Because of the new Superman movie coming out I had a showing of the 1978 Christopher Reeve version for the two younger grandsons. I was curious to see how they reacted to the somewhat slow startup to this version. After all I think half the movie is gone before Superman actually dons the suit. But from all appearances they liked it.
Now the youngest one is a very analytical viewer of science fiction and fantasy so he gave me a short lecture on why kryptonite kills Superman. Come to think of it he gave me several lectures about various esoteric aspects of the Man of Steel; how he could fly, how he got from one galaxy to another so quickly, why he could never die of old age, how he was able to handle people without killing them by accident. It was very interesting to find out he had worked out all of these theories in just the time since the beginning of the movie.
I could sense the greatest annoyance with the movie when Lois Lane was on the screen. Apparently, the love story wasn’t intensely popular with this part of the audience. But somehow, they soldiered through. By the time Superman was flying around Earth at ludicrous speed to turn back time and save Lois from death I think they were prepared for the end. I’m not sure they felt Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor and Ned Beatty as his mentally challenged henchman were sufficiently serious to be credible enemies for Superman.
But by the time the (extremely long) credits were rolling they seemed to forgive some of the weaknesses of the production and wanted to discuss viewing (at least) Superman 2. Apparently, they wanted to see the return of General Zod after I hinted that he was much more formidable a foe than Luthor. So maybe we’ll have a second Superman feature this month.
It was funny seeing this movie for the first time in forty-seven years. What struck me most was how odd Margot Kidder was as Lois. The rest of the actors and actresses came across as much more professional. Kidder seemed almost like a fish out of water. Maybe that was the vibe they were going for. Probably the worst acting and dialog was Marlon Brando as Jor-El; Superman’s Kryptonian father. All of the exposition and lecturing about his duty to help humans and his fate is a bit boring. But I guess some introduction is necessary to establish how he ends up as the man flying around in the suit.
My impression of Christopher Reeve in the movie is very positive. He brings enormous likeability to the character and he does the comedy part of the role very deftly. As far as the special effects in the film, this was 1978. All of the effects are non-CGI. To a modern audience some of them are less than overwhelming. There is a scene where Superman is causing an avalanche to stop a flooded river from washing away a town. But the scene is so obviously done with a miniature set using some sand and pebbles that it’s kind of silly. But that couldn’t be helped back then.
All in all, the boys and I gave a thumbs up to Superman (1978). Now bring on General Zod and “Planet Hooston!”