Superman revisited

[Figo 2]

Here I am, wasting all my energy trying to keep up with these other threads, and I just saw Superman on the big screen! That's right, for the first time in nearly two decades. Let me tell you right up front, if you have not seen this movie in a theatre, you have not seen it!

I always remembered the opening credits as the most thrilling of my entire movie-going experience, and today wholly reinforced that memory. The hairs rising up on my arms and neck were proof that this was no mere rose-tinted recollection.

I counted three spinetinglers this time -- the credits, the helicopter rescue, and the beginning of the rocket chase. Those of you who don't understand why so many of us laud the helicopter sequence as one of the greatest in our lifetimes have obviously not seen it in a theatre. It came off splendidly this afternoon. The audience just sucked it up. One thing I did notice -- the visual joke of the foreshortened telephone booth is lost on the younger viewers. All the adults bust out laughing, because of course we remember when full-length booths were commonplace, and naturally associate them with Superman. I wonder where the Man of Steel changes his clothes nowadays?

I must say, the print was terrific, and the sound, though obviously tweaked in the restoration, was intrusive in only the best way. The extra scenes were a distraction and, in my opinion, wholly unnecessary. I believe I'd seen them all before in the dreadful network television cut. It was cool to see Superman's trials as he enters Luthor's lair -- how I salivated over those stills of Superman licked by flames in the Starlogs of my youth! -- but once would have been enough. I would have liked to have seen the film restored to its original state.

My nomination for most ridiculous addition is the stop-the-film-dead-in-its-tracks "If not for pride, today I would be able to hold you in my arms" scene, in the Fortress of Solitude. Why? We already know why Superman would need a secret identity. Duh! Isn't that basic Crimefighter 101?

The effects looked terrific. The difference between then and now is like night and day. Not once did I feel overwhelmed or physically ill, as I do when enduring genre movies of the present. Not all the effects were wholly realistic -- I'm especially thinking of the Harryhausen-esque Hoover Dam burst -- but who cares? They were executed with style! I'll take that over computer graphics anyday.

It is almost shocking to see actors like Brando and Glenn Ford from today's perspective. They seemed like real old-timers back then, but I realize now that Brando was just coming off of his prime, and Ford -- he was actually quite good. A whole lot better than he was when he got top-billing!

The Smallville sequences are the heart of the movie, and I felt the tears welling up more than once. They are so beautifully done! Perhaps those of you who live in foreign lands are not so deeply moved as we suckled on the myth of the American Heartland, but I assure you, it got me good. That leaving home sequence is marvelous. I thought so in '78. and I think so now. The dialogue is stilted -- impressionistic, almost -- but the music and cinematography tell it all. The laconic Kents on their Christina's World-style homestead. This is what is missing in movies today. The younger among you probably think Superman takes too long to get going. But the Krypton and Smallville scenes are necessary to the grandeur of the whole. What a great movie!

The only things that have not dated well were things which already seemed silly and stilted in the '70s -- "Bad vibrations," "Why is it I can never get it on with the good guys," and Margot Kidder's love poetry. Only in the Metropolis sequences do we note an unusual prevalence of big hair.

For Williams, this must have been a dream project. The opening credits, with their dynamic title design, are a composer's dream. How often does it happen that a composer takes center stage? For those few minutes, everyone in the theatre was fully captivated by Williams' thrilling invention. This may have been the first time that I realized the entire flight around the Statue of Liberty, which I've always really enjoyed, is almost a pas de deux. Even Reeve and Kidder's movements simulate dancers'. It creates such a dream-like atmosphere, it's probably why I've been able to listen to the corny poetry recitation so many damn times and not even sneer. It's beautiful. And, again, Williams has the entire soundtrack to himself.

A tour-de-force. I wish to God these films which were so important to me in my childhood and teens would be reissued in theatres with regularity. It's the only way younger viewers will know exactly what we mean when we talk about practically blowing our loads simply from a movie's opening credits.

Unfortunately, there's also a melancholy side to the experience, because for two and a half hours I am able to time travel -- and then suddenly I am back in 2002. A weaker man than I would have pulled the trigger by now.

[EvanED 1]

WHERE DID YOU SEE SUPERMAN????

:Very jealous, because he was -6 years old when it opened and so hasn't seen it in theaters:

[Figo 2]

In a repertory house, part of a film festival. Don't worry, it wasn't a national release. I would have said something.

[Lurker 5]

If only I didn't have to work today, Figo and I could have time travelled together. I'm glad you got to see it. It is an amazing experience in the theater. I hope to be able to see it again really soon.

Neil

[Figo 2]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that seeing the film is actually an ennobling experience. You feel elevated watching it. It is such a rare ocurrence in movies these days that I thought it should be said.

[Mari 279]

I am so envious!!!! I haven't seen it on the big screen since 1978 and TV really doesn't do it justice.

Mari

[Figo 2]

The last time I saw it I was a freshman in college ('84-'85). We had a very good film program. Also saw Star Wars on a very decent screen.

[EvanED 1]

In a repertory house, part of a film festival.  Don't worry, it wasn't a national release.  I would have said something.

If it were a remotely wide release, I would have heard about it.

I wanna see it big... maybe I'll have to borrow a projector and hook it up to a DVD player. Not quite the same thing, but it'll be better than my 19" TV. (And I do love the credits; the only other movie that comes close is Thirteen Days. The opening credits run over Trevor Jones's music and shots of nuclear missile tests, which are the height of the beauty/destruction paradox that I find so common (that is, some of the most beautiful sights are also some of the most destructive: explosions and volcanoes to name the two best examples).

[Figo 2]

Trust me, Thirteen Days doesn't touch it. Not only will you need a projector, you will need one hell of a sound system. As that ostinato builds under the opening credits you'll feel the ants swarming all over your scalp!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I saw Spiderman at the dollar theater this weekend.

Its like Superman only wayyyyy better.

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL not LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Well said Figo,

I do feel bad for the younger generation. They only think they have had cinematic experiences, while we actually have had cinematic experiences.

I actually feel more sad for us because I doubt we will ever have them again, so we know what we are missing. Those that have never had one, don't know what they have missed, so for them its easy.

We have our memories, so all is not lost.

Just hope alzheimers doesn't take it from us.

[Gamecube 0]

Well said Figo,

I do feel bad for the younger generation.  They only think they have had cinematic experiences, while we actually have had cinematic experiences.

I actually feel more sad for us because I doubt we will ever have them again, so we know what we are missing.  Those that have never had one, don't know what they have missed, so for them its easy.

We have our memories, so all is not lost.  

Just hope alzheimers doesn't take it from us.

[Ollie 1,059]

Indeed Superman is the greatest superhero film ever made, IMHO.

I remember seeing it back in 78' and was blown away. The score is one of Williams best. Reeves performance is nothing short of spectacular. Hackman and Beatty still make me laugh just as hard as I did the first time.

People forget that Superman was a box office smash cause if you figure inflation in with ticket prices it brings the modern day gross to about $325 million domestically.

[EvanED 1]

Luther is hilarious. I crack up every time I see him... especially the Otisburg conflict... I'm laughing just thinking about it. (and I love that icon that's bowing repeatedly ( ))

[Lurker 5]

Most people seem to miss the other joke during the "Otisburg" sequence. There is a mountain range called "Teschmacher Peaks".

Neil

[Figo 2]

It occurs to me, Joe, even if I were Howard Hughes and could invite each and every one of you to my personal screening room for a private showing in optimal conditions, I still would not be able to replicate the initial impact of Superman for those too young to have seen it in 1978. In an era when stunning effects have become the norm, so much so that everything else has become secondary; in an era when video games far surprass the primitive Ataris we grew up with; in an era where children are simply exposed to a lot more -- not necessarily good -- stimuli, Superman is bound to seem a little tame. But at the time of its release, the best America had seen was a lumpy George Reeves "flying" on television in black and white. He looked like your neighbor's dad, and merely lay horizontally with his arms out straight while the background raced by in a blur. That was Superman.

In the 1970s, each new blockbuster pushed the envelope. We had never seen anything like Jaws. Now, every other day, we get Deep Blue Sea. We had never seen anything like Star Wars. Now every other film is about space. We had certainly never seen Superman. It was an era of intense excitement, and every one of these films that we now regard as classics pushed the envelope in some way, and showed us a reality we had never thought possible. Spielberg, Lucas and Donner were pioneers, and their films from that era crackle with the joy of invention.

Twenty five years down the line, anything is possible, but we already know that. The pioneers have become wealthy land barons, and they have little taste for adventure. They have said everything they need to say, and unless they happen to reinvent themselves -- kindle a little fire in their bellies, as Spielberg has done when he felt the need to explore the Holocaust or Omaha Beach -- there's nothing left to do but count the money.

[Figo 2]

I wonder what it's like to write a score like Superman? Watching the opening credits, with the music pulsating through every fibre of my being, realizing that everyone around me was equally transfixed -- what are you going to do, talk through that overture? -- I realized Williams was in complete control. I wonder if he understood just how completely he had got it right? The theme is presented with such conviction. Everyone involved must have realized they had a blockbuster on their hands, just as we in the audience knew from the moment that black and white screen opens up to reveal the vastness of space that we too were in for an unforgettable experience. The friend I saw it with leaned over to me and whispered, "I forgot how good the music was!"

[EvanED 1]

But at the time of its release, the best America had seen was a lumpy George Reeves "flying" on television in black and white. He looked like your neighbor's dad, and merely lay horizontally with his arms out straight while the background raced by in a blur. That was Superman.

And wires visible in half the shots. I used to watch that... I loved Superman (though I thought the comic books, at least the contemporary ones, sucked).

[Figo 2]

Listening to the Superman March alternate now. Man, I'm not sure what combination of revision and editing led to the actual film version, but the changes -- much closer to the concert version -- are bloody brilliant.

Don't forget the Fleischer Brothers' cartoons. They were great!

[Trumpeteer 302]

I saw Superman on the big screen for the first time ever last year at an equivalent film fest: Superheroes on the Big Screen. It was playing at a neighborhood theater at a midnight showing.

Boy, did that opening give me goosebumps! Having watched it on TV, I had always felt the rush of the music as the Superman logo flew past, then as every name rushed by us. But on the big screen, it's another experience altogether. What a rush!

[Figo 2]

Nothing quite like it in my experience.

[EvanED 1]

The Imax people should consider this for release in Imax format. (For those who don't know, they came up with a technique, DMR I think it's called, that will transfer standard 35mm film to the 70mm film Imax uses. Apollo 13 is the first movie to recieve such treatment -- and a worthy one I'd argue -- and will be released at some point in the hopefully near future.)

[Figo 2]

Imax? For two and half hours? I don't know.

Anyway, I thought a lot of the films from that era (late '70s/early '80s) were already done in 70 mm?

[EvanED 1]

>>Imax? For two and half hours? I don't know.

What do you mean by that? YOu don't know if you'd want to see it () or if they'd want to make it? (Apollo 13 is 2:20, so Supes wouldn't be much longer; imdb reports a runtime of 143 min, or 151 for the 2000 version)

>>Anyway, I thought a lot of the films from that era (late '70s/early '80s) were already done in 70 mm?

I don't know about other movies, but the IMDB reports that Supes was filmed in 35 mm, although at some point a 70mm print was made. (At least, that's how I interpret this)

[Lurker 5]

Most true Imax films only run about an hour or so. The reason is that after awhile, the format gets a little uncomfortable.

The question I'd like to know is, why are these companies now making special venue versions of their films? Disney has made an Imax version of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King will be out next year. Apollo 13 was already mentioned (though that's Universal) and just the other day I saw Signs at an Imax theater (granted, that was only a 35mm print and didn't look like anything special). Why don't the studios just go back to using 70mm film, with it's great 6 track sound, or at least the 70mm iteration of DTS? 70mm blow ups look fantastic and would certainly draw a response as big as these Imax re-releases. Plus you don't need to develop a new technology to be able to do it.

Neil

[EvanED 1]

My hunch is money. 70mm has an area that is 4 time larger than 35mm (assuming both are the same aspect ratio...), so almost certainly is a lot more expensive. Then there's the handling of the film: since there's a lot more of it, it's harder to manage. You'd need to change reels more often, need more storage space, need to pay for more shipping if filming on location, etc.

Then, since most of the people are going to see it in normal theaters in a 35mm reduction, it doesn't create much incentive unless the studios know that they'll probably make it into 70mm anyway.

[Trumpeteer 302]

Judging by the fact that "Beauty and the Beast" was sold out at practically every IMAX screening earlier this year (at least in Denver, where I saw it), I think "Superman" would do very well. I even think people would see it more than once, even those it costs like $12 to see it.

Jeff -- who is now excited about Indysolo's news about an IMAX release of "The Lion King."

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Most true Imax films only run about an hour or so.  The reason is that after awhile, the format gets a little uncomfortable.

The question I'd like to know is, why are these companies now making special venue versions of their films?  Disney has made an Imax version of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King will be out next year.  Neil

Beauty and the Beast was excellent on IMAX, but I never cared for Lion King, which I thought was so overated. It made a lot of money but so did TPM, and neither was a good film. IMHO.

Can't wait to get the B&TB SE dvd, this fall.

[Lurker 5]

Beauty and the Beast was excellent on IMAX, but I never cared for Lion King, which I thought was so overated.  It made a lot of money but so did TPM, and neither was a good film.  IMHO.

Can't wait to get the B&TB SE dvd, this fall.

Oh my, another difference between Joe and I. I like The Lion King and think Beauty and the Beast is a total bore. The first time I saw BATB was last March in IMAX, and I thought the movie was dull, and the animation did not hold up on an IMAX sized screen. I was very dissapointed in that, and I do not have high hopes for the IMAX-ized Lion King.

Neil

[Big John 3]

...Apollo 13 is the first movie to recieve such treatment -- and a worthy one I'd argue -- and will be released at some point in the hopefully near future.)

Isn't it playing now?

BigJohn

Thinks it's playing now

[Trumpeteer 302]

I was very dissapointed in that, and I do not have high hopes for the IMAX-ized Lion King.

Neil

Well, Neil, I'm looking forward to it, if only to see and hear "Circle of Life" on the HUGE screen.

[Lurker 5]

Well, Neil, I'm looking forward to it, if only to see and hear "Circle of Life" on the HUGE  screen.  

I already saw that. They showed the preview for IMAX version of The Lion King in front of Beauty and the Beast.

Neil

[Morn 8]

Bah.