Customer Reviews

Supergirl (Limited Edition)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Supergirl seems to grow on you after a while. It's not the powerhouse that the first two Superman films were, but it definately has it's own unique story to tell. Helen Slater does a very nice job in the title role. She comes across as goodnatured, if not a bit naive since she knows very little about the people of Earth. Catch Matt Frewer (Max Headroom, Honey I Shrunk The Kids) as one of the thugs who tries to take advantage of her when she first arrives.

The interaction between Selena (a nicely wicked Faye Dunaway) and her friend Bionca (Brenda Vaccaro) make for some fun dialogue. Just a couple of gals having fun and dabbling in black magic. It's a nice bit of comic relief that fits quite nicely in the film.

...on the radio in one scene it is stated that Superman is off on another planet doing some diplomatic business and this is why he's not around. Actually, Christopher Reeve was considering being in the film. He would've been the one to show Supergirl around, and at the end, Supergirl would end up saving his life, but this would never come to pass after he decided not to be in the film. But one of my favorite moments is when Kara (Slater) walks into Lucy Lane's dorm room and sees the poster of Superman on the wall and just slowly puts her hand on it. I really liked that.

I highly recommend you pick up this 2 Disc Set before it's no longer available. Only 50,000 copies were made and once they're gone...they're gone. And although a single disc version will remain available, what you lose on the 2nd disc is the director's cut which adds on an additional 15 minutes of footage that rounds out more of the story and character development, paticularly, Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) and Lucy Lane (Maureen Teefy)'s relationship.

I was somewhat surprised when Supergirl came out on DVD before any of the Superman films did. I was also disappointed that, with the exception of the first Superman movie, none of the sequels contained any additional scenes or extra features. Kind of makes me wish Anchor Bay had the rights to these films. Then they'd all be 2 disc Collector's editions like Supergirl. Even Superman: The Movie isn't a 2 Disc Set. Instead, Warner Brothers used both sides of one DVD, so it can't have any cover art like all the other films. Supergirl actually has the most impressive packaging. A nice two box snap case, with cover art on both DVDs as well as a nifty 16 page booklet that gives you more information.

The extras on Supergirl rival the extras on Superman: The Movie. In fact I'd say if it wasn't for the fact that Superman contains 3 retrospective documentaries and an isolated music score, Supergirl would beat it hands down. The featurette, hosted by Faye Dunaway is an hour long and is very enjoyable to watch. You get all the trailers (U.S. and Foreign) and U.S. TV spots, storyboards, still & poster galleries of some very nice artwork. This stuff should've been on the Superman DVDs. Anchor Bay has outdone themselves and put Warner Brothers to shame at the same time. So check this out, it's worth every penny and will become a collector's item, once all initial copies are sold.

Supergirl: a girl's story of the most exciting kind!

Supergirl the Limited Edition DVD has proven itself (to me anyway), that it is possible to have an almost perfect Limited/Special Edition DVD, despite a campy storyline.
On this very special edition DVD created by Anchor Bay, there are 2 versions of Supergirl. The first vesion is a Digitally Mastered, THX quality of the International Version of the movie (Yes, the one not shown in US theatres). The second version is an unrealeased Director's Cut, which contains about 24 mins of never before seen footage of the movie. Both were spectacular (in terms of quality and sound) despite its weak storyline. Included in the DVDs are: a featurette on "The Making of" the movie, Trailers, TV spots, stills, poster galleries, star bios, and even an Audio commentary by the director, on the various scenes throughout the movie. Above all these goodies, there is even a 16 page full-color booklet on the various aspects of the movie (and a mini-poster)!
Its too bad that the movie was a flop when it was shown in the theatres back in 1984 (due to the weak plot, no doubt). Helen Slater was simply meant to play Supergirl (she's a natural). Her portrayal of Supergirl's innocence and beauty could be seen in the ballet scene; and the night flight scene over the Chicago Skyline was simply awesome! Together with the music by Jerry Goldsmith, it was a match made in heaven (or Hollywood anyway).
This DVD set, in my opinion, is much better produced (in terms of it's contents) than Superman : The Movie, Special Edition. More movie special editions should be made like this one. I hope the Indiana Jones, and Star Wars Trilogy (if and when it comes out in DVD) could be produced exactly like this one.
This Limited Edition set is limited to 50,000 copies (every copy is numbered). I would most certainly recommend this movie to anyone, if they are interested in seeing how (in my opinion) a special editon DVD should be made, and also, how vibrantly restored the movie was - the color is awesome. I can completely agree with what was written on the bonus booklet, "If you haven't seen SUPERGIRL on DVD, you haven't seen SUPERGIRL at all"

It is safe to assume that I have never been fond of this movie, but I decided to check out this release after hearing it was packed with extras that Superman fans should not miss. Much to my surprise, I was glued to my TV for hours simply going through all of the bonus features! There is the 1984 'Making of Supergirl' one hour documentary, which chronicles everything from day 1. Then there are several TV spots, domestic and foreign trailers (these are fun, especially the German one), storyboard art, talent bios, and tons of color and black & white stills from the movie. In addition to all of this, there is a neat 16 page color booklet which reprints some of the original promotional movie tie-ins like contests and games. I can't believe somebody actually managed to dig all of this up!

The movie itself is a nice, crisp transfer with 5.1 digital surround sound. The audio commentary by the director and the special project consultant is among the most informative and fun I have ever listened to. The consultant manages to get the somewhat wooden director to reveal a lot of tidbits like Christopher Reeve's proposed cameo and the reasons behind why and how they created so many of the special effects and set pieces. To its credit, this film performs much better as a major motion picture after viewing the 138 minute director's cut included on disc 2 and seeing the original intent of the filmmakers. Cutting out a half-hour of footage from any movie is bound to affect the flow of the plot and characterization. Anchor Bay Entertainment should be commended for taking a widely panned movie and giving it the VIP treatment, proving irrefutably that it is possible to produce a great DVD for an under-appreciated movie.

Strangely, SUPERGIRL has obtained the reputation of being one of the worst blockbusters of all time - the question remains though, WHY? Criticisms that it lacks the "maturity" or flair of the first two SUPERMAN films just aren't really fair. I mean, surely the director didn't want the film to just be a SUPERMAN film with the only difference being the lead character? Indeed, SUPERGIRL certainly has it's own identity and rarely feels like a SUPERMAN clone, so hats off to the filmmakers on that one.

Helen Slater is actually perfect for the part, and it's a shame that she seems to have disappeared these days, whilst the supporting cast are hugely impressive, particularly the always reliable Peter O'Toole, whose scene with Slater in the Phantam Zone remains the most effective of the movie. Faye Dunaway makes a splendidly over the top villain, even if her humorous portrayal means she lacks the danger that Hackman's Lex Luthor displayed in SUPERMAN, and Peter Cook is wonderfully sarcastic as the school teacher who likes to dabble in sorcery.

The real star of the film though is Jerry Goldsmith's amazing score, which lends the film a power it just wouldn't have otherwise. A genuine classic score, it's testament to Goldsmith's talent, that he's able to bring so much to the quality and atmosphere of a movie like this.

Special effects wise, SUPERGIRL also impresses hugely, outclassing the SUPERMAN movies at evry turn. Not only are the flying sequences absolutely stunning (helped by Slater's graceful presence), but the big-scale street sequence is still, for my money, one of the best "live" special effects sequences I've ever seen. Superb.

Congratulations to Anchor Bay too, for presenting such a great DVD of an overlooked movie. From the THX sound to the excellent, vibrant picture, it's a top class job that many other companies would do well to learn from. The animated menus also add a nice finishing touch, and the extras are also brilliantly researched, with a very interesting commentary, an impressive gallery of pictures, photos etc, and best of all, the original making of documentary (over 50 minutes long) which is one of the best makings of I've seen on a blockbuster movie.

I can not recommend this Limited 2 disc DVD enough!! Shame however, that the Directors Cut is only in mono. Go Supergirl!

I wrote a review for this film a couple of weeks ago and gave the film four stars. Well, this time Iam giving it five stars. Why did I change my rating, well it all happened when I was surfing the web. I came across a site about the new DVD editions of Supergirl. The site featured an interview with the director of Supergirl, Jeannot Szwarc. I read the interview and was amazed at how fasinating it was. He was explaining how difficult it was to make the film because of all the special effects. Most of the special effects in the film had never been done before, so he (Jeannot Szwarc)and his team of special effects people had to invent new technologies. The film took almost a year and a half to complete, because of all the technical problems they had to over come. For example there is a scene where you see an overhead view of Supergirl flying over Chigago, well most people think that was done with blue screen and special effects, but it wasent. They wanted the shot to look REALLY real, so they hung a stunt double on wires to the bottom of a helicopter and placed the camara over the stunt doubles body. So that seen looks so real because she really was flying over the city. Here is another thing they did that amazed me. There is a scene where Supergirl fly's out of a lake, naturally in those days that couldn't be done, they didn't have the aid of computers, so they had to do everything live. For two months they debated over how they where going to make Supergirl fly out of the water. Finally they had an idea. They took a picture of the actress who was playing Supergirl standing and then blew up the picture and pasted it on a board of wood and covered it with a water proof paste. Then they put the life sized picture under the water and pulled it up out of the water very quickly. You would never had realized it was a picture if I had not told you. In conclusion I have given this film five stars. I get very mad when people give a film a bad rating, because they don't realize how much HARD work and thinking go into making films like this. If you really watch the movie, and I mean REALLY watch it carefully you will be amazed at how real the special effects look, and how hard they had to work to accomplish those scenes. And don't forget that they didn't even have computers! Today we could make a movie like this easy, it would be very easy because we have computers and CGI to do all those special effects. So, really give this film a chance, it really is good, despite what critics say. I hope this review has helped you.

"Supergirl" hit the American theater screens in November of 1984, it did fairly well that first weekend, then faded into the backwash of movies that pop up from time to time at 3:00 in the morning while your up with a sick kid. The film is of little or no importance to film historians, usually looked upon as "The movie that was better than Superman III". The film eventually found a niche among a small band of followers that saw it for what it was, a heck of a lot of fun!

Helen Slater débuts as the Girl of Steel, Superman's cousin Kara from a doomed chunk of Krypton that's survived the planet's explosion. (All of this is only breezed over in the film, of course.) Slater does for this film what Reeve did for the other movies in the franchise, she -is- Supergirl when she's on screen, much as Reeve -was- Superman, their presence is almost tangible, you forget it's an actor in a silly costume and simply accept them as the characters.

The effects are, in a word, breathtaking, knocking the previous flying shots in the super-films to the ground hands-down. The "first flight" Supergirl takes is among one of the most watchable effects sequences ever committed to film, and was done in a time before CGI...

Yes, the acting is often hammy and over-the-top (Particularly from the major "names" in the film), and, no it's not a knock-your-socks-off action/adventure...it's more a fairy-tale, as stated in the commentary track of the DVD. If you let yourself ease into it, it's one heck of a lot of fun. The colors on the DVD transfer are incredible, from the swirly red and blue mists and fantastic chromes of the opening credits to the muted colors of the Phantom Zone, the movie looks better than it did in the theater.

If you've only seen this film on cable, or in the American Theater (or the dreadful quality VHS release of a few years back), give it a chance with this release, you haven't seen "Supergirl" at all.

The directors commentary track explains a lot about the "Supergirl" movie that almost was (initially slated to have been "Superman III," I believe, as some of the storyboard cards presented in the supplements state) which would have featured Reeve as Superman, it makes us wonder what we may have missed...

But we've got this, and, all things considered, it ain't half bad...time to watch "Supergirl" again, for the first time...let the child inside out for a couple of hours...and believe a girl can fly...!

I stated this fifteen minutes into the International cut of SUPERGIRL, my friends all agreed heartily. SUPERGIRL is deeply flawed...the dialogue is awful ("I have lost the omegahedron. I must go to the phantom zone."), Slater's acting is wooden (although somehow charming all the same), and the main conflict of the plot involves Supergirl fighting with a snarling Faye Dunaway over a gardener...but all of these flaws add to the movie's charm! The movie really is charming. Maybe I was just feeling nostalgic since I watched this film all the time when I was a young'en in the 80s, but I thought it was lots of fun in a bad way.

People complain about the special effects, I must disagree...some of them are goofy, but they really are very cool and comic-book like (I don't think that some of the movie's critics realize that this was the director's intention). They made me miss the days before wretched cgi effects took the excitement out of them. They are especially well represented on the fabulous transfer of the new DVD. I enjoy it, I would reccomend it if you are in the mood for some good, mindless fun. The limited edition DVD set is fantastic. I can't wait to watch the director's cut of the movie and hear the audio commentary! GO ANCHOR BAY!

Sure, the movie has flaws, and there are plenty of them; the horrible overacting by Faye Dunaway as villainess Selena and Peter O'Toole as Zaltar, ineffective cameos by Mia Farrow and Simon Ward as Supergirl's parents, bad writing, an extremely convoluted plot involving the search for something called an Omegahedron, and a silly love triangle between Supergirl, Selena, and a gardner. But then there are the good things; Helen Slater gives a good, if mannered, performance as Kara/Supergirl, and Hart Bochner makes hearts flutter as her love interest. Brenda Vaccaro, Marc McClure, and Maureen Teefy provide amusing support, and the flying scenes with Slater are great, a combination of flying and ballet and she looks so natural- her first scenes on Earth were the best thing in the movie. But what makes this film a 4-star movie are all the great extras; two versions of the movie, one with nearly 30 minutes of deleted scenes, including a hilarious ad-libbed scene about Jehovah's Witnesses, a great making-of documentary, in which we get a brief look at Supergirl's original movie outfit, headband and all, that was featured in the DC comic book, and insightful and often times funny commentary with director Jeannot Szwarc and Scott Michael Bosco, and a great booklet all combine to make this limited edition of Supergirl a real winner. As good as Superman or Superman II? Of course not! But it is better than Superman III or IV, and it's appropriate for the entire family.

As I listened to the Director's editorials for the international version of Supergirl, I was saddened by how good of a movie this could have been but for the re-writes. As it turns out, Jennot Szwarc was out of his league directing this film. This film is totally disjointed. When the Director is asked if there is any explaination for Supergirl appearing in her costume for the first time on earth, his response is "no". Even the extra 24 minutes in the Director's Cut does little to help audiences understand anything about how Argo survived the explosion of planet Krypton, how Supergirl knows anything about Earth, how she knows Clark Kent is Superman, etc. This is truly a director's movie and Szwarc's was not up to the task. A strong cast also suffers from a lack of direction. Helen Slater was a comendable Supergirl/Linda Lee, but never had the direction needed to truly develop her character. Faye Dunnaway was way over the top in her performance, making the character Selena unbeliveable and at times, laughable. There are very few actors better than Ms. Dunnaway, however, the director needed to take a stronger hand in controling her character. Compare this to Gene Hackman in the Superman films under the direction of Richard Donner and Richard Lester. His character could have been just as over the top if not for the fact the the directors had control over those films. The saving grace of this film are the special effects. The flying sequences in this film are worth buying and watching the DVD. Helen Slater is graceful and beautiful in flight. I remember when Christopher Reeve was interviewed on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson about Superman III and was asked what he thought about Supergirl. He stated that she does fly better than he does. It is also interesting to find out that Christopher Reeve was originally slated to be in Supergirl but backed out after several script revisions. It's unforturnate because Superman's presence would have added some much needed continuity to the film. If anyone wants to see how great actors can fail under the hands of a weak director, this is the film. When you have a cast that includes Peter O'toole, Faye Dunnaway, Peter Cooke and Mia Farrow, a super film should be at hand. Not this time. A disjointed script and a director who is use to directing one hour television episodes sealed the coffin on any Supergirl sequels and that is a shame because Helen Slater would have made a great superheroine for many years to follow.

The movie in itself is horrible. I guess the Salkinds had two much controll over it, and blew their chance. The script is lame, the acting is mediocre, and the jokes aren't funny.

But this DVD set is magnificent. It contains just about everything, and it's worth buying the movie because of all the extras.