''Superman III'' is a 1983
superhero film directed by
Richard Lester from a screenplay by
David Newman and
Leslie Newman
Leslie Newman (1938 – c. 2021) was a screenwriter who co-wrote the first three '' Superman'' films with husband David Newman, who died in 2003. She was born in 1939, in the United States. They had two children together. She has written a no ...
based on the
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
character
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
.
It is the third installment in the
''Superman'' film series and a sequel to ''
Superman II'' (1980). The film features a cast of
Christopher Reeve,
Richard Pryor,
Jackie Cooper
John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...
,
Marc McClure,
Annette O'Toole
Annette O'Toole (born Annette Toole; April 1, 1952) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in the television series '' Nash Bridges'', Beverly Marsh in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic hor ...
,
Annie Ross,
Pamela Stephenson,
Robert Vaughn, and
Margot Kidder.
Although the film recouped its budget of $39 million, it proved less successful than the first two ''Superman'' films, both financially and critically. While harsh criticism focused on the film's comedic and
campy
Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. Camp aesthetics disrupt many of modernism's notions of what art is and what can be classified as high art by inverting aes ...
tone, as well as on the casting and performance of Pryor, the special effects and Christopher Reeve's performance as Superman were praised.
A sequel, ''
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'', was released in July 1987.
Plot
The
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
-based
conglomerate
Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to:
* Conglomerate (company)
* Conglomerate (geology)
* Conglomerate (mathematics)
In popular culture:
* The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes
** Co ...
Webscoe hires Gus Gorman, a talented computer programmer. Gus embezzles from his employer through
salami slicing
Salami slicing tactics, also known as salami slicing, salami tactics, the salami-slice strategy, or salami attacks, is the practice of using a series of many small actions to produce a much larger action or result that would be difficult or unlawf ...
, which brings him to the attention of
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Ross Webster. Webster is intrigued by Gus' potential to help him financially. Webster, his sister Vera, and Webster's girlfriend Lorelei blackmail Gus into helping him.
At the ''
Daily Planet'',
Clark Kent
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...
convinces
Perry White to let him and
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and has ...
visit
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
for Clark's
high-school reunion, while fellow reporter and Clark's unrequited romantic interest
Lois Lane leaves for a
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
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, image_map2 =
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vacation. En route, as
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
, Kent extinguishes a fire in a
chemical plant
A chemical plant is an industrial process plant that manufactures (or otherwise processes) chemicals, usually on a large scale. The general objective of a chemical plant is to create new material wealth via the chemical or biological transform ...
containing unstable beltric acid, which produces corrosive vapor when superheated.
At the reunion, Clark reunites with childhood friend
Lana Lang, a divorcée with a young son named Ricky. Clark is harassed by Brad Wilson, his former bully and Lana's ex-boyfriend. Later, while having a
picnic
A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...
with Lana, Superman saves an unconscious Ricky from being killed by a
combine harvester
The modern combine harvester, or simply combine, is a versatile machine designed to efficiently harvest a variety of grain crops. The name derives from its combining four separate harvesting operations—reaping, threshing, gathering, and winnow ...
.
Infuriated by
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
's refusal to do business with him, Webster orders Gus to command Vulcan, an American
weather satellite
A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asynchronously), or ge ...
, to create a
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
to destroy Colombia's coffee crop, allowing Webster to
corner the market
In finance, cornering the market consists of obtaining sufficient control of a particular stock, commodity, or other asset in an attempt to manipulate the market price. One definition of cornering a market is "having the greatest market share ...
. Gus travels to Smallville to use a Webscoe subsidiary to reprogram the satellite. Although Vulcan creates a devastating storm, Superman neutralizes it. Seeing Superman as a threat to his plans, Webster orders Gus to fabricate
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous r ...
. Gus uses Vulcan to locate and analyze
Krypton
Krypton (from grc, κρυπτός, translit=kryptos 'the hidden one') is a chemical element with the symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas that occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere and is often ...
's debris. As one of the elements of Kryptonite is unknown, he substitutes
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...
.
Lana convinces Superman to appear at Ricky's birthday party, but Smallville turns it into a town celebration. Gus and Vera, disguised as
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
officers, give Superman the flawed Kryptonite as an award. Although it has no immediate effect, Superman becomes selfish, and then commits petty acts of vandalism such as straightening the
Leaning Tower of Pisa and blowing out the
Olympic Flame.
Gus asks Webster to build the world's most sophisticated
supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second ( FLOPS) instead of million instructions ...
; the CEO agrees, if Gus creates an
energy crisis by directing all
oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...
s to the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. When the captain of one tanker insists on maintaining his original course, Lorelei seduces Superman, persuading him to waylay the tanker and breach its
double hull
A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some dis ...
, causing an
oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...
. The villains decamp to the supercomputer's location in
Glen Canyon.
Superman suffers a nervous breakdown and splits into two beings: the immoral, corrupted dark Superman and the moral, mild-mannered Clark Kent. The two fight in a junkyard, with Clark eventually defeating his evil self. Regaining his sanity, Superman repairs the damage he caused in the oil spill and heads west to deal with the villains. After defending himself from exploding rockets and an
ASALM
The Advanced Strategic Air-Launched Missile (ASALM) was a medium-range strategic missile program, developed in the late 1970s for the United States Air Force. Intended for use in both the air-to-surface and anti- AWACS roles, the missile's devel ...
missile, Superman confronts Webster, Vera, and Lorelei. The supercomputer identifies Superman's weakness and unleashes a beam of pure Kryptonite.
Guilt-ridden and horrified by the notion of "going down in history as the man who killed Superman", Gus destroys the Kryptonite ray with a firefighter's axe. Superman escapes, but
the computer becomes self-aware, defending itself against Gus's attempts to disable it. The computer transforms Vera into a
cyborg that attacks her brother and Lorelei with beams of energy that immobilize them. Superman returns with beltric acid, which the supercomputer believes is not dangerous. The intense heat emitted by the supercomputer causes the acid to become volatile, destroying it. Superman leaves Webster and his cronies for the authorities and drops Gus off at a
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
coal mine, recommending him to the company as a computer programmer.
As Clark, Superman visits Lana after she moves to Metropolis. A drunken Brad attacks Clark believing he was proposing to her, but the reporter defeats him without revealing his secret identity. Lana's new job as Perry White's secretary surprises Lois Lane, who returns from her vacation with an article about corruption in Bermuda, and has a newfound respect for Clark after reading his story. Before lunch with Lana, Superman restores the Leaning Tower of Pisa and flies into the sunrise for further adventures.
Cast
*
Christopher Reeve as
Clark Kent / Superman
Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...
: After discovering his origins in the earlier films, he sets himself to helping those on Earth. After defeating his arch enemies,
Lex Luthor twice and
General Zod
General Zod is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly known as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of the superhero Superman. The character, who first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961 ...
, Superman comes face-to-face with a new villain: the megalomaniac Ross Webster, who is determined to control the world's coffee and oil supplies. Superman also battles personal demons after an exposure to a synthetic form of kryptonite that corrupts him.
*
Richard Pryor as August "Gus" Gorman: A bumbling computer genius who works for Ross Webster and inadvertently gets mixed up in Webster's scheme to destroy Superman.
*
Jackie Cooper
John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...
as
Perry White: The editor of the ''Daily Planet''.
*
Marc McClure as
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and has ...
: A photographer for the ''Daily Planet''.
*
Annette O'Toole
Annette O'Toole (born Annette Toole; April 1, 1952) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in the television series '' Nash Bridges'', Beverly Marsh in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic hor ...
as
Lana Lang: Clark's high school friend who reconciles with Clark after seeing him during their high school reunion. O'Toole later portrayed Martha Kent on the Superman television series ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
''.
*
Robert Vaughn as Ross "Bubba" Webster: A villainous, super-wealthy industrialist and philanthropist. After Superman prevents him from taking over the world's coffee supply, Ross is determined to destroy Superman before he can stop his plan to control the world's oil supply. He is an original character created for the movie.
*
Annie Ross as Vera Webster: Ross' sister and partner in his corporation and villainous plans.
*
Pamela Stephenson as Lorelei Ambrosia: Ross' assistant. Lorelei, a voluptuous blonde bombshell, is well-read, articulate and skilled in computers, but conceals her intelligence from Ross and Vera, to whom she adopts the appearance of a superficial, stereotypical klutz. As part of Ross' plan, she seduces Superman.
*
Margot Kidder as
Lois Lane: A reporter at the ''Daily Planet'' who has a history with both Clark Kent and Superman. She is away from Metropolis on vacation to
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
, which put her in the middle of a front-page story.
*
Gavan O'Herlihy
Gavan John O'Herlihy (29 July 1951 – 15 September 2021) was an American actor. He was known for playing Chuck Cunningham in the first episodes of ''Happy Days'', as well as his appearances in films such as ''Never Say Never Again'', ''Death W ...
as Brad Wilson: Lana's ex-boyfriend and Clark's high school rival.
Film director/puppeteer
Frank Oz originally had a cameo in this film as a
surgeon
In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...
, but the scene was ultimately deleted, though it was later included in the TV extended version of the film.
Shane Rimmer
Shane Rimmer (born Shane Lance Deacon; May 28, 1929 – March 29, 2019) was a Canadian actor and screenwriter who spent the majority of his career in the United Kingdom. The self-proclaimed "Rent-A-Yank" of the British entertainment industry, he ...
, who had a role in ''
Superman II'' as a NASA controller, has a small part as a state police officer. Pamela Mandell, who played a diner waitress in the same film, appears here as the hapless wife of a ''Daily Planet'' sweepstakes winner. Aaron Smolinski, who had played baby Clark Kent in the first film, appears in this one as the little boy next to the photo booth Superman changes into. He also would later appear in ''
Man of Steel'' as a communications officer.
Production
Development
Richard Donner confirmed that he had been interested in writing at least two more ''Superman'' films, which he intended to allow
Tom Mankiewicz
Thomas Frank Mankiewicz (June 1, 1942 – July 31, 2010) was an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures and television whose credits included ''James Bond'' films and his contributions to '' Superman: The Movie'' (1978) a ...
to direct, and that he would have included
Brainiac
Brainiac is a colloquial adjective used to describe exceptionally intelligent people. It may also refer to:
Culture Fictional entities
* Brainiac (character), a fictional supervillain in DC Comics, and an enemy of Superman
* Brainiac (story arc), ...
as the villain of the third film. However, Donner departed the series during the production of ''
Superman II''.
The film was formally announced at the
33rd Cannes Film Festival in May 1980, months before the theatrical release of the second film.
In December 1980, producer
Ilya Salkind
Ilya Juan Salkind Domínguez (; born July 27, 1947), usually known as Ilya Salkind, is a Mexican film and television producer, known for his contributions to three of the four live-action Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s alongside his fath ...
wrote a
treatment for this film that included Brainiac,
Mister Mxyzptlk
Mister Mxyzptlk (, ), sometimes called Mxy, is a character who appears in DC Comics' '' Superman'' comic books. He is usually presented as a trickster in the classical mythological sense. Mxyzptlk possesses reality-warping powers with which he en ...
and
Supergirl.
The treatment was released online in 2007. The Mr. Mxyzptlk portrayed in the outline varies from his good-humored comic counterpart, as he uses his abilities to cause serious harm.
Dudley Moore was the top choice to play the role. Meanwhile, in the same treatment, Brainiac was from
Colu
Brainiac is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino and first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #242 in July 1958. Brainiac is usually depicted as an extraterr ...
and had discovered Supergirl in the same way that Superman was found by the
Kents. Brainiac is portrayed as a surrogate father to Supergirl and eventually fell in love with his "daughter", who did not reciprocate his feelings, as she had fallen in love with Superman. Brainiac retaliates by using a personality machine to corrupt and manipulate Superman. The climax of the film would have seen Superman, Supergirl, Brainiac,
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and has ...
, and
Lana Lang time travel
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
to the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
for a final confrontation in a
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
dom taken over by Brainiac.
After defeating him and leaving him behind as a helpless
serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
, Superman and Supergirl would have either been married at either the end of ''Superman III'' or in ''Superman IV''.
The treatment was rejected by Warner Bros. Pictures as being too complex and expensive to shoot, and Salkind additionally wanted to save the character of Supergirl for a
solo film.
Because of the high budgets required for the series the Salkinds considered selling the rights to the series to
Dino De Laurentiis.
The significance of computers to the plot, the villains' plan to corrupt Superman, and the splitting of him into a good and an evil half would be carried over into the final film.
The film was originally intended to be titled ''Superman vs. Superman'', but it was retitled after the producers of ''
Kramer vs. Kramer
''Kramer vs. Kramer'' is a 1979 American legal drama film written and directed by Robert Benton, based on Avery Corman's 1977 novel of the same name. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, and Justin Henry.
It tells the stor ...
'' threatened a lawsuit.
Casting
Both
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...
and
Margot Kidder are said to have been angry with the way the Salkinds treated ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
'' director
Richard Donner, with Hackman retaliating by refusing to reprise the role of Lex Luthor.
After Margot Kidder publicly criticized the Salkinds for their treatment of Donner,
the producers reportedly "punished" the actress by reducing her role in ''Superman III'' to a brief appearance.
Hackman later denied such claims, stating that he had been busy with other movies and general consensus that making Luthor a constant villain would be akin to incessant horror movie sequels where a serial killer keeps coming back from the grave. Hackman would reprise his role as Lex Luthor in ''
Superman IV
''Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'' is a 1987 superhero film directed by Sidney J. Furie and written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal from a story by Christopher Reeve, Konner, and Rosenthal based on the DC Comics character Superman. The ...
'', with which the Salkinds had no involvement. In his commentary for the 2006 DVD release of ''Superman III'',
Ilya Salkind
Ilya Juan Salkind Domínguez (; born July 27, 1947), usually known as Ilya Salkind, is a Mexican film and television producer, known for his contributions to three of the four live-action Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s alongside his fath ...
denied any ill will between Margot Kidder and his production team and denied the claim that her part was cut for retaliation. Instead, he said, the creative team decided to pursue a different direction for a love interest for Superman, believing the Lois and Clark relationship had been played out in the first two films, (but could be revisited in the future). With the choice to give a more prominent role to Lana Lang, Lois' part was reduced for story reasons. Salkind also denied the reports about Gene Hackman being upset with him, stating that Hackman was unable to return because of other film commitments.
After an appearance by Richard Pryor on ''
The Tonight Show'',
telling
Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...
how much he enjoyed seeing ''
Superman II'', the Salkinds were eager to cast him in a prominent role in the third film, riding on Pryor's success in films such as ''
Silver Streak'', ''
Stir Crazy'' and ''
The Toy''.
Pryor accepted a $5 million salary to appear in the film.
Following the release of the film, Pryor signed a five-year contract with
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
worth $40 million.
Filming
Principal photography commenced on June 21, 1982. Most of the interior scenes were shot, like the previous ''Superman'' films, at
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London.
The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...
outside London. The junkyard scene was filmed on Pinewood's backlot. The coal mine scene, where Superman leaves Gus, was filmed at
Battersea Power Station, where Richard Lester had previously shot scenes for the Beatles film ''
Help!''.
Most exteriors were filmed in
Calgary, Alberta due to Canada's tax breaks for film companies. Superman's drinking binge was filmed at the St. Louis Hotel in
Downtown East Village, Calgary, while other scenes such as the slapstick-comedy opening were shot several blocks to the west. While the supercomputer set was created on Pinewood's
007 Stage
The Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage is one of the largest sound stages in the world. It is located at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, and named after James Bond film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli.
The stage was ori ...
, exteriors were shot at
Glen Canyon in Utah.
Effects and animation
The film includes "the same special effects team" from the prior two films.
Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...
, part of Warner, created the video game computer animation for the missile defense scene.
Music
As with the previous sequel, the musical score was composed and conducted by
Ken Thorne, using the Superman theme and most other themes from the first film composed by
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
.
Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
was hired to create songs for the film, though their use in the film is minimal.
Release
Theatrical
''Superman III'' was shown at the
Uptown Theater in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
on June 12, 1983, and then had its New York premiere on June 14, 1983, at Cinema I.
It was released in theatres on June 17, 1983,
in the United States and July 19, 1983, in the United Kingdom.
Marketing
William Kotzwinkle
William Kotzwinkle (born November 22, 1943) is an American novelist, children's writer, and screenwriter. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He has won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for ''Doctor Rat'' in 1977, and has also wo ...
wrote a novelization of the film published in paperback by
Warner Books in the U.S. and by
Arrow Books
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
in the United Kingdom to coincide with the film's release; Severn House published a British hardcover edition. Kotzwinkle thought the novelization "a delight the world has yet to find out about." However, writing in ''
Voice of Youth Advocates'',
Roberta Rogow
Roberta Rogow (born March 7, 1942; ) is an American writer of speculative fiction and fan fiction, and a filk singer-songwriter. SHe graduated with a BA from Queens CUNY in 1962 and Columbia University with an MLS in 1971.
Career
Rogow is a c ...
hoped this would be the final Superman film and said, "Kotzwinkle has done his usual good job of translating the screenplay into a novel, but there are nasty undertones to the film, and there are nasty undertones to the novel as well. Adults may enjoy the novel on its own merits, as a Black Comedy of sorts, but it's not written for kids, and most of the under-15 crowd will either be puzzled or revolted by Kotzwinkle's dour humor."
Extended television edition
Like the previous films, a separate extended edition was produced. It was aired on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. The opening credits were in outer space, featuring the main Superman theme with slight differences. This is followed by a number of scenes, including additional dialogue but not added into any of the official
VHS,
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
or
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
cuts of the film. The "Deluxe Edition" of ''Superman III'', released in 2006 on par with the DVD release of ''Superman Returns'', included these scenes in its extra features section as "deleted scenes".
Reception
Box office
''Superman III'' grossed $60 million at the United States box office, and $20.2 million internationally, for a total of $80.2 million worldwide.
The film was the 12th highest-grossing film of 1983 in North America.
Critical response
''Superman III'' holds a 30% approval rating and has an average rating of on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 56 reviews. The website's critical consensus states, "When not overusing sight gags, slapstick and Richard Pryor, ''Superman III'' resorts to plot points rehashed from the previous ''Superman'' flicks."
The film has a
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
rating of 44, indicating "mixed or average reviews" from 13 professional reviewers.
Film critic
Leonard Maltin said that ''Superman III'' was an "appalling sequel that trashed everything that Superman was about for the sake of cheap laughs and a co-starring role for Richard Pryor". The film was nominated for two
Razzie Awards
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
including Worst Supporting Actor for Richard Pryor and Worst Musical Score for Giorgio Moroder. Audiences also saw
Robert Vaughn's villainous Ross Webster as an inferior fill-in for
Lex Luthor.
Christopher John reviewed ''Superman III'' in ''
Ares Magazine'' #16 and commented that "compared to the first film in this series, everything about ''Superman III'' is a joke, a harsh cruel joke played on all the people who wanted to see more of the Superman they saw a few years ago."
Colin Greenland reviewed ''Superman III'' for ''
Imagine
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* Imagination
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* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
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** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
'' magazine, and stated that "What ultimately spoils the fun in ''Superman III'' is not the incoherent story or even the technophobia. It is simply overloaded - too many ideas, too many gadgets, too many stars (Pamela Stephenson is completely wasted in a part which would have been too dumb for Goldie Hawn). The wiring all comes loose at the end; an anticlimax, and a rushed one at that."
Fans of the Superman series placed a great deal of the blame on director
Richard Lester.
Lester made a number of popular comedies
in the 1960s — including
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' ''
A Hard Day's Night'' — before being hired by the Salkinds in the 1970s for their successful ''
Three Musketeers
3 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
3, three, or III may also refer to:
* AD 3, the third year of the AD era
* 3 BC, the third year before the AD era
* March, the third month
Books
* ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...
'' series, as well as ''Superman II'' which, although better received, was also criticised for unnecessary sight gags and slapstick. Lester broke tradition by setting the opening credits for ''Superman III'' during a prolonged
slapstick sequence rather than in outer space.
The film's screenplay, by
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and
Leslie Newman
Leslie Newman (1938 – c. 2021) was a screenwriter who co-wrote the first three '' Superman'' films with husband David Newman, who died in 2003. She was born in 1939, in the United States. They had two children together. She has written a no ...
, was also criticized.
When Richard Donner was hired to direct the first two films, he found the Newmans' scripts so distasteful that he hired
Tom Mankiewicz
Thomas Frank Mankiewicz (June 1, 1942 – July 31, 2010) was an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures and television whose credits included ''James Bond'' films and his contributions to '' Superman: The Movie'' (1978) a ...
for heavy rewrites. Since Donner and Mankiewicz were no longer attached, the Salkinds were free to bring their version of ''Superman'' to the screen and once again hired the Newmans for writing duties.
Reeve stated in his autobiography that the original script for the first ''Superman'' had so many puns and gags that it risked having Superman earn a reputation akin to that of
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
being associated with
the campy TV show of the 1960s. "In one scene in this script, Superman would be in pursuit of Lex Luthor, identified by his bald head and grab him, only to realize he had captured
Telly Savalas who would remark "Who loves ya, baby?" and offer Superman a lollipop. Dick
onnerhad done away with much of that inanity."
Reeve's own performance as a corrupted Man of Steel received praise, particularly the junkyard battle between this newly darkened Superman and Clark Kent.
One of the film's positive reviews was from the fiction writer
Donald Barthelme, who praised Reeve as "perfect", also describing Vaughn as "essentially playing
William Buckley - all those delicious ponderings, popping of the eyes, licking of the corner of the mouth."
References
External links
Official DC Comics SiteOfficial Warner Bros. Site*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Superman Iii
1980s superhero films
1980s English-language films
1983 films
American sequel films
American superhero films
British superhero films
British sequel films
Films about computing
Films directed by Richard Lester
Films produced by Pierre Spengler
Films scored by Giorgio Moroder
Films scored by Ken Thorne
Films set in Colombia
Films set in Kansas
Films set in West Virginia
Films shot in Buckinghamshire
Films shot in Calgary
Films shot in England
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Films shot at Pinewood Studios
Films with screenplays by David Newman (screenwriter)
Films with screenplays by Leslie Newman
Pisa in fiction
Superman (1978 film series)
Superman films
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1980s American films
1980s British films