DVD REVIEW: The Superman Motion Picture Anthology (1978-2006)

This past Tuesday, June 7, Warner Bros. released The Superman Motion Picture Anthology (1978-2006), which collected, for the first time on Blu-ray, all four original theatrical Superman films starring Christopher Reeve, Superman Returns, and the two alternate versions of Superman and Superman II. (I didn’t even KNOW there was an alternate version of the first film!)

You can check out the official website of the Anthology here.

Being the gigantic Superman and Superman movie fan that I am, I got my hands on a copy and I couldn’t be happier with it.

The Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology (1978-2006) includes all six versions of the films in the original Superman movie franchise and Superman Returns. I didn’t have time to watch them all (I don’t know that I’ll EVER have time to watch Superman IV) but I skipped around the films and they all look fantastic. Technophiles like Mike Romo will appreciate that all of the films have been brought to Blu-ray from new digital/hi-def film masters and include English DTS-HD-MA soundtracks.

Again, for the uninitiated, the films in the anthology include:

Superman: The Movie – Original Theatrical
Superman:  The Movie – Expanded Edition
Superman II – Original Theatrical
Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut
Superman III – Original Theatrical
Superman IV – Original Theatrical
Superman Returns – Original Theatrical

 

There is also a RIDICULOUS amount of bonus features in this thing. Over 20 hours worth!

Disc #1

• Superman: The Movie commentary by Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler
• The Making of Superman: The Movie [1978 TV special]
• Superman and the Mole-Men [1951 feature]
• Warner Bros. Cartoons: Super-Rabbit [1943 WB cartoon], Snafuperman [1944 WB cartoon], Stupor Duck [1956 WB cartoon]
• Trailers

Disc #2

• Superman: The Movie, Expanded Edition commentary by Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz
• Taking Flight: The Development of Superman
• Making Superman: Filming the Legend
• The Magic Behind the Cape
• Screen Tests: Superman, Lois Lane (with Optional Commentary), & Ursa
• A Selection of Restored Scenes: Additional Music Cues, Main Titles, Alternate Main Titles, The Council’s Decision, The Krypton Quake, More Mugger/Introducing Otis, Air Force One, Can You Read My Mind (Pop Version)
• Music Only Track (Donner Cut)

Disc #3

• Superman II, Original Theatrical Version commentary by Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler
• The Making of Superman II [1980 TV special]
• Deleted Scene
• First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series
• Fleischer Studios’ Superman: Superman, The Mechanical Monsters, Billion Dollar Limited, The Arctic Giant, The Bulleteers, The Magnetic Telescope, Electric Earthquake, Volcano, Terror on the Midway
• Theatrical Trailer

Disc #4

• Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut commentary by Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz
• Introduction by Richard Donner
• Superman II: Restoring the Vision
• Deleted Scenes
• Famous Studios’ Superman: Japoteurs, Showdown, Eleventh Hour, Destruction, Inc, The Mummy Strikes, Jungle Drums, The Underground World, Secret Agent

Disc #5

• Superman III Theatrical Version commentary by Iilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler
• The Making of Superman III (1983 TV Special)
• Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer

Disc #6

• Superman IV The Quest For Peace Theatrical Version commentary by Mark Rosenthal
• Superman 50th Anniversary Special (1988 TV Special)
• Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer

Disc #7

• Requiem for Krypton: Making Superman Returns: Pt. 1 Secret Origins and First Issues: Crystallizing Superman, Pt. 2 The Crystal Method: Designing Superman, Pt. 3 An Affinity for Beachfront Property: Shooting Superman- Superman on the Farm, Pt. 4 An Affinity for Beachfront Property: Shooting Superman- Superman in the City, Pt. 5 An Affinity for Beachfront Property: Shooting Superman- Superman in Peril, Pt. 6 The Joy of Lex: Menacing Superman, Pt. 7 He’s Always Around: Wrapping Superman
• Resurrecting Jor-El
• Deleted Scenes including the never-before-seen original opening to Superman Returns
• Bryan Singer’s Journals – Video production journals
• Trailers

Disc #8 Additional Bonus Material

• Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman [Hi-Def]
• You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman: Pt. 1- Origin, Pt. 2- Vision, Pt. 3- Ascent, Pt. 4- Crisis, Pt. 5- Redemption
• The Science of Superman [Hi-Def]
• The Mythology of Superman
• The Heart of a Hero: A Tribute to Christopher Reeve
• The Adventures of Superpup [1958 TV pilot]

 

Out of all the Bonus Features, I think that the showpiece is, clearly, the one hour and fifty-ish minute high def documentary called Look, Up in The Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman! directed by Kevin Burns, produced by Kevin Burns and Bryan Singer, and narrated by Kevin Spacey.

It’s a must-see for any Superman fan and for anyone who dismisses Superman who needs to understand just how important he has been to popular culture. It’s a superbly crafted documentary that is at various points interesting, informative, funny, emotional, and inspiring.

Look, Up in The Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman! features commentary from Forrest J. Ackerman, Kate Bosworth, Dean Cain, Mike Carlin, Gerard Christopher, Jackie Cooper, Dan DiDio, Richard Donner, Michael Dougherty, Stephen Fischler, Alfred Gough, Gary H. Grossman, Mark Hamill, Dan Harris, Philip Hecht, Sam Huntington, Barbara Johnson (Christopher Reeve’s mom), Gerard Jones, Margot Kidder, Jack Larsen, Chris Lee, Stan Lee, Paul Levitz, Tom Mankiewicz, Elliot S! Maggin, Chuck McCann, Miles Millar, Bill Mumy, Noel Neill, Denny O’Neill, Annette O’Toole (who is apparently a huge Superman geek), Jon Peters, Brandon Routh, Ilya Salkind, Gene Simmons, Gail Simone, Bryan Singer, Art Thibert, Thomas Tull, Mark Waid, Lesley Ann Warren, and Adam West. (I think I got every body.)

All of those Superman luminaries chime in as we journey through a fairly comprehensive history of Superman. How comprehensive? Well, here’s a brief overview: We start with Superman’s creation by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (although nothing is mentioned about how DC screwed the pair out of the rights to Superman…), then to Superman’s depression era roots, then to 20 million readers of the Superman newspaper strips, then to the release of Superman #1 (which sold 1,000,000+ copies), then to the Superman radio show that invented Superman’s flying power, The Daily Planet, Perry White, and Kryptonite, then to the Academy Award nominated Fleischer cartoons, then to Superman’s transition from social crusader to big blue boy scout during and after World War II, then to George Reeves’ portrayal of Superman (including his mysterious death–this is not for kids!), then to Dr. Wertham, then to Superman not fitting into the post-JFK assassination/Watergate era in America, then to an ill-advised Superman Broadway show and musical comedy TV special, then to plummeting Superman comic book sales in the 70s, then to Super Friends, then to the Christopher Reeve films (Otisburg!) and Supergirl, then to John Byrne’s post-Crisis reboot of Superman with Man of Steel, then to declining sales after Byrne left the Superman comics, then to Superman being eclipsed by Batman as the most popular DC superhero, then to the Superboy TV show, then to Superman revealing his identity to Lois in the comics, then to the Death of Superman (3,000,000+ copies sold), then to Lois & Clark, then to the marriage of Clark and Lois in the comics which brought with it a brief sales bump, then to Christopher Reeve’s tragic accident, then to Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, then to Smallville, then to the death of Christopher Reeve (a segment which made me tear up), then to the American Express Superman/Jerry Seinfeld ad campaign, and then finally to Superman Returns.

Whew, that was A LOT of ground to cover.

Look, Up in The Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman! is NOT a puff piece. I was expecting one and instead got examinations of George Reeves’ death, the Salkind/Donner tension which caused Donner to leave the films, the disaster that was Superman IV, the fact that Batman is now much more popular than Superman, the debate over the Superman/Lois Lane marriage, and Christopher Reeve’s accident and death. Just about the only thing that was not mentioned was, as I said, the fact that DC Comics screwed Superman’s creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster out of a lot of money. (And honestly, I would have been shocked if it was in there.)

As this is a documentary made to go along with a set of films, naturally the longest segments focused on The Adventures of Superman and George Reeves, the Christopher Reeve movies, Smallville, and Superman Returns.

And finally, the closing credits sequence features out takes and behind the scenes footage from various Superman productions (even Brando as Jor-El mugging for the camera!)

I cannot say enough good things about Look, Up in The Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman!. I honestly meant to put it on in the background while I was working on other things but I got sucked right in by the interesting content and high production values. I’ll be giving this one another viewing soon.

  

 

If you’re like me and this anthology sounds like it’s up your alley, you can click here to own it on Blu-ray. But if you’re not into the whole physical media thing, Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology (1978-2006) is also available On Demand and for download through iTunes and Amazon on Demand.