THE SALKIND QUADRILOGY
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE. (1978) SUPERMAN II (1980) SUPERMAN III (1983) SUPERMAN IV: QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)
“You’ll Believe a man can fly.” The One that started it all. Before 1978, there were a couple of serials in the 40s for both Supes and Batman. Then in 1951 they made SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN starring George Reeves, which was essentially a pilot for the Reeves TV show to follow. However, that was it for comic book heroes on the big screen in live action form. By 1978, the world believed a man could fly. I love watching the trailers and TV spots for this movie, especially right before I watch it. FYI, that period at the end of “The Movie.”? Not there by accident, check this teaser out.
Video Length: 1 minute and 11 Seconds – 1:11
Just gets my juices going. When I watch these trailers, I am instantly transported back to a time before I was born and this hype machine was just getting going.
For the first time in history, somebody was taking a comic book seriously. They cast Hollywood legends Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford as his birth and adoptive fathers respectively. Then they added Oscar Winner Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor and Oscar Nominee Ned Beatty as Otis, Lex’s dim witted sidekick. F’ing Love Otis, who is complimented by a wonder little theme by the great Maestro John Williams. Found yourself the perfect Clark Kent/Superman in relative newcomer Christopher Reeve and the talented but volatile Margot Kidder as his love interest/professional foil, hero to all women, the intrepid Lois Lane. Only Superman is worthy of woman like this.
Richard Donner was hired to direct two Superman movies back to back but was fired part way through the second and HARD DAYS NIGHT director, Richard Lester, was brought on to finish it. It’s because of this that we now have two ways to watch the original series of movies: The Salkind Quadrilogy and the Richard Donner Trilogy.
This first film, the theatrically released version, was a massive hit and it is epic filmmaking on the grandest scale. It has flaws, especially the whole spinning the earth back on its axis to turn back time, but it is about as close to a perfect Superman movie as you can get.
Containing my favorite film score of all time and visual effects that while dated are still breathtaking. Most notably the flying scenes, but those scenes in the artic with the Fortress of Solitude are still some of the most exciting moments ever captured on camera and they are still thrilling to see nearly 40 years later. When Chrisopher Reeve first appears in that suit and flies out of the Fortress, instant friggin goosebumps.
Video Length: 25 Seconds – 00:25
The heart of all four of these movies is Christopher Reeve. He just is Clark/Superman. I love the comics, I love the cartoons and I am very fond of the performances by Dean Cain, Tom Welling, Brandon Routh and now Henry Cavill, but Christopher Reeve will forever be Superman. My Superman. He was my first Kal El and when I started reading the comics all the way until now, Reeve’s voice is who I hear in my head, the way Mark Hamill is the Joker in my head. When I read comics I mean. Really… There is no Joker voice in my head all the time HAHAHAHAHA… Whoa, where’d that come from?
What makes Reeve so special is the way he balances Clark Kent and Superman. His bumbling, clumsy, idealistic and hopelessly sincere Clark Kent is a thing of beauty to watch. His performance is rooted in subtlety where just a mere straightening of his shoulders or a confident smirk and the man goes from Clark to Superman in a nano-second and then right back. Charming all the way around and so convincing that even though these men are identical, they are different people yet still one in the same. Confused? Good.
Richard Lester finished what Donner started but made the theatrical version of Superman II much campier than RD wanted. He brought the wit and fun from his THREE MUSKETEERS movies but it unfortunately clashed with the whimsical yet serious tone of the first flick.
Nevertheless, when I was 5 and saw this all I could think about was how F’ing cool Terrance Stamp’s Zod was and how awesome it was to see Superman take on 3 baddies equal to his strength. This was my favorite Superman for a long time. Now I am divided between these 2 different cuts and the original. I also love Man of Steel. Oh what a great problem to have. Although, I’m watching it again right now and remembering why I loved it so much, it just might vault to the top again.
And how about Superman III…
That sequence is still wonderful. Love seeing Reeve go Dark Supes.
SUPERMAN III and SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE are probably best forgotten by most but I still like to view them from time to time. I actually do like #3 quite a bit even if it is a little silly. It was all Richard Lester’s movie and he got to do his take on the big blue boy scout, rather than just half a one like on the previous film.
No Lex this time around as Hackman was still upset at what the Salkinds did to Donner and they did not get along with Margot Kidder, also upset at Donner’s treatment, and relegated her to a cameo here. But the Salkinds brought in Richard Pryor for comic relief and I know some say he is misplaced but I like him a lot and laugh at his antics in this movie still. Pairing Superman III with Lester’s version of Superman II makes it much more enjoyable because those silly moments that Donner wouldn’t have done feel a little more at home.
There are also some very sweet moments when Clark Returns to Smallville and reconnects with his old high school crush Lana Lang played by Annette O’Toole, whom I had and still have a major crush on. Scenes from the TV show SMALLVILLE always make me nostalgic for this part of the movie series.
Superman III is not a good movie but there are still moments that are very genuine and I love spending time with Christopher Reeve.
Hey look, two different Clarks, One ANNETTE!!! P.S. She played Martha Kent in TV’s SMALLVILLE, but we’ll get into that in the DC TV Universe. And now Upward and ONWARD…
Superman IV is garbage, even though Christopher Reeve’s original idea was ambitious and sounded fantastic, budget cuts and meddling turned this into a 90 minute crapfest. Apparently there is a 134 minute cut out there that is worse! Morbid curiosity is nagging me to get my hands on a copy, though they are very hard to find. This is the only Superman from the OG series that I saw in the theater and between 10 – 12 years old, I loved it. Sometimes I am that boy again. Plus, Hackman and Kidder return!
Technically the Salkinds had no involvement with this one but I still put it as part of their series.
THE RICHARD DONNER TRILOGY:
SUPERMAN: EXTENDED DIRECTOR’S CUT (2OOO) SUPERMAN II: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT (2006) SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006)
In 2004 Warner Bros hired Usual Suspects/X-Men Director Bryan Singer to reboot the Superman franchise. Heavily influenced by Richard Donner’s original, they decided to make this a continuation of that story. In 2001 massive amounts of film from both Superman and Superman II were discovered, with lots of Donner footage that had never been shown anywhere. Singer wanted to use some of the Marlon Brando footage to bridge the original movies with his new one. But Warner Bros had another idea as well.
An aggressive letter and email campaign from fans convinced Warner Bros there might be something they could do with this 12 tons of Superman footage. They called up editor/producer Michael Thau and asked if he thought this was a good idea. He did. They went to Donner for his blessing not only got it but got his full participation!
The world was finally going to get Richard Donner’s Superman II and as close to a complete vision of Superman as we could get. That vision would’ve been glorious, evident from what we see here. Unfortunately, the movie only feels about 75% complete which is how much of II he shot.
I love the Richard Donner Cut, it is a completely different movie than the Theatrical Cut despite sharing about 30% of the same scenes.
The tone is also completely different. Lester went with a more fun, adventurous voice whereas Donner’s was more character driven and introspective. Donner, in the second film, wanted to discover who Clark/Kal El was. He wanted to focus on the battle raging with Clark’s desire to be normal and to fulfill his birth father’s wishes to help humanity achieve the greatness Jor-El sees in us. There has never been any doubt that Superman is a Christlike figure but Donner and then Singer hit that chord hard and it resounds loudly in all three of these films, especially II: THE RD CUT and Returns.
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a fantastic experience and it truly is a Director’s cut, because it is a completely different movie than the one released in 1980. I flip flop on which of these two I like better because Lester’s film just feels more complete and while it tonally clashes with the first, it is still a fun, remarkable achievement. I guess you’ll just have to wait until Part 3 of this expose to see where I rank the two.
What makes it so exciting to see this new footage is that we get more Christopher Reeve. He is so good in the scenes between him and Brando, made this whole endeavor worth while. Plus, father and son finally get to share the screen!
Video Length: 4 Minutes and 51 Seconds – 4:51
SUPERMAN RETURNS didn’t reboot the franchise like Warner hoped but the movie was a critical and box office success. It’s not a horrible movie, it’s actually quite beautiful with great performances by Brandon Routh and Kevin Spacey. Problem is, the movie is boring which is exactly the opposite of what a Superman movie should be. Oh wait, that’s the exact opposite of what every movie is trying to achieve. Superman only punches an island, proverbially of course. He needs someone to fight. People’s biggest problem with Superman is his perceived invulnerability. Wolverine is pretty much invulnerable and so is the Hulk, but they both have rage issues which people enjoy. Superman’s greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. It’s his humanity. You threaten an innocent with harm, you can stop him. Zod, Darkseid, Shazam, Batman, all of these people can beat him. Any one with magic can beat him. There is a plethora of characters that can challenge Superman, you don’t need him to punch an island.
I don’t even mind the Superman has a kid story, I actually liked that part of it. The problem is, Singer didn’t just continue Donner’s story, he almost copied it. Lex’s motivations are exactly the same as they were in the original. I like Superman Returns, but I wanted to love it. Still, I’m glad it exists.
MAN OF STEEL (2013)
Now we come to our current Superman and once again, there are flaws but I think the magic is back. Henry Cavill looks the part and feels it as well. I look forward to him being Superman/Clark Kent for the next decade or so. I know, I know all the death he caused in this and it will be addressed in Batman V Superman and I know, I know he doesn’t kill but there had to have been a point that he might have. And in that moment, he decided, no more. This is a line I will never cross again. I can’t wait to see BVS next week, CAN’T WAIT!!!
Until then, look up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… these pretty cool mash up videos with Reeves and Cavill!
Video Length: 4 Minutes and 42 Seconds
This second one got me a little glassy eyed.
Video Length: 3 Minutes and 24 Seconds – 3:24