I saw Superman on December 25, 1978. When he caught the helicopter the entire audience cheered! It was great! I'll always remember that moment.

To this day, Christopher Reeve as Superman is still the best superhero performance in superhero history. There have been many that came close, but his is the bar that hasn’t been reset yet.

Brando made the project huge and interesting for other big names, but Reeve holds it all together. One of the most astute and wisest casting choices in cinema history, I can't believe just how thoroughly the producers nailed it.

Christopher Reeve was perfectly cast. He had the perfect look for the part and performed the parts as Superman and Clark Kent so well.

It's sad that almost none of the people in this video (especially Reeve and Kidder) are alive today. May they all rest in peace.

Cheap helicopter scene🤔😮!!! Was Siskel serious? That's one of the best action set pieces ever in superhero film! If not a movie period and it was practical! It still holds up today!

After all these years, after many great superhero films, Superman (1978) is still my favorite. The two standout elements that have never been equaled are Christopher Reeve's lead performance and John Williams' epic score.

I've waited a long, long time to see this movie review. I had never seen it before and had been searching for it for years. Thank you SO much for posting it! I ... loved ... this movie. I rememebr my father telling me back in the summer of 1978 about a "Superman movie" coming out soon. Even at 11 years old, I recall being cynical enough to say to him that I thought they would mess it all up. Still, in December of that year, Dad took us kids to see it in one of the last remaining single-theater cinemas in town. It had a huge lobby with an incredible and classy chandelier and everything. We snuck in coolers of iced tea and hoagies, and even a cassette recorder as well, to capture the audio from the movie. We were all AWESTRUCK at the spectacle that was "Superman: The Movie", and it was made extra sweet by my father's childlike wonder and glee at seeing his favorite superhero come to life in such a literally perfect way. I played that tape until the player itself finally stopped working. It's funny to have such an emotional attachment to a film as I do to this one. While it is a fantastic work of art to be sure, in my heart I know that the real reason is the eternal connection to my Dad that it gives me whenever I see it. For this reason above all, "Superman: The Movie", will always hold a special place in my heart that is more than just the love of a great film, far more indeed. It is the connection it gives me to the very first Superman I ever knew and loved, who I was so very blessed to call ... "Dad".

I've got a bone to pick with Siskel about his take on Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. What the heck, Gene, he was great!

Christopher Reeve IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE Superman.

What happen to the part where Roger takes off his glasses and gene doesn't recognize him any more?

It's still the best superhero movie ever made.

My mum dragged me to this 7 times in a row, she fell in love with superman. Wonderful movie magic, and still one of my favourite movies of all time. Almost 45 years ....wow.

There's a scene in this movie that's so flawlessly executed, I'll bet you didn't even notice the first time you watched it. It's when Superman says goodnight to Lois after their flying scene. He then flies off, and camera follows Lois, without a cut, back into her apartment where Clark is already knocking on her door. Now, if you watch it again and take some time to think about it, I'm sure you'll figure out how the filmmakers accomplished it. But the scene is so natural, unobtrusive and well played by Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder, you didn't pay attention to that little piece of movie magic first time through.

There is NO WAY that helicopter scene looked cheap!!

I was quite surprised that neither reviewer made any mention of the wonderful John Williams music or the state of the art opening credits. No one had ever seen anything like them before.

I started watching this show as a little kid on PBS about a year or two after this episode. Stayed with it through all its incarnations through Siskel's death, and the final version with Ebert alone just before he passed away. 30 years of memories.

That office scene is one the most underrated scripted, played, and edited scenes ever. It’s on a par with some of the best of Robert Altman’s overlapping dialogue cinema verite.

They both nailed it... 1978’s Superman is the definitive super hero movie. Truly, it is such a superior film compared to these latter day films, some of which I do like (such as Batman Begins or Iron Man), it’s amazing. I think the main reason is that Christopher Reeve’s Superman is a good person and good natured one at that. And he does feel pain and has vulnerabilities other than Kryptonite. His parents sent him away. His adopted father dies right in front of him and the woman he loves perishes in an earthquake- which hurts him so much, he defies one of the major commandments of Jor-el to reverse time and save her. He is really just as human as anyone emotionally... Reeve conjures so much empathy in his portrayal, he probably should have gotten an Oscar... Superman is one of my favorites.

Haha "Olson, why am I paying you $40 a week when I should have you arrested for loitering?!" 😂

Used to love watching this show when I was a kid. So sad that both of them have passed on to the great balcony in the sky.

Richard Donner the director wanted the love story between superman & lois work that was the essence of the story. That's why this picture works.

I grew up in this movie era. Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Close Encounters, ALIEN, Empire Strikes Back, it was a great time to be a kid mowing lawns to go to the movies on weekends.

The first great superhero film and Reeve, Kidder & Brando were all the second biggest reason in that order. The first major reason was Richard Donner took this job very seriously while making what is still one of the most charming superhero films of all time.

To this day, I still haven’t figured out Gene Siskel. Such an enigma! 🧐

Cannot thank you enough for this page! Watching these classic reviews is such a Joy!

It's amazing that you've dug up these long-lost movie reviews. It was a real tragedy when the web site that was dedicated to S&E's old reviews was taken down without explanation a couple years ago. It's wonderful to see more discoveries still being made from the archives. I just hope these don't follow in the footsteps of the multiple previous internet archives for S&E reviews and get taken down.

I saw Superman at the theater in 1978. Loved it. And I'm not a big fan of superhero movies. 43 years ago. "You'll really believe man can fly." Loved Christopher Reeve.

I never watched any of the classic Superman movies and it's interesting to me just how much nervous energy Clark and Lois have. They always sounded like solemn, self-serious superhero movies, but these clips are really fun and endearing.

My mother took to see this during holiday break. The promos for this movie were so under the radar that you didn't relieve it was a movie about Superman.

You disappoint me Siskel. Gene Hackman was amazing!

Christopher Reeve as Superman is one of my all-time favourite movie performances.

Bless you for uploading these. Siskel is such a romantic and I love that he appreciates those scenes of romance and humanity as much as I do. Heck I recall he criticized the original Terminator for not emphasizing that stuff enough. Listening to these two esteemed, excellent critics gush over Superman is just a delight. Bless them.

Disagree, Gene. THAT WAS ONE BAD OUTFIT! WOOOOOO!-Pimp

I remember when my mother took me to see Superman. I was 8 years old. To me, Christopher Reeves will forever be Superman.

One of the GREATEST pieces of advice Christopher Reeves was given regarding this role, was, "ALWAYS remember... you are SUPERMAN pretending to be Clark Kent... ALWAYS!" - and he delivered on that part. But if they had failed on the, "You Will Believe A Man Can Fly" effect, this would have been a B-Rated 2nd-Play at the drive in Double Feature Tuesday Night Special at BEST! They got that right, and it was, and STILL is, a MAGICAL feeling to watch it happen!

Some of the effects in Superman might have been "cheesy", but to my 11 year old eyes they were PERFECT. And of course John Williams' soundtrack - which they oddly don't even mention - just blew my mind. It lifts this movie up to another level. Some of John's best work.

Superman became one of my favorites superhero of all time. I remember my dad took me to see this great movie when I was a kid.

The scene where Lois is buried alive scared the crap out of me as a kid. It's still legitimately disturbing today.

Wow.This is so old they hadn’t even gone to the “thumbs up or down” format. When it was titled Sneak Previews we got on PBS CH 13 here in NY.

Christopher Reeve will ALWAYS be my Superman. I'm an old 80's kid & this movie was a perennial favorite. Before Marvel, before Tim Burton's Batman, this was really the first bonafide comic book/superhero film done right & with legitimate success because Donner & the cast/crew treated this with "verasamilitude".

"The new $40 million movie" Me watching it in 2021 "$40 millions? Thats the catering for an Avengers movie!"

Jesus, Gene! How else are the special effects supposed to be done, lol! He is off the mark there.

Marlon Brando, unexpected. Mario Puzo (writer of the Godfather and Godfather II), prized. This was epic when we saw it for the first time on the big screen, before there was Dolby and surround sound. I wish Siskel had approved of Hackman more.

"Otisburg!?"

Thanks Eric wanted to see this review for years

I don't care what these two say, Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor was amazing. He was a perfect balance of funny and sinister. The dark humor and the way the character just gleefully basks in what a piece of crap he is, is just very entertaining to watch.

One of the best films from the '70s. It's just great from start to finish.

You get massive props for editing in Gene and Roger's review summary at the end of the clip!

Thanks for uploading this! Brings back great memories of my childhood!

Saying Christopher Reeve is one to watch was pretty accurate. You look back at these old Ebert reviews, he expected a lot out of people who had strong debuts like Sandra Bullock and Cameron Diaz.

Greatest comic book movie of all time

Over the years Gene Hackman has overshadowed the love story 😆

The best superman ever.

They're right about the surprising amount of comedy in this. I don't find all of the gags all that funny, but compared to modern comic book movies, the attempts at gags are appreciated. To me, modern superhero movies are so darn serious. They've become like watching a church program for 2.5+ hours. Seriously, how many comic book movies in the last 10+ years have been basically "fun". And it's not at all like this Superman doesn't have serious moments.

For Siskel to say the last 40 minutes of the movie were juvenile is to dismiss Superman's discovery of Lois in her car and his heart wrenching scream of anguish and the look of anger on his face as his flies to the heavens to find a way to undo all of this. That moment, for me, is the greatest moment of the film. His raw, and human, heartbreak was completely exposed and he is determined to do what he couldn't (or didn't know how to) do to save his father all those years ago.

Good editing (like most special effects, become dated). Christopher Reeve was the best Superman (and Clark Kent).

Richard Donner's Superman I & II are still the gold standard for superhero films.

Eric, your channel is by far the best on KZfaq.

I miss that opening.

Oh wow. The audio mix is super different here. In that Daily Planet scene introducing Clark Kent, there are a few bits from Lois that I never heard in the film!

Siskel looks like Chevy Chase in this clip.

The special effects may look dated but this is still the best superhero movie, thanks to the cast, directing, music and writing. There is more heart and soul in this movie than in all the modern DC movies combined.

I was a big fan of siskel and ebert. Always looked forward to their movie reviews since I was a huge movie lover. Thanks for posting this classic review

I think Gene Hackman and the beautiful Valerie Perrine are the only main actors still alive today . I STILL think it's the BEST movie adaptation of a comic book . Director Richard Donner was the best choice for this film .

Man of Steel is a modern version of the Superman persona of course, but the love triangle is missing and it hurt the film. The Penthouse interview Is one of the best foreplay scenes of all time... we see the moment Lois falls in love with Superman,.

Guys, he said "helicopter shot" not "helicopter scene." A helicopter shot is a shot taken from a helicopter.

This set the standard for superhero movies. Perfect casting, great effects, and a terrific story exploring Superman's origins, along with the love story. Plenty to enjoy for kids and adults. Richard Donner had the perfect vision for the Man of Steel, which unfortunately got discontinued when he got fired during the filming of Superman II. Sadly, it resulted in the series going in a bad direction, ending with the 4th movie being such a flop with critics and audiences, effectively killing the franchise. RIP, Chirstopher Reeve and Margot Kidder. Lois and Clark, together again!

Every current Hollywood Comic Book Actor owes their career to 1978's "Superman" Movie.

These guys obviously didn't care about spoiler alerts back then. lol.

What a great concept this show was.

The new 40 Million dollar spectacular, lol! One of my favorite movies of all time! Redefined the Superhero on film! Written by of all people, Mario Puzo. Writer of the Godfather! RIP Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve!!! My preteen neice and nephew saw Man of Steel and Superman The Movie a few years back and they liked this more!

one of my favourite classic movies and amazing of Christopher reeves

I’ve always said that, if you want to succeed playing Superman, you have to nail Clark Kent. Christopher Reeve nailed it. So, by the way, did Dean Cain.

When I was very young, I wanted to fly like Superman.

Siskel: "I think the public is wising up to the fact that the bigger the advanced promotional hype on a film, the worse the film probably is." HAHAHAHAHA sorry Gene, you were right about a lot, but not this.

What a great casting job on this film. Aside from the wonderful supporting cast..Brando, Kidder, Hackman, Cooper (who was a Little Rascal as a kid), Reeve was perfect. Hollywood usually screws the pooch when casting an actor to portray someone we're familiar with like a famous person or a super hero. The actor should never be more famous than the person they portray. Otherwise you're watching and totally aware that's Nicholson or DiCaprio up there pretending. Reeve was a great hire as was Ben Kingsley in Gandhi. Both relative unknowns.

It's as wonderful now as when I saw it in 1978.

Boy this takes me back. Fun to watch.

This is the first episode of "Sneak Previews" that I saw.

Reeve really knew how to make Clark distinct from Superman by emulating people like Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby and his stage-training. Cavill just played him as a depressed moper and didn't capture the magic of Superman at all.

I was 14 years old when I saw this at the movie theater when it came out. The perfect age to see a magical movie about my favorite super hero of all time. Life was good. And the popcorn wasn't 15 bucks either. Still the best Superman movie I've ever seen.

Well Siskel was off on the Visual Effects, which won a special Oscar the following spring. And because of the bias against comic book or fantasy movies up to that time (less so now, but not entirely), it wasn't nominated for a deserved best picture slot.

I thought I recognized Gavin Newsom - he's Lex Luthor.

😎 Fun memories of seeing this over Christmas vacation in 1978. Fantastic movie! While the SFX aren't as good as they are today, I think that overall this is probably the best superhero film ever made.

They thought 40-60 million budget was high back then? Nowadays that is considered low budget.

Donner’s Superman was an art movie. You could say the same with Burton’s Batman 2, and Raimi’s Spider-man-2 -to an extent. The rest are long form video game commercials.

Reeve is still the best. Not just Superman but interpretation of a comic book character.

I love the models in this movie, way better than green screen

where do you get these high quality vintage videos?

Hackman was superb in this role.

There were a couple of scenes where the effects looked cheap, but just a couple. It was mainly where a flooded river was bearing down on a town. The buildings looked like miniature models. Otherwise, I disagree with Gene over Gene Hackman and the helicopter shot. And the effects of Hoover Dam bursting were pretty awesome.

As a genuine nerd, geek and nib, it always bothered me that Luthor quoted a bomb yield roughly ten times the size of the biggest one ever tested. (And that one was ridiculously impractical.)

So many people don’t remember their reviews were so much longer on their original sneak preview show

When a $40 million budget was staggering.

The best part of this movie was Smallville. Up to when Jonathon had the heart attack. Quintessential Superman. Nothing mattered after that.

Superman was great & reeves is the best & definitive superman. I was surprised to hear he was only 24. He looked a bit older. Superman is so cool it emulates moses story from the bible. It sux dinner was fired. His directors cut of superman 2 was awesome. This & the 89 batman in 89 were the best comic book movies. Also the helicopter scene as a kid was scary. Lots of tension. Also kidder looked great in the first superman. In the second one she looks so different bc it was cheaply made they did a horrible job on her hair and make up. In the second movie u can see the difference in her looks with the donner parts she looks so different. Reeves did a great job in pretending to fly.

Back in the PBS days, the clips were way longer back then.

Gene Hackman and Richard Donner are almost the only 2 people associated with this film that are still alive today...

Like wow what a great movie this truly was for i watched it 3 times at the theater and twice at a driven. Sadly, a few years latter reeves was injured badly in a freak accident. no one expected him to live. However, live he did and against all odds too. Chris now with severe spinal damage showed the world before his death from pneumonia that he and he alone was indeed a true superman in every respect!!!