You’re welcome, Marvel! He’s the hero that started it all. Dreamed up by a couple of teenaged boys in Cleveland, OH in 1932, Superman has been the most enduring comic book hero of all time. Although there have been several men to don the blue tights, in 1978’s Superman The Movie, Christopher Reeve became the quintessential live-action Man of Steel. He remains to this day, the highwater mark to whom all others are compared.

In lieu of DC announcing that Henry Cavill will not be returning in another Superman movie, it seemed appropriate to revisit the one that started it all.

Superman The Movie

By now, everyone knows the basics of Supe’s story, so I won’t rehash it. Suffice it to say, Superman The Movie is an origin story that tells three distinct tales: baby Superman’s exodus from Krypton, his youth in Kansas, and his first few months as Superman in Metropolis. Each section is nearly independent of one another, with its own 1st, 2nd, and 3rd acts, and Kal-El (Superman’s actual name) is the only through-line that carries us from one part of Superman’s life to the next.

1 Vacation

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In the care of anyone else, Superman could have easily been another camp-fest the likes of 1950’s Superman vs. Captain Atom. However, 1978’s Superman is an epic film that explores the span of the human condition with love and loss, sacrifice and heroism, planetary-sized destruction, and moments of profound intimacy, all of which were carried on the shoulders of Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve.

Fortunately, Donner and Reeve were the perfect men for the job. Donner approached the source material with a respect that bordered on reverence and resulted in heart-wrenching moments like that of Jor-El saying farewell to his infant son as he prepares to launch him on a two-year journey through the infinite perils of space.

Verisimilitude was Donner’s constant refrain on and off of the set. He wanted to fit the fantastic into reality, not a cartoon version of reality. It was this vision that made audiences believe that a man could fly.

Reeve was a 24-year-old newcomer who ferociously threw himself into the role. When he was cast, Reeve weighed in at around 170 lbs, and principal photography was scheduled to begin in just two months. His physique being as important to the character as is the quality of his performance, a professional was hired to help bulk him up. In cinematic irony, it would be Darth Vader who would help add 30 lbs to Superman’s 6′ 4″ frame in the short time allotted. David Prowse had just finished playing the man beneath the black mask in the previous year’s Star Wars (it wasn’t A New Hope until its 1981 re-release).

In addition to his newly won bulk, Reeve’s brought an easy charm and earnestness to the role, and he treated it with such sincerity that the character was elevated out of the cartoonish serials of the 50s and into a more believable and relatable world. There’s a moment on Lois’s terrace when she asks him if he has a girlfriend, and he replies, “no I don’t Ms. Lane but, if I did, you’d be the first to know.” It’s a pickup line that a high school football star would use and then pat himself on the back for his smoothness but Reeve perfectly merges the confidence of a man who’s never been hurt or sick and needs fear nothing with the innocence of a corn-fed Kansas farm boy. The result is a beautiful moment of flirtation that makes men envious and women quiver

Speaking of love interests, what would Superman be without a Lois Lane to love? In another act of casting brilliance, Margot Kidder won the role of Lois. Five years Reeve’s senior, Kidder’s take on the hardnosed seasoned reporter was inspired. She showed all of the “qualities” of a 70’s era strong independent woman but still screamed like a girl to be rescued, and went to jello in the presence of the Ubermensch. She’s the only Lois to date that it has made sense for Superman to fall for (strictly based on personality…obviously Terri Hatcher and Erica Durance had their own…appeal).

Rounding out the main cast is the incomparable Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. Hackman could win an Oscar reading from the back of a chewing gum wrapper, and so it is that this slightly cartoonish version of the villain is also compelling and menacing, not because of the written word so much as Hackman being the amazing actor that he is. There’s an exchange between Superman and Lex in which Supes asks him if he gets his kicks by planning the deaths of innocent people. Luthor’s chilling reply is, “no, by causing the deaths of innocent people.” Until this moment, Lex had been a playful foil but Hackman flips the switch and delivers his line with sincerity and menace.

Unlike modern superhero flicks, Kal-El doesn’t have to be dark or edgy to be compelling, nor did they (in pure Marvel fashion) need to create a generic villain with abilities and powers equal to the hero. The filmmakers knew that Superman was supposed to embody the best of a man (decisiveness, selflessness, and strength) and they were unapologetic for it. They allowed the situation(s) around Superman to create tension instead of childish indecision on the part of the protagonist (enter a mopey Marvel hero in the middle of the second act as he deals with his unwarranted self-doubt). Superman is invulnerable, so they put those he cares most about in mortal danger. He’s fast enough to save them, so they put the lives of more than he could possibly save at once in danger.

I can’t finish a review of Superman The Movie without at least mentioning the genius score written by John Williams (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter…so many more). Simply put, much like Reeve is the quintessential Superman, Williams’s score is the definitive Superman score. It is stirring and moving, with sweeping strings and heart-pounding horns. You can almost hear “Superman” in the main theme’s opening horns.

WOKE ELEMENTS

Lois Lane is a “modern” woman and looks down on the traditional conventions of womanhood (e.g. being married and having a family)…right up until she’s confronted by the manliest man to wear tights since Robinhood. After that, she’s dolled up, wearing diaphanous gowns, and batting her eyelashes.