One of my all time favorites movies from my childhood remastered to my all time favorite video format … what could go wrong? Not much. what could be improved? The image - looks dated. I sure love watching this movie though.

The film looks great. There is some retention of a grainy 1970s movie but all in all it is acceptable looking. Additionally a Dolby Digital 5.1 to the mix is awesome. I am beginning to think that HD DVD movies generally sound better than in a theatre.

Richard Donner filmed Superman and Superman II at the same time. If you take time to watch the extra fetures you will learn that the Superman movie was originally conceived as one script including the plot of Superman I and II as one long feature. Despite his great efforts on Superman I, Richard Donner was canned before Superman II could finish being shot. Accordingly the plot and tempo of Superman II changed, resulting in necessary changes to Superman.

In the HD DVD remaster, Richard Donner extends the initial trial scene on Krypton and Clark Kent’s training at the fortress of solitude. Great additions

The visual details of the HD DVD release are acceptable. The movie was produced in the 70’s and in some instances it shows. For instance, when Krypton explodes, the color and lighting brilliance of high resolution HD DVD exposes the soundstage and mounting bracket used to stage the miniature explosion. Also, some of the blue screen effects are undeniable. The audio, on the other hand, was awesome.

Specifically, the Dobly Digital Plus provided a great aural experience to this movie. As with the soon to be reviewed “Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut” the sci-fi aspects were awesome. The flights of Superman were heightened by the audio track and made the special effect miscues’s acceptable. Being that this movie was probably originally recorded in analog, its no surprise that there is no TureHD mix. I wish there were.

The extras are very cool, but nothing that really takes advantage of HDi or the HD DVD format.

Ultimately, Superman: The Movie is a fun fun movie to watch.

ILHDDVD Rating 3/5 (Love the movie but aged master celluloid hurt the final score)
Video/Image: 3/5 (looks dated)
Audio: 5/5 (Love it)
recommended

Reader Ratings: (2 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

 Loading …

Sphere: Related Content