Up, up and away! Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman (typically marketed as Superman: The Movie, even though that’s not how it’s credited on screen) was a record-setting blockbuster in its day and has endured as a beloved classic of its genre. However, can the movie still hold the attention of today’s kids raised on the CGI spectacle and frenetic action of modern superhero flicks? My son and I wrestle with that question in the latest episode of our Film at 11 podcast.
I regret to say that my son Thomas had some trouble connecting with this movie. Even for my own part, while I still admire a great deal about the film, I have to admit that some aspects sadly haven’t aged well. Even beyond the dated-looking special effects, the story’s pacing is awfully slow, the comic relief terribly hokey, and Lex Luthor’s evil plot ultimately quite nonsensical. As I think back on it, I recall being bothered by some of these issues even when I was a kid myself.
| Title: | Superman |
| Year of Release: | 1978 |
| Director: | Richard Donner |
| Watched On: | 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray |
| Also Available On: | Blu-ray Max Roku Channel Various VOD rental and purchase platforms |
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
This is a difficult one to review from a technical perspective. Superman has pretty much always looked awful on home video. I honestly don’t know whether the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (released by Warner Bros. in 2018) is the best rendition of it. the most faithful transfer from the source possible, or just a lackluster effort from the studio. It’s entirely possible that all three could be true simultaneously.
Both the 4K disc and the accompanying Blu-ray in the case contain only the 1978 theatrical cut of the film. None of the movie’s many extended cuts, TV cuts, or so-called “Director’s Cuts” available on DVD or Blu-ray are included. I’m fine with that decision, as the theatrical cut is still generally considered the best version.
The main problem is that the 2.40:1 image is extremely soft and even more extremely grainy. Even if scanned in 4K, the picture looks to have sub-1K worth of actual relevant detail, almost constantly covered in a thick layer of grit with a sandpaper-like texture. Again, however, if you look up reviews of older Blu-ray and DVD editions (even going back to Laserdisc), you’ll find similar complaints about those as well.
Some of the softness is intentional and perhaps unavoidable. The movie is inundated with optical composites, and even scenes without special effects were photographed with heavy gauze filters over the lens. The misty, hazy look was very much in vogue at the time, and the sometimes aggressive softness was helpful in hiding seams in the effects work. Before digital tools capable of painting out unwanted elements in the frame, the most efficient way to avoid showing the wires that held up Christopher Reeve as he dangled in mid-air was simply to defocus the camera.
That problem is compounded by the very grainy, unstable nature of film stocks in the 1970s, and the industry’s move toward higher-speed stocks and “naturalistic” lighting during that decade. All of this leads to the very real possibility that Superman might not have anything more to gain from its camera negative.
With that said, I won’t pretend to be an expert on Superman or the current condition of its available film elements. Frankly, I have trouble believing that first-run theatrical prints during the movie’s high-end premiere engagements looked quite this distractingly soft and grainy. Maybe they did, and maybe audiences at the time thought that was perfectly fine, but part of me still wonders whether some better compromise could be reached from this source.
The 4K disc has a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack, while the regular Blu-ray features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 instead. As far as I’m aware, both are based on the controversial 5.1 remix that first premiered on DVD years ago, which not only shifted sounds around the speaker layout but also replaced many of the original sound effects with newer substitutes. For viewers who find that upsetting, both discs also offer what’s labeled as the “Original Theatrical Mix” in DTS-HD MA 2.0. How authentic that “original” mix is, I can’t say.
For this viewing, I defaulted to the Atmos track, mainly because it has more power and mid-range heft, especially in the John Williams musical score. In comparison, the so-called theatrical mix sounds thinner and weaker. I hoped that my son’s first experience with the movie would impress him. (Mostly, he just found it loud.)
I’m not enough of a purist for this particular movie that the altered sound effects bothered me. The Atmos track otherwise has a fair amount of directionality, including overhead during the helicopter rescue and other flying scenes, though the ADR dialogue seems to come from the wrong speakers during a couple scenes in the Daily Planet newsroom. Most sound effects are crisp, and bassy moments are suitably rumbly, but dialogue is also soft at times. I suspect that the track had more than a touch of noise reduction and filtering during the remix.
An audio commentary by producers Pierre Spengler and Ilya Salkind can be found on both discs. Located just on the Blu-ray are an hour-long making-of TV special from 1978, a copy of George Reeves’ 1951 Superman and the Mole Men feature (in standard-definition, regrettably), a trio of vintage Warner Bros. cartoon shorts on the Superman theme (the ones with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are mildly amusing; the one with Private Snafu less so), and three trailers and TV spots.
Related
- DC Comics
- DC Comic Books with Superman Appearance
- Gene Hackman (star)
Note: All screenshots on this page were taken from the standard Blu-ray edition of the film and are used for illustration purposes only.
The Video File Blog 
I’ve always thought Donner’s first Superman effort was a bit of a bore as well, Superman 2 is superior in pretty much every aspect.
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