A few years back, I got to write a long form article about the Superman films, so if you’re looking for a deep dive then please check out: ‘Superman On the Big Screen: Parts 1-4’.
For this new UHD release from Warner Bros, I’ll give a quick review of each of the five included Christopher Reeve films and then get into just how they polished up with all new transfers. Sound good? All right, let’s get to them!
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE
From the minds of Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, and the cash raised by the pioneer producers the Salkinds, came a merging that created the world’s first superhero film. The granddaddy of what is now a choked cinematic genre hit screens in 1977 and enraptured the world over.
A scientist from a dying world places his infant son into an escape vessel and sends him to Earth. Discovered by Kansas couple the Kents, the boy displays extraordinary abilities right away. They decide to adopt him and raise him as there own, naming Kal-El of Krypton Clark Kent. When Clark is in high school, encouraged strongly by his earth parents to keep his growing powers secret, a strange green Crystal from the vessel he arrived in calls to him. It leads him north, and creates a fortress of solitude, where his Kryptonian father’s interactive messages from years before teach him who he is and what he can do. Now a man with purpose, Clark moves to Metropolis to live amongst the world and start helping as Superman. Quickly, the world’s first superhero gains the unfavourable attention of Lex Luthor, a criminal with designs on making a fortune—at the expense of the lives of millions—and being the man who kills Superman.
In this day and age of a superhero movie releasing every other week, it’s difficult to conceive just what a revelatory night at the movies this film was back in the day. It’s poster’s tag line was ‘you will believe a man can fly’ and boy did we. With Richard Donner’s dogged dedication to Superman’s mythology and it’s place in American folklore, the film delivered a sincerity (thanks to Christopher Reeve’s earnest performance) and verisimilitude that was true movie magic. This was a year after Star Wars changed the face of cinema and showed a quantum leap in what was capable in effects. Superman did the same by using motion control, rigging, front projection and dynamic camera movement to sell that a man was soaring through the air. It took our breaths away, having only seen George Reeves leap out of a window before that. The writing began with Godfather author Mario Puzo but it was Donner’s friend Tom Mankeiwicz that gave it the emotional resonance and sincerity that endeared it to the world. Admittedly the film has a couple of moments of cringe, being the Poem/flying scene and the turning the world back in time ending. Certainly through modern day eyes, these scenes can make the film seem a tad trite. But there is so much in this film that outshines it: optimism, kindness, decency, spectacular set pieces, brilliant performances and an emotionally resonant story to follow. You will be invested, you will feel all the spectrum of emotions, and you will believe a man can fly. Superman: The Movie is still, in this reviewer’s eyes, the best movie incarnation of Big Blue to date.
Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray - May 9, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.40:1, 2.35:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish, Thai
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc - Ten-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K Blu-ray: Region free; 2K Blu-ray: Region A
A little preamble about the technical aspects of these 5 reviews. I’m gonna say Warners have been cheap on this release from the outset. For the money they’re asking, it should have been much better. From the wafer thin card stock used for the box set to the reuse or inexplicable omissions, they’re taking the piss with the recommended retail price. 4K is, in all likelihood, the last generation of physical home media. Most who still have movies on shelves still buy DVDs! Those who continue to throw money at the studios making this stuff expect and deserve more bang for their buck. Since the best resolutions are present on these UHDs, their packaging and quality control should reflect their quality. Onto what we got…
Video
Oh dear… money grubbing isn’t unique to just Warner Bros, but right away we are given the same inconsistent transfer of Superman: the Movie they issued in 2018. The good first! The DOLBY Vision/HDR10 delivers superior contrast that leaves previous releases in the dust. Colours pops. Fine details in the backgrounds and facial features take on new levels to explore. Grain is very present, which mean detail! However, being this is an effects heavy production, composition layering isn’t afforded any clean up (and should have for a double dip) and some shots stick out like dogs balls.
Audio
Purists and audiophiles decreed the DOLBY ATMOS 7.1 mix as sacrilege, emboldening a modern 7.1 mix upon a 70s era film. Is it over the top, and inconsistent in its application? Sure. But I actually enjoyed it. Where Warners have really screwed the pooch (last dog metaphor I promise) is by taking away the option for the very well regarded DOLBY Digital 5.1 mix from the previous 2018 4K. Inextricably offering a DTS-HD 2.0 stereo mix instead?
Special Features
There’s nothing new on offer. Commentaries on the 4K are legacy from the previous blu-ray release (sadly Donner has left us now too). The included blu-ray is not of the new 4K scan, so the same as the original blu-ray release and includes most of that versions special features. Generous but you’ve already got this stuff..
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SUPERMAN II
So Donner and the Salkinds didn’t get along during the making of Superman 1 & 2 (they filmed both films at the same time). Production ran over by months and millions of dollars. So much so that the Salkinds decided to halt all work on 2, just get 1 out, and see what happened. When 1 was a hit, Donner (may he rest in peace) gave an ill-advised quote to a journalist about his bosses and was fired, having completed a hefty portion of 2. Richard Lester took over.
In this one the three Kryptonian criminals imprisoned by Superman’s dad at the start of the first movie, escape from their Phantom Zone prison (conveniently near Earth.) All of them have the same powers as Superman and come to his adopted home to rule. But Superman has been holed up with Lois Lane in his fortress, falling in love and all that good stuff. The crystal interactive memory of his mother tells him if he wants to be with her he will have to relinquish his abilities, which he willingly does. Bad move. Without his abilities, the Kryptonians reek havoc and make headway in subjugating the citizens of Earth. After getting the crap beaten out of him by a trucker at a diner and simultaneously learning what has happened in the world, Clark goes back to plead for his powers to be returned. How can he succeed when his mother’s crystal recordings told him that relinquishing his powers was a one way choice? 
This is a rousing sequel and an oft-voted favourite of the Reeve films, and with good reason. While Gene Hackman’s Luthor was a formidable human nemesis, he didn’t pose a physical threat to Superman. This time, Superman is outgunned and outnumbered. It’s a truly compelling story because it has real jeopardy for the hero. The action in this one, as a result, is some of the best in the series. The structure of this film is all Donner and Mankeiwicz, but Lester was required to reshoot a certain percentage of scenes to make him legally the director. As a result, there are some tonal inconsistencies and the arrival of Lester’s penchant for slapstick (though thankfully it’s minimal in this one). Nevertheless, Lester made a great movie! As far as I’m concerned, this was Superman on the big screen peaking. It would be all downhill from there.
Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray - May 9, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.40:1, 2.35:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, Korean
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc - Ten-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K Blu-ray: Region free; 2K Blu-ray: Region A
Video
Superman II is the product of two disparate filmmaking teams, so it’s visually always a less consistent final product, though nobody, including me, noticed back in the day. Having said that, this native 4K transfer is a vast improvement over the blu-ray. The DOLBY Vision/HDR10 applications again give this film dimension within every frame. Colours, especially reds, blaze to the foreground. Grain is present, adds welcome detail, but could have used some tonal manipulation as in certain scenes it becomes distracting. Photochemical artefacts, especially from composite effect shots, show their undies at this resolution. The romantic Supe’s and Lois flight to the Fortress of Solitude is the first time I’ve noticed the blue screen halo around the actors. 4K is basically the double edged sword with these transfers: you are getting superior detail, so any cracks in the seams—especially on a big screen—are gonna stand out without some modern technology clean-up. Warners didn’t do enough here. It’s a great looking transfer, the finest to date, but for the RRP of these discs I’m disappointed.
Audio
Once again, we are getting a new DOLBY Atmos 7.1 mix that delivers slightly more heft than the blu-ray’s DTS-HD 5.1 mix. Once again, Warner’s have decided to omit the 5.1 mix, and offer a DTS-HD 2.0 stereo mix, pissing off audiophiles (which I am not). The Atmos mix is fantastic to me. II has far more action in it than the others, with the three Kryptonian crooks and all, so this mix delivers the city fight directional effects in spades. Dialogue is crisp, clear and centred. Ambience is layered and immersive. This is not a modern day level mix (even though IT IS a modern day mix) but delivered an impressive experience for me. Purists aren’t gonna like the, at times, over done sound effect additions.
Special Features
Same story. Same commentaries on the UHD, generous legacy features on the included blu-ray..
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SUPERMAN II - THE DONNER CUT
As mentioned in the Superman II review, Donner was fired after Superman: The Movie. But he had filmed a great deal of the sequel. For years, after it became known there was a Donner cut of II out there, fans asked to see it. In 2006 we would get our wish. Editor Michael Thau spearheaded a reassembly and completion (at least as much as was possible) of what was meant to be. Donner didn’t come in until toward the end of production but gave it his blessing.
There’s a distinct difference in execution when it comes to II’s story but it’s basically the same plot. Supes falls in love, takes his eye off the ball and sacrifices his powers, then immediately learns to regret it when the three Kryptonian criminals arrive to rule the earth. Historically this wouldn’t have been the film Donner delivered, had things not turned to shit between him and the Salkinds, but Thau was tasked to deliver an assembly with what footage they have. A repeat of spinning back the world is the result. Donner and Mankiewicz would have rewritten that ending in a second, had they come back. 
This version is loaded with schizophrenic emotions for me. On the one hand the Donner scenes are better directed. There is nuance and subtlety to the performances. There is a litany of elements that speak to what could have been. While, again, Donner gave the thumbs up to this release it isn’t really his work, it’s Thau’s. Lester’s Superman II is the better version but because of Donner and Mankiewicz’s road map. Had the Donner cut been afforded the budget and time travel needed to work his magic, I have no doubt it would be the better version. As it stands, it’s a patchwork homage to a director that deserved better. I’m glad it came out but it isn’t the favoured version to me.
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD
Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray - May 9, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.40:1, 2.35:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, Swedish
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc - Ten-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K Blu-ray: Region free; 2K Blu-ray: Region A
VIDEO
The Donner Cut is a patchwork love letter to what could have been. With test footage and very low budget restrictions placed upon its completion, the 4K native transfer shows its limits glaringly. This is not to say it looks bad. In fact, far from it. It’s a definite uptick from the blu-ray. Colour reaches new and beautiful saturation levels. Contrast is better. But the unavoidable effect is an inconsistent affair that sometimes wows and sometimes shows it’s warts.
AUDIO
It’s given the DOLBY Atmos 7.1 treatment that’s essentially the same as the Lester cut, with the exception of inserted Donner footage (test and production) not really adding anything aurally to distinguish it and maybe—for those with better ears than mine—some variations in fidelity.
Supplements:
- New discs, same legacy stuff.
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SUPERMAN III
Well this is the flick where things started going off the rails big time. Free to make a Superman movie completely of his own design, Lester went full tilt into comedy with 3. Upping the slapstick to 1000 from the opening credit’s vaudeville-style farce, to making Richard Pryor the lead character in a Superman film, this (and I use the word generously) story was ill-advised from inception. I actually don’t hate this movie! And it did make money! But it was a weak excuse for a Superman film that did the character no favours.
August Gorman is an out of work, low-rent crook, who gets cut off from his welfare payments but quickly discovers he is a computer programming savant. After using his newfound skills to fleece his new employer Ross Webster, he is caught then enlisted (entrapped?) to help his boss, a sort of discount store version of Lex Luthor, to control the world’s oil supply. When Superman starts to interfere with Webster’s plans, Gorman is asked to create Kryptonite, but doesn’t know the recipe. Instead of killing Superman, it turns him nasty. With a good Superman in the rear view mirror, Webster’s plans start paying off… that is until Superman finds a way to break Gorman’s ‘spell’. 
This is basically a series of set-pieces for Pryor to do his thing, intercut with a wafer-thin and highly dubious plot for the titular character. The concept of turning Superman bad is fantastic; the execution delivers nothing but head scratching logic and weak contrivance. What doubly stings is Reeve’s performance as the evil Supes, because it’s bloody fantastic. With a plot that gave real stakes and a decent story it could have been spectacular. Now, as I said, I don’t hate this movie. I like most of the actors, love Reeve and Pryor, and can enjoy them in moments of this train wreck, but that is testament to them, not this crappy flick.
If there is one thing I can say about Superman III, and this is a back-handed compliment I concede, it’s that it could get worse. And, believe me, it really, really did.
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD
Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray - May 9, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.40:1, 2.35:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, Swedish
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc - Ten-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K Blu-ray: Region free; 2K Blu-ray: Region A
VIDEO
Really noticeable improvement, especially in colour saturation. The HDR greatly improves certain scenes, especially August Gorman’s giant computer in a cave. That set appeared cheap and somewhat monochromatic but in this transfer you get multitudes of dimension in reflections and rim lighting. Composite shots again hurt a mostly consistent grain presence. Mostly this is a great looking UHD!
AUDIO
DOLBY Atmos 7.1 again. Decently verbose mix but doesn’t use those overheads as much as I’d have liked to separate it from the (not included) DTS-HD 5.1 mix. Again they include a new DTS-HD 2.0 stereo mix. It’s a great surround experience, with dialogue, environmental, score and ambience all creating immersion effectively. Just don’t look for a modern level directionality or layering.
Supplements:
- Wasn’t great on the blu-ray, and, you guessed it, hasn’t changed for the ported over legacy inclusions.
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SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE
The Salkinds were smarting from the poor reception of 3 and their attempt at Supergirl, which both suffered negative receptions. They decided to sell their stake to Cannon films, a prolific producer of lower budget fare. They managed to lure back most of the original cast with the promise of a large budget and some creative control for Reeve. Problem was they were already overextended before filming got underway, and quickly halved the budget during principal photography. Reeve’s ambitious ideas had zero chance of being realised on a shoestring budget, and the resulting (*cough) film is considered one of the worst films ever made.
Lex Luthor is sprung from prison by one of the Two and a Half Men and devises a new plan to end Superman: cloning! He pilfers a strand of the Man of Steel’s hair from a museum, makes a super cocktail, shoots it into the sun and forms a super powered blonde-mulleted Village People reject with Gene Hackman’s voice. While Supes is busy ridding the world of nuclear weapons, Luthor is busy re-arming it on the black market. Supes and Blondie go at it… yeah, that’s about it.
This whole thing is an embarrassment from the opening scene to it’s end. The story, dialogue, production values, so-called effects, music and everything in between are like a monkey xeroxed a bootleg then wiped its arse with it. This is god awful stuff that even alcohol couldn’t ease. Christopher Reeve is my generation’s Superman. To think that this is his final turn as Superman brings a tear to the eye. If there were ever an example of biting off more than you can chew then this film is it.
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD
Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray - May 9, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.40:1, 2.35:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, Swedish
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc - Ten-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K Blu-ray: Region free; 2K Blu-ray: Region A
VIDEO
Well, I can’t stand this movie, but if you’re gonna review shit, then this is how it should look! Significantly better looking on UHD, with glorious colour saturation showing off the 80s penchant for pastels. 4K lays bare the low budget effects with a smack down of embarrassing detail. Some like this flick, so I’ll say here and now, it’s never looked better
AUDIO
Well… FUCK. Warners should be issuing a replacement program toot-sweet. The good news: Superman 4: The Quest for MEDIOCRITY is afforded a DOLBY Atmos 7.1 mix. The ABHORRENTLY BAD is they have, for only Satan knows, inserted alternative dialogue not from the theatrical cut that DOESN’T SYNCH with the picture! Why in the name of Zeus’s butthole would a professional studio release this? It’s fucking terrible! I know this film sucks, but come on Warners! You are taking the piss charging money for this.
Supplements:
- Not much to say that hasn’t been said above! Same deal!
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