PURE MAGIC. This EPIC and WONDROUS MOVIE WILL NEVER BE EQUALLED!

This is one of my favorite films ever. I love other superhero films that have come after that were inspired by this. One thing I can always say though is this movie pioneered a lot. No Superman movie comes close to comparing to this classic.

Yeah, this and "Superman II" are pure magic, the best superhero movies ever made!

It's a rare movie that gets everything right, and this is the incredibly rare case of two movies that get absolutely everything right. They're perfect movies, what everyone else who steps into the genre should aim for.

I prefer to forget the existence of the third and fourth films. They only exist to show how hard it is to make a perfect superhero film, as if the DCEU hadn't done the same.

I truly love this movie and Reeve is pure perfection. But you have to admit...that first half kind of drags.

Richard Donner had the perfect touch for directing Superman. The villains were threatening, Superman was a pure-of-heart-do-gooder but not sickeningly so, the humor was terrific and occasionally poked fun at Superman himself (while still taking him seriously overall), and the moments that should have tension were actually tense (will Superman save Lois in time?). On top of that, you had top notch acting that was just as good as you'd find in the highest quality dramas on film. The scene at the beginning when Jor-El casts the final vote to condemn General Zod to the Phantom Zone was so well acted that I felt I was watching a Shakespeare play produced by the finest theater in London. Terence Stamp in that scene is pitch perfect, overshadowing even the great Marlon Brando. Gene Hackman played Lex Luthor with style, wit, and just the right tone of nastiness at exactly the right moments. Even the secondary roles were played by luminaries such as Glenn Ford, Jackie Cooper, and Ned Beatty. Of course, we also have Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder in their career defining roles. It's just a great film with the ideal blend of special effects and human drama.

My favorite moment: the first time Superman dons his spandex and is about to take flight to save Lois, and a slick dude from the street exclaims, "Say Jim! Whoo! That's a baaad outfitttt! Whooo!"

My second favorite moment: "Hi there. Something wrong with the elevator?"

It's quite the cinematic tragedy that Richard Donner didn't get to complete Superman II while he was in the zone of his creative peak.

I agree, straight forward, fun, uplifting comic book film.

Well, one has to say - I've yet to see a comic book movie I liked more than this one.

"Superman" '78 hit everything just right. Great story, great casting, plus, for it's time - outstanding special effects. Nothing up to that point equaled what they did (making a man fly).

It's hard to believe it is now 45 years since this movie was released. One didn't like what Bryan Singer did, one didn't like what Zack Snyder did. We're coming up soon on James Gunn's version (Superman: Legacy). Will it top this one?

I don't think it will. It's real hard to top Marlon Brando as Jor-El, Gene Hackman as Lex, even Valerie Perrine as Ms. Tessmacher. And of course. THEE Superman - Christopher Reeve. Not to mention top notch screenwriters (Mario Puzo, Robert Benton, etc) writing it

In fact, I don't think Gunn will even come close to matching "SUperman" '78.

Just my take.......