Superman Movie Minute #26 – A Job Well Done

SUPERMAN MOVIE MINUTE #26 – A Job Well Done

Fire and Water Network All-Stars Chris Franklin and Rob Kelly bring you SUPERMAN MOVIE MINUTE, where they analyze, scrutinize, and you’ll-believe-a-man-can-fly-ize the classic 1978 film starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, and Marlon Brando, five minutes at a time!

In minutes 126:00 – 130:00, Lois gets in serious trouble, and Superman is too late to save her. Or is he?

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9 responses to “Superman Movie Minute #26 – A Job Well Done

  1. In 2001, when the extended cut of Superman: The Movie was first released on DVD, I was not too happy that they fiddled around with the audio.

    I especially did NOT like how “the scream” sounded. It lacked all the primal anger, and punch heard in the original version. (Which is my preferred version of Superman: The Movie)

    When Warner Home Video rereleased all the Christopher Reeve Superman Movies on DVD in 2006, I was super excited that they were including the theatrical cut of Superman: The Movie. When I got the metal box set for Christmas however, I was disappointed that the theatrical cut had the same “remastered audio” as the extended cut.

    Incidentally, I discovered the French language track HAD the all original sound effects. So when “the scream” was about to come up, I used to switch over to the French audio, just to hear him “the scream” the way it’s *supposed* to sound.

    Last, but not least, when the Superman Motion Picture Anthology Blu-ray set was released in 2011, Warner Bros. FINALLY included the original theatrical audio as an option.

    Since then, every time I watch the theatrical cut of Superman: The Movie, I ALWAYS set the audio to 2.0 stereo. That way the movie sounds exactly how it did in 1978. And I can hear “the scream” sounds just right.

    1. Oh wow Dan! I have the Blu-Ray set, but I didn’t know that you could pick the different audio. I’m going to do that next time, because some of the “boosted” or “fiddled with” audio kind of grates on me a bit. I appreciate the cleaned-up picture, but I wish they’d left the audio alone.

      Chris

  2. How many times have I mouthed ‘sh*t’ when I remember I’ve forgotten something or messed something up. So the. Outhed ‘Lois’ made sense.

    For me, she didn’t drown in dirt meaning her lungs filled with dirt (her head is out). I always thought she was just so trapped in dirt that she couldn’t move her chest against the pressure of the dirt to take in air. In essence drowning. Rough way to go.

  3. I’m surprised this episode wasn’t titled “The Scream.”

    Superman’s scream is one of my favorite movie moments of all time. It’s so gut-wrenching. So visceral. So raw. This is what a soul in torment sounds like. I love this moment because I feel it so deeply. Reeve delivers it beautifully from the build-up to the release.

    Other than that, I have a few other thoughts:
    • I think Lois suffocated. I think there was limited air and her body was under too much pressure from the dirt to breathe. That, and she couldn’t take a good breath without inhaling debris. She didn’t look crushed and I think that would have been too gruesome to even insinuate.
    • I choose to believe that Jor-El’s appearance was a powerful memory. Haven’t you ever been blindsided by a memory before that you did a physical double-take? I have. When Superman looks at Jor-El’s image, I think he is looking at the image of Jor-El in his head.
    • I love the quiet moment where Superman sits in his grief. It’s moments like these which make this version of Superman so human. It was a brilliant choice on Donner’s part.

    I love this movie so much. Every time I listen to an episode of this podcast I want to go home and give it a rewatch. It’s so good. And these minutes are amazing. Thanks guys!

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