Episode 153: The SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE Commentary
Superman at 75: The Celebration of a Legend continues this time out with something I have been wanting to do for quite some time. It is fair to say that I have seen Superman: The Movie more times than I can count. I love that film on a deep and personal level. Because of those two facts I thought that it would be fun to talk about his first big budget, four alarm movie. Instead of simply talking about the movie from top to bottom I thought a proper commentary would be in order. So that’s what I did. I tried to frame this so you don’t necessarily have to watch the film to enjoy the commentary. However, if you are trying to match it up with the film I was watching the Special Edition of Superman: The Movie and the episode begins right as the film begins. It probably won’t match up perfectly but it should be close enough. I sincerely hope you enjoy this commentary and if everything works out I will be doing more in the months to come.
Next time: No clue…but it will involve Superman.
Fantastic commentary, sir! I have loved this movie for so long. I would watch it every single time it aired on ABC, and relished every minute. I still do, frankly. (Well, *almost* every minute… I can’t honestly say I relish Margot Kidder’s song-speak, but, you know what, it’s not as bad as most people make it out to be, either, and is actually kind of cute! But I digress…)
It’s funny to hear how similar some of your childhood viewing reactions were to mine. I, too, always thought Zod was screaming about Jor-El’s ass. (You’d think, given the consistency with which folks fess up to that mishearing, someone in post-production would’ve said, “You know what that sounds like?” and would’ve called for looping in a clearer recording, but…) And I always noticed that Cheerios box, too! I wrote trivia questions about the film in fifth grade (for whose benefit apart from mine, I don’t recall – likely no one’s; I was a geeky kid!), and that was one of the questions: “What cereal does Mrs. Kent put out for breakfast?” Oh, the joy of one’s first product placement…
I was so glad to learn, as a grown-up, about the whole Jeff East, in a wig, overdubbed thing. Young Clark always struck me as kind of “off” when I watched the movie as a kid, but I never understood why!
I, for one, don’t think there was anything wrong with Johns drawing heavily on Donner when he (Johns) held the Superman reins at DC. It was the announcement that Donner would be co-writing an issue of “Action Comics” that got me into a comic book shop for the first time – so there you have it!
I agree with you regarding the fact that Superman is unveiled too early. Of course, at this late date I can’t imagine how they could have ended that sequence any more satisfactorily.
Hearing you talk about the helicopter sequence does make me think about how different and how jaded our culture is now, if the premise of “Man of Steel” is that the public will initially distrust Superman. I mean, I don’t dislike it as a story trajectory for a new Superman film to take; it seems “logical,” “natural,” “realistic.” But that’s sad. So this isn’t so much a complaint about “Man of Steel” as an observation about who we are today. It makes me think of a prayer of confession used in my tradition: “we have not trusted good news to be good… we have hoped for little, expected less.” It never struck me in just this way until I heard you describing the helicopter sequence. It’s one thing Bryan Singer got right in 2006: having that stadium full of people cheering for Superman as he brings that space plane safely down. You go, Superman! Damn straight!
(By the way, this may go to your point regarding Lois’ inclusion of Superman’s inability to see through lead in her story: “Who’d want to hurt such a great guy as Superman? What could the harm be?”)
Ahem. At any rate, thanks again for taking the time to do this commentary and to share it with us. I haven’t been able to hear the whole thing yet, but what I’ve heard, I really like!
A terrific and heartfelt tribute to the ultimate superhero film. So much of it reflects how I felt at age 10 in 1978, feelings I’ve tried to keep alive to this day, to avoid being a misanthrope by default.
But for all your jokes about C. Everett Koop… did you know he’s also Uncle Owen?