|
|
Superman Store - Atom Man Vs Superman
|
List Price: $19.98
Our Price: $13.36
Your Save: $ 6.62 ( 33% )
Availability:
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Starring: Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, Lyle Talbot, Tommy Bond, Pierre Watkin
Directed By: Spencer Gordon Bennet
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786301536790
Format: Black & White
ISBN: 6301536797
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Release Date: 1995-06-15
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1950-07-20
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Strangely, Ahead of Its Time
Comment: Atom Man Vs. Superman' is the second of 2 Columbia Pictures' Superman serials and is clearly superior to the first. Once you liberate yourself from modern expectations regarding budget, special effects, realism, etc., you can sit back for 15 chapters and enjoy the earnestness and charm of the actors, and the free-wheeling fantasy of the storyline.
Frankly, there are lots of problems with this serial, but it succeeds by virture of its inventiveness and the level of imagination.
It is best to watch the old serials from the perspective that you are looking at some kind of alternate reality so as to suspend some of the prejudices of the modern world. Or perhaps as though one were a tourist in a foreign country: rather than seeing differences as bizarre or deficient, but instead as being novel, interesting, and sometimes wondrous.
Next to Kirk Alyn, George Reeves was Lawrence Olivier. That notwithstanding, Kirk Alyn at least bears a good physical resemblance to the comic book Superman, and at least he tackles the impossible with gameness and good cheer. His best moments are with Lois and Luthor, and there a few times in the serial when his acting is actually good. And his performance in 'Atom Man' is a 100% improvement over the 1st serial. And even at his clumsiest moments, Kirk Alyn is infinitely preferable to Brandon Routh.
The supporting cast is great. Noel Niell is cute as a button and very charming as Lois Lane. Pierre Watkin is a perfect Perry White. Former Our Gang member Tommy 'Butch' Bond plays Jimmy Olsen as a pugnacious juvenile, which works pretty well. Best of all, Lyle Talbot plays arch-villain Lex Luthor with creepy and insane genius, and also uses a good foreign accent during the scenes when we wears the ridiculous 'Atom Man' disguise (Talbot is, IMO, at least as good as Gene Hackman, and head and shoulders above Kevin Spacey in the role).
This serial moves quickly along and is filled with many clever plot devices and cliff hangers. The primary purpose of the serial was to provide diversion and escapism, and this provides plenty.
One of the most notable features of this serial has to be the abundance of science fiction elements, many of which were on the very cutting edge in 1950. There is a teleportation device, similar to that used on 'Star Trek and there is a flying saucer. To my knowledge, this serial features the earliest cinematic appearances of such devices. Star Trek's 'transporter' would not appear till 1966, and flying saucers entered feature films in 1951 with 'Day the Earth Stood Still' and 'The Thing.' There is a very effective sequence in which Superman is exiled in another dimension, called 'the empty doom.' As far as I know, this is the first time in cinema that the concept of an extra-dimensional world is introduced. The Superman comic books would later appropriate this gimmick and call it the Phantom Zone, which would become one of the more interesting parts to the Superman mythology. As far as I know, dimensional worlds didn't become well known in celluloid sci-fi via until the early 1960's via 'Twilight Zone' and 'Outer Limits' episodes.
Another fresh but not wholly new sci-fi element in the serial is Luthor's ballistic missile. I can't think of any feature films with them prior to this serial, but I know that Republic's 'King of the Rocket Men' had a great scene with their hero stopping an 'air torpedo' in 1949, thus beating Superman to the punch. Ballistic missiles, of course, had been a reality ever since WWII's V-2 rockets, but it wouldn't be till the mid-fifties that they really entered the mass consciousness of the cinema. I don't want to spoil too much, but note the scene with Superman riding atop the ballistic missile: this pre-dates Slim Pickens' ride on Dr. Strangelove's A-bomb by 14 years.
Also note that the opening credits feature stock footage of A-bomb tests. As the 50's and 60's progressed, copius use A-bomb footage would become a staple of scifi and horror films, especially in opening credit sequences.(Stanley Kubric as well used A-bomb footage in Dr. Strangelove, strangely enough.) So far as my studies have led me over the past 35 years of B-movie research, this is the earliest usage of A-bomb footage in any scifi/monster pic.
A final note: I advise that you watch this in chapter installments, or limit yourself to at most 4 chapters at a time between other activities. I can't explain it, but it's more enjoyable that way, perhaps due to design
Customer Rating:
Summary: Super Exciting
Comment: Okay, with the Superman movies and Smallville this seems a little cheesy. The special effects are a little cheesy, Kirk Alyn is a little cheesy Superman with a goofy smile, but a pretty good Clark Kent. Then why did I give this five stars, because it is very entertaining. The 40's Superman is not the one I know, but good story telling and cliff hangers make this worth wild. Second all, this may be the best incarnation (at least pre-crisis) Lex Luthor ever one on screen. A great buy!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A serial sequel that's better than the first
Comment: ATOM MAN VS. SUPERMAN (1950), the second of two 15-chapter Superman serials, is far superior to its predecessor, SUPERMAN (1948). For one thing, it drops the ridiculous Spider Lady idea and gives Superman a formidable comic book-style villain in his familiar archnemesis, Lex Luthor (well-played by Lyle Talbot). Luthor keeps Superman and the Daily Planet constantly on their toes, coming up with inventive new threats in every episode. If it isn't a "directional cyclotron" causing earthquakes in one, it's an atomic missile headed for Metropolis in another. And Superman gets to do a lot more Superman-like feats of derring-do in this serial. In an ingenious touch, the makers incorporate all sorts of actual disaster footage into the action--flood, fire, earthquake, bridge collapse--and have Superman plunge in to rescue victims. As in the previous serial, the super effects are created using cartoon animation, so whenever Superman takes off to fly he becomes a cartoon figure. This animation is used more imaginatively and in a wider set of actions than in the first one. In one spectacular moment, an animated Superman picks up a live-action miniature truck from a raging flood. And there's one jaw-dropping sequence in outer space that relies on animation. The same actors return to play Superman/Clark Kent (Kirk Alyn), Lois Lane (Noel Neill), Jimmy Olsen (Tommy Bond) and Perry White (Pierre Watkin). Unlike the first serial, the spunky Lois gets some costume changes this time around. She also goes to work at a Metropolis TV station at one point, serving as on-camera talent doing man-on-the-street interviews in the early days of the medium! Overall, it's so filled with clever and imaginative touches that it ranks not only as one of the finest serials this reviewer's ever seen, but as one of the best examples of filmed Superman ever.
Customer Rating:
Summary: ATOM MAN VS. SUPERMAN
Comment: A good action serial with the KING of super heroes, SUPERMAN! The second of two Superman serials with KIRK ALYN as Supes, wearing a costume reminiscent of the later TV George Reeves'. The title being that of the RADIO show's story that in many ways is better than this serial or ANY screen work of Superman. The Atom Man in the RADIO story was a kryptonite powered Nazi who could create kryptonite lightning from his hand, nearly killing Superman several times. In THIS SERIAL, he's LEX LUTHOR who has a teleportation machine, that smacks of STAR TREK in a way, YEARS BEFORE Trek was thought of! NOT that people ' glitter ' when they teleport in or out in this movie. The criminals use this ability to escape Superman. There's super feats here too. FLYING is shown as a satisfactorily cartooned figure for long shots that some think is garbage and others like myself think is COOL. Think of this serial as a long 50's TV Reeves episode with similar level effects. The theme music is cool too. Alyn looked more like Superman than any screen actor one except for Christopher Reeve, the blockbuster movie guy. If you just want modern COLOR and blockbuster effects, this is'nt for you. It's a gem though and no one should miss KIRK ALYN as Superman, the FIRST actor in the role. Lois Lane is played by NOEL NIEL who was TV's main Lois later and she plays it even more as a weak, girl in trouble who could'nt rip her way out of a wet paper bag than she did in the TV series! Other reviews here probably tell you who else was in it, so I won't repeat it here.
Customer Rating:
Summary: SUPERMAN FANS MUST SEE THIS FILM!
Comment: One of the greatest of the classic serial films, ATOM MAN VS SUPERMAN has it all: space ships, evil criminals, action packed cliffhangers, and "the empty Doom" weapon. This movie shows the Man of Steel against Lex Luthor in a top notch adventure. Kirk Alyn is the best as Superman(next to Christopher Reeve)and Lyle Talbot steals the show as the mad genius-Lex Luthor. My only complaint is that the title villain never actually fights Superman, he just appears in a couple scenes. However, this classic is a valuable addition to any Man of Steel fan's collection.
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
Criminal genius Lex Luthor has Metropolis at his mercy. Can he crush Superman with his fiendish inventions? Find out as this live-action, 15 chapter serial whisks you breathlessly along. Kirk Alyn stars. Year: 1950 Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet Starring: Kirk Alyn, Tommy Bond, Noel Neill
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
