Superman

"You'll believe a man can fly."

1978 2h 24m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 4,455

Science FictionActionAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Mild-mannered Clark Kent works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane. Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor launches a plan to take over the world.

“You'll believe a man can fly.”

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Cast

Christopher Reeve
Superman / Clark Kent
Margot Kidder
Lois Lane
Gene Hackman
Lex Luthor
Marlon Brando
Jor-El
Ned Beatty
Otis
Jackie Cooper
Perry White
Glenn Ford
Pa Kent
Trevor Howard
1st Elder

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Donner
Writers: Leslie Newman, Robert Benton, Mario Puzo
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $55M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

48 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Superman Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

342+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Donner, shot by Geoffrey Unsworth. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Donner directs. Geoffrey Unsworth behind the camera. John Williams scores. Michael Ellis cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $55M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.
348 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Part of the "Superman Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6342+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by Richard Donner, shot by Geoffrey Unsworth. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Michael Ellis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "You'll believe a man can fly.".
12IMDB entry: tt0078346 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 20 themes, including "galaxy", "journalist", "saving the world", "secret identity".
14Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth
Original score: John Williams
Editing: Michael Ellis
Production design: John Barry
Costume design: Yvonne Blake
Makeup / hair: Pat McDermott
VFX supervisor: Roy Field
Sound: Gordon K. McCallum
Stunt coordinator: Vic Armstrong
Runtime: 144 min · 2h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $55,000,000
Box office: $300,478,449
Return: 546% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Superman (1978)

Awards

Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film
Saturn Award for Best Set Decoration

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Superman Collection

DC Comics' Superman franchise, based on the character of the same name created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in June 1938, has seen the release of various films since its inception.

Also by

Richard Donner

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-04-13
★ 9/10
Man of Steel - Film Full of Love The planet Krypton is doomed, all life there is soon to be over. Jor-El, knowing that the planet Earth has the same atmosphere, rockets his baby son there post haste. On Earth, the infant grows up to find that he has super human powers that must be hidden from the ordinary Earthlings, he hides away as mild mannered reporter Clark Kent and transforms into Superman whenever evil and wrong doing needs taking care of. I would think most people have either seen Superman:The Movie, or at the least heard everything about it. It's one of those films that sticks out in cinema history as a defining point, and some like me would say a high point as well. I recently revisited the film for the first time in about 5 years and had such a wonderful time with it, the moment John Williams exhilarating score kicks in a get goosebumps and start to believe a man can really can fly. The expectation level on release of the film in 1978 was enormous, one can not understate the hugely iconic love that the DC Comic character of Superman had. A worldwide search for the right actor to don the red and blue cape was underway, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Ryan O'Neal, Nick Nolte and Charles Bronson were all at times linked with the hot role, whilst James Caan and Robert Redford are confirmed to have passed after being offered the job. All of those great names now seem remarkably stupid choices, and that is purely down to the man that did take on the gargantuan role that was bursting at the seams with expectation. That Superman:The Movie worked (and still does with each passing decade) is down to the wonderful efforts of Christopher Reeve. Reeve positively nailed both sides of the character, making it his own, he is all muscles and square jaw in the cape and then showing wonderful comic ability as the bumblingly frustrating Clark Kent. Sure the supporting cast all contribute grandly, but Reeve carries the picture and lifts it to triumphant heights. Gene Hackman has the time of his life camping it up as super villain Lex Luthor, Ned Beatty & Valerie Perrine flesh out Luthor's cohorts with comedy and sexiness respectively, whilst Margot Kidder is a pure joy as core character of the piece, Lois Lane. Asked to play a love interest but a fiercely strong woman at the same time, Kidder breezes through it and radiates a beauty that couples nicely with Reeve's broadness. Marlon Brando was paid $4 Million for what is little more than a prologue walk on part, but the big name he brought to the party ensured the paying customer went through the doors in droves, but on leaving the cinema it was Reeve's name that most were talking about. Full of outlandish sequences and cheeky comic book ideals, Superman is lasting the test of time as an endearing classic of the genre, it may have been surpassed by quite a few of the more modern exploits by Spiders and Bats, but it was once the Daddy of them all. From x-ray eyes to catching bullets, to pushing nuclear missiles into space and wooing Lois in the sky, Superman:The Movie is a special treat, and oh how I love you so. 9/10 Christopher Reeve RIP.
Wuchak2021-05-11
★ 10/10
"Miss Teschmacher!" I didn't catch "Superman" (1978) until over 25 years after its release. It's a great superhero flick with a lot of wit, well worthy of its reputation. Although a couple of things are understandably dated, like the flying sequences and Clark Kent's glasses (which are so BAD they're laughable), the movie definitely stands the test of time despite being shot in 1977. "Superman" may be a comic-booky superhero flick, but it's also a powerful piece of SCI-FI cinema. The outstanding Krypton sequences of the first half hour confirm this. These scenes are highlighted by the magnificence of Marlon Brando playing Superman's father Jor-El. So, if you're a serious Sci-Fi fan, don't skip "Superman" just because you assume it's some mere superhero flick. No, it's more, much more. The screenplay seems to have been written with little concern of cost so many are the great F/X sequences. Speaking of Brando, you can't beat the cast, starting with newbie Christopher Reeve knocking it out of the ballpark in the starring role. I'd like to point something out that is hardly ever mentioned: Lex Luthor's girlfriend, Miss Teschmacher, played by Valerie Perrine, is jaw-droppingly voluptuous! Watch out for the pool scene where Ms. Perrine is wearing a green one-piece bathing suit. The film is a little long at 2 hours, 23 minutes, but it doesn't overstay its welcome. GRADE: A
Almando2022-12-27
★ 10/10
This movie will stand to the End of Time. This film is an absolute Masterpiece. The Writers & Director knew what they were doing. Christopher Reeve is a Powerhouse. He portrayed this Character So Well! He played Clark Kent & Superman as 2 Different Characters while being the Same Person. Margot Kidder was Fantastic as Lois Lane. Gene Hackman and Valerie Perrine were Great as Lex Luthor & Eve Teschmacher. The Entire Cast was Phenomenal. This Film will always get a 10/10.