A hauntingly atmospheric creation by artist Owain Wilson from his flickr album – see it and more classic movies given the avant garde treatment here –
“For my Superman design, I figured simple, elegant and classy was the way to go, much like the original 1978 poster and the film itself. I looked for a profile shot of Marlon Brando and found this painting by an artist whose name I couldn’t make out (Kris Meadows) It was part of a bigger composition so I took this part out and got to work. The thing I’m most proud of in this poster is Superman’s flight streak. I can’t believe I figured out how to do it..!”
While its legacy remains unquestioned, It may come as a surprise just how many awards Richard Donner’s Superman earned back in the day – A record yet to be surpassed by any other film of the genre?
From Wikipedia;
Superman was nominated for three Academy Awards (Editing, Music (Original Score) and Sound), and received a Special Achievement Award for its visual effects. Richard Donner publicly expressed disgust that Production designer John Barry and cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth had not been recognised. Superman was successful at the 32nd British Academy Film Awards. Reeve won Best Newcomer, while Hackman, Unsworth, Barry and the sound designers earned nominations. The film won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. At The Saturn Awards Kidder, Barry, John Williams and the visual effects department received awards, and the film won Best Science Fiction Film. Reeve, Hackman, Donner, Valerie Perrine and costume designer Yvonne Blake were nominated for their work as well. In addition, Williams was given a nomination at the 36th Golden Globe Awards and won a Grammy Award. In 2007, the Visual Effects Society Superman as the 44th most influential use of visual effects of all time. In 2008, the film also received recognition from the American Film Institute. Superman was selected as the 26th greatest movie hero of all time. The film was considered for AFI’s 100 Years..100 Cheers, but didn’t make it past the ballot. In 2009, Entertainment Weekly ranked Superman 3rd on their list of The All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture. Listed named it the #174 greatest movie all-time on its list of 500.
From the top; Variety trade ad for the BAFTA’s, two rare stills of Christopher Reeve and Gae Exton at the award ceremony (Gae’s card reads; ‘Awarded to Christopher Reeve’) and a short interview with FX guru Colin Chilvers…
Only a few more instalments before the conclusion of this rare set –
However the serialisation will continue with another vintage BRAVO collectors treasure – an oversize painted poster of Christopher Reeve’s Superman in 24 parts to assemble!! Look out for Part I in the coming weeks…
Despite being over thirty years old Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie offers something new on every watch –
Eagle eyed SuperFan Paul Hernandez has gone one better, however and found the ultimate of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it revelations – the death of Jor-El. Quite how this has evaded detection until now is anybody’s guess but the movie delivers surprises to this day…
Early concepts of either the Krypton landscape or the Fortress of Solitude under the rays of the Red Sun.
Above, a detailed rendering of Earth’s Moon from a large set of Dovemead Ltd. Art Dept. Production ephemera acquired from the Propstore of London, these transparencies chart the evolution of John Barry’s world of Crystalline as portrayed in the finished picture…
