Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman (TV 2006)

The history of the comic book superhero, Superman in his various media incarnations.

Director:

Kevin Burns

Writers:

James Grant Goldin, Steven Smith

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Gerard Jones, Forrest J Ackerman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Spacey	...	Narrator (voice)
Gerard Jones	...	Himself - Author and Historian
Forrest J Ackerman	...	Himself - Imagimovie Expert
Elliot S. Maggin	...	Himself - Comic Book Writer (as Elliot S! Maggin)
Mark Hamill	...	Himself
Mark Waid	...	Himself - Comic Book Writer and Historian
Gene Simmons	...	Himself - Musician and Comic Book Fan
Stan Lee	...	Himself - Comic Book Legend
Stephen Fishler	...	Himself - Comic Book Dealer
Chuck McCann	...	Himself
Philip Hecht	...	Himself - Superman Collector
Gail Simone	...	Herself - Comic Book Writer
Paul Levitz	...	Himself - President and Publisher, DC Comics
Noel Neill	...	Herself
Gary H. Grossman	...	Himself - Author and Historian

Storyline

In 1938, two aspiring comic strip talents, Jerry Siegal and Joe Shuster, published a character that would create a new genre of fantasy, Superman, the first superhero. This film explores the creation of the character and his subsequent evolution over the decades through various media. With various interviews of noted creative luminaries, the film shows how the character has adapted to the times and bounced back from times when he felt irrelevant to always regain his prominence as one of the great heroes of popular culture.

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Plot Keywords:

superman | superhero | comic book | television | dc comics | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 June 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Katso taivaalle - Teräsmiehen uskomaton tarina

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Hat Harry Productions, Prometheus Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 115 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Dean Cain: I think at the end of the day everyone, they really wanna go on dates with Batman, but they want to live with Superman.

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Crazy Credits

Bloopers from various Supeman productions, including a rare blooper from Marlon Brando, play during the closing credits.

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Connections

References Supergirl (1984)

User Reviews

An appreciative and thorough examination

Documentaries detailing the histories of superheroes, particularly Superman or Batman pop up every few years examining the character, its impact on pop culture and the paths of comic books as a genre. This title doesn't really break a ton of new ground in that way but it does perform a well-crafted update of this chapter in Superman's story culminating with the 2006 release of Bryan Singer's excellent "Superman Returns".

Featuring interviews with the comic book's writers, artists and editors as well as some famous fans, we get some good insight into what makes Superman compelling. Lots of attention is given to the film productions featuring of course touching pieces on the late Christopher Reeve and his doomed 50's TV counterpart, George Reeves. Personal note: I thought it was especially nice that both Noel Neill and Jack Larson (Tv's Lois and Jimmy) were interviewed side by side as I have become accustomed to seeing them. (Singer also used both actors in "Superman Returns". Way to go, Bry.) Aside from the film productions, changes in the comic book and the attempts at radio and of course the classic TV versions including Smallville are covered featuring interviews with virtually every living contributor they could track down including the elusive Jackie Cooper, Ilya Salkind, Richard Donner, Margot Kidder and of course, Neill and Larson. Other perspectives are given by comic book smartypants Mark Waid, Tongue jockey Gene Simmons, Luke Skywalker, Sci-fi grandfather Forrest Ackerman and Superman's current golden girl Annette O'Toole. The entire thing is ably narrated by a virtual unknown named Kevin Spacey who gets to refer to himself in the third person right towards the end.

This is a lot of good stuff. It's a rather in-depth retrospective on the iconic superhero and for my money the producers did an excellent job.