Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology was released on Blu-ray on June 7. It's taken me this long to get through the incredible amount of content contained. There is so much more than just the theatrical movies contained in this collection.
As a comic fan, it goes without saying that I'd have to have this in my personal library. I only owned Superman, Superman II and Superman II: The Donner's Cut on DVD. You hear about how nice Blu-rays are and that's no lie. The quality here is simply amazing. Even watching the first couple films feels like the movie was just made. It blows me away at how movies can be remastered in this fashion.
In other words, even if you own these movies on DVD, you won't be able to see the movies in this fashion. It almost feels like you're watching the movies for the first time. Now if only the enhancements could have...fixed some of the cheesy scenes and dialogue. But that's another issue.
Besides these superb high quality versions of the films, what else do you get in this massive collection?
== TEASER ==I could let this trailer speak for itself.
But what this trailer doesn't tell you is what else is included.
First of all, there are eight discs (even though there's only five movies). The main content on the discs are:
- Superman The Movie
- Superman The Movie (Expanded Edition)
- Superman II
- Superman II (The 2006 Richard Donner Cut)
- Superman III
- Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
- Superman Returns
- Bonus Disc
Despite there being a Bonus Disc, each disc is choke full of special features. There's honestly way too many to list here. After all, this is a review and not a product description. (You can check out more information on the official website).
I will say there are some true gems contain such as a 1951 George Reeves theatrical feature, the 1940s Fleischer Studios cartoons (all 17 episodes, they are a must see for everyone), the tribute to Christopher Reeve and the bonus scenes for Superman Returns (including his trip in space to the remains of Krypton in his spaceship).
What about the movies? Chances are, you've probably already seen them all. The first two are classic. The remastered versions will put you in awe. It's also worth it to have the two separate discs with the expanded editions. I still find it weird seeing the differences in the movie when I'm so used to the originals.
The third film with Richard Pryor doesn't rate as high as the first two but there are definitely many comedic moments. Who doesn't want to see evil Superman in a bar? It was a very strange movie in some ways but Christopher Reeve still does a great job.
The fourth movie is almost funnier than the third but unfortunately that wasn't the intention. I still remember recently watching it last year and my daughter walking in during the Statue of Liberty scene. Even she thought it was kind of funny.
What about Superman Returns? It does have a different set of problems than the others. The movie had some good visuals but I'm just bothered but some of the plot points. I know that's weird when you compare this story to Superman III or IV. But as I mentioned, the deleted scenes are something worth seeing.
Sound and visuals are great. Watching visual-heavy movies like these on Blu-ray just make me love my player more and more. The packaging is pretty cool as well. Often you get the impression studios just cram the movies in a generic packaging in order to get the product out as soon as possible. The presentation here, the remastering and all the hours and hours of special features really shows how much time and care Warner Home Video put into this.
What about the price? We are talking about eight discs, five movies (seven if you count the expanded editions). There is literally over twenty hours of special features and we're talking quality stuff. It's not just the same old 'making of' specials. There's a huge variety of content. The suggested retail price is $129.95 BUT you can find it cheaper (amazon has it for $90). It definitely is worth it. There's also a movie ticket to see Green Lantern (if you haven't already or want to see it again for free).
The Superman Anthology is also available On Demand and for download through Amazon and iTunes. My final assessment is you should own this collection if you're a comic fan. I understand some people have issues with Superman but seeing Christopher Reeve as Superman shows how excellent casting can make a comic book movie work. Even if you're not the biggest Superman fan, these movies should be seen over and over. What was the tag line? "You'll believe a man can fly."
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