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DC Movies - To Infinity and Beyond

Mage said:
Exactly this. Like I said before, for a certain generation the Donner version left a big impression during their childhood. Like Batman '66 did. So everything before and after is compared and often found wanting. They consider that THE version of Superman. Or Batman. Not an interpretation. A lot of that is nostalgia.
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Nostalgia in the audience is understandable, but it's a bad idea when creators let themselves be too governed by nostalgia. A franchise that's preoccupied with looking back on its own past glories is not moving forward. A franchise that's pandering only to the existing, aging fanbase is failing to create a new generation of fans. I don't want franchises to say "Hey, remember how great that thing 30 years ago was?" I want them to make us say "Hey, this thing right here and now is great!"
 
I think people are overthinking this thing. That end credit scene was something whipped up slap-dash at the last minute. The Williams theme makes sense because it's distinct and quickly recognizable to a lot of people.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/m...redit-scene-superman-henry-cavill-1235245692/
The DP was informed of the Superman idea very late in the game. He recalls Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra describing it this way: “Let’s just quickly take this throne room set that we were working in. … We’re going to create something for Dwayne to walk into. … And we’re going to shoot it in like 10 minutes.”

Johnson’s half of the scene was filmed as the final shot on the final day of additional photography. After filming Johnson’s half, the team put together the second half of the scene with a body double and a version of John Williams’ 1978 Superman theme they found on Google. In this version of the scene, they never showed the actor’s face, only the Superman emblem on his chest. But it was clear the idea was solid.

“Watching an actor come out of a full silhouette into that, was actually goosebumps. ‘Wow, this is 100 percent going to work. Now they need to figure out if they can get the guy with the head to be there,’” Sher recalls.
 
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I think people are overthinking this thing. That end credit scene was something whipped up slap-dash at the last minute. The Williams theme makes sense because it's distinct and quickly recognizable to a lot of people.
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I don't agree. In fact, I can recall a good number of complaints about the use of the Williams score for Cavill's Superman.
 
Mage said:
Exactly this. Like I said before, for a certain generation the Donner version left a big impression during their childhood. Like Batman '66 did. So everything before and after is compared and often found wanting. They consider that THE version of Superman. Or Batman. Not an interpretation. A lot of that is nostalgia.
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Superman '78 is indeed a nostalgic touchstone for a lot of us. I also believe it is far and away the best screen version of the character ever, and I would still feel that way if it were released for the first time today.* Nostalgia and genuine merit are in no way mutually exclusive.

That said, Gunn or any other future filmmakers are more than welcome to surpass it if they can. As a fan, I'd be delighted to see another Superman movie achieve such timeless brilliance.

* Admittedly, it would seem dated in many ways as a new release, but its core qualities of script, performance, character, and theme would still shine through.
Mr. Adventure said:
The Williams theme makes sense because it's distinct and quickly recognizable to a lot of people.
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Yep.
 
Mage said:
A lot of that is nostalgia.
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True; the Donner film has its merits, but its not a definitive live-action Superman today, nor is it the kind of transformational production that has a strong influence across generations (where film is concerned). When nostalgia was the driving force of a Superman film (Superman Returns), the results proved the world was not looking to re-live the 1978 film interpretation of Superman again.
 
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The Realist said:
Superman '78 is indeed a nostalgic touchstone for a lot of us. I also believe it is far and away the best screen version of the character ever, and I would still feel that way if it were released for the first time today.* Nostalgia and genuine merit are in no way mutually exclusive.

That said, Gunn or any other future filmmakers are more than welcome to surpass it if they can. As a fan, I'd be delighted to see another Superman movie achieve such timeless brilliance.

* Admittedly, it would seem dated in many ways as a new release, but its core qualities of script, performance, character, and theme would still shine through.

Yep.
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For me, I disagree. I don't think it is the best adaption ever. But that's personal preference ofcourse. And that's the best thing about all these different cinematic and televised takes on all these characters. There is something for everyone. There is no definitive take on it, because we all take different things from the comic or novel versions, and find what we like represented in those versions.
How amazing is that??
 
Mage said:
For me, I disagree. I don't think it is the best adaption ever. But that's personal preference ofcourse. And that's the best thing about all these different cinematic and televised takes on all these characters. There is something for everyone. There is no definitive take on it, because we all take different things from the comic or novel versions, and find what we like represented in those versions.
How amazing is that??
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Maybe even better, I find things to enjoy in all of them.
 
I really like Zimmer's work (I listen to his Prague concert at least every few months) and the start of the Man of Steel theme really makes me go "Yes... this is what I want" - the quiet parts in particular. But as a full piece... it doesn't really gel for me as Superman. Just can't top Williams for me.

As its own thing though, I really like it.

Wonder Woman by contrast hooked me right in. One of the few moments I liked about Batman v Superman was that cello when she showed up.
 
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That said, Gunn or any other future filmmakers are more than welcome to surpass it if they can. As a fan, I'd be delighted to see another Superman movie achieve such timeless brilliance.
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I haven't felt that way about "Superman: The Movie" in years. I guess the older I got, the more plot holes I found.
 
Plot holes, schmot holes. Movies are about much more than their narrative mechanics. Superman '78 soars in every way that matters.
 
Dee1891 said:
I haven't felt that way about "Superman: The Movie" in years. I guess the older I got, the more plot holes I found.
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Add in the fact the most prominent black character with dialogue in Superman the Movie was a black pimp, and no, "It was the times" is a weak, historically ignorant excuse for that damaging appearance in the film. The campaign of negative, black characterization in 1970s film and TV (from the minds of certain content creators behind certain films and TV series, fueled with a seemingly propagandist agenda) had been fading (slowly, of course) at the same time the Salkind's film was in production, so there's no excuse for the creation and use of a black pimp in a movie of alleged "timeless brilliance". Add in the portrayal of Lois--the central female character of the film--as a stereotypical "erratic, manipulative woman" type, and there's not much an honest, mature reviewer would refer to as "timeless" in the 1978 film.
 
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