Superman (1978)

It remains one of the most fascinating slices of my childhood. The fascination is the same. The same the emotion. And the believe than Christopher Reeves remains the best Superman. Sure, after decades, it could be seen as naive. But its freshness is yhe same. Like the noble moral message.

Salkind's Superman movie, directed by former television craftman Richard Donner has long ago departed from its shelf of mere adventure movie and is now a pop culture phenomenon, deemed -however- as a bit too dated or campy for current audiences. This ambitious production is indeed far from the strong drama overtones from Fox's X-men series, the exaggerated misanthropy of (the good ones) Batman films or the cool cynism from Iron Man, just to mention some examples of what superhero genre has produced over the years. At the very begginning, when superhero productions were mostly adventure serials made for TV with lower budgets and campy effects, this initiative came mostly as a show-off statement from Alexander and Illya Salkind, who encouraged themselves to prove they can do a larger than life movie on one of the most conspicuous american characters. The well know story of the alien refugee who become Earth's biggest champion of justice is, at its best moments, a canvas to universal themes rendered as fun-driven adventure plot with, at the date of its release, sophisticated special effects.That being said, the greatest virtue of Donner's Superman is not in the dated production design, the old-fashioned visual effects or the campiness that drags the second part of the plot. Superman is, above it all, a movie that installed a canon and serves as a multi-layered tale of themes on what makes a hero, that lead us from one to another interpretation after several viewings. Seeing this movie as a child at late 70's, we were mostly mesmerized by the visual effects; as an adult, in the other hand, we are more sensitive to the powerful subtleness of intimate scenes, like the iconic moral strenght of the Kents or the almost naive determination for good of the main character. The perennial magic of this movie lies on its soul, and the faithful translation of what Superman was meant to be: the greatest boy-scout who ever existed. At this point, this origin story it's a character driven tale which serves it's purpose with help from the sarcastic (without being too harsh or abrasive) counterpoint of Lois Lane, the cartoonish evil of Luthor and the casual cynism of any Metropolis citizen that depicts a funny snapshot of society at the end of seventies.The religious alussions are subtle too, in the perfect balance of fantasy and symbolism without being too preachy, which is the most criticized point of the recent versions of the character; there's no another awkward "Jesus-Superman" parable here, just the adequate keys to install some universal conceptions to massive audiences about what Superman is. IMHO, perhaps one of the most notable and powerfully emotional scenes is when the big guy jumps outside Perry White's office and goes through the Metropolis skyline searching for Luthor's threat, while a bunch of office girls run and cheerish to admire her beloved guardian the instant he flyes near their window, and short later some pedestrians at the street are witnesses of his power while Superman seems to be unawared of what he inspires; that IS Superman: an unlikely force of good seen over the shoulders of astounded people who stares in disbelief, not only for the amazing nature of such outlandish powers, but also because he embodies an almost naive sense of willingness. Powerful and effective, a movie that wanted to be as big as life itself, but has become a classic because its most remarkable achievement relies on its light-hearted simplicity.

As with most of modern blockbusters, this film Superman defects in pace, editing, and character development. Yet the visual effects, music score and set pieces in the last thirty minutes are just stunning, and groundbreaking, and that's why this film was commercially successful and influential.

I really love this movie,you got real comic book action