155. Superman (1978)

We bid a tearful farewell to our favorite actor, Gene Hackman, by discussing his hilarious evil Lex Luthor in Superman (1978). Richard Donner started the whole superhero movie idea with this film, but we won’t hold that against him. How electric are Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder? How great does this movie look? And why are so many children getting smacked by their mothers?  

Bonus video: We each give our most contrarian film opinion. Watch it on our Twitter, BlueSky, Instagram, or TikTok.

Next week: American Psycho (2000) with the Red Rose Film Club podcast

Subscribe to our Patreon, Load Bearing Beams: Collector's Edition for $5 a month to get two extra episodes! patreon.com/loadbearingbeams 

Time stamps:

00:01:16 — Our personal histories with Superman 

00:09:40 — History segment: A very brief history of Superman (the character); development of Superman (the movie); career overview of director Richard Donner; career overview of star Christopher Reeve

00:31:50 — In-depth movie discussion

01:33:45 — Final thoughts and star ratings

Source:

“‘Superman,’ The Inside Story: Director Richard Donner Remembers Meeting Stallone to Play the Lead, Working With Brando, and a Near-Fatal Knife Attack” by Stephen Galloway | The Hollywood Reporter (2016) - https://bit.ly/4lezkt2 

Artwork by Laci Roth.

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:

“Winston-Salem” - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM

“Snake Drama” - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg

“The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ

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