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Superman (1978)
Poster Analysis
Introduction
We are living in a new age for comic book movies where it seems we have at least around four every single year. The most bizarre thing about it this number might potential rise in the future with many other companies following the Marvel formula for creating their own cinematic universes. It is a great time to live for anyone who loves this genre of film, but we need to take a step back and thank the film that started the renaissance for comic book movies, the original Superman from 1978.
This makes my second entry to feature a film a while before I was born, as some may remember from my Batman (1989) review. This time though the time margin is higher and it is interesting to look at how these posters were handled in the past. Everyone knows of the classic tagline: “You’ll believe a man can fly!” and as we all know it managed to do exactly that. Anyone wondering if I ever saw the film, I actually have under interesting circumstances. Austria is the country that absolutely adores replaying old films and television series, I mean they still play The Nanny on certain channels here, and when I was younger among those were the original Richard Donner film. Heck, at the time they even still aired Adam West’s Batman when I was a kid. Still, not to drift off let us take a look at the posters from 1978.
Analysis
I see where Tim Burton’s Batman had its inspiration for the design of the poster. Amazing to think how iconic these characters are and what their symbol says about not only them but also their status. It very well speaks to how comic book characters have become our modern mythology to which many children look up to. Back to the actual poster there is one apparent difference to the designs of posters. Space was never wasted and at the time it seems they relied heavily on text at the bottom for this poster. The time was much more structures and especially in business terms was still learning to jump into a new marketing age. Films can be seen as pioneers for the modern advertising world as they made much more usage of creativity and how to peak interest for the potential viewer. It wasn’t only aimed to sell but appeal to those that are aware of the product. Not only with the logo, but also the line above it fits perfectly with the tagline. We want to see Superman fly on screen and it shows exactly that, but he is so fast we can’t even make out that it was a person that passed by. For us, we only see the sky and a color line that represents someone actually was able to fly past us.
Now, please ignore the fact that the Superman logo is in Japanese as it was the best version of the poster I could find. This is a nice continuation of the theme but taking it a step further. Now we finally get to see the actual person fly and have our first look at the three main players for the film. Christopher Reeve has become an iconic version of how the Man of Steel should look like and this poster pushes that more into the foreground. He not only looks like Superman, but while wearing the costume he has become that very character. While they also only work with a limited space due to the usage of text at the time and also the limited technology, I actually like this design. It gives you the feeling not only that the character can fly but is actually leaping straight from the pages of his comics pushing that feeling that we finally get to see our childhood icon come to life on the big screen. The little pictures of Marlon Brando as Jor-El and Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor seem a bit underused but for the time probably brought out a curiosity on who they might be and what role they truly play. Especially such an ominous face Jor-El gives of makes his importance to the film very apparent. Did I say three characters are featured here? I actually meant four, as there is our first look at the fully realized Metropolis. While it does resemble any other city it is important for those who love the comics to see this city living and striving on the screen.
I have stated the last time that I wasn’t too fond of the Batman’s follow-up posters as there weren’t many and they seemed to use simple production stills. This perplexes me on how much work seems to be put into the posters for Superman that was released eleven years earlier. What I forgot to mention on the previous one is the feeling it was hand drawn from a production still or at least some promotional material. It gives it a nice touch and further cements that feeling that the comic pages are finally coming to life. This is also our first look at these films Louis Lane and the romance that will develop throughout the film. It reflects one of the most iconic scenes of the film were they fly together over the night skyline. It is a nice touch to draw in some female viewers while also bringing a classic couple from the comics to the big screen.
Conclusion
There is a good reason why this film is still considered a classic to this day and the posters reflect this sentiment. The visuals used are not only iconic for the film but something anyone can relate to the film and these characters. Naturally there have been many films that brought our favorite heroes to the big screen or even the small, but there is something magical about this version. The posters strongly reflect these elements strongly and are a nice transition from the comics to the cinema. It allows people to truly believe that these adaptations are possible while also further making the already iconic character to a household name. Without this film we might have never seen Tim Burtons one of a kind interpretation of Batman, which further pushed towards Marvel, DC, FOX, Sony and many others towards comic book movies as a profitable investments. While some will prove themselves more franchise material and others will fall under obscurity, it is still nice to know we have such a variety nowadays all thanks to one icon.
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