part. He's so believable and sincere (and funny, as Clark) that he sells the most important part -- that he is Superman.

Mysterious Science Fiction Fan

Hawkgirl first appeared in Flash Comics #1 in January 1940. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Hard to see how she was "Marvelized." Try watching the animated JUSTICE LEAGUE television series, particularly JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED. Made 2004-2006, still the best representation of the actual comics Justice League in movies or television. Guy Gardner's first appearance was in Green Lantern #59, published in March 1968. He's always an asshole, that's his point: to be the one asshole Green Lantern. (As opposed to Earth's Hal Jordan and John Stewart and Kyle Rayner, and all the 1597 other Green Lanterns in the galaxy. The bowl haircut is intentionally deeply stupid. It's just one way it's obvious that Guy is an idiot. Always, in every appearance ever anywhere. But he's still a good guy. Just an asshole good guy.

Patrick - Excelsior

This is not the first Superman movie. The first was in 1948. The was also a TV series starring George Reeves as Superman and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. Noel Neill has a cameo in this movie as the woman in the train as teen age Clark runs by. The Character she is playing is supposed to be the mother of Lois Lane in this movie and in fact the little girl that wakes her up in Lois. The poem Lois recites while flying with Superman are the words to the Superman song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxZpEjg1h_U Simone was right, when flying with people Superman can extend a field of protection and or force around them. Otherwise as he flew their clothes would be destroyed, their skin burned by friction. It also protects his civilian clothing when he moves super fast. It also allows him to distribute the force of his strength over a greater area, Otherwise when he lifts things he would just tear off chunks or go right thru them. Like when he pushed the California fault back together.

Matt Blanchette

They will bow down before him. No matter that it take an eternity!

Adam Vialpando

That movie was so shallow and boring. Which makes sense since the only involvement James Gunn had with it was his name on the poster.

Jeff K

Terence Stamp (Zod) just passed away. Y'all should absolutely carry on with the next movie in his memory, hopefully.

Ellis Gandy

The newest one from James Gunn comes close in the earnest department, but even more like a comic book than any of them to be honest

Wally

For Halloween, I recommend the Horror flying caped crusader killer "Brightburn", produced by James Gunn.

Gootz

Any chance on watching Superman Returns (2006)? It’s a favourite of mine and has one of the best superman set pieces ever imo.

PIG

I loved this movie when I was 6 thru 10. I guess it just didn't stick for me like other childhood movies.

JBK405

This film is not without is flaws, but it is definitely my favorite of all the Superman films because it is EARNEST. It never once laughs at itself or the audience, or does something to show it's not like "those other" comicbook movies. It says "Superman is REAL and it is WONDERFUL!" So many later attempts to make a "serious" comicbook movie miss the mark.

Mike Kay

The YouTube thumbnails never disappoint.. hahaha I love them *almost* as much as Simone's random intros. <3

Matthew Abbott

Metropolis is canonically in Delaware, though I can’t remember how long ago that was established. And the reason he can carry things that shouldn’t be supportable (like Lois by just her hand) is tactile telekinesis (though I think this has changed before). It’s also how he can carry things that should just collapse under their own weight or that his hands should just punch right through.

Matthew Abbott

Nah, it’s not even the lamest DC superhero movie. That would be Steel, followed closely by Catwoman.

Forkbeard83

this was Reeve's first film. its kind of wild that Superman actors seem to be unkowns, but Batman actors are more established.

Matthew Abbott

Simone, was that a gorram Game Changers reference?

Brandon Meng

Pausing to say the lamest superhero movie is the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern.

Badger

Underwear Man-Tickling the terror into the jockey shorts of criminals everywhere.. Now that's a lame Super Hero!

REDR58

You can see this in "Man of Steel" when he is teaching himself to fly as bits of the ground around his hand that is touching the ground begin to swirl around.

REDR58

He's flying past so fast you cannot see him!

Skyruff

What Lex Luther is reflects his time. Originally he was a mad scientist, later a CEO type then eventually a politician. When this movie was made, real-estate tycoons were again a thing, thus Lex is one of them.

LazyBoy Stays Up Late Watchin Video Tapes

and why is George not in the thumbnail?

dasgrove

Let’s be clear: Superman flew backward around the world and rewound time. That’s what the comic book said.

Kane Is Able

You misspelled Theatrical Cut.

Peter Hudson

George, you heard her; you gotta start rhyming more XD

Jose Robles

Lets add the Christoper Reeves documentary

ChristianK

If you guys are starting like a Superman cineBINGE ;) then the order I would recommend is:doing Superman 2 next, then Superman Returns, and since you guys already watched man of steel I'd say skip ahead to Batman v Superman, and ending with Superman 2025. Edit: Also the Christopher Reeve documentary Super/Man before watching the new movie :)

SnabbKassa

Retroreflective materials had only then recently been invented in Finland. It looks *novel*, but the cameras range of photosensitivity just make everything else, like the actor's faces, look too dark.

SnabbKassa

and it seems to have trains to Buffalo, Syracuse, etc.

Bombaatu

If you want more Superman, check out Superman II (The Richard Donner cut) and Smallville. That last one would also solve your 'we need a long series' problem, in that it ran 10 seasons.

Jomero

Christopher Reeve will always be my Superman and I don't think any actor could ever top him. It's unfortunate that there was a lot of greed and shady things behind the scenes that caused the downfall of the Reeve era movies. But the first one, that is 100% Richard Donner is the best. The second one is mostly good, but it was also mostly Donner (he was fired halfway through shooting it because of said greedy and shady dealings.... Gene Hackman even quit over that firing and they had to get a body and voice double for several of his scenes).

Han

Loved the reaction, as usual. This here is a bit of grim movie trivia, admittedly, but it goes to just how breathtaking the visual effects in this movie were back in 1978 for film audiences. The special effects were so revolutionary (building off the breakthroughs developed by George Lucas' team in the first Star Wars) that some kids actually believed a man could fly -- just as the poster teased -- and died. https://www.nytimes.com/1979/02/12/archives/boy-who-tried-to-fly-like-superman-dies.html#:~:text=Jack%20Fortmeyer%2C%20a%20fireman%20who,apartment%20at%20445%20Fountain%20Avenue.

Ken Quick

Lex Luthor's business tycoon characterization started after the DC-Universe-Rewriting event "Crisis on Infinite Earths" in 1986. Before that, he was basically a mad scientist trope. Otis reprogrammed the Army missile, and Teschmacher reprogrammed the Navy missile. It was a the Army "bird" Clark stopped, and since Otis bungled two of the numbers, Hackensack may not have been Lex's originally-intended target, but it was sufficiently distant enough to serve as a distraction.

Jeff K

The fact that people were so up in arms when Gunn said that Superman is about an immigrant is bonkers, given that... the character was literally created to represent the immigrant experience in America.

Jeff K

Yeah, I've tried watching the Donner Cut and I understand why some people like it, but it's literally adding in scenes that were not completed so it's a little jarring.

WastedPo

Simone and George: If you end up doing Superman 2, please do the original Theatrical cut. (Some people will insist on the "Donner Cut," but that's a pretty incomplete movie in my opinion. I also think it introduces more problems than it supposedly fixes. )

sarCC

Definitely a great one to watch after Superman II!

gobmob2000

Superman in canon has touch telekinesis, he can "levitate" things he touches, which is the reason why he can lift buildings without them breaking apart and why he could do the flying thing with Louis, but he has to touch what he wants to control.

R. Chang

What do you mean? They're literally the lyrics to the song. I have sheet music with the lyrics printed on it. There are multiple recordings out there. Maureen McGovern probably had the biggest one.

Lanny Fisher

“Can You Read My Mind?” is the name of the John Williams piece that plays while Lois is narrating her “Can You Read My Mind” poetry. Her poetry is not lyrics that fit with the piece, but the music is the theme for Lois and her poem and the scene. My high school music class played this piece, and we had the “Can You Read My Mind?” sheet music in front of us.

R. Chang

People say that, but it doesn't make sense and is clearly an after-the-fact justification. When he stops, the world keeps going backwards and then he has to go back in the other direction to get it going forwards again. Just accept that it's a goofy moment in a goofy (in a good way) movie.

Twiska Brand

To be fair, it's not that he reversed the turn of the earth and thus reversed time; it's that he went so fast he reversed time, which reversed the earth's turn. It's a visual to show that time is turning back, same as the reverse footage of a dam breaking.

John

Exactly... as Superman went back in time, the Earth APPEARED to be rotating backwards, and then he went forward in time to just the point he needed so that he could rescue Lois. Lois mentioning the earthquake, gas station explosion, falling telephone poles, and dam break meant that the 2nd missile still hit its mark... but this time, while original timeline Superman was saving people all over the west coast, the time-traveling Superman was able to stop the fissure that had killed Lois, so the car never fell in.

David Szoke

They didn't hear it and spoke over it but when the cat is saved and the mother tells the girl off you hear her get slapped.

Chase Lonnergan

Metropolis is in Delaware. Just across the harbor from Gotham, which is in New Jersey.

Elroy

Pls watch the 2025 Superman it’s coming out soon 🙏🫡

Marko T.

I hope that release is not just US thing and it gets released everywhere.

Jef Etters

To answer 2 of George’s questions. The Kryptonian outfits are so bright because they’re made out of movie screen material, like lightabers were around this time. Secondly, I always took Lois rhyming in her head to be a writer writing a poem. It makes sense to me that she would process this unbelievable experience by instinctively reverting to what she does: create/write.

Robert Cooper

There's a thing about the kryptonite scene that always bothers me -- I feel like Superman experiencing pain for the first time in his life would have a more emotional reaction. I think George's interpretation of the time thing HAS to be correct, because the only thing that makes sense is that for a moment there are two Supermen: one saving NJ and everyone else, and one saving Lois.

SnabbKassa

"How big are you?" she asked as a serious journalist only.

Joe Concepts

Right. And Perry White is just grumpy; not an almost-villain like JJJ.

Stugotz

I just realized, Superman never uses his heat vision or his super breath in this movie.

Stugotz

i didnt know he could morph his face, that's a new one

Nate Gavin

George, as you asked the question which is the worst superhero? Let me counter you with superman's least well known superpower instead. https://www.reddit.com/r/outofcontextcomics/comments/gdf6w5/racist_superman/

Clipped

Who’s a better Superman than Reeve???

Roddrick Smith

I think Jubilee has the lamest powers but I love her character. So I don’t know if that counts?

Brent bmc_comix

Dark knight returns is a comic/literally masterpiece! (Dark Knight Strikes Again I'll give you. Lol) ;)

Onikaze

I think both Perry White and JJ Jameson are more general newsman stereotypes than one explicitly based off the other.

ChristianK

Will you guys react to the new Superman coming out tomorrow on digital?🥹

Matt88g

As a comic fan I’ve learned that any character can be great with great writing, when you stop and think about it most heroes are pretty ridiculous, but great writing make you forget the absurdities

Chris Rivard

If you’re going to talk about how Brando is one of the greatest of all time, you absolutely should watch his acting masterpiece: On the Waterfront (1954), possibly one of the greatest films of all time.

jmundt33a

The originator. Third best Superman and Clark Kent of all time. Fifth best Lois Lane, but still excellent.

jmundt33a

Worst superhero—Batman from The Dark Knight Returns. Brutal gang lord with group of unfinished adult soldiers When Frank Miller went crazy, he went completely crazy.

jmundt33a

And Gunn pointing out refugee status made some people lose their…mud. You must be watching the Director’s Cut. The theatrical cut did not have the Lois Lane moment. The conversation with Jor-El after the first saves also are not in the Theatrical cut either.

jmundt33a

For as great as he was, Brando did NOT care about this movie. Reeve was very prickly about it.

George Simone

Oops, thanks!

Onno Smits

FYI George: This says "Patreon Version" but it's the Youtube version.

Jeff K

Now if either of you guys needs a good cry, check out the documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. (But if you're gonna be watching any more of the Reeve Superman films, wait until after that, of course, because the doc obviously has stuff from the later movies.)