An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
- Director
- Writers
- Jerry Siegel(character created by: Superman)
- Joe Shuster(character created by: Superman)
- Mario Puzo(story)
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- Jerry Siegel(character created by: Superman)
- Joe Shuster(character created by: Superman)
- Mario Puzo(story)
- Stars
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 17 wins & 23 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- Jerry Siegel(character created by: Superman)
- Joe Shuster(character created by: Superman)
- Mario Puzo(story) (screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTo obtain the musculature to convincingly play Superman, Christopher Reeve underwent a bodybuilding regime supervised by David Prowse, the man who played Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
- Goofs(at around 44 mins) When Jor-El introduces himself in the Fortress of Solitude, he explains that by this time, he will have been dead for thousands of Earth years. Yet during his teaching during Kal's journey to Earth from Krypton (at around 21 mins), Jor-El refers to Einstein's theory of relativity, which wasn't formulated until long after the destruction of Krypton.
- Quotes
Lex Luthor: Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.
- Crazy creditsNext Year: "Superman II"
- Alternate versionsThe current DVD, in addition to containing the 2000 restored director's cut, has 2 deleted scenes (both of Lex' babies, and seen in the TV edits in their original context), and alternate audio scoring for 8 sequences (including an unreleased alternate pop version of Margot Kidder's "Can You Read My Mind"). The DVD has the 2000 restoration with the following additions / expansions (all of which were seen in previous expanded television versions):
- Some added dialogue when Jor-El is talking with the council.
- The council calls an "Executioner" to hunt and kill Jor-El to keep the rocket from launching.
- Noel Neill and Kirk Alyn's speaking cameos on the train.
- Little girl sees Clark running faster than train, parents call her Lois Lane.
- In the kitchen Martha Kent takes out a box of Cheerios.
- After rescuing Air Force One Superman returns to Fortress of Solitude and has a conversation with his father.
- In Metropolis when the news of Superman comes out, Clark is a spectator. A stranger (played by an uncredited Richard Donner) comments "that'll be the day when a man can fly"; Clark grins.
- While trying to get Luthor's lair Superman goes through machine guns, flame throwers, ice machines with Luthor taunting on loudspeaker.
- The sequence with the Girl Scouts.
- ConnectionsEdited into Superman II (1980)
Featured review
One of the all time great super-hero movies
Superman may be corny and cheesy to some people, but for those who grew up with it it is as original and as exciting as it was 30+ years ago. The spectacle of the film is terrific, the cinematography is wonderful and the special effects are dazzling. In terms of effective scenes, the scenes with Clark and Lois are cute and don't take up too much of the film or harm it in any way, while the confrontation between him and Lex Luthor is suitably bright and breezy and the opening is wonderfully elegiac. The score's main theme is iconic and just superb, John Williams has done some wonderful scores before, this score is no exception. The direction is innovative and the script is sophisticated enough. I also much enjoyed the acting. Christopher Reeve is perfectly cast as Clark/Superman while Gene Hackman is superb as the calculating yet comic Lex Luthor. Overall, just terrific fun! 10/10 Bethany Cox
helpful•373
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jun 1, 2010
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Superman: The Movie
- Filming locations
- Range Road 264, Blackie, Calgary, Alberta, Canada(The Kent's farm, coordinates: 50.675111, -113.558333)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $55,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $134,478,449
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,465,343
- Dec 17, 1978
- Gross worldwide
- $300,478,449
- Runtime2 hours 23 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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