Reviews (275)

One Super DVD
Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap the tallest building in a single bound. The world's greatest superhero has finally arrived on DVD with "Superman: The Movie" Special Edition. The film focuses on the young survivor of the doomed world of Krypton. After crash-landing on earth, the young alien is adopted by a caring farm couple and grows up with amazing superhuman abilities. Moving to Metropolis, he uses his incredible powers to protect the people and fight injustice. "Superman- the Movie" is probably the best superhero movie to date. The story is quite entertaining but does lose some strength during the second half though it still manages to preserve its entertainment value. The film contains some great performance by Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder and Marlon Brando as Jor-El. The cast also includes Jackie Cooper, Terence Stamp and Ned Beatty. From daring rescues to superhuman feats of strength, the film contains some impressive action sequence and terrific visual effects.

The DVD honors the Man of Steel like it should. The comic book film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen format. The DVD contains a sharp video transfer and a fine 5.1 Dolby Digital sound with great surround effects. This amazing DVD features an audio commentary with director Richard Donner and consultant Tom Mankiewicz, additional footage including an extended sequence inside Lex Luther's underground gauntlet, behind-the-scenes documentaries, theatrical trailers, deleted scenes and DVD-ROM extras. With such a striking DVD presentation, "Superman" earns an "A".

Super features, super options, JUST PLAIN SUPER!
I enjoyed the Superman DVD. 25 years after this movie came out and seeing it so many times on TV with pan and scan, the newly remastered print blows everything out of the water. The music only option works for the title sequence and hearing the extra tracks on Side B adds to the genius that was John Williams soundtrack.

The audio is remastered and put on a surround sound system instead of the setup I have at home would shake your house to the core. The extra scenes were a good touch as well. Behind the scenes added the great touch of mystique that was Superman. Having Marc McClure host the BTS stuff added a bit of credibility.

Until Spider-Man last year and Batman in 1989, this was the film on which Superheroes were judged. The Hulk disappointed and Daredevil and X-2 were moderate hits.

Superman still stands the test of time, no matter what your views.

Spider-Man has kind of surpassed it...
Well now that we have seen the two Spider-Man movies, I tend to belive that they are now the standards by which other comic book films (both Marvel and DC) will have to live up to now. In a way, Superman is now kind of the odd film out. It works better as an origin story in how Clarke Kent becomes Superman and Chris Reeve's effective perfomance in the title role still works, In the comics, Lex Luthor has always been a one dimensional cartoon character, the only time that he was an effective villian was when Gene Hackman played him in this movie. The final scenes of Superman turning the Earth backward to save lois lane, are what they are. It might be a bit far fetched to put in a movie, but that does not stop audiences from enjoying it. and it doesn't stop me from watching it over and over again.

Born on Krypton, raised by the Kents on Earth, Becomes Hero
The Man of Steel flys into the spectactular motion picture, Based The DC Comic and also appearing in Action Comics, Christopher Reeve stars as Clark Kent.Reporter in Metropolis,Illnois for the newspaper the Daily Planet,And trouble emerges Clark Kent flys to the rescue as Superman, a blue suited red caped powerful wonder. He takes on Lex Luthor played Gene Hackman and falls for Lois Lane played Margot Kidder and Marlon Brand as the Krytonian father of Superman Jor EL. This Film is a Great Superhero movie and great film all around, probably the most imaginative thing the Man of Steel has been in. Superman began as the comic, then a radio show, several 1950s B movies, TV show and in 1978 the true Superman ovie. Superman is imaginative in everthing because hes an imaginative character. A pop culture icon on screen and in everthing else. the Special Effects are incredible, This a Super high flying ride. You Want a good superhero movie before Batman and Spider-Man this is it. If it wasn't for this classic we would'nt have superhero movies like Spider-Man 1&2,Batman,Hulk and X-Men 1&2. Thank Hollywood for making a great superhero film that lauched other superhero films. A thrilling Film of one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century, The Man of Steel, SUPERMAN.

Release Superman into our 21st century!
Very bad film.
They released Spiderman into the 21st century, why not Superman?
I've always found him to be the most appealing comic book character. He is sure for an amazing performance.
RELEASE HIM INTO OUR CENTURY! ... Read more

Reviews (70)

The Hour After......
THE DAY AFTER was to be THE made-for-TV anti-BOMB fable. Released in 1983 as "secular" film of Revelation...BEYOND IMAGINING! hyped TV promos...it was greatly disappointing. This is partially because of asinine Talking Head discussions predicting national traumatism of youthful viewers. (Legions of counselors were dispatched like a priesthood...T-Group/Mass for the masses...to enable psychic healing.) The crassness of ratings-war ploy failed "to protect" a vunerable public from a movie that lacks wallop...nuclear or otherwise.

Director Meyer seems to be going through the motions. As do many fine actors (led by Jason Robard and John Lithgow)in the ensemble cast. Technically the film is adequate. The NUCLEAR STRIKE sequence effects are good. But the DAY AFTER War Day suffers from the same "listlessness" that characterizes the pre-Attack segment. Problem? The movie, in my estimate, lacks moral and "military" compass. The War Scenario positing Soviet invasion of Western Europe though the Fulda Gap...followed by text book NATO "tactical" nuclear response...is curiously unmoving. (The Escalation Narrative is ambiguously conveyed by cliched use of intermittent News announcements). This is the Time of Terror. Relegation of "reasons" for WW III to backgound noise neither sustains tension, nor provokes reflection this movie purportedly intends. The satirical characterization of THE PRESIDENT (probably intended as Reagan) is as transparent as it is indign for a film of such serious matter. (Recall: Peter Sellers' roles as President and RAF Wing Commander/SAC liaison in DR. Strangelove were played with deadly seriousness; without meretricious irony.)

Yes: Nuclear War is bad (wrong......INAPPROPRIATE!). But: THE DAY AFTER...unintentionally... conveys moral vacuity by lack of dramatic force or commitment (cf: THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER; or 13 DAYS). Though set in Kansas, this is a Hollywood "adventures of World War III" piece of slick, PC amorality that blames no one for anything, nor accounts for its own flacid nihilism. 20 years later this film is ...in my obviously critical assessment...a "Wonderland" curiosity. Technically and dramatically competent in execution THE DAY's impact is decisively low yield. Watch it and be "entertained". But it is not an illumating, frightening or stirring-to-rage STATEMENT. It's just a big TV movie whose "effect" will be forgotten...by most viewers...THE HOUR AFTER

The ultimate anti-war movie
Probably the most heartbreaking scene in "The Day After" is the one where four missiles bearing nuclear warheads zoom into a crystalline blue sky on a glorious spring morning from a hidden bunker in Kansas, while doctors and nurses at a nearby hospital watch in shock as the impact of what those missiles mean gradually hits them.

Watching this film, we pray that scene never comes true; if it does, we can kiss the world goodbye. "The Day After" is probably the most gut-wrenching anti-war film ever made. It's set sometime in the last quarter of the 20th century; the decades-long cold war has turned burning hot, and the news broadcasts are turning hourly worse. We are in Lawrence, Kansas, the center of the United States, following the routines of ordinary people as they try to go about their lives while the world around them is going to hell -- a doctor and his wife, a farmer and his family, including his young daughter two days away from her wedding, a graduate student, a cynical college professor, and a young soldier about to be separated from his wife and baby. The hostilities between Russia and the United States, meanwhile, have gone beyond the point of no return; and the decision is made: nuke 'em. We watch the missiles being launched; we feel all the horror of the impending counterstrike, and then three stark words from an officer at the missile base: "We have incoming." Incoming doesn't begin to describe it. Two nuclear warheads hit nearby Kansas City, and the world explodes. The resulting scenes of destruction are unbelievable; and yet, they are all too believable. If the wrong finger hits the nuclear button, this could someday happen.

The immediate scenes leading up to the nuclear strike are as compelling as the hit itself: shoppers at the supermarket grabbing up everything edible off the shelves; people bolting out of a college stadium in a panic dash for cover; a young bride-to-be coming downstairs to the family's fallout shelter carrying her wedding dress and her childhood teddy bear, the look of stark terror in her eyes competing with the realization that she will never wear that dress in any wedding; and her mother, grimly going about her business of making beds and tidying up the house, being carried kicking and screaming to shelter, refusing to accept the realization that her life as she knows it is finished. And after the devastation of the nuclear strike, as ashes continue to rain down from the sky for days, we realize that those who died in the attack may have been the fortunate ones; the survivors are left to face a horrible slow death by radiation sickness, starvation and anarchy.

Nicholas Meyer didn't direct this film for shock value, although the shocks keep coming and don't let up; in smaller but telling ways he makes us feel all the devastation of total war. At the film's end, one of the survivors asks, "Is anybody out there? Anyone at all?" His guess is as good as ours. There are no redeeming moments in this movie. From the minute the first button was pushed, everything is gone.

It's been said that "The Day After" is a dated film, but this is true only in the sense that the cold war, as we knew it from 1945 through the 1980s is over; as long as there are nuclear weapons around and anyone fanatic enough to even contemplate using them, it's a film with telling immediacy. When the film was first shown, some viewers asked, why didn't they say who started the war? Meyer shows us that the question is moot; no matter who started it, there will be precious few survivors left to point fingers. We emerge from watching "The Day After" emotionally devastated, drained, realizing that in a nuclear war, everyone, even the victors, will be the losers.

Still packs a multi-megaton emotional wallop
This made for television film first aired nearly 25 years ago while the Cold War was on - and it still packs the same sobering multi-megaton emotional wallop as it did back then. The story and scenes of human and animal tragedy and suffering will haunt for days afterwards. It's very good early 1980s period piece that fairly accurately depicts the rising Cold War tensions early in the Reagan administration.

In a reprise of the Soviet blockade of Berlin two decades earlier in 1961, the plot begins with a Soviet blockade of access points between East and West Germany, following by the massing of troops on the border between East and West. When the Soviet bloc troops move across the border, NATO responds by unleashing tactical nuclear weapons on the invading forces, destroying two German cities in the process. The Soviet responds by targeting a NATO regional headquarters in England. It rapidly escalates from there to a major exchange of MIRVed ICBMs, including electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons that detonate high in the atmosphere and knock out all electrical and electronic equipment.

All of the European developments are depicted via fast paced news reports and bulletins coming into a worried American heartland on what would have been an otherwise typical early September weekend as people went about and planned their lives. One of the more chilling scenes vividly depicts the contrast between normal life and unfolding nuclear exchange. Two children innocently watch television, unaware of the gravity of the situation, as their amorous parents slip upstairs for a quick interlude before breakfast. Suddenly a TV bulletin interrupts to report the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. The scene then shifts to a nearby Strategic Air Command base as klaxons wail and B-52 crews scramble to get their planes into the air. The film is set in Kansas City and Lawrence, Kansas. Jason Robards puts in a fine performance as a doctor and the central character.

Ensemble cast shines.
The Day After (Nicholas Meyer, 1983)

Recently, motivated by a strong desire to see Threads again, I've been going through a kind of craving for nuclear-holocaust-flick nostalgia. Seeing The Day After again was my first foray back into the world of atom-bombs-blowing-stuff-up. I hadn't seen it since its original television broadcast more than twenty years previous, and was surprised at how well it holds up.

The excellent ensemble cast is headed by the late Jason Robards (Magnolia, Enemy of the State, etc.) and John Lithgow (Shrek, Third Rock from the Sun, etc.) as a doctor and scientist, respectively, at two college campuses in the midwest in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. (Said nuclear holocaust happens, as one might expect, early in the film, but not as early as you might figure; unlike modern-day films, stuff made a quarter of a century ago actually took time to build its characters before getting into the plot.) Also along for the ride are Robards' right-hand nurse, played by JoBeth Williams (Poltergeist); a family whose house was close to one of the bombed missile silos, the Dahlbergs; Lithgow's right-hand man Aldo (Stephen Furst of Animal House fame), oh, we'll just run down some names: John Cullum, Bibi Besch, Steve Guttenberg, Lori Lethin, Amy Madigan, Jeff East, Dennis Lipscomb, Arliss Howard... you get the idea. This may have been a made-for-TV movie, but didn't shirk on the starpower. Also, look for uncredited appearances by Wayne Knight (Seinfeld's Newman), David Kaufman (Presidio Med, Pearl Harbor), John Lafayette (various movies based on Tom Clancy novels), and the late director Herk Harvey (in his first screen role since Carnival of Souls twenty years before, and the last before his death in 1996). Meyer and co. didn't scrimp on the casting budget.

It shows. The whole thing is exceptionally well-acted, though sometimes it's a bit tough to believe these folks are really as devastated as one would think survivors of an all-out nuclear war should be (and that a house situated right next to a bombed missile silo would still be standing just because Steve Guttenberg happens to be hiding there provides a moment of unintentional humor). Robards is probably the best at communicating this, especially in the movie's final scene. The makeup job on Robards was also not scrimped on; by the end of the film, he could be something out of a Romero film. For that matter, the makeup crew did an all-around fantastic job; by the end of the flick, Steve Guttenberg was unrecognizable. (I have heard it opined-- well, okay, inside my own head-- that perhaps he should have kept the makeup on when doing Three Man and a Baby.)

The point was brought up in a recent discussion that perhaps those born after the early eighties will probably be too young to really grasp the terrors of the Cold War to those of us old enough to remember "Duck... and Cover!" So perhaps not the best flick to get your kids to thinking about how bad off you were in the old days (for that, use Threads), but it's definitely worthwhile on the nostalgia-trip angle, or if you just like watching Jason Robards act with an equally fantastic cast around him. ****

Life As We Know It Ends...THE DAY AFTER
The made-for-TV film THE DAY AFTER was enormously controversial when it was originally broadcast on ABC in November of 1983, primarily because it was promoted as being the first film to accurately and realistically depict a nuclear holocaust and its aftermath. Political right-wingers didn't like it because they believed such a film would deter support of a strong U.S. military and a large nuclear arsenal. Those on the left were concerned that it might promote the idea that a full-scale nuclear war could be survivable, thereby INCREASING support of the right-wing's push for a strong U.S. military and a large nuclear arsenal. And both sides were worried that the film would be too graphic for the prime-time position in which it was slotted to air. In fact, much of the controversy was vehement enough to worry the sponsors, so consequently not a single minute of commercial time was sold for the part of the film following the depiction of the nuclear war--the last half of the show was aired commercial free!

Socio-political controversy aside, THE DAY AFTER is a very powerful and compelling drama. In the tradition of great SF and horror films, it takes a real-life potentiality--in this case, nuclear holocaust--and portrays it as graphically and as realistically as possible, thereby allowing viewers to vicariously experience the nightmare. For this film, said nightmare takes place in the small towns surrounding Kansas City, one of the ground-zero targets for the enemy's hydrogen bombs. But the real horror of it all is not the bombing itself. The real horror is being a survivor and having to suffer through the aftermath with things like radioactive fallout, nuclear winter, contaminated food and water, political anarchy, and the like.

Portraying survivors from various walks of life, the highly talented cast--which includes big names like Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, and John Lithgow, to name a few--does a fantastic job running the gamut of human emotion as their characters come to grips with the traumatic and devastating situation. The excellent script for THE DAY AFTER was written by Edward Hume, a respected TV writer best known for his work on series greats like THE FUGITIVE, CANNON (which he also developed), and THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO. And the film was directed by the venerable Nicholas Meyer, who has directed other SF greats such as 1979's TIME AFTER TIME, 1982's STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, and 1991's STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, and who has written the screenplays for other greats like 1976's THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION (having previously written the novel), 1986's STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME, and 1987's highly acclaimed FATAL ATTRACTION. With such great talent behind it, it's not hard to defend the claim that THE DAY AFTER is ONE of the best films, if not THE best film, made specifically for TV.

The DVD from MGM is a no-frills disc, meaning that it is without bonus material, but it does offer a nearly pristine digital transfer of THE DAY AFTER in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. And the asking price is very reasonable (especially with amazon.com's discount), so lovers of great films and good drama have no excuse for not having this gem in their collections. ... Read more

Reviews (275)

One Super DVD
Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap the tallest building in a single bound. The world's greatest superhero has finally arrived on DVD with "Superman: The Movie" Special Edition. The film focuses on the young survivor of the doomed world of Krypton. After crash-landing on earth, the young alien is adopted by a caring farm couple and grows up with amazing superhuman abilities. Moving to Metropolis, he uses his incredible powers to protect the people and fight injustice. "Superman- the Movie" is probably the best superhero movie to date. The story is quite entertaining but does lose some strength during the second half though it still manages to preserve its entertainment value. The film contains some great performance by Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder and Marlon Brando as Jor-El. The cast also includes Jackie Cooper, Terence Stamp and Ned Beatty. From daring rescues to superhuman feats of strength, the film contains some impressive action sequence and terrific visual effects.

The DVD honors the Man of Steel like it should. The comic book film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen format. The DVD contains a sharp video transfer and a fine 5.1 Dolby Digital sound with great surround effects. This amazing DVD features an audio commentary with director Richard Donner and consultant Tom Mankiewicz, additional footage including an extended sequence inside Lex Luther's underground gauntlet, behind-the-scenes documentaries, theatrical trailers, deleted scenes and DVD-ROM extras. With such a striking DVD presentation, "Superman" earns an "A".

Super features, super options, JUST PLAIN SUPER!
I enjoyed the Superman DVD. 25 years after this movie came out and seeing it so many times on TV with pan and scan, the newly remastered print blows everything out of the water. The music only option works for the title sequence and hearing the extra tracks on Side B adds to the genius that was John Williams soundtrack.

The audio is remastered and put on a surround sound system instead of the setup I have at home would shake your house to the core. The extra scenes were a good touch as well. Behind the scenes added the great touch of mystique that was Superman. Having Marc McClure host the BTS stuff added a bit of credibility.

Until Spider-Man last year and Batman in 1989, this was the film on which Superheroes were judged. The Hulk disappointed and Daredevil and X-2 were moderate hits.

Superman still stands the test of time, no matter what your views.

Spider-Man has kind of surpassed it...
Well now that we have seen the two Spider-Man movies, I tend to belive that they are now the standards by which other comic book films (both Marvel and DC) will have to live up to now. In a way, Superman is now kind of the odd film out. It works better as an origin story in how Clarke Kent becomes Superman and Chris Reeve's effective perfomance in the title role still works, In the comics, Lex Luthor has always been a one dimensional cartoon character, the only time that he was an effective villian was when Gene Hackman played him in this movie. The final scenes of Superman turning the Earth backward to save lois lane, are what they are. It might be a bit far fetched to put in a movie, but that does not stop audiences from enjoying it. and it doesn't stop me from watching it over and over again.

Born on Krypton, raised by the Kents on Earth, Becomes Hero
The Man of Steel flys into the spectactular motion picture, Based The DC Comic and also appearing in Action Comics, Christopher Reeve stars as Clark Kent.Reporter in Metropolis,Illnois for the newspaper the Daily Planet,And trouble emerges Clark Kent flys to the rescue as Superman, a blue suited red caped powerful wonder. He takes on Lex Luthor played Gene Hackman and falls for Lois Lane played Margot Kidder and Marlon Brand as the Krytonian father of Superman Jor EL. This Film is a Great Superhero movie and great film all around, probably the most imaginative thing the Man of Steel has been in. Superman began as the comic, then a radio show, several 1950s B movies, TV show and in 1978 the true Superman ovie. Superman is imaginative in everthing because hes an imaginative character. A pop culture icon on screen and in everthing else. the Special Effects are incredible, This a Super high flying ride. You Want a good superhero movie before Batman and Spider-Man this is it. If it wasn't for this classic we would'nt have superhero movies like Spider-Man 1&2,Batman,Hulk and X-Men 1&2. Thank Hollywood for making a great superhero film that lauched other superhero films. A thrilling Film of one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century, The Man of Steel, SUPERMAN.

Release Superman into our 21st century!
Very bad film.
They released Spiderman into the 21st century, why not Superman?
I've always found him to be the most appealing comic book character. He is sure for an amazing performance.
RELEASE HIM INTO OUR CENTURY! ... Read more