From the Comic Reader to the Comics Journal, SUPERMANIA continues its retrospective on vintage reviews of Superman: The Movie through the eyes of comic-book purists.
And Dwight R. Decker’s essay (Part one of which presented above) is arguably a definitive review, or at least the most exhaustive. Found beneath a splendid cover by Joe Staton (showing Superman through various incarnations through the ages) Decker’s words are nicely arranged alongside stills from he movie and random art from the likes of Fred Hembeck.
Surmising early on that the movie is “An erratic collection of disparate scenes that individually range from the utterly splendid to despicably camp” its enjoyable to share the early anticipation/dread of the prospect of a rehash of the Batman TV legacy (or indeed the Broadway show ‘Its a bird, its a plane, Its Superman..!’).
Indeed, one finds themselves empathising with many of the points Decker raises about the Krypton scenes in regard to production design. For all its frigid glory as represented onscreen its easy to forget what made the demise of Krypton so tragic was its flourishing and youthful culture as depicted in comics by the art of Wayne Boring et,al.
To be concluded in Part 2 coming soon..!
Enjoy this scarce piece from vintage magazine The Hollywood Reporter Interviewing Superman Producer Ilya Salkind –
Candid but guarded (as if his career/future depended on it) The young producer represented here is laconic and thoughtful in marked contrast to the maniacally entertaining older man seen in the many interviews shot for DVD.
With four years already invested in the project and a budget spiralling out of control, Salkind still manages to remain confident his movie will be a colossal hit whilst acknowledging the talents and contribution of director Richard Donner…
Another SUPERMANIA behind the scenes exclusive, this time from the Moon set at London’s Elstree Studios during the shooting of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace in 1986 –
Second-unit director Christopher Reeve presides over the setup for Superman’s visit to the site of the lunar landing having just disposed of his foe Nuclearman. In what was originally conceived and written as an epic, climactic battle between titans, this sequence, like so many more before it, would be compromised by budgetary restrictions. Though the action was well-staged the spectacle would be hindered by the black drapes in the background masking the stage wall.
Many of these oversights (such as wire removal) would be fixed by Warner Brothers for the Deluxe Edition Blu-ray release in 2011 but even back in 1987 audiences were shocked by the quality of the effects compared with previous entries.
Click here for a fascinating insight into the shooting of the scene from a recently restored Entertainment Tonight segment where Reeve speaks candidly about his aspirations for the finished film between clips of him directing in costume. However noble and sincere the intentions were to put the series back on track, reallocation of the budget to the plethora of other films on Cannon Films list would kill off the Superman saga and ultimately, the company itself just a few years later…
July 6, 1987 By J.J. SMITH, United Press International…
The Smithsonian Institution has launched a new exhibit that does not leap tall buildings at a single bound but does take up more room than a telephone booth — a celebration of Superman, “America`s most famous alien.”
“Superman: Many Lives, Many Worlds” opened to the public June 24 at the National Museum of American History.
“Superman is like other people that came to this nation,” said museum curator Carl Scheele. “He`s the essence of the great immigrant tradition.”
The collection, which is part of the Nation of Nations entertainment exhibit and runs until June 1988, showcases Superman memorabilia spanning 50 years, including:
*A Superman costume worn by George Reeves in the 1950s TV series, and one worn by Christopher Reeve in the soon to be released Superman IV.
*Original copies of Action Comics #1, and Superman# 1, which sold in 1938 for 10 cents each. The comics, in mint condition, are now valued at $25,000 and $18,000 respectively, according to Overstreet Comics Price Guide.
*An original screenplay by Mario Puzo for the 1978 film Superman: The Movie.
*An original radio script and recordings of the 1940’s radio broadcasts.
*A storyboard from one of 17 Superman cartoons published in the 1940’s.
*A special edition of Superman comics that was published during World War II and was used as a teaching device for enlisted men who could not read.
*A short film that traces the history of Superman, including clips from the TV series, the movie serials, the cartoons and the latest motion pictures.
Mingling among the stars of Superman IV (Jon Cryer, Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve) above was Uber-artist John Byrne, riding high on the current Superman run having secured his place in comics history with ‘Man Of Steel’. He recounts;
“I met Christopher Reeve twice, that was fun. I met him at DC and we talked about the fourth movie. And then for the 50th Anniversary there was a big show down at the Smithsonian. I went down for that because they invited me. He came over and introduced himself to me ‘Hi – I’m Christopher Reeve, we met at the DC Offices’ – and I chatted with Margot Kidder for a while because we were bonding on being Canadians…”
Were you fortunate enough to attend this event? Please share your memories here. SUPERMANIA extends its thanks to SuperFans Lynn Arave for sharing the outstanding photos above from his Blog Of Steel and Sammy Gomez for his great contributions to this post..!
The genesis of an artistic partnership that would thrive for decades to come, the collage above (top) represents the first published Superman piece by one Jerry Ordway.
Found on the impressive wrap-around cover of pulpy but highbrow magazine ‘The Comic Reader’ for its November 1979 issue, Ordway’s dynamic but realistic style was a perfect compliment to the characters as represented in Superman: The Movie.
Of arguably more interest, however, were the contents of the magazine and in particular, the views of comic-book purists on this fresh take of what was, at the time, a 40 year-old beloved flagship character.
Indeed, the excellent review of the movie (cropped and reformatted here for ease of continuity, click for larger) is referred to by Mike Tiefenbacher as ‘refreshing & wonderful’, highlighting the major differences between the movie and the comic book but interestingly not to its detriment. In fact, many of the observations here (modelwork on the dam/turning back the world) are still hotly debated today and some are even prophetic (describing it as a benchmark/suggesting a Superboy TV series/longer TV edits) all of which make for great reading.
Tiefenbacher’s follow-up piece is an insightful, personal critique of the character’s evolution which incorporates everything from ‘The Great Superman Book’ by Michael L. Fleisher to Elliot S! Maggin’s Superman: ‘Last Son Of Krypton’. The latter notable for its mistaken identity as the novelisation of the movie.
If this has whetted your appetite for vintage reviews by comic journalists you may want to check back soon for scans from from the ‘Comics Journal’ – a monster review spread over two posts..!
