Available to buy on DVD and as a Box Set with Superman II on September 24th

Krypton is dying. The planet is on the verge of a catastrophic disaster and only Jor-El (Brando) has the foresight to see this. Unable to persuade the council of his findings, Jor-El is drawn into drastic action. As Krypton starts to collapse in on itself, he launches a spacecraft containing his newly born son. The boy leaves the planet of his origin and travels across three galaxies to a primitive blue green planet known as Earth. Here he would be faster and stronger than any human having abilities that no one could comprehend, here he would be a Superman.

Christmas 1978 saw the release of an America icon onto the sliver screen. Yes after many Radio and TV series, Superman burst onto the big screen with the tag line "You'll believe a Man can fly!" And the public did, in their droves making the movie a box office smash. After nearly 23 years, Warner Bros have released a special edition of Superman The Movie. Supervised by Director Richard Donner, the movie has been lovingly digitally re-mastered and given a Dolby Digital 5.1 sound track. The most import aspect of the restoration is the inclusion of eight extra minutes of previously un-viewed footage. Most of the bonus footage is very inconsequential but the "Gauntlet" sequence is a welcome addition and makes you wonder why they took it out in the first place. The real shame is they never took out the truly appalling "Can you read my mind" sequence. It is just so sickening having to listen to Lois's stomach turning though as she flies over Metropolis with Superman. If he could read minds he would have never have caught her after he dropped her. Also the movie comes packages with over three hours worth of extras include three documentaries. The best feature is the screen test for Lois Lane, seeing all the actresses who were up for the role is extremely fascinating.

The big question is, does the movie still hold up against the modern superhero blockbuster? Well, yes and no. The story is very good and the characters are some of the best visualisation of a comic ever to grace the silver screen. Christopher Reeve is everything you would want in both Clark Kent and Superman and if they ever get around to making a new movie, I don't envy the actor who has to follow him. It is the special effects that really show the movie's age. They were state of the art at the time but the distance blue screen effects are just not very good and it is a shame that they were not redone for the re-release, as George Lucas did with Star Wars.

The movie itself is still a classic and one, if not the best comic book adaptation to date. Available to buy on its own or as a box set with Superman II (for me, an even better film) this is a great addition to anyone's collection.

The Magic Behind The Cape" - A look at the opticals, flying tests and other special effects that were created for Superman including interviews with the effects supervisor and unit director (23 minutes), Making Superman: Filming the Legend" - A behind-the-scenes view of how it all came together including interviews with director Richard Donner, Margot Kidder, Christopher Reeve and others (30 minutes), Taking Flight: The Development of Superman" - The trial-and-error to make a man "fly" and other filming breakthroughs, New interviews with the stars and the film's creators (30 minutes), Screen Tests - Those who did and didnīt get the part, with a commentary by the casting director, Additional music cues, TV spot, Trailers, Storyboard to Screen (DVD ROM only), Interactive menus & Scene access

Superman The Movie: Special Edition

Superman The Movie and Superman II Box set

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