Superman

"Superman" was the first super hero and the first super hero movie, and in my opinion it's still the best of its kind. "Superman" is a movie designed for kids, he's less dark than Batman, less ironic than Ironman, and less angsty than Spiderman. Superman is the kind of hero who knows what the right thing to do is and he does it, he's all black and white, there is no grey area.

I think it might be a mistake to squeeze much hidden substance behind Superman, he was a character designed to be the perfect speciman, that doesn't mean you can't have fun with it. The 1978 film which cast Christopher Reeve as the titular character hits just the right tone, it takes Superman's existence seriously, it resists temptation of treating him like a joke, thus creating the modern super hero movie.

"Superman" as a film is constructed as what is commonly described as "The Origin Story", where we see him escaping his dying planet of Krypton in a spaceship, growing up as a simple farm boy in Smallville U.S.A., and then discovering his true nature at his Arctic Fortress of Solitude. He then creates a secret identity for himself, that of Clark Kent mild mannered reporter and takes up residence in Metropolis working at the Daily Planet Newspaper.

The film is full of wonderful sequences involving Superman doing very super things, from saving a cat stuck in a tree to keeping Air Force One from crash landing. The most famous scene in the film is probably the one which properly introduces Superman in full garb in the film. This is where local damsel in distress Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is being hung off the top of a sky scraper dangling from a helicopter. Of course Superman wooshes in to save the day, but part of the excitement of the scene is the anticipation of seeing him in action, plus the sudden astonishment of seeing a man who could fly. This whole sequence is craftily handled with some cliffhanging suspense but also some modern humor thrown in. When Lois falls, Superman grabs her in which he quips "easy miss, I've got you." To which she replies "You've got me? Who's got you? It's got that feeling you're reading a block right from a comic book.

Part of the excitement of watching "Superman" is that feeling of seeing your favorite Super hero flying right off the page and onto the screen. The opening credit sequence plays with that a bit as curtains open to reveal a comic book, suddenly the scene gets bigger and the giant red "S" appears on the screen right as the memorable John Williams theme music kicks in. It has a childlike mentality, imagine being a kid and seeing these images for the first time in the movie theatre.

There is much to appreciate with "Superman" they even have a romantic interlude between him and Lois as he takes her on a night fly in the air. How often to you see such a romantic scene in a super hero movie?

The film was directed by Richard Donner who fought with the producers into making a sincere "Superman" picture. Originally, the film was meant to be campy making fun of the myth, but Donner obviously wasn't as cynical, and it was his vision which you see on screen. His master touch was probably casting Reeve as Superman; he plays the character without a sense of irony. When Superman says he's out to fight for truth, justice, and the American way, you don't blink an eye or snicker, it's done with a straight face. As Clark Kent he's as clueless and befuddled as he has to be in order for people not to suspect he's the man of steel, Reeve actually said his inspiration for Clark came from Cary Grant's performance in the comedy "Bringing up Baby", which you can no doubt see.

"Superman" is still a great entertainment even though it seems super heroes have grown more complex and dark. The latest Christopher Nolan Batman films are great in their own way, yet I see them as being more adult. "Superman" is more family oriented, there isn't much violence, he's never seen throwing a punch, he doesn't have to, he mostly just flies around saving people.

I get the same feeling when I watch "Superman" as with an Indiana Jones film or a James Bond movie featuring Sean Connery. It's that feeling of being a kid again and these larger than life heroes feel more alive on the screen than ever. It's almost as if those characters exist for real in your own childlike universe. I hope I never get too old for "Superman" and I hope the world doesn't either.

My Desert Island Movies

I've stumbled upon a neat little idea for movie fanatics such as I from Matt Zoller Seitz a renowned film essayist. He took the time to make up his desert island list of movies he would take with him. He did have some ground rules, it would include ten movies you couldn't live without followed by a season from a television show and a short film, making a total of 12. In my moments of reflection I've taken upon myself to construct such a list for myself since making lists are so much fun for movie fans such as myself. So in lieu of a Top Ten films of 2011 (Which I will post once I'm caught up with more films from last year) I give you 12 films I certainly can't live without.

Television Season If it had to be one season from one television show I know I certainly couldn't live without "The Simpsons" for very long. I simply can't remember what television was like without "The Simpsons" so how could I imagine what a desert island would be like without them. Though there are many seasons to choose from, my preference would probably be season six. This was the season that ended with the cliffhanger of "Who Shot Mr. Burns", and it also had perhaps my favorite sentimental episode "And Maggie Makes Three" which features a sweet story of how Maggie said her first words.

Short Film Along with "The Simpsons" another animated institution I couldn't dare live without would be Bugs Bunny. He's simply a comic genius this side of Buster Keaton and Groucho Marx. Of the many Bugs Bunny short films I could choose from it would be "Rabbit Seasoning" featuring Bugs and his two greatest foils Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd.

Now for the feature films, they are...

Tokyo Story In my mind there has never been a more perfect film than this one. If there is one film I would say shows what life is all about it would be this film. I've talked much about this film and its director Yasujiro Ozu at length throughout the years this blog has existed.

It's a Wonderful Life A tougher film than its reputation, it's dark, grim, but also uplifting and hopeful, a film for me that has taught me a series of life lessons I'm still learning today.

The Three Colours Trilogy I'm cheating a little bit by adding this three-piece series as a whole movie, I can't live without them as individuals only as a whole. They are metaphysical masterpieces of movie making, philosophical in their motives and I'm fascinated by them. I can ponder these films forever on my desert island.

Horse Feathers Still my favorite comedy of all time. How can I spend the rest of my life on a desert island without The Marx Brothers? I ask you how? I can't and I won't which is why it will go with me.

The General While I'm at it, how can I exist without Buster Keaton, the most innovative, and compelling silent comedian known to man. So many to choose from, but "The General" was the first one of his films I ever saw, the first silent film, I declare you can't take a shot away from this film, it's perfect.

City Lights I've taken Keaton, I cannot banish Chaplin I'm sorry. To hell with those who choose one over the other, they are both geniuses sir, and both will be with me until my dying day.

The Shop Around the Corner The greatest romantic comedy known to man, it's witty with two people who deserve to fall in love with eachother, it's by Ernst Lubitsch and he is for sure one director who I can't be without.

Top Hat I need music and romance to get through my lonely days on the island and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers can take me out of any funk into their world of wonderful melodies, dance, and art deco. I choose this one over "Swing Time" because it has Edward Everett Horton one of the greatest character actors playing Astaire's best friend.

Casablanca This is for my cynical days where there is no hope to remind me that perhaps my life doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world but that's only because there are bigger things. Humphrey Bogart also proves that cynics can also be poets.

Jules and Jim Because it's like a dream, a memory, a life I may have lived long ago. It's a film that captures love, youth, and cinema perhaps better than any other film, because it's alive and in those dark days on the island I may have to be reminded of what feeling alive and in love is.

There are many others, I regret not picking a film with Cary Grant or Barbara Stanwyck, a Hitchcock, or a Kurosawa. No Billy Wilder or The Coen Brothers, to them and a hundred others I wish I could bring you all, the truth is I can't live without any of you, and I hope I never have to choose.