Читать книгу The Rise of Comic Book Movies - Benny Potter - Страница 28

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The Superman film franchise is important to recognize because it was the first time when film techniques established by 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars: A New Hope were used in mainstream movies to propel images from comic books to the silver screen. This franchise had staggering success followed by a slow and steady decline over the course of a decade.

What cannot be denied is the influence this franchise has on all other comic book franchises; its lessons of what to do and what not to do. As a child of the 1980s I grew up on the Americana of the first three Superman films and was profoundly influenced by their achievements and shortcomings. What follows are my thoughts on these films in individual reviews.

The film that started off the modern superhero genre, Superman, lives up to all of the hype, using elements of great filmmaking from the 1970s. This is one of my favorite films because it incorporates great elements of film and lives up to the promise of what a movie can be.

The script by Mario Puzo established the key elements that are needed in an origin film and gave Superman the air of an American myth from the get-go. Everything taking place on the last days of Krypton embodies an intense amount of imagination, establishing villains for future. Jor-El is played masterfully by the greatest actor of the 20th Century, Marlon Brando.

The film is slow paced following the destruction of Krypton. Experiencing the childhood of Clark Kent on screen shows the distinct juxtaposition of the alien world of Krypton and the

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