For many, Christopher Reeve is the one and only Superman, and Warner has included all of his films in their Superman 5-Film Collection boxed set.
The Production: 3.5/5
The Christopher Reeve series of Superman movies had the potential to be much more successful than they eventually were, with each film moving farther and farther away from what the first film’s director, Richard Donner, had intended – an overall sense of verisimilitude. Warner’s Superman 5-Film Collection boxed set contains all four of Reeve’s films (including both cuts of Superman II).
Superman: The Movie
Superman II
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Superman III
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Video: 4/5
3D Rating: NA
The overall video quality of the Superman films included in this set are actually very good, but are more of a victim to their source material. The first two films were shot with lots of diffusion and smoke, which has never translated well to home video. The third film suffers from heavy optical effects and inconsistent use of filters. The fourth is a victim of a cheap production with even cheaper visual effects.
Audio: 3.5/5
Each film in this set has been remixed in Dolby Atmos to varying degrees at the expense of including a theatrical 5.1 mix, which has been replaced by a theatrical stereo surround m ix in DTS-HD MA 2.0 (the exception being Superman IV, which never had a 5.1 mix to begin with).
Special Features: 3/5
Nothing new has been created for this set, but Warner has included the commentary track for each film on its respective UHD disc. Also included is the 2011 Blu-ray for each film that was created for the previous Superman Motion Picture Anthology release. Amazon is offering an exclusive limited steelbook edition which also includes a collectible booklet, certificate of authenticity, and a comic book (that edition has not been reviewed). For a complete list of Special Features, check the review of each individual film.
Superman: The Movie
Superman II
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Superman III
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Digital Copy: The five film set includes a code to redeem digital copies of all five films included in this set in UHD on Movies Anywhere.
Overall: 3.5/5
The Superman movies in this set can be a bit of an acquired taste, with each film getting significantly worse. I assume the audience for this set is the die-hard fan or completist.
Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
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