Superman (1978) (2 Viewers)

[Tino]

Brando gave a great performance in Superman. He was never obligated to to do anything other than that when he was hired.

Imo Brando was Brando and his “performance” was average at best.

 

[Sam Favate]

I remember reading the studio wanted Robert Redford for the title role. I believe it was Donner who said they should search for an unknown.

Brando’s readings really resonate. They give the movie a gravity it would lack without him, especially later in the film when he’s teaching his son through the interactive recordings he sent. There’s enough that’s not serious in the movie, but Brando makes you believe in the civilization that sent Karl-El. FWIW, I thought Brando was so much better in the role than Russell Crowe.

 

[KPmusmag]

I will never forget seeing Superman The Movie for the first time in 1978. It was Fox theater with a truly huge screen, the sort where it seemed like it took forever for the curtain to open. I walked out of the theater feeling like it was I who could fly. It is a joyous film. For the most part, superhero movies of today are not joyous; they are dystopian and the heroes are full of angst of one kind or another. There is surely a place for that type of film, but I do miss the days of walking out of a superhero movie exhilarated.

 

[JimmyO]

One of the things that I found fascinating was the costume design for the Kryptonians. Costumes covered with tiny glass balls that made them reflect light in a certain way. Thousands of these were sewn to the costumes and a light shone upon them to create the glow effect, right in camera. No CG effects or the like.

I thought it was one of the coolest things ever.

 

[Tino]

For the longest time, Superman was my favorite film ever. I saw it countless times between 78 and 80.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

FWIW, I thought Brando was so much better in the role than Russell Crowe.

I agree. But he also had better material to work with than Crowe did. Brando's Jor-El was allowed to be philosophical, while Crowe's Jor-El was more of an action hero.

For the most part, superhero movies of today are not joyous; they are dystopian and the heroes are full of angst of one kind or another. There is surely a place for that type of film, but I do miss the days of walking out of a superhero movie exhilarated.

I would say that's true of DC's movie output, for the most part. But there is plenty of joy in Marvel's movie output.

This movie has a sense of scope that none of the more recent movies have, however. Partly because it's three movies in one: a drive-in fifties era science fiction disaster film, a nostalgic celebration of mid-century Americana, and then the first superhero blockbuster, with a slightly cynical city dweller sensibility and plenty of sly humor.

 

[Sam Favate]

Man, the flying sequence with Lois (as well as John Williams’ The Flying Sequence) blew my mind as a kid. I look back on that - flying over New York - and the sense of wonder it brought, and I think “that’s why I love movies.”

 

[Tino]

They weren’t kidding when they said “You’ll believe a man can fly”. I can’t stress how amazing it was that in 1978 the film makers did just that.

 

[Sam Favate]

I would say that's true of DC's movie output, for the most part. But there is plenty of joy in Marvel's movie output.

Yup. I wouldn’t set foot in DC’s movie universe (except for Donner’s Superman). It’s all a dystopian mess.

I do, however, continue to revisit the Marvel Universe every chance I get, because it’s a fun place to be.

 

[Lord Dalek]

I remember reading the studio wanted Robert Redford for the title role. I believe it was Donner who said they should search for an unknown.

They did offer it to Nick Nolte too IIRC.

 

[WillG]

Brando was great in the film, but notoriously difficult. He argued with Donner about not actually appearing in the movie and wanted his disembodied voice to come from a green bagel or from a suitcase. Donner was having none of it and said for the sum he was getting, he needed to appear physically.

A year later, Francis Ford Coppola would have an even more difficult time with Brando on location in the Philippines, filming Apocalypse Now. See the great doc Hearts of Darkness for more on that.

Brando’s difficult nature persisted to his last film, The Score, in 2003. It was directed by Frank Oz, whom Brando hated for some reason. He’d make DeNiro direct him on the set, and when Oz would offer some directions, Brando would turn to DeNiro and say “Tell Miss Piggy to shut the fuck up.”

I know of that tale of the green bagel/suitcase, but I never heard to my recollection that he was difficult on the set of Superman (other than is MO of not memorizing his lines). Supposedly he also worked an extra day for free, which for the amount he was getting doesn’t seem like a huge sacrifice, but for someone as legendary as Brando seeming unusual.

 

[Sam Favate]

 

[Joe Wong]

Given how jaded many of us are to special effects and CGI these days, it’ll be difficult to capture the sense of wonder that Superman provided back when it was first released.

That’s why I’m always appreciative when movies show me something I haven’t seen before.

Several of James Cameron’s films have done so - Terminator 2 with the liquid metal, The Abyss with the water creature, the sinking of Titanic, and the beautiful immersive 3D of Avatar.

Spielberg’s Jurassic Park showed the awe-inspiring vision of dinosaurs brought back to life, but I also remember repeatedly rewinding the video tape to all the shark scenes in Jaws when it came out on VHS! It was amazing to see a giant shark on screen! Nowadays a movie with even more “realistic”-looking sharks doesn’t even merit much of a comment.

Another example - the massive tidal wave in Nolan’s Interstellar, especially in full IMAX! That whole scene was spectacular.

 

[Sam Favate]

Spielberg’s Jurassic Park showed the awe-inspiring vision of dinosaurs brought back to life

It’d be tough to think of a movie since Jurassic Park that had such jaw-dropping spectacles.

BTW, in that regard, I highly recommend Light and Magic, the D+ series about ILM.