Customer Reviews

Supergirl [VHS]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I know this movie is known far and wide as a flop, a disaster, an altogether awful movie. But I don't think it's really as bad as everyone says it is. "Supergirl" has some great actors. Helen Slater, and Faye Dunaway to name a couple. They're not at their best, but they give an overall good performance. Also, the musical score by Jerry Goldsmith is great. Especially the Supergirl theme. The special effects are, contrary to others opinions, actually some of the best I've seen in a Superhero movie. The flying sequences are great. The story, however, could use some work. Overall, though, Supergirl is an enjoyable movie for fans of Superman or Supergirl. It's entertaining and worth watching.

Almost done in by a campy villainess subplot, Supergirl survives thanks to superb pre-cgi special effects (Chris Reeve praised it as the best flying he'd seen in any of the films), a solid Jerry Goldsmith score, and Helen Slater's, well, *goodness*, in the title role.

I had the advantage of first seeing the film with my own then-seven-year-old blonde superheroine, and my daughter's expression of sheer delight as Kara skimmed over the lake and flew with the wild horses reminded me of the thrill I felt 30 years before when I watched George Reeves hurl himself out of the stockroom window and into the endlessly repetitive stock footage skies of Metropolis.

This is one of those films where you filter out the silly story and watch the pretty pictures.

Make certain to get the international widescreen edition. The film was butchered in its original American theatrical release.

"Supergirl" thrilled me when it opened back in 1984. Along with Wonder Woman and She-Ra, Supergirl was part of an era of female superheroines. "Supergirl" is a true camp classic. It marked Helen Slater's debut (and subsequent departure) from the silver screen. Faye Dunaway could've shouted,"No more kryptonite wire hangers!" but she's close enough. "Supergirl",along with "Puma Man",is one of the cheesiest superhero movies ever made.

"Supergirl" opens on the heroine's homeworld,with her mother Mia Farrow&her mentor Zaltar (Peter O'Toole,hammy as ever) They need the Omegahedron to restore their world. Supergirl,a.k.a. Kara,is sent to Earth. Her cousin Superman is mentioned, but never makes an appearance,since the late Christopher Reeve wanted nothing to do with this movie. Kara confronts thugs, goes to a boarding school. In the meantime, the evil sorceress Selena (Dunaway) is in control of an amusement park. She has a female companion (Brenda Vaccaro) Lest one think these two dowdy ladies are carrying on a super-Sapphic romance, Selena lusts for a hunky carpenter/gardener. And yet she wants world domination??? Somehow the Hunky Guy is in the middle of all of it. There are numerous cheesy battles. At one point, Supergirl is hurled into the Phantom Zone with Zaltar. Somehow,good triumphs in the end. But not good taste.

"Supergirl" is gloriously campy fun. Take flight!

Enough comparing this movie to the Superman films. It was produced by the same people (Alexander and Ilya Salkind), but the similarites only go that far. If you consider Supergirl by itself, it is a great movie. The story isn't the best it could've been, but it's altogether very enjoyable. Helen Slater is very convincing as Supergirl. She plays the character exactly the way Supergirl should be done. The special effects are great, especially the flight scenes. And of course, Jerry Goldsmith's score is incredible! If you're not a film critic and just want a movie you can enjoy, Supergirl is for you.

You'll believe a girl can fly. SUPERGIRL was the only film made based on the DC Comics character--and based on the wonderful performance by Helen Slater, there should have been many more. Slater is, quite simply, the best-ever casting of a comic book character brought to either the film or television medium. Not only does she look exactly like the Supergirl of the comics, she brings an innocence, dignity, and strength to the role that makes the Girl of Steel seem believable and three-dimensional. If only she had been supported by a powerful director along the lines of Richard Donner (the first SUPERMAN film) or been given a stronger script to work with, we would have been treated to many more SUPERGIRL films. Alas, we had to settle for Jeannot Szwarc (JAWS 2, SOMEWHERE IN TIME), whose direction was far too laid-back for a film supposed to be based on a comic-book. Moreover, David Odell's script doesn't test Supergirl's powers or personality very much--you'd think that someone with Supergirl's abilities should face a greater challenge than a washed-up witch, and should have a better romantic interest than a grubby gardener. And yet, despite these problems, Slater and the rest of the acting crew find a way to make it work. Faye Dunaway, playing the evil sorceress Selena, drags the film down in places with some heavy over-acting, but she is very good in the film's climax, when she and Supergirl finally square off. Peter O'Toole manages to find the right notes as Zaltar, Supergirl's mentor from her home, Argo City. Also present are Maureen Teefy (as Lucy Lane, Lois Lane's brother), Brenda Vaccaro (Bianca, Selena's assistant, who gets the film's best lines and really runs with the part), Peter Cook (Nigel, Selena's partner in crime, who also gets his share of funny lines, and whose comic timing is near-perfect), and Marc McClure (as Jimmy Olsen, making McClure the only actor to appear in all the various incarnations of the SUPERMAN/SUPERGIRL film series). But it's Helen Slater who holds it all together with a performance that is exciting, touching, and--dare I say it--super.

This film is one of the greatest. I love the musical score, the effects, and especially Helen Slater--and I am sixteen! Contrary to what people have said about the characters not being "fully developed", they *were* fully developed, that is, if you have seen Jeannot Szwarc's complete director's cut, released only outside the United States, until recently. If you live in the United States, you have been stuck seeing the hacked-down 105-minute version, both in theaters and on video. This is the fault of TriStar Pictures. Warner Bros. originally produced the film. It was originally set to be released in the summer of 1984, but Warner Bros. couldn't release it in the United States at the right time, due to unforseen circumstances. When they gave TriStar the rights in November, TriStar took it upon themselves to re-edit the film by 21 minutes, without even asking for Szwarc's permission! The film originally ran 126 minutes. The characters are fleshed-out better in the longer version, and the story is expanded. Sure the campy acting contributed to the film's box office failure, but the factor that contributed greatly to the film's box office failure--a factor even greater than the campy acting and all other factors--was the fact that Japan's Pony Video had distributed the complete 126-minute version on imported laserdisc and VHS, 6 months prior to the United States theatrical release. This video release, in turn, kept audiences out of theaters, and generated low box office receipts. If you have been stuck seeing the 105-minute version for 15 years, or if this is the version with which you judge the film bad, I urge you all to take a look at Anchor Bay's videocassette of the 126-minute version. It is so much better.

This is an okay pass at a Supergirl movie. In an effort to set this one apart from the Superman series, the filmmakers tried to make this one more about a magical enemy, rather than the more Sci Fi aspect of the Superman movies. Magic had already been introduced into the comics as a force that could harm the Super clan, but it becomes a bit tricky to portray it on the big screen without losing your audience.

The villainess and her assistant have little charisma, which already places them below Lex Luthor in the minds of the audience. This is one of the large problems that plagued Superman III. Of course it doesn't help that the main thrust of Serlena's "evil plan" for most of the movie seems to revolve around getting a hunky construction worker to fall in love with her.

When the spell accidentally causes him to fall for Supergirl's human guise, Linda, Serlena decides to start the catfight to end all catfights. Or that's what it seems like. There's little sense that there is a real threat for Supergirl to fight except for the attacks against herself. Superman and Supergirl work best when the fight they are in is for more than their own lives. We just don't get a sense that that is happening here.

Other than that, the effects are not terrible, but the fight at the end with the force of shadows is a bit obscurely filmed. It comes across as a bit confusing.

In truth, the world is actually in danger because Serlena has been using the Omegahedron to increase her powers exponentially, but it doesn't come across like that.

It's better than Superman IV (big deal) and it may be roughly on par with Superman III, but that can largely rely on your personal preferences in this matter.

My daughter got this movie when she was six. Two years later she still watches it from time to time. It is very cheezy, but kids will enjoy it. There is nothing explicit, and the violence is fairly mild.

When I first saw this film on TV in the late '80s, I was of course struck by the wonderful comedy of Dunaway, Vacarro and Peter Cook, but otherwise thought it was awful.

In a second viewing years later I can appreciate this film much more. The special effects are good; the flying sequences are actually beautiful. Slater is better than I remembered her too.

Supergirl lacks the sense of wonder that Superman and Superman II had, but it really is a very fun film and in all honesty, it is vastly superior to the last two Superman films. Sure, this one has camp elements to it, but I really think it adds to the enjoyment.

I find it hard to really hate any film with Faye Dunaway, but even putting that bias aside Supergirl does not deserve its stinker reputation - as other reviewers here have obviously also discovered.

The DVD edition is great, but I find it a little sad watching the making of documentary in which cast and crew prematurely discuss the film's imminent blockbuster status and Helen Slater's imminent superstar status. Perhaps they jinxed it?

Supergirl, while not the best movie succeds in being a fun fantasy film. The flying sequences are great! I had only seen the film previously on vhs, so on DVD they are beyond cool. It is a fun non-taxing on the brain kind of movie! Having Faye Dunaway in it is just icing on the cake! Mommie Dearest as the bad guy!