Superman: The Movie (PG, 1978)
common sense media says
Super-nostalgic superhero adventure still soars.
parents & educators say
- 43% say language is an issue
- 29% say there are positive role models
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that many characters are in peril before Superman saves the day, including a school bus full of kids teetering off the Golden Gate Bridge, two coasts threatened by a missle launch, and Lois who is buried alive after an earthquake. Superman can't save his adopted dad from a heart attack, however, and is shown mourning his death. There is some smoking in the Daily Planet newsroom typical of the '70s and a few swear words. Superman fights for "truth, justice, and the American way" -- your basic superhero role model.
Educational value:
Kids will see the Hoover Dam and the workings of a press room in the '70s -- typwriters and all!
Positive role models:
Superman "fights for truth, justice, and the American way." He's humble, telling a prison warden that "we're all part of the same team," and always tells the truth. Although his father tells him not to meddle with human history, he does so to save someone's life.
Violence & scariness:
Lots of action, but little to no blood. Superman stops property crimes. Clark Kent intercepts a bullet intended for Lois by a mugger who accosts the two of them. The citizens of Krypton are killed when their planet explodes. Various people are imperiled during an earthquake, including Jimmy Olsen, but all are saved by Superman. Clark's father, "Pa" Kent, is shown having a fatal heart attack; Clark mourns his death at his funeral. Before he turns back time, Superman discovers Lois buried alive in her car. A derailing train, a helicopter, a bus full of kids teetering off the Golden Gate Bridge, and a lightning-struck Air Force One are all saved by Superman. A detective is thrown in front of a train and all the police find is his mangled hat.
Sexy stuff:
Two kisses. Lots of cleavage shown on Miss Teschmacher, including one scene where she plays dead on the side of the road and an army officer says he's going to attempt "vigorous chest rubbing." When toddler Superman emerges from the meteor, you can see his penis.
Language:
"Damn," "ass," and "hell" once or twice each.
Consumerism:
Cheerios and Amtrak.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
Perry White smokes cigars and Lois and other newsroom employees smoke cigarettes. Superman tells Lois she shouldn't smoke and uses his x-ray vision to check her lungs. Some wine drinking, but Superman says he never drinks when flying. One cop says to another "the first bottle's on me."
More on Superman: The Movie
Review It
Based on 7 parent & educator reviews:
- 43% say language is an issue
- 29% say there are positive role models
- 29% say there are positive messages
Most useful reviews by all members
stecro
parent of 7 and 9 year old
parent of 7 and 9 year old
Great movie for the kids, but be advised of some language
We just watched superman with our 8 year old, and he enjoyed it very much, but there were some language references that we did not expect. Commonsensemedia is usually pretty thorough with the content descriptions, but in this case "Language: Not an issue" was not accurate for us. It is really mild stuff, but if you are worried about your children picking up phrases like "what the hell was that" or "who the hell was that" or "what the hell just happened", be advised these phrases are present. Overall, still a great experience for us and our young children.
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Yangy
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
Great for younger kids, this movie is really enjoyable and not too graphic with no drugs, drinking, sex or bad language. A really good adaptation.
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dog in black
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
awesome movie
OMG I LOVE THIS MOVIE.
THIS MOVIE IS SO AWESOME.
YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS movie.
SUPERMAN IS SO AWESOME.
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Plague
parent
parent
Superman: The Movie
An instant classic, and a fabulous superhero movie for the whole family.
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KidWhoReviewsStuff
kid, 13 years old
kid, 13 years old
Superman 1 is the only one for everyone
The greatest Superman movie of them all. Full of great acting, fantastic action and a memorable ending. Easily the best superhero movie.
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rose56967
kid, 12 years old
kid, 12 years old
CLASSIC!!!
This movie is really great. It is a classic, or at least I consider it. There was a lot of language that little kids shouldn't say. Also, in the beggining of the movie, you saw superman as a kid, nude, showing EVERYTHING! That was really disgusting for me, but thats about. Anyway, must watch movie!
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4kidshater
teen, 14 years old
teen, 14 years old
This movie still soars after all these years unlike Catwoman
This movie is still an instant classic after all these years. It has humor, suspense, and love. It's a much better movie than Catwoman. I highly reccomeded it.
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homeschoolin
parent of 12 year old
parent of 12 year old
Good movie, but some PG language! Wish Common Sense screening had been more dependable.
Warning!!! Language IS an issue!! I counted several (at least 4 times?) that "hell" was used as an expletive. Also, one d**n, and one a**. Not words I want my daughter repeating, although they are common in PG movies.
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quibble
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
the best
great movie never seen such greatness great acting to
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SmartViewer
parent of and 8 , 12 , 19 year old
parent of and 8 , 12 , 19 year old
You and the whole family will soar with fun!
Terrific, and original! Your kids will want to see the Superman movie, for sure. It is one that I would definitely recommend for even younger kids. There is very little language (if any) and the violence is nothing but fun and packed with excitement. There is a bit of sexual references, but nothing your kids cannot be subjected to. A movie I would recommend for everyone! I would rate this movie: PG.
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moooviewatcher
kid, 12 years old
kid, 12 years old
Great movie
A great movie for kids. Some violence. But other than that, it has a great message to never give up. There is one scene where Superman's dad has a heart attack. Fabulous! Well, done!
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Dr3w
adult
adult
Great Film-Making
Well, I think there have been enough reviews of this movie from a quality perspective. However, I have yet to see a review that accurately described the bad content in this film, so I thought I might as well write a review.
Superman is not an overly gratuitous film. It shows quite a bit of restraint as far as violence, language and sexual behaviour are concerned, but it is not squeaky clean. There are about ten curses in this film (ranging from d-words and h-words to a scarcely audible s-word). Lex Luthor's girlfriend wears VERY revealing clothing on more than one occasion which shows off quite a bit of cleavage. These scenes are fairly brief, but very noticeable. Lois Lane and Superman share a few veiled innuendos in one scene, but nothing I felt too uncomfortable with. Lois Lane asks Superman at one point what color her underwear are (he can see through anything, remember?) and he tells her that they are pink. Superman is shown completely nude from the front as a baby. Thankfully, grown-up Superman wears a jock-strap underneath his tights so that the suit is not as immodest as it could be. In one scene played for laughs, Lex Luthor's girlfriend lies out in the middle of the road as though she has fainted distracting some soldiers from their duty. In their attempts to "revive" her, one soldier sticks his head on her chest (mildly suggestive) and another volunteers to perform CPR (implied strongly, but not shown). The violence is handled well, but may be too intense for some younger viewers. For example: Lex Luthor pushes a man out in front of a fast-moving train. The death is not shown. However, the man screams loudly and the hat he was wearing is shown lying beaten up on the ground afterwards. SUMMARY: A nice classic film for most of the family. You might want to fast-forward the parts with Lex Luthor's girlfriend.
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radgabe2003
kid, 8 years old
kid, 8 years old
my dad told me that superman gets shot,but all the bullets fly off him!
Well for a kids movie they should have cut out some parts like the heart attack and the erathcwake.And this not a kids movie!
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maxamillion000
kid, 9 years old
kid, 9 years old
Read this
its just fine
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Smartest person
kid, 10 years old
kid, 10 years old
superman forever
old movie its okay
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familygal8
teen, 13 years old
teen, 13 years old
Classic, fantastic, movie! a must watch!
this is a classic movie! i used to watch it with my dad a lot when i was 9! i love it. The one scene that always upseted me though was when superman's dad has a heart attack and dies. The other thing I didn't exspect was that when Superman emerges from his spaceship thing in todler form, he has no clothes on is completley naked and you can see his privates! Other than that this movie is pretty good and most kids will enjoy it.
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