I Believe I Can Fly (Superman (DVD))

Member Name: Truman III

Product:	Superman (DVD)
Date:	27/09/01 (217 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You Can Be Superhuman Too

Disadvantages: Is there Anything This Boy Doesn't Like?

There is much to be said about Richard Donner's landmark 1978 film. From its comic book opening to the antics of the Superheroes and Supervillains within this film is obviously an adaptation of what is essentially a children's story, a work of fantasy. However, this adaptation was like none that had gone before it and it influenced all that went after. Donner took something that has previously in the realm of children or a black and white, flimsy Saturday matinee showing and gave it the big budget, full-colour treatment that turned Superman form myth to legend, and made it accessible to all, enjoyable to all. I can not think of one person that I know that has not seen this movie or, more importantly, been influenced by it and I defy you to find one too.

Like many kids of my age, I came across Superman on the television at Christmas. From the romantic, black and white comic book opening, I could feel a myth being unearthed; I could sense that something special was going to happen and when the opening credits went up and the heart-rendering John Williams score kicked in, I was given the first glimpse of the fantasy that was to unfold. Who among us, upon hearing that score, did not believe they could fly, did not get an enduring sense of power, and did not fly out of the room or cinema at the end? Not a one of you! Perhaps I am getting carried away. Perhaps this was more of a male phenomenon. Perhaps it was just me. To be honest, I don't think so and I believe that once we see this movie again, it will have the same impact as it did all those years ago. After all, remember the fond nostalgia of which we talk of Bagpuss or the Wombles. Superman holds a coveted place in the hearts of many who are my age, many who believed they could fly.

The reissue of Superman and many other classics on DVD has given new generations a chance to access our legends and has given us a chance to see again the things that inspired us as children. So what impacts
us this time around?

For a start, we notice how human this story of a superhuman is. Kal-El, or Superman, comes from an advanced society that still suffers from stubbornness and that, despite its technology, cannot defend itself form its all too inevitable fate. He is essential an orphan. He is take in by Clark & Martha Kent who bring him up to be a good, moral man, who treat him as their own, and who love and protect him like nothing else. Superman has problems with kids at school, has rages and longings that every adolescent has. He has to try hard to come to terms with who he is. Superman cannot save his adopted father, Clark Kent, from an heart attack. At the funeral, he tells his mother:

"All those things I could do,
All those powers,
And I couldn't even save him".

We are aware that Superman is far more human than anything else. He is inept as Clark Kent, he falls hopelessly in love with Lois Lane, and he grieves with extreme anger when he realises that there is nothing he could do to save her life. Donner gives us a superhero, but makes us see his weaker, more human sides. It is almost fifty minutes into the film before we see him fly or as a fully developed adult.

The unorthodox human and emotional sides to this comic book hero are but one facet of a far greater whole. John Williams's score is another thing that affects us with the same power that it did all those years ago. Not only do the soaring trumpets fit the power of a superhero, but the string sections heighten the emotion of Superman's most human scenes without ever getting in the way.

Then there are the visuals. A brief viewing of this movie brings the memories flooding back. The illuminated, heavenly Kryptonians; the glowing green crystal; the young Kal-El?s rescue of his adopted father by lifting up a truck followed by the disbelieving flapping of both parents who look at the asteroid, at each other and then at the boy, co
mpletely gobsmacked. There is the indelible image of Superman flying, his ability to outrun trains, to catch falling helicopters, to pick up and repair fault lines. In short, the movie is strewn with unforgettable moments, without which, childhood would never have been the same.

There are comic moments aplenty. Notable ones include the indignant glance that Clark Kent gives a modern 'phone box, which does not allow him to change inside it, unlike its earlier counterparts; the child who, when she rushes inside to tell her mother that Superman has rescued her cat from the tree gets admonished - as the scene cuts away, we hear a slap; the Air Force One Pilot who waves gawk-eyed out of the window to the engine & then realises what he is doing; the speech between Lex and Miss Tessmarker where Lex informs her: "Some people can read War & Peace & come away thinking it a simple adventure story whereas others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets to the universe" to which she retorts, hoitily, "Lex, what's chewing gum got to do with the secrets of the universe?!". Priceless.

Furthermore, the movie is littered with an all-star cast and an array of fine performances. Not least among these is Christopher Reeve, an unknown at the time, a young spark in a galaxy of stars who carries the movie effortlessly, and who is entirely convincing as both a musclebound superhero and a bumbling loser. Gene Hackman gives us a deliciously hammed up performance as Lex Luthor, an evil supervillain, who believes he is the "world's greatest criminal mind", and, because he believes his own hype, he actually is the world's greatest villain. The same overacting is true of his sidekick Ned Beatty, who plays the bumbling Otis , who helps Luthor in his fiendishly excessive and convoluted plan to gain power. Kidder is empowered as Lois Lane, a tough, career driven Metropolis reporter who can still become
a giggling schoolgirl every time the man in the blue tights flutters in through the window. Marlon Brando's appearance as Jor-El, Superman's father is also worthy of note, because it is the stuff of legend. Brando was paid $4m for his work on the movie, a total of 10 minutes, doing his reputation as a big fat loafer no harm at all. What a result!

Although this movie is important because of the way it makes us feel, and because of the sheer fantastic abandon oozing from every frame, I suppose I should give the plot a bit of an airing.

Kal-El, or Superman, is sent away from his home planet by his parents before the planet explodes. There are some Moses and Jesus parallels here that must be obvious. His journey takes him to earth where he will flourish because of the human's "capacity for good". Upon crashing on earth, he is taken in by Clark and Martha Kent, a loving smalltown couple who help to bring their son up to the best of their abilities. With the death of his adopted father, the young Clark goes off to find out who he is, attempting to answer many questions that have loomed over his adolescence.

Fully grown, Clark, and his alter ego, Superman, head to the bright lights of Metropolis where they are determined to fulfil their destiny. Here they are quickly confronted with evils of all sorts and the young Superman is quickly tested. In a final showdown between good and evil, Superman finds himself overwhelmed and faces the agonising decision to turn his back on the home world or to interfere with Human history in an attempt to save millions of lives.

What more can you say? The movie may have its flaws and imperfections, but they can always be forgiven. We can watch a film with an overt message of doing good without the faintest trace of irony in our souls, we can be captured for a few hours by something far greater than ourselves and we can come out of the cinema believing we can fly.

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