Product Details

• Actors: Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Annette O'Toole
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: May 1, 2001
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (166 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000059XUJ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,991 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Superman III" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Superman matches wits with an evil mastermind and a computer genius who discovers the one substance which can harm the man of steel.
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: PG
Street Date: 02/08/05
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Flawed but Fun Film, October 8, 2006

By 

S. R. (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Superman III (Deluxe Edition) (DVD)

For this third installment, the producers decided to inject a more modern twist into the Superman mythos via Richard Pryor's antics and the dependence on computer technology theme. The result was met with mixed reviews but did provide Christopher Reeve the opportunity to turn his dual role into a triple. Not only does he play Clark Kent and Superman, but also an evil Superman that manifests after exposure to synthetic Kryptonite (a plot device repeated at nauseum on the 'Smallville' TV series). The fight sequence between Clark Kent and his evil counterpart plays like a scene right out a Superman comic book! As far as the supporting cast is concerned, Margot Kidder's Lois Lane is not given much screen time but Annette O' Toole's Lana Lang (another 'Smallville' TV series staple) fills the role of Clark's old love interest nicely. The flying shots are easily the best of the franchise and Reeve is definitely the most buff he's ever been making him the most realistic physical embodiment of Superman to date. Unlike the previous DVD release, there are extras this time around including a commentary by the producers, a 1983 'Making of' special hosted by Chris Reeve, and almost 20 minutes of deleted scenes! In closing, while this movie isn't quite as magical as the first two Superman films, a terrific performance by Christopher Reeve and some nice supplemental material makes it worthy of another look on DVD.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Great, But Not Horrible Either., June 9, 2006

By 

Anthony Nasti "Tony" (Staten Island, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Superman III (DVD)

After two major hit movies, the third entry in the Superman movie series was definitely viewed as a letdown. Indeed, compared to both the commercial success of the first two films as well as the quality of the films themselves, it is indeed a weak sequel. However that doesn't mean it's outright bad.

The third entry has Supemran / Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve, once again playign the aprt to perfection even if thw writing and the film itself are less than stellar) returns to Smallville, his hometown, where he hooks up with old flame Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole). Meanwhile, a down on his luck computer geek named Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) has used his keyboarding skills and with the help of an evil industrialist (Robert Vaughn), plans on buildiding his "Super" computer and turning it into a weapon. Of course, Superman naturally gets in their way, and now they must achieve kryptonite and get him out of the way. They do indeed achieve it, but it does not kill him. However, it splits him into two separate personalities: Clark Kent and Superman, with Supemran being the foe, Clark now must get control of his other half before it destroys him in time to stop them from destroying the world with the "Super" computer.

First of all, let me start off with the good aspects of the film. Reeve is once again fantastic as Superman. He manages to overcome the film's flaws and turn in another magnifificent performance. It's also nice to see Samllville revisited, and the subplot with him and Lana was nice.

Now for the bad. Richard Pryor for the most part wasn't all that great. He was a truly brilliant comedian, but he's just out of place in a Superman movie. With him in it, the film automatically becomes more of a comedy (take a look at the opening credits sequence) and he just doesn't make a great villian. Next, Robert Vaughn's Webster is one of the worst villians ever. I know a lot of people complained that Hackman's Luthor was campy and over the top, but Vaughn surpasses him by MILES. And his henchman are much more annoying than Luthor's Eve and Otis. The score by Ken Thorne is autrocious, and you automatically yearn for John William's truly astounding score from the first two films to swell up out of nowhere. Add to that a cheesy soundtrack of original songs from Georgio Moroder and it just adds to the film's campiness.

I can go on and on about more positives and negatives, but I'll just say that "Superman III" is worth checking out, even if you will be a little disappointed by the end.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not that bad: but not that memorable, June 26, 2006

By 

K. Coburn "movie fan" (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Superman III (DVD)

I've watched bits and pieces of Superman III over the years since it first came on cable back in 1984. Finally I rented the disc yesterday and got a chance to judge it.

First it was great to see the film in a widescreen presentation with good sound. The picture looked great for a film made over 23 years ago (time goes by so fast these days).

As for the film itself, it's not the disaster that so many say. I can't imagine another actor at that time playing Superman other than Christopher Reeve. He was(and many say still is)the perfect embodiment of The Man of Steel. I also thought Annette O'Toole was perfectly cast as Lana Lang. It would've been interesting to see at that time if they decided to do another one to play on the rivalry between Lana and Lois for Clark/Superman's attention.

As for the minus: I have to agree that Richard Pryor's Gus Gorman and Robert Vaughn's Ross Webster weren't that really interesting villains. I know that Gene Hackman, Terrence Stamp, Sarah Douglas and Jack O'Halloran were a tough act to follow but Superman had so many other foes in is rouge gallery such as Brainiac, Toy Man and Bizzaro. It's too bad that two tremendous talents were wasted. Although Annie Ross was very fun to watch as Vaughn's sister Vera.

Also missing is the wonderful Margot Kidder. I know she and the Salkynds were at war over the firing of Richard Donner and Lois was only featured in the beginning and end of the films, but the producers had to know the chemisrty between Reeve and Kidder was extraordinary. Maybe if Lois had gone to Smallville with Clark, that would have made it much more interesting (not to take anything away from Annette as she was wonderful). Oh well.

On the whole: the film was entertaining but not as legendary and memorable as Superman and Superman II.

P.S.: I can't wait to see Superman Returns!