Superman Movie Review & Film Summary (1. The first time we see Superman in his red, blue and yellow uniform is nearly an hour into . That means the film doesn't open like most superhero movies or James Bonds with a sensational pre- title sequence. To be sure, it opens on the planet Krypton with his father Jor- El preparing him to be launched into space. But those aren't action scenes; they provide weight to the origin story every superhero requires. Advertisement. In fact, Richard Donner's . The scenes of young Clark Kent's boyhood and adolescence might seem pointless if we didn't know, . Dallas is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. The series revolves around a wealthy and feuding Texan.
Orson Welles, Actor: Citizen Kane. His father was a well-to-do inventor, his mother a beautiful concert pianist; Orson Welles was gifted in many arts (magic, piano. The Bermuda Depths is a Japanese / American co-production 1978 fantasy film originally broadcast as a made-for-TV movie written by Arthur Rankin Jr. But they also raise the intriguing question: Who is this being, anyway. He is clearly not human. His body is not from our world. Kenneth Tynan’s 1978 profile of Johnny Carson. The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 TV movie set in the Star Wars galaxy. The main storyline of the film transpires on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk. It's probable he can't reproduce here, or perhaps even have sex with the cute girl - - or Lois Lane. Toward the end, when Lex Luthor's girlfriend kisses him, his response (before flying off to stop an earthquake) is positively Vulcan- like; he wonders why she kissed him before, and not after, freeing him from the Kryptonite. Christopher Reeve, who must have spent his career in a love- hate relationship with the character, does a more nuanced acting job than he's usually credited for. As Clark Kent he's not merely mild- mannered, but performs with a wink to the audience because we know who he really is. Much of his dialogue is double entendre. Pushing his glasses up on his nose, looking like an undertaker in his blue suit, his hair coated with greasy alderman stuff, he may be 6- foot- 4 and have the physique of a god, but Margot Kidder's Lois Lane doesn't take the bait. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Comparison: Theatrical Version; Producer's Cut. Perhaps she senses there's something. She swoons for Superman and literally flies away with him, but then how could anyone think Superman looked like Clark Kent? Superman doesn't wear glasses. Is she seduced more by the superpowers than by the personality? Probably. As Clark Kent, Reeve deliberately channeled a touch of Cary Grant in . It would be fatal to play Superman as a hero, and Reeve and Donner understand that. He had no personality in the comic books and has none here. He exists as a fact. Young Clark Kent is saddened when his human foster father (Glenn Ford) has died of a heart attack. His foster mother (Phyllis Thaxter) has been warm to him in their grief. But soon Clark leaves her (walking off straight through a field), and explains that he must be about his father's business. He's apparently unmoved that the widow will be left alone on the farm. The Kents knew Clark was sui generis, but was it discussed? He was advised to keep his powers under wraps, but why? In the original screenplay there was a scene of Jor- El explaining why he would need to keep his powers secret. The scene is missing here, and it occurs to me that there never was a good reason why Clark Kent and Superman needed dual identities. It's also a question why Clark waits to flaunt his superpowers. He walks all the way to Metropolis, where he demonstrates he can fly, stop a helicopter and a 7. Did he always know he could do that? Did it take practice? The wisdom of the comic books and the movie is that no attempt is made to explain too much. The device of the deadly Kryptonite is necessary because a superhero must have at least one weakness to give him interest. Other astonishments are simply designed to be accepted, as children do when told a story. He is Superman, he fights for Truth, Justice and the American Way, and that's that. More recent superhero movies are top- heavy with special effects and wall- to- wall action. Without it, there would be no 'Batman,' no 'X- Men,' no 'Iron Man'. When the flamboyant producer Alexander Salkind announced his film and signed Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman for millions, the industry thought he was crazy. Comic books weren't being called graphic novels back then, and the emergence of the Marvel superhero stable was still ahead. Superman did lots of stunts in his earlier incarnations in movie serials and on TV, but rarely had effects like these been linked to the genre. Some of his heroics are frankly laughable, as when he descends to the bottom of a rift in the earth caused by an earthquake and literally pushes the early back up into place. Or when he flies into the exhaust of a missile and tilts it off course. And in the height of absurdity, he flies so fast around the planet that he reverses time and saves Lois Lane' life. The problems of logic presented by that stunt beggar the imagination. But the point is, these effects on a vast scale are done well, and they upped the ante in the superhero genre. They are done traditionally, with back projection, traveling matte shots, blue screen, optical printers and all the other tools rendered obsolete by CGI. Is it only my imagination that the old- fashioned effects seem to have more weight and presence? The subterranean lair of Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) is an example of classical set construction, probably combined with some effects. Luthor and his assistant Otis (Ned Beatty) and mistress Eve Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine) lead a bizarre existence in what seems to be a subterranean train terminal. The film lacks the usual vista of Bond- style minions laboring at giant machines; instead, Hackman perhaps outsources his villainy. His plan to trigger the San Andreas Fault, drop California into the sea, and end up in possession of the new seacoast is rather glorious, I think. Donner pulls off a balancing act involving satire, action, romcom clich. What's admirable is that Salkind and Donner realized they had to make a comedy. The film came in an era of Disaster Movies that took themselves with dreadful earnestness, and they knew the essential element of Superman was fun. Superheroes who came later to big budget movies, notably Batman and Iron Man, would be burdened with angst. But Superman was above that sort of thing. Above it, or emotionally incapable of it, or whatever. Flashback: Alexander Salkind, his son Ilya and his wife Berta held a press dinner at the Majestic Hotel in Cannes to celebrate . She was the great love of his life, a flamboyant Mexican woman. The guests dove beneath their tables. The headwaiter summoned aid. Berta was quieted and taken from the room. Waiters materialized and swept away the wreckage. New tablecloths and place settings were laid. Alexander, having attended his wife, now returned to the room. The Star Wars Holiday Special . The main storyline of the film transpires on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca and Han Solo visit the planet to celebrate the Wookiee holiday Life Day with his family, which includes his wife Malla, his son Lumpy and his father Itchy. As Chewbacca and Han are known Rebel agents, they are pursued by the Galactic Empire, who in the process invade Chewbacca's household. The plot is strung together by a series of musical numbers, celebrity appearances, and other variety- show acts, including songs and comedy routines by such 1. Jefferson Starship, Diahann Carroll, Art Carney, Harvey Korman, and Bea Arthur. As a result, it has never been re- aired in the US or officially released on home video, but has been widely bootlegged by fans. Despite its infamy, the special is notable for being the first film- length Star Wars story to appear following the release of the original film, for featuring cameos by all of that film's major cast, and for introducing the character Boba Fett. After departing Tatooine, the pair find themselves being chased by two Star Destroyers. Han wants to turn back, but Chewbacca convinces him to move forward, and they jump to hyperspace. Itchy is carving an X- wing toy for Lumpy, Malla is working in the kitchen, and Lumpy is playing with an already- complete X- wing toy. On the table, Malla has prepared a bowl of Wookiee- ookiees. Lumpy tries to sneak one before dinner, but Malla catches him and asks him to take out the day's garbage. Lumpy sets the trash down outside, and climbs up on the railing to walk along it. Malla takes down a picture of Chewbacca and Itchy notices her worries. He reassures her that Chewbacca is safe, and she then returns the picture. Lumpy comes back into the house, and Itchy reaches into a cabinet and gets down an activity capsule. Malla, however, sees this and objects. Itchy convinces her otherwise, and inserts the capsule into a round table- machine. After Itchy switches on the device, Lumpy sits down and begins to view a computer- generated group of circus performers performing an act. At the conclusion of the performance, Lumpy applauds the acts, and switches the machine off. Malla then asks Lumpy to help wash the dishes. Malla uses a computer to run a search for any starships in the area. However, the computer returns no results. She switches on a hidden viewscreen and contacts Luke Skywalker, who is working on his X- wing starfighter with help from the droid. R2- D2. Luke does not know what has happened and suggests that Han and Chewbacca probably stopped off somewhere, and would be there soon. He begins to have a few problems of his own when the part he is working on begins to emit steam. Seeing that he is busy, Malla shuts off the communication viewscreen. He is in the middle of a deal with an Imperial Navy trooper when Malla contacts him, so he must deal with the trooper first. Saun Dann suggests a few items, for which the guard expresses no interest. While the guard is distracted looking at items, Saun Dann speaks with Malla through a carefully- worded message that Han and Chewbacca are on their way, and should be arriving soon. However, he too does not know of their current whereabouts. He shuts off the viewscreen, and suggests a multi- functional groomer. The guard takes the item, giving Saun Dann nothing in return. Saun Dann has no choice but to let him take it, and he sarcastically says that he considers it a gift to the guard. Vader tells him to continue the search, even if it takes searching every household in the system. She turns on a viewscreen to view a cooking program with Gormaanda, a four- armed chef. Gormaanda gives instructions on how to prepare the Bantha rump. When she begins to speed up the process, Malla can't keep up and switches the viewscreen off. Unaware of the blockade, Chewbacca and Han are attacked by four TIE/LN starfighters. After taking out a few using the cockpit's remote controls, Han resorts to going down into the quad cannons to use them manually; Chewbacca takes the main controls. Suddenly, an Imperial officer announces on the viewscreen that a blockade has been set up around the planet, and that the Empire has declared martial law. Immediately after the announcement, they get a knock at the door. Frightened, Itchy goes to open it. To their relief, it is Saun Dann, who has brought each of them Life Day gifts. He gives Malla and Lumpy their presents first, and they go off to open them. Saun Dann then gives Itchy his present—a memory chip—which he inserts into Itchy's mind evaporator. Itchy watches with excitement as a human female sings a song. Malla contacts them via viewscreen to alert them that Chewbacca and Han haven't shown up. Leia asks if Malla is alone, and is relieved that Saun Dann is there to protect her. Malla switches off the viewscreen. Saun Dann says he smells . Han notices the abundance of Imperials in the area, so they decide to land on the north side of the planet—a safe section area. He notes that this is far from the Wookiee household however, and will be a long walk. After a protest from Chewbacca, they decide to land as planned. As they enter the atmosphere of Kashyyyk, Lumpy hears the roaring of a ship. Everyone in the house gets excited, and run to the door. Malla opens the door to two stormtroopers holding their blaster pistols at her, with two Imperial officers behind them. The head officer checks the house for all residents, and finds that a male Wookiee is missing. He orders his men to do a full search of the house. The officers proceed to look through the house, nearly discovering the hidden communication device Malla uses to keep in contact with Luke. To try to distract the attention of the Imperials, Saun Dann suggests that he and Malla prepare some food for everyone. Saun Dann turns on Malla's gift—a music box—for one of the officers, and watches with the officer while Malla does the cooking. When the video finishes, the head officer orders the search to continue, and for the officer who viewed the music band to get back to work. Saun Dann leaves, as he believes he cannot help further. The head officer tells Malla to keep Lumpy busy while they search, so Lumpy sits down to watch a program on a viewscreen. At a rebel base, Leia, Luke, C- 3. PO and R2- D2 are concerned that Han and Chewbacca haven't returned, so Luke and the droids take a Y- Wing to the Panna moon. Upon landing, they are attacked by a giant creature that begins eating part of the Y- wing; This prompts Luke to eject the cockpit from his craft. An armored man appears riding a larger creature, and proceeds to hit the other creature with a blaster bolt from his staff, causing it to flee. He introduces himself as Boba Fett, and suggests that he can help them. Luke drives toward the Millennium Falcon's crash site, during which C- 3. PO tells him not to be eager to trust Fett. Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Han has been infected by a sleeping virus caused by the talisman. Luke immediately contracts the virus as well. Fett and Chewbacca make their way into Panna City. It is occupied by Imperials, so Fett instructs Chewbacca to stay behind while he gets the serum. When he is away from Chewbacca, Fett contacts Darth Vader to inform him of the situation. Vader reveals that Fett is a notorious bounty hunter who is working for Vader in a plan to reveal the location of the Rebels. It alerts the main Imperial officer, who comes over to see what is wrong. Lumpy acts like nothing is wrong, and shuts off the cartoon when the officer approaches. He then resumes the program with C- 3. PO caring for Han and Luke. He and R2- D2 intercept the message between Vader and Fett on their viewscreen, and C- 3. PO says that they have to tell Luke. After evading the Imperials, Fett and Chewbacca return to the ship with the serum. After giving Han and Luke the serum, they recover and everyone learns of Fett's true allegiance. Boba ignites his jet pack, and blasts away, promising that he will meet them again. Everyone leaves the planet aboard the Millennium Falcon. Lumpy shuts off the monitor and applauds. One rips the head off of Lumpy's stuffed bantha. Lumpy comes up after they have gone back downstairs. He is saddened by what they have done to his treasured toy, and tries to put its head back on. He lays it down on his bed and covers it with a blanket. Lumpy then opens the present Saun Dann gave him and puts in the instruction video, which teaches him how to assemble the device—a mini- transmitter. A humanoid described as an . The video's announcer explains that Amorphiian beings have bodies that will often temporarily stop functioning. Throughout the program, this Amorphiian does just that. After instructing Lumpy of the basics of the product, the Amorphiian shuts down completely and falls onto the floor. Lumpy shuts off the video. Its narrator describes it as . At first, individuals are seen walking the streets of Mos Eisley. The focus then shifts to inside a cantina, where a band is playing and the patrons are drinking and conversing. The bartender—Ackmena—is in the process of serving drinks, when a humanoid walks in named Krelman. He seems very interested and attracted to her. Krelman offers her flowers and they begin to talk, but are interrupted by an Imperial announcement on the viewscreen; As part of their search for the Rebels, Tatooine is being put under a curfew by the Empire. The Imperial agent orders everyone to return to their homes immediately. Ackmena is shocked, and asks her customers to leave. When they all refuse, she suggests one more round of drinks for everyone, which she pays for herself. She then proceeds to usher them out by singing a song and dancing. Everyone eventually leaves except for Krelman, who again offers her flowers. The Imperials repeatedly get a call to . They decide to leave, but the head officer instructs one of the stormtroopers to stay behind. After the other Imperials leave, the stormtrooper still hears the radio call to .
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