Comparative Analysis of ‘superman, The Movie’ and ‘superman, Man of Steel’

Introduction

Superman has filmically evolved from ‘Superman, The Movie’ to ‘Superman, Man of Steel’. In ‘Superman, The Movie’ the opening shot gives the audience context that the superhero, Superman, is from a red alien planet which has been mined to the core due to the hubris of the Kryptonians. In ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ the opening shot consists of a mother giving birth. The blurred still shows the state of mind which Lara is in and the excruciating pain which she endures. This is a social comment on the emotional connection between a mother and a child which is lost if babies are artificially ‘grown’ as is done on Krypton with the use of the codex. This choker shot depicts how Lara in ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ goes through pain as you see her facial expression and how she emotionally connects with her son instead of being a stock character such as Lara in ‘Superman, The Movie’.

Comparative Analysis of ‘Superman, The Movie’ and ‘Superman, Man of Steel’

In ‘Superman, The Movie’ the establishing long shot from a slightly high angle gives us the context that Krypton has been mined to such a point where there is barely any visible life except for the dome, which becomes the focal point as all the diagonal lines lead to this dome containing the council hall. The white color depicts a cold and desolate planet. The vertical lines show how far into the planet has been mined to the point where they have trapped themselves on Krypton. The planet is dimly lit which makes it look even colder.

In ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ the establishing long shot taken from a point of view depicts an orange planet with blue shades in the sky and with the dull brown-grey silhouettes of dragons and buildings while barren land is foregrounded. The orange color comes from the missile fire and shows the destruction of Krypton. The sun is depicted as unusually large and the dragons and strange buildings show the audience that this is an alien planet while the sun is shown as the main source of light. The extreme close-up shot of Kal-el’s steel heart shows how technologically advanced the Kryptonians are as their computers generate 3-dimensional images of a baby’s heart when it is still in the womb. The harsh key lighting from the left shows only certain parts of the heart while others are masked in shadows. This metal heart contributes to the name ‘Man of Steel’ as Superman comes from a metal planet. The heart is an icon for love and this specific heart symbolizes that a baby is going to be born.

In ‘Superman, The Movie’ the long shot from over the shoulder shows Jar-el standing alone against the council who dismiss him instead of listening to him. Jar-el is an icon of truth. The color white is farcical as white is generally seen as a pure color but in this context the white symbolizes the hubris of the council as they believe that they are intellectually elite and infallible. The white represents the council’s absence of insight, lack of wisdom, and mental imprisonment. The council also has no purity of intent.

In ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ the eye-level long shot of the council is taken from inside a cave which creates a frame for the still. The large chairs in which members of the council sit create strong vertical lines. The strong vertical lines are meant to decode superiority but instead represent not only their mental imprisonment and lack of wisdom but also their physical entrapment on the planet Krypton. The overwhelming amount of black foreshadows the death of the council on Krypton.

In ‘Superman, The Movie’ the close-up shot of Kal-el with the focus on the codex which is the green crystal that decodes the genetic makeup of the artificially incubated babies. In ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ a harsh key light foregrounds the codex while the background consists of a monochromatic turquoise color. The skull is grey to show the conformity and dullness while the glowing orange patterns represent life. The skull is the icon for the codex. It is not a human skull but rather a monkey skull which suggests evolution. This is a reverse point of view shot as the codex looks at Jar-el and he looks back at the codex. The social comment in ‘Superman, The Movie’ is more on technology advancement and incubated babies while the social comment in ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ is more on feminism. In ‘Superman, The Movie’ Zod is a product of technology and so he has no real freedom of choice as he is programmed to be a warrior. In ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ Lara has a deep emotional connection with Superman and Kal-el. When Krypton is destroyed, Lara stands unflinchingly and accepts the consequences.

Conclusion

In ‘Superman, The Movie’ Krypton explodes and this effect is created with a fire-cracker while in ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ it is computer generated. Superman has filmically evolved from ‘Superman, The Movie’ to ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ as ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ consists of better iconography, moral dilemmas, more depth of characters, and a more relevant social comment than ‘Superman, The Movie’ as incubated babies do not yet exist but empowering women is a current affair. Although ‘Superman, The Movie’ is more like the comic book, ‘Superman, Man of Steel’ is more realistic and hails an audience.

References:

• Donner, R. (Director). (1978). Superman, The Movie [Film]. Warner Bros.
• Snyder, Z. (Director). (2013). Superman, Man of Steel [Film]. Warner Bros.