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Trailer

Superman

1978Movie2 h 24 minNR

78

GreatGoodWatch score

78

GreatGoodWatch score

Letterboxd

Summary

Mild-mannered Clark Kent works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane. Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor launches a plan to take over the world.

Good for

Date night
Family movie night
Friends night

Skip it if

You want dark or edgy material

Where to watch

Set your services

Fingerprint

Gives you goosebumps.
Leaves you in awe.
Warms you up.
Lifts you up.
Pulls you in.

Not for scares.

The whole fingerprint· the print and its 12 scales

At a glance

Critics vs audiences
Critics a little warmer than audiences (+6)
Critics 82Audiences 76GoodWatch 78
Metascore82
User score7.8
Letterboxd · 285 K ratings3.7/5
IMDb7.4
Box office
5.5×its budget
Budget
$55 M
Worldwide
$300 M
Worldwide it earned $245 M more than it cost.
Running time
2 h 24 min
Longer than 9 in 10 sci-fi movies, +45 min on the typical 99
typical 99144
Half of all sci-fi movies run 90–112 min.
Reach
Streams in 69 countries, rent or buy in 32 more
+59
Released
1978
December 14, 1978
48 years ago
Genres
Science FictionActionAdventure
Language
English
Original language
Made in
United Kingdom
United States
Rated
- NRUnited States
- PGUnited States
Yes: it's rated NR in the United States for violence, and the viewing guide lists it for kids.
What's in it
ViolenceMild
Gore, disturbing imagesLittle or none
Frightening scenesLittle or none
Sex, nudityLittle or none
Dark themesLittle or none
In white: what the content advisories name. Levels from the title analysis.
Viewing guide
AdultsDate NightFamily Movie NightFriends NightParty VibeIntergenerationalKidsPartner WatchPublic Viewing SafeSolo WatchTeensComfort WatchPure Escapism
24 of 90
Directing · 36
Richard Donner Director
John Barry Second Unit Director, Production Design
John Glen Second Unit Director
Vincent Winter Assistant Director
Bud Grace Assistant Director
Elaine Schreyeck Continuity
Writing · 7
Tom Mankiewicz Writer
David Newman Screenplay
Leslie Newman Screenplay
Mario Puzo Story, Screenplay
Robert Benton Screenplay
Joe Shuster Characters
Production · 20
Ilya Salkind Executive Producer
Pierre Spengler Producer
Lynn Stalmaster Casting
Mary Selway Casting
Austen Jewell Production Manager
Gordon Arnell Publicist
Camera · 40
Geoffrey Unsworth Director of Photography
James A. Contner Camera Operator
David Wynn-Jones First Assistant Camera
Doug Luke Still Photographer
Peter MacDonald Camera Operator
Reginald H. Morris Additional Photography
Editing · 10
Stuart Baird Editor
Michael Ellis Editor
George Akers Assistant Editor
Bob Mullen First Assistant Editor
Colin Wilson Assistant Editor
Neil Farrell Assistant Editor
Sound · 21
John Williams Original Music Composer
Chris Greenham Supervising Sound Editor
Peter Pennell Sound Effects Editor
Alexander Courage Orchestrator
Herbert W. Spencer Orchestrator
Leonard Green Assistant Dialogue Editor
Art · 30
Leslie Dilley Art Direction
Stan Jolley Art Direction
Alan Cassie Draughtsman
Bill Brodie Supervising Art Director
Tony Reading Art Direction
Maurice Fowler Supervising Art Director
Costume & Make-Up · 26
Yvonne Blake Costume Design
Louis Lane Makeup Artist
Pat McDermott Hairdresser
Basil Newall Makeup Artist
Nick Maley Makeup Artist
Connie Reeve Makeup Artist
Visual Effects · 16
Roy Field Visual Effects Supervisor
Colin Chilvers Special Effects Supervisor
Les Bowie Special Effects Supervisor
Derek Meddings Modeling, Visual Effects Director
Russ Woolnough Visual Effects Assistant Editor
Ray Caple Matte Painter

Tropes

"Magic A" Is "Magic A"in 177 titlesRichard Donner, the director, used the word "verisimilitude" as the production motto in scripting and crafting the film.Catching Up on HistoryRare · in 26 titlesJor-El leaves his son Kal-El a hologram to be watched when he turns eighteen years old that explains his Kryptonian origins.All 251 tropes

More like this

Watch order

The Superman series

Film 1 of 4 · then Superman II

Superman (1978)
GoodWatch score 78
You're here
Superman II (1980)
GoodWatch score 77
Film 2
Superman III (1983)
GoodWatch score 40
Film 3
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
GoodWatch score 26
Film 4

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