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Since Superman is beginning his journey once again with James Gunn at the helm, and David Corenswet as the new face of the iconic hero, it’s a great time to reflect on Richard Donner’s take on the character in 1978.
He made Superman iconic in his own way. While Superman had to deal with bad guys, Donner had many other things to worry about, chief among them was making him fly on screen. Unlike today, where technology and AI can accomplish almost anything, things were quite different in 1978. Making Superman fly was the hardest part of Donner’s job, and here’s how he nailed it.
Why Richard Donner was the perfect man to make Superman fly!
Richard Donnerwas the perfect director to bring Superman to life for many reasons, but one standout quality was his genuine love for flying, a passion he just might have had in common with the Man of Steel himself. Fun fact, Donner wasn’t just a stunning director, but he was also a pilot.
Back in 1978, special effects weren’t the polished, CGI-fueled marvels people see today. So, makingChristopher Reeve‘s Superman-flight look convincing was a challenge that required more than wires and good intentions.
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But Donner’s experience as a pilot gave him a unique advantage. He understood the nuances of flight, the expressions, the intensity, the sheer freedom of soaring through the skies. In a chat withThe Telegraph, he revealed,
I was a pilot. And I loved flying very much. The danger of flying for me was that I would be almost transfixed into a mood that was quite magical. And I wanted to bring that into it. We didn’t have computers or anything. It was all by guess and by golly.
That insight helped him craft scenes with a level of realism and believability that no one else could have pulled off. It wasn’t just about Superman flying, it was also about making the audience soar as well. The result? Pure movie magic that made the world believeSuperman is indeed real!
How Richard Donner actually did it!
For months, every attempt to make Superman take flight crashed harder than the last time. They tried it all, stuntmen lying on awkward boards, wind machines flapping their hair like they were in a shampoo commercial, and cheesy skies awkwardly projected in the background. Each idea was more bizarre than the last.
Then came the breakthrough. The newly invented front-projection system, was a godsend. But even with this cutting-edge tech, they needed someone with the magic touch.
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That is when Denys Coop, an esteemed cinematographer, swooped in to the rescue like a true hero. Coop was brought on specifically for these sequences, and boy, did he deliver. Donner reflected on the moment he realized they had done it, and said,
It was close to a year before we saw a screentest of the flying movements, We saw it at lunchtime. There were tears. There was silence. We were so excited that we had finally, finally got a chance to prove we could do it.
With his expertise, Coop and the front-projection system, they transformed the impossible into cinema history. Gone were the days of weird ideas, and suddenly, Superman wasn’t just hanging in midair, he was soaring, like he was always meant to be.
Superman (1978) is available to stream on Max
Sampurna Banerjee
Articles Published :1803
Sampurna Banerjee is an Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, and she’s written over 1,700 articles! She covers everything from celebrity news to the latest superhero buzz, streaming shows, and fan theories. If it’s trending in pop culture, Sampurna’s probably already on it.When she’s not working, you’ll probably find her rewatching The Office (again), getting into debates about Marvel’s timeline, or diving deep into Christopher Nolan movies for the hundredth time. She’s not just writing about entertainment, she’s living it.
