Superman Vol.1 - Last Son Of Krypton (DVD)

...me now, this is the Superman that I remember, except I don't ever recall it looking and sounding this good. So good in fact, that I couldn't resist skipping back and playing the (very long) title sequence over again - only louder!
How many films can you name that get the neck-hairs standing on end before anything has actually happened?

So, with any doubts about the presentation of this DVD well and truly vanquished, we can get ...
...into two movies first - Superman 1 & 2 were originally conceived as a single film.)
Rather than take the easy option of simply depicting a series of adventures in the life of a superhero, the makers of Superman opted to tell the whole story - who he is, where he came from, how he got here etc.. and it is this that forms the basis of act 1.
For the uninitiated, Superman is Kal-El - the only survivor of the Planet Krypton, Son of Dor-El ... more

'Brand new, state-of-the-art digital transfer' - it said on the box -
'with dynamically re-mixed digital audio'.
It's phrases like these that can make a home-movie enthusiast start to dribble.
'Now with an additional eight minutes of never-before-seen footage, integrated into the film by its director'
Ooh, now you're talking. Throw in three in-depth, behind-the-scenes documentaries, deleted scenes, a feature-length commentary, trailers, screen tests and much, much more and what you have is an almost irresistable DVD purchase.

But what about the film itself? What classic piece of contemporary cinema (apart from a certain trilogy by a certain Mr Lucas...Hurry up please, George!) could be worthy of such a labour-of-love restoration?
The answer is, of course, 'Superman' - the grand-daddy of all superhero movies and still, by far, the best.
So, after being tempted by the blurb on the packaging to part with my hard-earned, I settled in for a night of what I thought would be nostalgic Seventies hokum. What I got was two and a half hours of joyous, delirious entertainment that sent me hurtling back in time towards the playground fantasies of childhood.

When the film started - lights down, sound up, beer & munchies to hand etc..etc.. I was quite surprised to find that I didn't recognise the opening sequence, but then the last time I watched this must have been sometime in the Eighties. It begins with a rather grainy looking picture of a pair of stage curtains that slowly part to reveal a comic book, circa 1938. Accompanied by a narration - a child's voice, in what can only be described as distinctly 'mono' sound quality - the pages of the comic book turn to reveal a city...
"In the decade of the 1930's, even the great city of Metropolis was not spared the ravages of the worldwide depression..."

Had I been conned? Were the declarations of digitally enhanced sound and picture quality merely revenue-based half-truths? Was this one of the additional scenes, unfinished and unpolished, sloppily edited into the film...?

The camera zooms in on a building, on the spinning globe at it's peak...
"In times of fear and confusion, the job of informing the public was the responsibility of The Daily Planet..."

Past the globe, into the night sky, where the stage curtains part completely and a bright blue credit comes swooping from the stars towards you, the stirrings of one of the most memorable theme tunes ever, nudging your sub-woofer into life.

'Alexander Salkind presents...'

Other speakers join in as the music builds. Now we're getting somewhere! More writing swoops towards you...
'Marlon Brando
Gene Hackman
Christopher Reeve...'

Then, without warning, the dazzling bright red 'S' logo that we all know and love so well, whooshes into view with a thunderous roar that comes from behind you, and the full force of John Williams finest bursts from the speakers in glorious, digital surround sound.
A-Ha - this is more like it! It's all coming back to me now, this is the Superman that I remember, except I don't ever recall it looking and sounding this good. So good in fact, that I couldn't resist skipping back and playing the (very long) title sequence over again - only louder!
How many films can you name that get the neck-hairs standing on end before anything has actually happened?

So, with any doubts about the presentation of this DVD well and truly vanquished, we can get on with the story - and what a story! A story so vast it had to be split into three distinct and very different sections. (Actually, trivia fans, it had to split into two movies first - Superman 1 & 2 were originally conceived as a single film.)
Rather than take the easy option of simply depicting a series of adventures in the life of a superhero, the makers of Superman opted to tell the whole story - who he is, where he came from, how he got here etc.. and it is this that forms the basis of act 1.
For the uninitiated, Superman is Kal-El - the only survivor of the Planet Krypton, Son of Dor-El and sent to Earth as a child to deliver us from evil. Sound familiar? The religious parallels of this premise are obvious and not shied away from, and this is reflected in the mystical nature of the scenes on Krypton - stilted, upper-English dialogue, long white costumes and hazy, dream-like photography.
How you interpret these undertones is up to you, but the scenes work extremely well - brooding, poignant and, come the demise of Krypton, spectacular - lending the film an air of grandeur not normally associated with such comic-book fare.

The tone of the film shifts dramatically for the second section of our story, which shows Kal-El's arrival on Earth - the endless wheatfields of Kansas to be precise - where he is taken in by caring farming couple, Clarke and Martha Kent (Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter), and raised as their own.
During these formative years, Kal-El, now named Clarke after his foster father (and played by Jeff East), uncovers some of his awesome powers, wrestles with the uncertainty of his heritage and, ultimately, has to come to terms with the death of Clarke Kent Snr. This turning point in Clarke's life (that's Clarke Jnr) marks the second turning point in the style of the film, as he goes off in search of his destiny. Without giving anything away, he finds it, and nearly an hour into the film, we are finally given our first glimpse of the fully-fledged Caped Wonder, accompanied of course, by another rousing rendition of THAT theme tune - 'Daah dah dah dah daaaah.'

The third and final act of Superman goes straight for comic-book territory - bright colours, big adventure, snappy one-liners and even broad comedy - as Clarke (Now played by Christopher Reeve), arrives in what is supposedly Metropolis but is quite clearly New York, to begin work as a reporter for the Daily Planet. Now the fun starts, for this is where Clarke meets, and falls for, fellow reporter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) and their sparkling, will they-won't they relationship is ignited. Beautifully written and superbly acted, it's a joy to watch - Clarke's naivety and clumsiness is the perfect antidote to Lois' sassy, go-get-'em confidence.
So Clarke has met Lois, Lois has met Clarke, but Lois hasn't met Superman yet, and neither has the audience for that matter - it's about time we saw Superman in action - and what better way to do that than to dangle a helicopter from a tall building and drop Lois out of it? This makes for one of the most extravagant and memorable scenes from the whole film, and also allows for one of the cutest meetings between two characters ever - you know how it goes:-
"Easy miss, I've got you."
"You've got me...who's got you??"
And I defy anyone not to leap out of their seat and cheer when Supes' catches the falling helicopter!

This is just the first in a long line of top-flight adventures, ranging from catching petty crooks and retrieving tree-bound pussycats, to rescuing stricken jetliners and ultimately saving the world. To save the world though you need a bad guy, which is where Gene Hackman steps in as criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, not-so-ably assisted by his bumbling sidekick, Otis (Ned Beatty). His diabolical plot to fracture the San Andreas fault with a nuclear weapon, sending California and most of the West Coast plunging into the sea, will test Superman to the limits, not to mention the already over-worked special effects crew.
Will Supes' save the day? Will Clarke find true love? Will Lois discover his alter ego? You already know the answers to these questions but the real fun comes from watching this epic tale unfold, and from seeing this truly first-rate cast deliver indelible performances that really fuel the films aura of legend.

Although Marlon Brando gets top-billing (and a record $3.7million fee), his performance, although solid, is probably the most unremarkable of the lot, but the mere appearance of his name on the posters gave the film an instant credibility that would ensure it pulled in the punters on it's release.
Gene Hackman also adds some weight to the proceedings and his portrayal of dastardly Lex Luthor is terrific - twisted, dispicable and yet at the same time, hysterically funny, the comic interaction between him and Ned Beatty's hopeless apprentice is a constant delight. Completing this terrible trio is Valerie Perrine as Luthor's glamorous girlfriend Miss Teschmacher who, as well as being gorgeous to look at, is also perfectly cast and very funny.
Prior to this, Hackman had never delved into comedic territory before but here he displays an impeccable comic timing that belies his theatrical beginnings (his constantly-changing hairpieces are priceless!), but it's the dry, matter-of-fact way that he describes his awful plans that provide the most laughs. When asked (by Superman):-
"Is this how you get your kicks, by planning the deaths of innocent people?"
His blunt reply is:-
"No, by causing the deaths of innocent people!"

Margot Kidder is also superb - cute, funny, and adorable - watch her demeanor change from cocky, self assured go-getter in the presence of Clarke, into giggly, duey-eyed schoolgirl at the sight of The Caped One.
The rest of the cast, too many to mention at length here, also deliver sterling performances - Susannah York as Kal-El's Kryptonian mother, Glenn Ford, Terence Stamp, Trevor Howard, Jackie Cooper as the Daily Planet's chief editor - Perry White, Marc Mclure as Jimmy Olsen - the list goes on and on, without a single weak link among them.
But let's face it, this entire movie stands or falls on the performance of the title character, and in the hands of Christopher Reeve, Superman soars. As both the clumsy, mild-mannered Clarke Kent and the indestructable Man Of Steel, Reeve is wonderful, just wonderful. Think about it, the man has to wear skin-tight lycra, a big red cape and bright red boots while delivering lines like:-
"I stand for truth, justice and the American way!" and " I never drink when I fly!" - without inducing huge fits of laughter from the audience. The fact that he pulls it off so convincingly is remarkable
Just watch the scene where Lex introduces Supes' to the deadly (for him) Kryptonite - Reeve, with his underpants on the outside and those bright red boots, has to act genuinely terrified of a piece of green rock, while Hackman cracks jokes and gleefully eats up the scenery opposite him - and yet the scene works brilliantly, Reeve's commitment to the potentially ridiculous role is extraordinary, and as a result, 100% convincing.

With this DVD, the entertainment doesn't stop when the end credits roll, the superb extras on this disc make for another couple of hours of quality viewing. There are, of course, the obligatory trailers, TV spots and biographies but there's also some more deleted scenes (in addition to those already incorporated into the film), some original screen tests for the role of Lois Lane featuring the likes of Anne Archer, Lesley Ann Warren and Stockard Channing and a selection of alternative music cues from John Williams, easily the finest film composer working today.
There's also a full-length commentary from director Richard Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz, which is both fascinating and very entertaining with the thoughtful touch of having Donner's booming voice coming from the left speaker while Mankiewicz' voice comes from the right speaker, with the film's soundtrack still audible in the centre.
The best features though are the three documentaries, all brand new and each one about 30 minutes long, far more substantial than the usual extended trailers that comprise most 'making of...' featurettes. The first - 'Taking Flight' - charts the development of Superman and how the movie came about, and is full of interesting facts that, until now, had remained very hush-hush. For example, did you know that, although credited to Richard Lester, two thirds of what would become Superman 2, was actually shot by Richard Donner, simultaneously alongside Superman 1? No, neither did I.
The second feature focuses more on the actual filming of Superman, the casting, the locations and the on-set trials and tribulations that plagued this enormous production.
Thirdly, we have a documentary that concentrates on the filming techniques used to make Superman fly, as well as various other special effects. Unlike many modern-day FX featurettes, this one doesn't primarily involve some geek sat at a computer, and is a fascinating look at how things were done in 'The Old Days'.
All features include on-set footage from the original shoot and brand new interviews from all the major players, including the heartbreaking sight of Reeve, wheezing away in his wheelchair about the dream of flight that resides in all of us.
Richard Donner sums it up beautifully when he says:-
"23 years ago this kid convinced me he could fly. He's also convinced me that he will walk again..."
Let's hope he's right.
Moving, respectful and a fitting tribute to a real hero that we can all believe in.

Superman is sheer movie magic, an essential part of American mythology, and now, with this superb DVD, finally given the respect it deserves.
You owe it to yourself to own this disc...Buy it, buy it now!

 

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