Superman: the original movies

They should have gotten their butts in gear and had all this ready the first time they released the Superman films on DVD. I don't like buying the same movie twice.

 

I can answer that one.

When Jon Peters was in charage of making the film, he had an intense hatred for the Donner film, as well as the others. He felt that the costume was too *****, too "pink". You can figure it out. Anyway, he also hated the effects work of the day as well as how the character was portrayed. Mind you, he never read a comic and didn't even know the character's birth name was Kal-El. Peters did everything in his power to degrade the classic film and it's sequels. It's not expressly said, but he probably had a hand in preventing the first film from getting a theatrical re-release and convinced WB to not even bother with the others.

Fast forward to today. WB now has Bryan Singer in charge of the film and it's getting good buzz. They've spent a good deal to get this film out, plus they abandoned much of the old money issues from Peters' era. To market the film and it's connection to the past, WB bought the rights to all the films by the Salkinds and are giving them a full makeover. Combine that with Marlon Brando's passing on, which makes it easier to negotiate for the use of the footage he shot for II, and here we are.

That is why there is a case of double dipping. If not for Peters being outed and Singer connecting to the original, we wouldn't have this much. I always held out hope for a proper boxset someday and it's now come.

 

I remember this, it was when Kevin Smith was asked to write it, Peters had three things he wanted, No suit, No flying and a GIANT SPIDER!!!!


Peters went on to produce Wild Wild West





very long but intersting read

http://www.agonybooth.com/forum/topic2730.htm

tells about everything that has happened while trying to get the new movie off the gorund

 

Why am I not surprised.

I'm not complaining too much. I've wanted to see Donner's version ever since I heard about it. The DVD for the first film is actually pretty good already. Lots of extras. The rest of the series is sadly lacking. Since I only purchased I & II, I guess it's not too bad to buy a new boxed set.

 

I should probably inform people that the Superboy series will finally make it to DVD. Years ago, the Salkinds launched Superboy with the intention of using it to spring board a new film series. Many comic writers were involved in creating the series. But the WB launched a cease and decsist (sp). Well, now it's been settled and Superman Homepage has announced that season one is being put together. All four seasons will be released. Which is good news for those who missed this the first time around or could only deal with the VCD bootlegs.

 

I knew they'd give the Superman Films the "Ultimate" Treatment one day which is why i've been able to hold back....thankfully I was right.

Oh and Darth, sorry buddy but i'm gonna have to one up you...

THE COMPLETE STORY OF SUPERMAN LIVES:

http://www.youtube.com/w/Superman-Lives?v=gUU_Vs1BL0E&search=superman

It's an entertaining clip--thank the maker Darth Peters () WONT EVER touch this American Icon (SUPERMAN...not Kevin Smith though he's cool too):

 

i assume the re-done dvds will be released before Superman Returns is out?

 

Unlikely. I mean I think they're still going through the digital restoration process along w/ the re-editing of Donner's Superman II as we speak. Not to mention that these will be HD-DVDs and that they will consist of 14 (yes, 14!) DVDs, it's very unlikely they'll have ALL of that done in 4 months.

Most likely scenerio: FALL 06' w/ the Superman Returns DVD Release. (similar to what they did with releasing the Batman Anthology DVD set w/ the Batman Begins DVD)

 

that would make sense although wont they release it on regular DVD to since majority of people will still have regular dvd players?

 

I think the HD-DVDs will be backwards compatible...(don't quote me on it though)

 

quick question about Metropolis. in the original movies it seems like it's in new york or so. in the tv show smallville i remember an episode where Clark and Lana climb to the top of a windmill in smallville and can see the Metropolis skyline. what's the deal here? there's no way that you can see Metropolis from Smallville, Kansas if it's all the way in New York.

 

That is but one stop on the rollercoaster that has been superman.......and while funny, and I loved that whole dvd, not really a one-up

 

This history of Metropolis.

In the original Golden Age Superman stories and very early into the Silver Age, Metropolis and Smallville weren't that far apart. Metropolis was initially based off of Toronto, which is where Seigel and Shuster were from. Later it was briefly modeled off of Cleveland, which is where the duo were living when the character took off. As the years passed, more and more Metropolis was based along the east coast areas. It would be the first film that used NYC for many exterior settings. Some believe that Metropolis is closer to Delaware than New York. Unofficially, Metropolis is located along the basic shoreline that is New York. Same as Gotham, which is actually modeled off of lower Manhatten at 2:00 in the morning. Supposedly Metropolis, Gotham, Bludhaven and New York City are all in the same general vacinity.

Now, when Superman's origin was first told, Smallville had no real name. It was more of a description. It was supposed to be located outside of Metropolis and was more of a rural area. During the 50's, which is known as the lost years, Smallville was firmly established and eventually set in Kansas state. For the series, the two are kept close together to justify trips to Metropolis. Especially by foot or car. In the comics and other media, Superman has to fly halfway across the country. Metropolis, it should be noted, has no state designation. The governor of the state in which Metropolis exists is mentioned, but not the name of the state. Same with Gotham and Bludhaven. Central City, Keystone City, Hub City, Fawcett City, Star City and Opal City are given specific locations.

For the third Superman film, Toronto was used for most of the exterior shots with footage from the first film for the Daily Planet exterior. The new film uses Sydney with some CGI modifications and actual half sized models for Metorpolis.

 

I was going to bring up that same thing about the "spider" and "guber". If anyone has seen "An evening with Kevin Smith". He goes into the history of making the Superman film that he was briefly attached to. It was pretty damn funny.

Hey Sinister: I have two questions for you.

1)RolandofGilead said something about an extended dvd of Superman: the movie already in existence but he didn't reply...do you know anything about this? I was aware of it..if it does indeed exist..

2)We may have discussed this before but I can't remember..What did you think of the newly enhanced Sound effects for the dvd release of Superman?

 

The extended version Roland's talking about is the 2001 release, which featured an improved sound and image quality. As well as several deleted scenes. There are additional scenes cut out, but mostly it's second unit stuff that's really filler. Only two whole scenes that could add to the story were dropped. 1. Superman's attempt to stop the first rocket. Donner cut it then and now because he couldn't get it to look right. 2. The death of the Executioner, who arrives to arrest the El's when the destruction begins.

I wasn't bothered by the changes in sound, like some purists are. Especially since much of it's just enhancing the original to sound like it does in 5.1 digital. I do admit that it took me a while to get used to the different flight sounds. I've noticed that it sounds more like the animated version. As to the gun effects, I perfer the 70's style as well as the Lethal Weapon sounds.

 

Hi Darth Sinister.You should be on the other Superman-including the DC boards.I agree with the sound effects such as the gun shots.I suppose when the box set comes out in November-the 14 disc set we will know what is on the screen.BTW do you or anyone know if the set will be released as one set and the individual films-including Supergirl will be released seperately?I'm interested in the Supergirl if only for the restored, longer version and a second bonus disc.

 

I have no idea if the films will be separate or not. I would assume that it's possible, given that the Alien films are available separately. I haven't seen too many copies of the OT on DVD separately, unless I go to Blockbusters or Hollywood video. Pretty much anything that's under one umbrella of release, such as the Superman boxset, will be available in a boxset predominately. Highlander and Halloween were all produced by different studios, so they cannot have a boxset in the US. But in some European countries, they are packaged together in a boxset.

I believe the Matrix trilogy and the AniMatirx is still sold separately, as well as in the massive boxset. So it's easy to assume that the same could happen for Superman.

 

ok Sinister, I have the boxset of all four movies that came out a few years ago with those sound enhancements. Now is that the 2000 version?...or the 2001 extended version you mentioned? The one I have has the scene of Superman talking to Jor-El after his first appearance in Metropolis.

I always loved the scene with him trying to catch the rocket, always looked cool. I wish they had put that back in. I also liked the extended conversation between Jor-El and the Elders at the beginning also.

 

Yep, that's the one.

 

i sort of wish in the originals they went w/ some of the superman villains like brainiac or metallo. hopefully Superman Returns is the start of more movies and they'll be included

 

Well, I believe it was mentioned earlier, but Brainiac was going to be in Superman III. I think that we'll see the other rogues if Returns does well enough to guarantee a sequel. Singer and his team did leave the door open for sequels, should they all agree to come back.

 

I thought that the films weren't going to be released seperatly.

From what I had read the "Donner Cut" was going to be availible in the box set and only in the box set.

 

honestly i hope that's not the case because the only ones i'd be getting would be Superman I and II

 

It's probably WB's way of ensuring that the other films are bought. It won't bother me too much since I never got the original boxset. I only did that because III & IV were going to be the theatrical cuts and not the television broadcasts. I would've just stuck to the tapes that I had recorded years ago. Fortunately, this just gives me the incentive to get them all. I'm not entirely put off by IV. It's not the best of the bunch, but I can handle it. And I love the Superman vs Clark Kent arc in III. Never got to see the extended cut of Supergirl, so that wouldn't hurt. I'll probably never go back to watching the original version of I, but I will watch Lester's cut of II. There are things in there that I like.

 

An exclusive off the Superman Homepage.


One-on-One Interview with Producer Ilya Salkind
By Barry M. Freiman

While every hero needs a villain, in real life the lines between altruist and antagonist often blur. Consider that moment from 1983's "Superman III" where the hero must battle his own subconscious for moral supremacy. Had a similar confrontation taken place in Producer Ilya Salkind's life (incidentally Salkind conceived the Superman versus Superman story for the sequel uncredited), Salkind believes that the good guy won just like in the movie.

"You're going to be on that white side or... on that black side and I thank God I'm now completely on the white side," Salkind joked during a recent interview.

Salkind, 58, conceived of the idea to do a big-budget "Superman" movie, and, along with his late father, Alexander, and childhood friend, Pierre Spengler, co-produced the first three "Superman" movies and "Supergirl", and also produced the television series "Superboy" (later the "Adventures of Superboy") for syndication.

Without Salkind's germ of an idea, there would never have been a "Superman" movie franchise. Christopher Reeve would likely have continued to evolve as a competent soap opera actor and Broadway staple. There would have been one less "blockbuster" in the triumvirate -- that also includes "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" -- that helped usher in a new era of film-making that respected and exalted science fiction, fantasy, and adventure stories. And the plethora of big budget comic book movies that have followed - "Batman", "Hellboy", "Daredevil", "Spider-Man", "X-Men", "Men in Black", to name a few - would never have been made (not to mention a little project called "Superman Returns").



A Producing Pedigree

Like Superman himself, Salkind's destiny was laid out years before he was born. Salkind's grandfather, Mikhail, produced one of Greta Garbo's first films ("The Joyless Street") in 1925 when Salkind's father, Alexander, was only four years old. Mikhail continued producing movies and Alexander joined the family business. "My grandfather was the creative man, my father was the financial man," Salkind related. The family eventually relocated from Europe to Mexico. In the early 1940s, Alexander met Berta Dominguez, a Mexican-born poet and playwright. He married her shortly thereafter and, in 1947, son Ilya Juan Salkind Dominguez was born.

The relationship between Alexander and Berta was at times volatile and they eventually split. In the 1950s, a young Salkind spent a tentative year living with his reunited parents in the United States. It was then he had his first introduction to Superman.

"As a child, I [spent] a year in New York and it was a relatively tense time in my childhood between my parents," Salkind explained. "But it was a kind of wonderful year [too] because they got together again and there was a wonderful Christmas. I spoke a little English, but there I also picked up Americana-English as well as comic books and all that, so I'd say that's really where the Superman thing started in my subconscious."

Salkind also recalled watching first-run episodes of TV's "Adventures of Superman" series starring George Reeves. "I saw George Reeves. I'm not that old," Salkind laughed.

Salkind eventually joined his father and grandfather in the family business. The first picture that had the junior Salkind earning an Associate Producer credit was 1971's "The Light at the Edge of the World". He followed that up by serving as an Executive Producer on 1972's "Bluebeard".

Three generations of Salkinds then brought "The Three Musketeers" to the screen in 1973. The Salkinds retained director Richard Lester (who would later direct "Superman II") to film both "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers" at once. By this point, Salkind's childhood friend Spengler had also joined the Salkind production team. Both "Musketeers" films were financial and critical hits.

With this success, however, the Salkinds also took their share of blows. L