History Film / SupermanTheMovie

** While on duty, a Metropolis police officer uses the phrase "over and out" during official radio communication.

** While talking on the radio with the Metropolis airport control tower, the pilot of Air Force One says "over and out".

** "The Planet Krypton" sounds a lot like the Theme from ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey.''

* HesDeadJim: Lois Lane's car falls into [[EarthquakesCauseFissures a crack in the ground caused by an earthquake]] and she is buried under a ton of earth. When Superman pulls her car out of the ground less than a minute later, he makes no attempt to check her pulse, perform CPR, fly her to a hospital or do anything else to determine if she's alive or try to resuscitate her. He just assumes she's completely dead, becomes enraged and flies off.
** Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by his various super-senses. It can be assumed that he used them to check that she was really dead, but TheLawOfConservationOfDetail omits showing that for simplicity.

* EndsWithASmile: The movie ends.

Useless trivia: this film directly inspired the second run of ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood'' through children trying a little ''too'' hard to imitate the Man of Steel, sometimes at the cost of their lives; Creator/FredRogers, who initially ceased production of the show out of a belief that he had run out of topics to cover and was ready to move on to other projects, felt that the ''Superman'' imitation incidents demonstrated that there were still more lessons to be taught. In fact, an early week of the second run dealt with the topic of imitable behavior as it relates to films like this one.

Writers and directors such as Creator/TimBurton, Creator/KevinSmith and Creator/JJAbrams attempted to reboot the franchise with their own unique takes, but despite coming close in a few occasions (most famously ''Superman Lives'', which was mere weeks away from filming) they didn't take hold. ''Film/SupermanReturns'' in 2006 ended up both a sequel and a SpiritualSuccessor to the first two films, was released, directed by Creator/BryanSinger of the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', with Creator/BrandonRouth as Superman.

Writers and directors such as Creator/TimBurton, Creator/KevinSmith and Creator/JJAbrams attempted to reboot the franchise with their own unique takes, but despite coming close in a few occasions (famously "Superman Lives," which was mere weeks away from filming) they didn't take hold. ''Film/SupermanReturns'' in 2006 ended up both a sequel and a SpiritualSuccessor to the first two films, was released, directed by Creator/BryanSinger of the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', with Creator/BrandonRouth as Superman.

'''''[[TropeCodifier The]]''''' {{superhero}} movie.

* HollywoodLaw: At the end of the film, Superman directly drops Lex and Otis in prison without due process or a trial and sentencing.

* SeizeThem: After Superman drops off Lex Luthor and Otis at a local prison, he tells the prison guards to "Take them away."

* {{Mouthscreen}}: When Zod says "your heirs".

->''"His name is Kal-El; he will call himself Clark Kent, but the world will know him as Superman."''

The success of Franchise/{{Superman}} in the comics [[GenrePopularizer opened the doors]] for other masked marvels in colorful costumes -- and 1978's ''Superman: The Movie'' (or just ''Superman'', the onscreen title) did the same for big-budget superhero films. While it wasn't Superman's first live-action foray -- it followed [[FilmSerial movie serials]] in 1948 and 1950, and a {{pilot movie}} in 1951 for [[Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman a television series]] which ran from 1952 to 1958 -- it went above and beyond them in terms of spectacle and special effects like never before seen on screen.[[note]]As with the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comics, Franchise/{{Zorro}} asserts his influence here as well: the producers, Alexander and Ilya Salkind, admitted they decided to make a Superman film after seeing a billboard of Creator/AlainDelon as the eponymous character of 1975's ''Film/{{Zorro|1975}}''.[[/note]]

'''''[[TropeCodifier The]]''''' superhero movie.

The success of ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' in the comics [[GenrePopularizer opened the doors]] for other [[{{Superhero}} masked marvels in colorful costumes]] -- and 1978's ''Superman: The Movie'' (or just ''Superman'', the onscreen title) did the same for big-budget superhero films. While it wasn't Superman's first live-action foray -- it followed [[FilmSerial movie serials]] in 1948 and 1950, and a {{pilot movie}} in 1951 for [[Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman a television series]] which ran from 1952 to 1958 -- it went above and beyond them in terms of spectacle and special effects like never before seen on screen.[[note]]As with the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comics, Franchise/{{Zorro}} asserts his influence here as well: the producers, Alexander and Ilya Salkind, admitted they decided to make a Superman film after seeing a billboard of Creator/AlainDelon as the eponymous character of 1975's ''Film/{{Zorro|1975}}''.[[/note]]

%%* FightOffTheKryptonite %%Needs more context

* KickTheDog: Luthor shoving a detective in front of a train using the power-operated door to his hideout.

Produced (concurrently with [[Film/SupermanII its first sequel]]) in the late 1970s and released in 1978, ''Superman'' almost wasn't even made, since Creator/WarnerBros feared it would be two hours of campiness à la the 1960s ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' [[Series/Batman1966 TV series]] (which had already gotten [[Film/BatmanTheMovie its own movie-length feature]]). This was averted when the producers secured the commitment of Oscar-winners Creator/MarlonBrando and Creator/GeneHackman to appear in it and a screenplay written by Mario Puzo (''Film/TheGodfather'') was approved, after which Creator/RichardDonner was hired to direct and history was made. Part of Donner's mission became a production motto of "Verisimilitude," an attempt to make the world feel natural while including the SuperHero into that setting. They also pushed the boundaries of visual effects to make Superman's flying and other superpowers look as convincing as they could.

** Strongly implied with the girl whose mother spanks her for "telling lies" about a flying man.

** Clark could catch a bullet in his hand. [[spoiler:He's faster than a speeding bullet!]]

* SuddenlySHouting: "YOU ''WILL'' BOW DOWN BEFORE ME! BOTH YOU [Jor-El] AND THEN ONE DAY, YOUR ''HEIRS!!''"

* HoldingOutForAHero: According to Jor-El, Superman needs a SecretIdentity to both protect his loved ones and to prevent humans from becoming overly dependent on him, expecting him to solve all their problems.

* BulletCatch: When Clark and Lois are mugged, he catches the bullets in his hand and surreptitiously drops them behind his back.

* DeathWail[=/=]SkywardScream: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7dlwseXVn0 Heartbreaking and chilling.]]

'''''[[TropeCodifier/The]]''''' superhero movie.