Superman and Lois Lane Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder portrays Lois Lane. It was directed by Richard Donner with music by John Williams. The film led to three theatrical sequels, "Superman II" (1980), "Superman III" (1983) and "" (1987). Kidder's role in "Superman III" was greatly reduced due to her conflict with the producers of the film. She returns as the female lead and Superman's love in the fourth film. In 2006, "" was released on DVD, featuring director Richard Donner's original vision for "Superman II". One of the most important aspects in the first and second films was the romantic relationship between the
Superman the most profitable movie serial in movie history. A sequel serial, "Atom Man vs. Superman", was released in 1950. For flying scenes, Superman was hand-drawn in animated form, composited onto live-action footage. The first feature film was "Superman and the Mole Men", a 58-minute B-movie released in 1951, produced on an estimated budget of $30,000 (AFI $). It starred George Reeves as Superman, and was intended to promote the subsequent television series. The first big-budget movie was "Superman" in 1978, starring Christopher Reeve and produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind. It was 143 minutes long and was made on a