Superman (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Superman |
| Original title | Superman |
 | |
| Country of production | USA , UK |
| Publishing year | 1978 |
| length | 137 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Richard Donner |
| script |
Mario Puzo , David Newman , Leslie Newman , Robert Benton |
| production |
Alexander Salkind , Pierre Spengler |
| music | John Williams |
| camera | Geoffrey Unsworth |
| cut |
Stuart Baird , Michael Ellis |
| occupation | |
| |
| chronology | |
|
Successor → |
|
Superman (alternative title: Superman - The Film ) is a science fiction film from 1978 and at the same time the first part of the successful comic book adaptations about the story of the comic hero Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster .
action
The planet Krypton is in a dramatic crisis. His council of elders condemns three prominent insurgents and banishes them to the phantom zone. The Council of Elders does not take seriously the scientist Jor-El's warning of an impending catastrophe. Jor-El predicted that the planet would go off course and be destroyed in the explosion of the sun. He and his wife are denied leaving the planet. Jor-El accepts this decision, but saves his newborn son Kal-El by sending him into space on a space probe - seconds before Krypton is captured by a supernova and wiped out.
After a three-year journey through the planetary system, Kal-El's probe hits Earth. The farmer couple Jonathan and Martha Kent find him in Kansas and raise him under the name Clark (Martha's maiden name) on their farm in Smallville, where he has to hide his superpowers from everyone.
Years later, after Jonathan's death, Clark finds the remains of his space probe under the barn and a green crystal inside. He goes to the far north, where he throws the crystal into the ice. A gigantic building grows out of the ice. In this fortress of solitude , Clark learns of his origins from his father's stored memories and with his help begins to train his powers. 12 years later, Clark, now a young man, moves to nearby Metropolis . There the introverted-shy Clark, whose special powers are already becoming clear, works as a reporter at the Daily Planet with his hectic-extroverted colleague Lois Lane and falls in love with her. At the same time, as Superman, he begins to do good and fight crime.
Meanwhile, the felon Lex Luthor is planning to trigger an artificial earthquake in the St. Andrews Fissure. He wants to create a kind of New California and multiply the value of his previously cheap land. Knowing that Superman can stop him, he lures him into a trap. Under a pretext, Luthor lures Superman into his hiding place below the city. With the help of the debilitating effect of kryptonite , which he had previously stolen from a museum in Addis Ababa , he keeps Superman in check and diverts two nuclear missiles that he had previously reprogrammed . Both are supposed to hit the other end of the country so that Superman can't stop both of them if the worst comes to the worst.
When Luther's assistant Eve Teschmacher learns that one of the rockets is supposed to hit Hackensack (New Jersey) , her mother's place of residence, she helps Superman escape - on condition that he rescues her mother. Superman deflects the Hackensack rocket and sees in space that the other rocket hits California and explodes, activating the St. Andrews Fissure. It can mitigate the effects of the earthquake that is beginning: it stabilizes the San Andreas Fault, repairs the already damaged Golden Gate Bridge and stops the water from the broken Hoover Dam . However, he no longer manages to save the life of Lois Lane, who is killed in a landslide after her car broke down due to lack of gas. In order to correct this, he takes a step back in time, contrary to his instructions, by flying around the earth at high speed. A few seconds before the landslide he can reach Lois and save her from death.
Finally, Superman drops Lex Luthor and his assistant in the state prison with his own hands and flies away smiling.
background
- Arnold Schwarzenegger , Paul Newman , Robert Redford and Patrick Wayne were also considered for the role of Superman .
- Marlon Brando received an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's highest paid supporting actor for his portrayal of Jor-El .
- Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill , the first film cast members of Superman and Lois Lane, guest roles as parents of Lois Lane in the film. The man Lois and Clark meet at the door of the Daily Planet is film critic Rex Reed in a cameo .
- The film had its premiere on December 10, 1978 in the United States. On January 26, 1979, Superman also started in German cinemas.
- Superman begins with a five-minute title sequence , in which only text overlay by the cast and crew, accompanied by John Williams' film music, is presented.
- Superman was not only filmed at the same time as most of the sequel Superman II - Alone Against All , but was also conceived as a so-called amphibious film with various cinema and TV versions before shooting began . This means that much more material was shot than in the 137-minute theatrical version or in the 145-minute Director's Cut. There are TV versions that are up to 180 minutes long and are often shown on two evenings in a row, but have not yet been dubbed in German in this long version. The long TV version has now been released on Blu-ray in the USA.
Locations
The film was shot in Canada , the United States and the United Kingdom .
The scene in which young Clark Kent overtakes a train was filmed in Barons, Alberta . The football scene was also filmed there. The Kents farm is located in Blackie, Alberta. In Kananaskis County, Alberta, scenes were filmed at the missile base. A cemetery scene is being filmed in Drumheller , Alberta.
New York was used as the location for several parts of the film. A car chase and car accident occurred at the Fulton Fish Market. In another scene he comes flying over and saves a cat from a tree and gives it back to a girl. At the Solow Building , Superman caught a burglar climbing up the outside facade. The Daily News Building also served as a filming location. Part of the film was also shot during the New York power outage on July 13 and 14, 1977, when looting, fires and mass arrests led to riots in the city.
The scenes were filmed in the "Fortress of Solitude" in Icefields, British Columbia .
In the Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire and Shepperton Studios in Shepperton interior shots were filmed various buildings, such as the "Fortress of Solitude".
Other locations are Gallup in New Mexico , the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco , Grand Central Station in New York City , the High River in Alberta , the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles , the Hoover Dam in Arizona / Nevada , Wall Street in New York and Red Rock State Park in New Mexico.
Soundtrack
-
Can You Read My Mind by Margot Kidder
- Music: John Williams
- Text: Leslie Bricusse
-
Give a Little Bit from Supertramp
- Music and lyrics: Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson
-
Only You by The Platters
- Music and lyrics: Buck Ram
-
Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets
- Music and lyrics: Max Freedman and James E. Myers
reception
The film's budget of $ 55 million is offset by global revenues of around $ 300 million.
Superman scored a 93% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 61 reviews. Metacritic determined a Metascore of 86 based on 11 reviews.
“With a wink of humor and innovative trick technology at the time. Conclusion: Naive classic with timeless humor. "
“Stylistically inconsistent film that misses the chance of a cinematic comic because it cannot choose between mystification, irony and tricky action. Nevertheless, amusing entertainment over large parts, which impresses in some scenes with its optical precision. "
synchronization
In 2004, a new dubbing was recorded for the film in order to enable a 5.1 surround sound soundtrack in Germany as well. Mostly new speakers were used. The new synchronization is only used for the Director's Cut .
| role | actor | Voice actor (1978) | Voice actor (2004) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark Kent / Superman | Christopher Reeve | Hans-Jürgen Dittberner | Hans-Jürgen Dittberner |
| Jor El | Marlon Brando | Rolf Schult | K. Dieter Klebsch |
| Lex Luthor | Gene Hackman | Michael Chevalier | Engelbert von Nordhausen |
| Lois Lane | Margot Kidder | Alexandra Lange | Andrea Aust |
| Eve Teschmacher | Valerie Perrine | Ilse Pagé | Christin Marquitan |
| Perry White | Jackie Cooper | Heinz Theo branding | Hans-Werner Bussinger |
| Jimmy Olsen | Marc McClure | Michael Nowka | Marius Clarén |
| Jonathan Kent | Glenn Ford | Heinz Petruo | Gerhard Paul |
| young Clark Kent | Jeff East | Hans-Jürgen Dittberner | Matthias Hinze |
Awards
At the 1979 Academy Awards , Superman received the Special Achievement Award for visual effects. In addition, the film was nominated for a regular Oscar in the categories of best film music , best sound and best film editing .
John Williams ' score was nominated for a Golden Globe .
Christopher Reeve received the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer in a Leading Role . The film was also nominated for Best Camera, Production Design, Sound and Gene Hackman for Best Supporting Actor.
John Williams received two Grammys for his score and was nominated for another.
In 1979 , Superman received the Saturn Award for best science fiction film . In addition, the film was honored for the best music , the best equipment , the best special effects and Margot Kidder for the best actress . With five awards, Superman was the most successful film of the year.
In 2017 she was accepted into the National Film Registry .
Sequels
1980 followed with Superman II - Alone Against All, the immediate sequel. This was followed in 1983 and 1987 by the films Superman III - The Steel Lightning and Superman IV - The World on the Edge .
In 2006, Superman Returns was an indirect sequel to Superman II - Alone Against All . Despite the completely new cast and crew, the film is based strongly on the style of the older films. Furthermore, John Williams' original film music was picked up and archive material with Marlon Brando was used.
The 2013 film Man of Steel and its successors have nothing to do with the previous five parts.
Extended version
In 2002 a director's cut was made of Superman . This version is about 8 minutes longer and extends the film with many smaller scenes. Despite the new version, the theatrical version continued to be released on all new digital media, often together with the director's cut. While the Director's Cut is distributed in the new synchronization, the theatrical version still has the classic soundtrack.
literature
- David Michael Petrou: That's how Superman the movie came about. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag , Munich 1979, ISBN 3-453-01035-3 .
Web links
- Superman in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Superman at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Superman at Metacritic (English)
- Superman in the online movie database
- 1. Synchro (cinema) in the German dubbing index
- 2. Synchro (Director's Cut (2004)) in the German dubbing index
- Gallery with film images on www.cinema.de accessed on March 20, 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ Superman: Filming Locations. (No longer available online.) Supermans.de, archived from the original on April 24, 2016 ; Retrieved April 24, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ New York location : The Twin Towers as a backdrop. Spiegel Online , accessed April 24, 2016 .
- ↑ Superman. In: boxofficemojo.com. Amazon.com , accessed April 23, 2016 .
- ↑ Superman at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- ↑ Superman at Metacritic (English)
- ↑ Superman. Cinema , accessed December 18, 2015 .
- ↑ Superman. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 18, 2015 .
- ↑ Superman. German synchronous index , accessed on March 16, 2015 .
- ↑ Superman - Director's Cut. German synchronous index , accessed on March 16, 2015 .
- ↑ Schnittberichte.com - Superman - Schnittbericht - accessed on March 16, 2015
