Superman (1978 film) Superman (1978 film) Superman (informally titled Superman: The Movie in some listings and reference sources) is a 1978 superhero film directed by Richard Donner starring Christopher Reeve as Superman based on the DC Comics character of the same name. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Panama and the United States, the film stars an ensemble cast featuring Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Jeff East, Margot Kidder, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Jackie Cooper, Trevor Howard, Marc McClure, Terence Stamp, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty, Jack O'Halloran, Maria Schell, and Sarah Douglas. It depicts Superman's origin, including his infancy as
Superman (1978 film) (Original Score), and Best Sound, and received a Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects. Groundbreaking in its use of special effects and science fiction/fantasy storytelling, the film's legacy presaged the mainstream popularity of Hollywood's superhero film franchises. In 2017, "Superman" was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. On the planet Krypton, Jor-El of the Kryptonian high council discovers the planet will soon be destroyed when its red supergiant sun goes supernova. Despite his insistance, he fails to convince the other council members. To save his infant son, Kal-El, Jor-El launches him in a spaceship to Earth,