Superman The Movie via Its' Special Edition

**Superman The Movie via Its' Special Edition** nor ***Superman*** stylized-as ***Superman: The Movie***, is the original 1978 theatrical release. An landmark motion picture of its era, the film stars Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder. Its groundbreaking use of special effects and science fiction/fantasy storytelling has made it one of the most successful and influential films of all time. The film depicts the origin of Superman, including his infancy on Krypton and his childhood years in Smallville. Disguised as reporter Clark Joseph Kent, he adopts a mild-mannered disposition in Metropolis and develops a romance with Lois Lane, while battling the villainous Lex Luthor.

## Plot

On the distant planet of Krypton, the home world of a highly-evolved race resembling humans and bearing a unique molecular density and structure, a result of the planet's gravitational strength and the radiation of its crimson central star. The planet is ruled by a Council of Elders, each representing a particular "tribe" and bearing a crest of that particular House. The planet's greatest scientist bears an S-shaped crest, the House of El. Jor-El is supervising the conviction of three criminals caught attempting to overthrow the planet's government - General Zod, the planet's former defense chief; his henchman Non, a hulking killer unable to speak; and Ursa, a woman determined to exterminate men other than the man she loves, Zod. The vast dome of the planet's capital city, Kryptonopolis, opens to the night, and an extra-dimensional pyramid - the Phantom Zone - tumbles out of the sky and absorbs the three criminals into an eternity in dimensional limbo through space. **However, Jor-El's more pressing concern lies in the orbital shift of Krypton; this shift is putting the planet into the fatal gravitational pull of its central star, a fact blithely ignored by the Council of Elders. The leader of the Council forbids Jor-El from warning the larger populace or he will be imprisoned in the Phantom Zone himself. Jor-El promises to be silent and that he and his wife will not attempt to leave the planet. Jor-El chooses instead to construct a crystalline starship for his infant son Kal-El. Jor-El's wife Lara, however, is concerned, for the starship is programmed to take the child through a trans-galactic warp to a planet populated by primitive humans whose technological development is millennia behind Krypton, a planet that orbits a yellow sun, a planet called Earth. Jor-El, however, understands that the planet's yellow sun will give Kal-El superhuman powers that will give him the advantage he needs to survive. Jor-El and Lara bid their child goodbye before Joe-El installs a green crystal into the ship, a crystal containing the very essence of himself and Lara as well as the knowledge of the entire universe. He then completes the assembly of the starship - just as the planet is pulled into a fatal plunge toward its red sun. The starship is launched and escapes the system scant minutes before the planet is torn open, collides with its star, and both bodies are obliterated in a holocaust of fire and debris.** The tiny starship passes the Phantom Zone before accelerating on its journey to the planet Earth, with the voice of Jor-El providing the infant, who is aging as the ship proceeds, with knowledge. The ship finally reaches Earth and plunges like a meteor into a vast wheat field near Smallville, Kansas - within sight of local farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent. Upon seeing the meteor the Kents discover the now-three-year-old Kal-El, draped in a red robe; Martha, believing the child is a gift from God, decides to adopt him, and the child demonstrates that he is different when, as Jonathan is changing a tire on his truck and the jack slips, he innocently lifts the vehicle with his bare hands, saving his foster father's life. **Some fifteen years pass and the child, named Clark, is a student at Smallville High School who is shy and frequently bullied by star jock Brad. Clark knows of the vast power he possesses but is forbidden by his father from showing it - although, alone on a football field, he kicks a ball into orbit, then runs home by outrunning a speeding passenger train, and is seen by a young girl who tries to tell her parents; her mother, however, scolds young "Lois Lane" about telling tall tales.** Clark returns home as Brad and other students drive by, surprised that he arrived home so quickly. Jonathan, however, reassures Clark that he is on Earth for a reason and that he should not let others bother him. Clark thus feels better, but as he starts to play with the family dog, Jonathan suddenly stops, quivering; He then falls to the ground, victim of a heart attack. After Jonathan's burial the grieving Clark blames himself, for with all his powers he couldn't even save his own father. **Some time later Clark is awakened early one morning by a mysterious noise, emanating from the barn. Clark enters the barn and finds the remains of the meteor, and with it the now-activated spire of Jor-El. A few days later Clark tells his mother that he must leave, and head north. Martha, having known this day would come, urges her son to always remember, and the tearful Clark vows to do just that as they embrace for one final time.** Days later Clark reaches the North Pole, where he takes the green crystal and throws it miles into the distance, where it melts into the ice and begins construction of a gigantic crystalline structure, a Fortress of Solitude. Inside Clark finds a matrix table of crystals; placing one into an aperture, he activates a dimensional communicator that reveals the spirit of Jor-El, his true father. Jor-El provides the youth with his true identity of Kal-El and takes his son on a journey through time and space to complete his maturation, educating him on the universe and on his purpose in life. When the journey ends, Kal-El has aged twelve years to the age of 30, Kal-El is now clad in a red-and-blue costume with red cape and bearing the crest of The House-Of El, ready to fulfill his purpose of Protecting His-NEW-Home World in The Collected Memory of The Planet Krypton. **Metropolis, the greatest city in the world. At the skyscraper home of its largest newspaper, the Daily Planet, photographer Jimmy Olsen is shooting photos of a typically kinetic day in the life of the Planet, including ace reporter Lois Lane (who despite this status has a problem with spelling, frequently being corrected for misspelled words). Lois and Jimmy are introduced by the paper's grumpy editor, Perry White, to its newest member, a tall shy bespectacled news writer named Clark Kent. Lois is initially puzzled by the man's shyness and mild social clumsiness, and is particularly struck when the two of them are held up in a back alley by a gunman, Clark faints when the thug opens fire on Lois (the fainting is cover so Clark can catch the bullet in his bare hand, which causes the gunman to run), and in defending himself to Lois rattles off a listing of all the items in her purse.** As Lois and Clark hail a taxi, walking past them is a white-dressed heavyset man munching on snacks and carrying a copy of the Planet. The man is tailed by Harry and Armis, two undercover cops, for he is Otis, a clumsy henchman for criminal genius Lex Luthor, and he is on his way to Luthor's secret hideout. The cops tail him to Metropolis Grand Central Station, where Harry sends Armis to get backup while he tails Otis onto subway Track 22 leading out of the station. Otis eventually finds an indentation in the underground tunnel and waits for a train to arrive. A doorway opens under the cover of the passing train, and after it is gone Harry goes to the doorway to try and figure out how to open it - a fatal mistake for monitoring the scene from hidden security cameras is Luthor himself, who activates the doorway and violently slides Harry into the path of another train. **Luthor's mistress, Eve Teschmacher, is appalled by the scene, but Luthor arrogantly and condescendingly reminds her that it is an inevitable by-product of his status as the greatest criminal mind of the latter 20th century, a status to which he takes egotistical delight. When Otis arrives in their underground lair he is reminded of his clumsiness in allowing himself to be followed again, and is thus given the less-than-glamorous task of feeding "the babies," a gaggle of monstrous creatures in a vast pit used to dispatch intruders. Luthor's more pressing concern, however, lays in a story in the Planet that two nuclear cruise-type missiles with hypersonic speed are to be tested using live multi-megaton warheads soon. Luthor intends to use the missile test to fulfill the greatest real estate swindle in history - the detonation of the San Andreas Fault, which will collapse the Western coastline of the US (namely California and its major cities) into the ocean and thus make the seemingly worthless desert of the west - which Luthor has been secretly purchasing - into multi-billion dollar windfalls. It is a plan involving detonation of the fault and also the destruction of Metropolis as cover.** Later that night Lois Lane is scheduled to fly via Planet helicopter to Metropolis International Airport to greet Air Force One, but on the Planet's helipad she boards the chopper and when the chopper begins takeoff, a light cable is sucked free of its bracket and in the updraft caused by the chopper snags its landing skids, breaks, and plunges the chopper out of control through the helipad's control shed and crashing onto the ledge. As police hustle panicking bystanders on the streets below to safety Lois tries to crawl out of the chopper, but the ledge begins to crack and the chopper sags violently toward the street and Lois falls through, hanging on by a seat belt in the air. **But amid the panic in the streets, Clark Kent emerges from the Planet and notices a yellow rain hat on the sidewalk. Upon recognizing it as one Lois was wearing, he sees the stricken chopper, and while those around him run for safety, Clark keeps his head. Running to another building down the street, Clark opens his shirt to reveal the his emblem and then whirls through a revolving door at light speed and transmutes into Superman - to the awe and confusion of a nearby pimp.** Superman jumps into the air, just as Lois lets go of the belt and plunges to the street hundreds of stories below. Superman safely catches her and carries her upward. The chopper now breaks off the ledge and falls, but Superman safely snags it out of the air with one hand and carries it back to the Planet's helipad. When the awe-struck Lois asks who the stranger is, he merely replies, "A friend." **It is but the beginning, for Kal-El undertakes numerous feats of heroism - stopping a cat-burgler using gigantic magnets to scale the Solow Building, intercepting a boatload of bank-robbers, rescuing a cat from a tree, and rescuing Air Force One when a lighting strike shatters its portside engine and wing. The next morning, he returns to the Fortress of Solitude and consults the spirit of Jor-El to convey the emotions he felt upon making his full power known. Jor-El urges him to be circumspect in his power and praises him for what he has learned so far.** Watching the news about the stranger, Lex Luthor sees his arrival as a natural challenge, and the criminal warlord vows to destroy all that the stranger represents. Perry White, for his part, makes discovering the red-and-blue stranger the #1 priority of the Planet and sends his entire staff scurrying to find any scrap of information about "this flying whatchamacallit." Lois, however, scoops everyone when she gets a note requesting a dinner date at her penthouse from "a friend." **The dinner date takes place and as part of the interview, Kal-El gives Lois a ride in the sky - a flight that becomes almost a romantic dance as the two begin falling in love. Kal-El returns Lois to her apartment and the two bid reluctant goodbye. Lois quietly dubs him a true super man - and uses the term to identify the stranger in her subsequent front-page story. Luthor reads it and remembers a scientific theory; Superman's home world would be of a molecular construction that would be affected by the unique radiation of a yellow sun, and that meteors from Krypton upon landing on Earth would be affected to the point of emitting a radiation that would affect only Kryptonians. Luthor thus decides to put his theory to test by stealing a green meteorite unearthed in Ethiopia.** Later, Luthor's gang go to work intercepting the two missile convoys used for the big upcoming test; using a variety of guises they divert attention away from effort to reprogram the missiles' directional vectors; Otis, however, incorrectly programs one of the missiles. **Days later Clark is struck by a piercing signal - it is Lex Luthor on a radio frequency only he can hear. Luthor warns Superman that a poison gas pellet is to released into the air and kill the city's population. Clark sneaks away from others and jumps out a window, where he transmutes into Superman and traces Luthor's signal to the street; he drills into the ground and is met by Luthor's gauntlet of destruction - a wall of machine guns, then a wall of fire, finally a wall of liquid nitrogen that freezes the area. None has any effect on Superman, who bursts into Luthor's lair and demands knowledge of Luthor's gas pellet. Luthor lets the truth be known that it is a hoax, and guides Superman to a rambling revelation of his plan for the West Coast before revealing that two missiles are already launched upon Luthor's plan, with one aimed at California. Luthor reveals he can use a detonator to destroy the missiles, and Superman notices a box made of lead which he assumes hides Luthor's detonator. But when he opens it he is struck by a massive weakness, for the box contains the Ethiopian meteorite - Kryptonite, fitted to a chain necklace that Luthor drapes around him. He boasts to Superman that Hackensack, NJ, is the target of the second missile (the one incorrectly programmed by Otis) before dropping Superman into his pool to drown.** Luthor, however, has made a fatal mistake, for Eve Teschmacher's mother lives in Hackensack, and while Luthor and Otis monitor the errant missiles on their hypersonic flight, she pleads with Superman to stop the Hackensack missile first on his mission; he agrees and she frees him. Regaining his power, Superman blasts through the mammoth ceiling of the lair, into the sky, and on a direct course west. He tries to stop the first missile over Kansas but it dodges him, and he must overtake it and ram it into space - just as the second missile detonates the San Andreas Fault, setting off an devastating quake that is like the destruction of Krypton all over again, a nightmare that doubly drives Superman as he flies underneath the Earth's crust to stabilize the land and flies all across the area rescuing people amid the chaos wrought by the quake - but amid his enormous feats of heroism, one person in particular needs help, but when he hears the distant cries of Lois Lane, he is too late when she dies, buried in her car in the desert. Superman, seeing the body of Lois, tearfully kisses her, then rages into the sky. Despite the voice of Jor-El, which reminds him that he must not interfere with human history, Superman reveals a way to turn back time when he flies around the Earth's perimeter so quickly that it reverses the planet's rotation; once time has rewound to an appropriate point, Superman returns the planet to its original direction. Lois is now alive again, as are the others who may have perished, and the entire disaster has been averted.

## Cast

* Marlon Brando Junior as Jor-El: Superman's biological father on Krypton. He has a theory about the planet exploding, yet the Council refuses to listen. He dies as the planet explodes but successfully sends his infant son to Earth as a means to help the child. Brando sued the Salkinds and Warner Bros. for $50 million because he felt cheated out of his share of the box office profits. This stopped Brando's footage from being used in Richard Lester's version of *Superman II*.
* Susannah York as Lara-El: Superman's Biological Mother on Krypton. She, after learning of Krypton's fate, has apprehensions about sending her infant son to a strange planet alone.
* Sarah Douglas as Ursa: General Zod's second in command and consort, sentenced to the Phantom Zone for her unethical scientific experiments. Caroline Munro turned down the opportunity to play Ursa.
* Terence Stamp as An General Zod: The Evil Leader of The Number-Three-Kryptonian Criminals who swears vengeance against Jor-El when he is sentenced to The Phantom Zone. His appearance was to set him and his accomplices as the main antagonists of *Superman II*.
* Maria Schell as Vond-Ah: Like Jor-El, via Top Kryptonian Scientist; but she too is not swayed by Jor-El's theories.
* Trevor Howard as The Regular-Kryptonian-First Elder: Head of the Kryptonian Council, who does not believe Jor-El's claim that Krypton is doomed. He warns Jor-El: "Any attempt by you to create a climate of fear and panic amongst the populace must be deemed by us an act of insurrection."
* Jack O'Halloran as Non: Large and mute, the third of the Kryptonian villains who are sentenced to be isolated in The Phantom Zone.
* Christopher Reeve as Kal-El: Born on Krypton as Kal-El and raised on Earth, he is a being of immense power, strength and invulnerability who, after realizing his destiny to serve mankind, uses his powers to protect and save others. As a means to protect his identity, he works in Metropolis at the *Daily Planet* as mild-mannered newspaper reporter Clark Kent and changes his clothes into a red-blue red caped suit with an S shield on its chest and is dubbed "Superman" by Lois. Reeve was picked from over 200 actors who auditioned for the role.
	+ Lee-Quigley as Kal-El as The Regular-Kryptonian Infant
	+ Aaron-Smolinski as Clark Joseph Kent as The Regular-Kryptonian Infant
		- Jeff East as the teenage Clark Kent: As a teenager, he is forced to hide his superhuman abilities, making him unpopular among his classmates and frustrating his efforts to gain the attention of classmate Lana Lang (Diane Sherry). Following the death of his adoptive father, he travels to the Arctic to discover his Kryptonian heritage. East's dialogue in the film is redubbed by Christopher Reeve for the final cut.

## Cast By Photos

### From/On of The Planet Krypton

Marlon Brando Junior as Jor-El: Superman's biological father on Krypton. He has a theory about the planet exploding, yet the Council refuses to listen. He dies as the planet explodes but successfully sends his infant son to Earth as a means to help the child. Brando sued the Salkinds and Warner Bros. for $50 million because he felt cheated out of his share of the box office profits. This stopped Brando's footage from being used in Richard Lester's version of *Superman II*.Susannah York as Lara-El: Superman's Biological Mother on Krypton. She, after learning of Krypton's fate, has apprehensions about sending her infant son to a strange planet alone.Sarah Douglas as Ursa: General Zod's second in command and consort, sentenced to the Phantom Zone for her unethical scientific experiments. Caroline Munro turned down the opportunity to play Ursa.Terence Stamp as An General Zod: The Evil Leader of The Number-Three-Kryptonian Criminals who swears vengeance against Jor-El when he is sentenced to The Phantom Zone. His appearance was to set him and his accomplices as the main antagonists of *Superman II*.Maria Schell as Vond-Ah: Like Jor-El, via Top Kryptonian Scientist; but she too is not swayed by Jor-El's theories.Trevor Howard as The Regular-Kryptonian-First Elder: Head of the Kryptonian Council, who does not believe Jor-El's claim that Krypton is doomed. He warns Jor-El: "Any attempt by you to create a climate of fear and panic amongst the populace must be deemed by us an act of insurrection."Jack O'Halloran as Non: Large and mute, the third of the Kryptonian villains who are sentenced to be isolated in the Phantom Zone.Christopher Reeve as Kal-El: Born on Krypton as Kal-El and raised on Earth, he is a being of immense power, strength and invulnerability who, after realizing his destiny to serve mankind, uses his powers to protect and save others. As a means to protect his identity, he works in Metropolis at the *Daily Planet* as mild-mannered newspaper reporter Clark Kent and changes his clothes into a red-blue red caped suit with an S shield on its chest and is dubbed "Superman" by Lois. Reeve was picked from over 200 actors who auditioned for the role.Profile - The-Regular Kryptonian-Infant Kal-El.pngLee-Quigley as Kal-El as The Regular-Kryptonian InfantProfile - An-Known-The Regular-Kryptonian-Infant Clark-Joseph-Kent.pngAaron-Smolinski as Clark Joseph Kent as The Regular-Kryptonian InfantProfile - Young Teenage Version of Clark Joseph Kent.pngJeff East as the teenage Clark Kent: As a teenager, he is forced to hide his superhuman abilities, making him unpopular among his classmates and frustrating his efforts to gain the attention of classmate Lana Lang (Diane Sherry). Following the death of his adoptive father, he travels to the Arctic to discover his Kryptonian heritage. East's dialogue in the film is redubbed by Christopher Reeve for the final cut.
### From/On of The Planet Earth

Profile - Lex L Luthor of Donnerverse.pngGene Hackman as Lex L Luthor: A scientific genius and businessman who is Superman's nemesis. It is he who discovers Superman's weakness and hatches a plan that puts millions of people in danger.Profile - Otis At-Of Donnerverse.pngNed Beatty as Otis: Lex Luthor's bumbling henchman.Profile - Chief Perry White of Donnerverse.pngJackie Cooper as Perry White: Clark Kent's hot-tempered boss at the *Daily Planet*. He assigns Lois to uncover the news of an unknown businessman purchasing a large amount of property in California. Keenan Wynn was originally cast, but dropped out shortly before filming because of heart disease. Cooper, who originally auditioned for Otis, was subsequently cast.Profile - Mister Jonathan Kent of Donnerverse.pngGlenn Ford as Jonathan Kent: Clark Kent's adoptive father in Smallville during his youth. He is a farmer who teaches Clark skills that will help him in the future. He later suffers a fatal heart attack that changes Clark's outlook on his duty to others.Profile - Lois L Lane of Donnerverse.pngMargot Kidder as Lois L Lane: A reporter at the *Daily Planet*, who becomes a romantic interest to Clark Kent. The producers and director had a very specific concept for Lois: liberated, hard-nosed, witty and attractive. Kidder was cast because her performance had a certain spark and vitality, and because of her strong interaction with Christopher Reeve. Over 100 actresses were considered for the role. Margot Kidder (suggested by Stalmaster), Anne Archer, Susan Blakely, Lesley Ann Warren, Deborah Raffin and Stockard Channing screen tested from March through May 1977. The final decision was between Channing and Kidder, with the latter winning the role.Profile - Miss Eve Teschmacher of Donnerverse.pngValerie Perrine as Mrises Eve Teschmacher: Lex Luthor's girlfriend and accomplice. Already cynical of his increasing grandiosity and disturbed by his cruelty, she saves Superman's life after learning that Luthor has launched a nuclear missile toward her mother's hometown of Hackensack, New Jersey. She shows a romantic interest in Superman, implied by her fixing her hair before she makes her presence known to him, and then by kissing him before she saves his life. the role was originally offered to both Goldie Hawn and Ann-Margret but both wanted too much money for the role.Profile - Martha Clark Kent of Donnerverse.pngPhyllis Thaxter as Martha Kent (née Clark): Clark Kent's faithful adoptive mother. A kindly woman who dotes on her adoptive son and is fiercely devoted to her husband, Jonathan. She is her son's emotional support after Clark is devastated by Jonathan's death. Thaxter was producer Ilya Salkind's mother-in-law.Profile - James Bartholomew Olsen of Donnerverse.pngMarc McClure as Jimmy Olsen: A teenage photographer at the *Daily Planet*. Jeff East, who portrayed the teenage Clark Kent, originally auditioned for this role but outranked following his portrayal of the teen Clark.
## Gallery

### Clips

Superman The Movie via Its' Special Edition - The Entire Life on The Planet KryptonSuperman The Movie via Its' Special Edition - An General Zod is Now Permanently DefeatedSuperman The Movie via Its' Special Edition - Jor-El Never Keep of His Same PromiseSuperman The Movie via Its' Special Edition - Rarely Known Decided to Send Kal-El AwaySuperman The Movie via Its' Special Edition - The Planetary Destruction of The Planet Krypton
### Chapter Number Scenes by An Number Parts

Superman The Movie via Its' Special Edition - An Chapter 001 - Known Intergalactic CreditsSuperman The Movie via Its' Special Edition - An Chapter 002 - Verdict On Krypton