THE HISTORY OF DC COMICS ON FILM

PART 3 – SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978)

 

For the third look at the complete history of DC Comics on film, we come to a film that is unquestionably one of the most significant on the list. This film, which is now an almost unbelievable 40 years old, was the most expensive film ever made at the time of it’s release, costing a then-astronomical $55 million dollars. Following its eventual release in December 1978, it brought in $300 million dollars, making it a smash hit. It was nominated for three Academy Awards (Editing, Music and Sound) and received a Special Achievement Academy Award for its groundbreaking visual effects. In a landscape that was completely devoid of comic book-based movie properties, the fact that this film was such a critical and commercial hit makes those achievements even more astounding. Last year it received the ultimate honour of being inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, preserved for future generations to truly believe a man can fly……..

Plot

Escaping the destruction of his home planet Krypton via a craft despatched by his scientist father, Jor-El, the infant Kal-El crash lands on Earth in Smallville, Kansas, where he is found and subsequently raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent. Giving him the human name of Clark, the boy grows to develop god-like powers, as his Kryptonian DNA reacts to Earth’s yellow sun, giving him these gifts. Following Jonathan’s demise, the teenage Clark feels a calling to the Arctic, as the crystal in his craft urges him on. Once there, it builds the Fortress of Solitude, where Jor-El’s conciousness acts as his guide and mentor for the next 12 years. Clark then travels to Metropolis, where he takes a job as a reporter for The Daily Planet, where he quickly forms a romantic attachment to Lois Lane, the star reporter. After revealing his true nature and abilities to the world during a dramatic airborne rescue of Lois from a helicopter accident, Clark is dubbed “Superman”, known the world over.

Criminal genius Lex Luthor has been covertly purchasing huge amounts of worthless desert land, with his plan being to blow up the West Coast of America using a reprogrammed nuclear missile, leaving his land as the new West Coast, making him rich beyond his wildest dreams. Luring Superman into a Kryptonite trap, the missiles launch. Can Superman escape and save the country, and more importantly, the woman he loves?……..

Genesis

The trials and tribulations that the producers went through over the course of several years are far too many and varied to list for the purpose of this article, but we will briefly try to summarise the most key points in the saga of getting the film to the shooting stage.

The journey starts in 1974, when the Salkind family purchase the film rights for Superman from DC Comics. Amongst the list of potential names to play the title character at this point were Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood and Muhammad Ali!! Other A-list names such as Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford and Paul Newman all distanced themselves from the role. Finding a director and screenwriter was also proving to be not the easiest of tasks either, as names such as Steven Spielberg, Guy Hamilton, George Lucas and Sam Peckinpah were all courted to direct to no avail. Various scripts came and went before the legendary Mario Puzo, writer of The Godfather, was contracted to write a script for a huge fee of $600k. He certainly delivered value for money, in the form of a gargantuan 550 page script, which was to be used as the basis for making Superman and Superman 2 back to back. If I remember correctly from my college screenwriting class, one page of script should equate to one minute of screen time, so a 550 page script, even for two movies, would have been way, way too much! The only way to fix this debacle would be to settle on a committed, firm handed director and also to heavily trim down the script.

Richard Donner, director extraordinare best known for his subsequent work on the Lethal Weapon films and The Goonies, was approached by the producers after they had watched his work on the horror classic, The Omen. Donner agreed to sign to direct both Superman and Superman 2 concurrently for a fee of $1 million dollars. Donner threw out Puzo’s overblown script and brought in his close friend Tom Mankiewicz, who all Bond fans out there should be familiar with from his work on Roger Moore-era screenplays, to overhaul it. Although he could not be given direct credit for the new script, he was officially listed as “creative consultant” in the credits. So, now the film’s producers had a director signed on for the marathon 19 month shoot, and a red hot script, they had to now get the crucial casting correct.

Cast and Performances

To say that Christopher Reeve embodies the Man of Steel perfectly in this film is a huge understatement. Every aspect of his performance is pitch perfect, and in my opinion, will mostly likely never be bettered. The producers ultimately decided to cast an unknown in the key role, and Reeve stood out amongst many hopefuls, but was only given the role on the condition that he massively bulked up to attain the Superman physique. He clearly did because by the time filming started, his body weight was at 212 pounds of muscle. Incidentally, his trainer during this process was Darth Vader himself, David Prowse! Reeve’s portrayal is still considered to be the definitive cinematic representation of Superman, to this day. The way in which he separates Clark Kent and Superman into two very different characters is genius acting. As Superman, he walks tall and proud, ultra confident and heroic. When portraying the Clark persona, he stoops to look physically shorter, stammers when speaking and frequently is the victim of a clumsy mishap. It is a clear separation of the characters, unlike more recent portrayals that have barely seen a difference between the two, save for a pair of glasses.

The recently departed Margot Kidder is also considered to be the best Lois Lane to date. It’s hard to make a case against that, as her performance is pitched just right for the character. She has just the right combination of steel, vulnerability and humour. Believable as a tenacious journalist, the difference in her interactions with Clark and Superman are beautifully done. Whilst obviously having affection for Clark, she barely looks at him when they converse, which is a stark contrast with her interactions with Superman, where she endless gazes into his eyes, in awe of him. Their flying scene high above the clouds, whilst suffering from a slightly cringe worthy voice over, is a lovely scene, beautifully underpinned by John Williams’ iconic score.

The two A-List actors in the cast, Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando, both deliver iconic performances. Paid considerably more than Reeve ($2 million for Hackman, $3.7 million plus a cut of the profits for Brando. Reeve was paid just $250k), both of them certainly leave their mark on the film. Hackman is humorous, evil, egotistical and sarcastic, all the elements that one expects from Lex Luthor. Criticised in some quarters for being slightly camp with his portrayal, I think he gets it right for the tone of the film, and he certainly is magnetic onscreen. Brando’s Jor-El is an amazing performance, which is remarkable considering he did not learn his lines and read his dialogue from cue cards positioned off camera. Dominating the opening section of the film, he exudes authority as the scientific genius that sends Zod and co to their fate in The Phantom Zone, which contrasts with his deep sorrow at having to send his infant son off the planet, albeit to save to his life. As a father myself, the monologue he delivers to Kal-El never fails to choke me up. It is a wonderfully delivered speech by a master craftsman.

You will travel far, my little Kal-El. But we will never leave you… even in the face of our death. The richness of our lives shall be yours. All that I have, all that I’ve learned, everything I feel… all this, and more, I… I bequeath you, my son. You will carry me inside you, all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, and see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father the son. This is all I… all I can send you, Kal-El.

Director Richard Donner had a key word when making the film, “verisimilitude”, which means the resemblance of reality, or the property of seeming true. This is exactly how he wanted to see the film portray the characters and the world around them. Despite the high concept of a super-powered alien being living on Earth, everything is totally grounded in reality. Even with the elements of humour in the film, it is played straight, with realistic dialogue and a real world setting, rather than a high camp, heightened reality setting favoured by other comic book films that were to come later. To me, that is the film’s lasting legacy above anything else, as it showed that awe-inspiring special effects could combine with a grounded tone to give audiences a believable superhero cinematic experience. The film remains this writer’s favourite comic book movie of all time, giving me the same sense of wonder now as it did during my childhood. 40 years after it’s initial release, it still delivers on all levels, remaining the measuring stick for all that is yet to come……

 

In the next History of DC Comics on Film……Superman II…