I think that's an ungenerous assessment of Superman. I still think it's the greatest superhero film ever made, and paved the way for all that followed in the genre. Yes, it looks a bit creaky at times visual effects wise, viewed these days (though the effects get gradually worse in the sequels as more corners are cut), but Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder have genuine chemistry, unlike the charisma free zone of Henry Cavill and Amy Adams (both perfectly good actors, but Zack Snyder mistakes murk for depth, and drains all the comedy out of the thing). Reeve was a great Superman and a great Clark Kent, and that's summed up perfectly in the aftermath of their flight together, when he takes off his glasses and almost tells her who he is.
I also love the Krypton opening and everything else in the opening hour, setting up the origin. The Jonathan Kent death by heart attack is genuinely poignant, unlike the ridiculous Man of Steel, in which Kevin Costner's Jonathan Kent suffers an entirely preventable death by tornado in a because-we-can fit of CGI destruction porn (in keeping with the rest of the film).
Yes, the turn back time thing makes no sense, but it makes sense emotionally, and therefore works to my mind. I like the finale. Plus Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor is the ideal brains-over-brawn foil. The exchanges between Superman and Lex, and the way he manipulates him, are quite marvellous.
Also, the rescue scenes are great. "You've got me? Who's got you?"
But you are right about John Williams. The man is nothing less than a legend. Apart from the iconic opening theme, there are so many other great components in the Superman score. The elegiac Krypton theme, the Zod theme, the Lex Luthor theme, and most emphatically of all, the love theme, possibly the greatest of all Williams's love themes. I love the "concert arrangement" of this theme that's on the end credits.
1: I liked both 11.22.63 in book and mini-series form although it's been quite a while since I've read/watched it. I do remember when they were filming it because at that time I was working in Downtown Dallas and James Franco screwed up my commute for a few weeks. Dallas is very weird about JFK. If it's possible for a city to have generational trauma, Dallas definitely does. It certainly fuels the city's inferiority complex. The ghosts are all around. I'm going to a movie tomorrow at the Texas Theatre, where Lee Harvey Oswald was caught. There's plenty of reminders about it there too.
3: As a fan of gen-x nihilism, I'm a fan of Fight Club. Although like a lot of things I don't advertise it because too many people miss the point. If you meet someone who says they're a fan, try to figure out if they think Tyler Durden is the hero. If they think he is, run. Otherwise you're going to get stuck talking about how great Elon Musk is or back episodes of Joe Rogan. Also, I think about this a lot. The Fight Club teaser trailer was a preview at The Phantom Menace. That is just wild to think about.
Given all the hit films he's scored, Williams is probably the one Hollywood film composer whose name everyone knows...
I think it's both the quantity and the quality. He's a genius.
I think that's an ungenerous assessment of Superman. I still think it's the greatest superhero film ever made, and paved the way for all that followed in the genre. Yes, it looks a bit creaky at times visual effects wise, viewed these days (though the effects get gradually worse in the sequels as more corners are cut), but Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder have genuine chemistry, unlike the charisma free zone of Henry Cavill and Amy Adams (both perfectly good actors, but Zack Snyder mistakes murk for depth, and drains all the comedy out of the thing). Reeve was a great Superman and a great Clark Kent, and that's summed up perfectly in the aftermath of their flight together, when he takes off his glasses and almost tells her who he is.
I also love the Krypton opening and everything else in the opening hour, setting up the origin. The Jonathan Kent death by heart attack is genuinely poignant, unlike the ridiculous Man of Steel, in which Kevin Costner's Jonathan Kent suffers an entirely preventable death by tornado in a because-we-can fit of CGI destruction porn (in keeping with the rest of the film).
Yes, the turn back time thing makes no sense, but it makes sense emotionally, and therefore works to my mind. I like the finale. Plus Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor is the ideal brains-over-brawn foil. The exchanges between Superman and Lex, and the way he manipulates him, are quite marvellous.
Also, the rescue scenes are great. "You've got me? Who's got you?"
But you are right about John Williams. The man is nothing less than a legend. Apart from the iconic opening theme, there are so many other great components in the Superman score. The elegiac Krypton theme, the Zod theme, the Lex Luthor theme, and most emphatically of all, the love theme, possibly the greatest of all Williams's love themes. I love the "concert arrangement" of this theme that's on the end credits.
1: I liked both 11.22.63 in book and mini-series form although it's been quite a while since I've read/watched it. I do remember when they were filming it because at that time I was working in Downtown Dallas and James Franco screwed up my commute for a few weeks. Dallas is very weird about JFK. If it's possible for a city to have generational trauma, Dallas definitely does. It certainly fuels the city's inferiority complex. The ghosts are all around. I'm going to a movie tomorrow at the Texas Theatre, where Lee Harvey Oswald was caught. There's plenty of reminders about it there too.
3: As a fan of gen-x nihilism, I'm a fan of Fight Club. Although like a lot of things I don't advertise it because too many people miss the point. If you meet someone who says they're a fan, try to figure out if they think Tyler Durden is the hero. If they think he is, run. Otherwise you're going to get stuck talking about how great Elon Musk is or back episodes of Joe Rogan. Also, I think about this a lot. The Fight Club teaser trailer was a preview at The Phantom Menace. That is just wild to think about.
That is crazy to think about!
Btw what happened to your second point? 🤣
Point 2 has been covered up by the Warren commission 🤫🤐
Great line. It seems we're built the same :)
Whoever coined the saying, “it’s the journey, not the destination,” clearly has never been stranded in an airport for 12 hours.
Oh, yes, of course. After that one, he and Steven Spielberg were basically joined at the hip...
He's been in Hollywood since the 1960s, but it was "Star Wars" that put him on the map.
Not Jaws?