Superman (1978) 4K Restoration – 45th anniversary screenings
Director: Richard Donner Run Time: 143 min. Rating: PG Release Year: 1978
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Jackie Cooper, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty
Country: United States, United Kingdom, Canada
Language: English
About the film:
Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman head an all-star cast in the fantastic, action-packed film that made Christopher Reeve an international star playing the greatest superhero of all time. From the doomed planet of Krypton, two parents launch a spaceship carrying their infant son to earth, where he grows up to become Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for the Metropolis Daily Planet. But with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, he battles for truth and justice as Superman.
The most expensive film made at the time, Superman (1978) was a critical and financial success. It received praise for Reeve’s performance and John Williams’ musical score, and was nominated for three Academy Awards — Best Film Editing, Best Music (Original Score), and Best Sound — and received a Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects. Groundbreaking in its use of special effects and science fiction/fantasy storytelling, the film heralded the mainstream popularity of Hollywood’s superhero film franchises.
In 2017, the film was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry, and for many, Christopher Reeve remains the definitive Man of Steel. Beautiful in its sweep, score and special effects, the film lives up to its tagline — “You’ll believe a man can fly.”
About the filmmaker:
Richard Donner was an influential American filmmaker whose successful career spanned over 50 years across multiple genres. He began as a television director in the 1960s on series such as Gilligan’s Island, The Rifleman, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Fugitive, and The Twilight Zone. His notable films include his breakthrough horror feature The Omen (1976) and the landmark superhero film Superman (1978), followed by The Goonies (1985), Scrooged (1988), and the Lethal Weapon series.
Donner and his wife Lauren owned their production company The Donners’ Company, best known for co-executive producing the Free Willy and X-Men franchises. Donner also produced the Tales from the Crypt television series and co-wrote several comic books for Superman publisher DC Comics. In 2000, he received the President’s Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.
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