1-10 Poll: Superman (1978)

9.

It's dated, but still a good watch. 8. I also think Reeve doesn't get enough credit for how he played Clark Kent.

The first two thirds of the movie are the best on-screen Superman imo.

I like it overall more than Superman II.

I love this one. It probably considered a bit ridiculous by modern standards and the ending has always been an issue, but the dynamic between the three central characters is far more engaging than more recent retellings. Furthermore, Superman himself is heroic and inspiring which is what he should be. When I see this Superman I am filled with hope because I believe this Superman is a good person. Also, that John Williams theme is just so perfect for the character.

10 for its time

I dislike the deus ex machina at the end , though

9 or 10 for me, i voted 9. The film was amazing and truly captured what it truly meant to be Superman. While it is a bit campy by modern standards i think that works for its timeless charm much like it works for The Wizard of Oz.

8

Boring film, most people giving it high ratings is for nostalgia reasons. I don't think that people should rate a film because it was cool in 1978, they should rate it as if the film was released right now.

Never seen the film honestly.

john williams did this? no wonder its so good

10.

Best CBM ever for me.

More than 30 years later it's still fresh in my mind.

More or less. I think Reeve's is a terrible holdover from the Silent film era where guys always said "Gee golly", and his squeaky clean demeanor hasn't aged well today. I can give it a seven because of scenes with Marlon Brando, and well that's about it. Its a pretty overrated film.

if it was released in 1978, it should be judged as a 1978 movie, and by the that standard it was really good

9, my all time favourite CBM and the best live action interpretation of Superman for its time. The first two thirds of the film are simply the best interpretation of Superman in a cinematic experience and have not been topped in terms of storytelling. Reeve captured the duality of the character pitch perfectly, Brando and Hackman gave superb performances and there was a greater feeling of hope and optimism that the character is meant to convey. Last third has some good bits even if it's not up to par too.

@kbroskywalker: We're not ranking the movie compared to other 1978 movies, when we rank it we have ALL CBMs in mind, and how it stacks up to those.

8.5 childhood favorite.

I watched it last week and i'd give it an 8 I guess.....ignoring the fact that the movie does not age well at all

I first saw it when I was about 10 years old and even then I thought the movie was kind of boring and extremely campy ("Bad vibrations?"), but still, I have to admit that Reeve is the only actor to fully embody the (then) current "idea" of Superman in a role as of now.

Also, watching this movie again made me wonder why people disliked Superman Returns so much when they're virtually the same movie. Even the aspects of Superman Returns that people didn't like, creepy Superman and lack of fights, are present in the original even more so I think. It just goes to show how far nostalgia takes people.

EDIT: Nevermind, i'm giving this movie a 7.5. There are too many things wrong with it that i'd criticize other movies for that I was allowing this movie to get away with based only on the strength of it's leads and nostalgia. The movie is good, not great. It only gets so much praise because of Reeve and it being the first of it's kind really. Honestly, MoS is a better all around film. Superman 1978 trumps it in the portrayal of it's lead character, Pa Kent, and maybe Jor-El, but that's about it. DCEU Lois may be a damsel in distress, but at least she's smart. 1978 Lois is an even bigger damsel but she's dumb as rocks to go along with it.

The plot may not have been anything to write home about in MoS, but the same can be said of the 1978 movie as well. It's opening act, the origin story parts, are far stronger than MoS but it doesn't stay at that level. MoS was basically consistent with it's third act "dropping the ball" a bit towards the end. The third act of 1978 Superman is a hot mess and culminates in one of the most notorious dues ex machinas off all time, even worse then dance-off in GotG.

Yeah, the movie is good, but it's not great.

Your completely right; Bryan Singer made every effort to make it exactly like the Donner films. I guess when people grew up and saw Superman Returns that they didn't like the campy Superman as an adult; however, they won't let their opinions NOW as an adult affect their nostalgia of a movie.

I think the movie doesn't age well not only physically with the cgi, but also as a movie itself. Honestly, if the movie was released today, it wouldn't have been nearly well received.

8.

@georgewbush: I don't really get the idea of Reeves being a holdover from the silent film era. The silent film era ended long before Reeves was even born. He said gee golly all the time because as Clark Kent Superman was overcompensating to come off as kind of obtuse and naive to better try and create a persona that the average person could relate to and be the opposite of Superman.

I agree with this.

7 because of Reeve. Lex was horrible.