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In an exchange on Threads, a fan asked writer/director/DC Studios Co-Head James Gunn what, aside from Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie, provided inspiration for the upcoming film Superman. Gunn responded with "Where do I start?" and a series of ten slides featuring images from throughout the Man of Steel's 86-year history. While it is possible that Gunn did this to convey a sense of the overall scope of his approach to the character, it is just as likely that these slides represent specific qualities he values and hopes to highlight in the Dcu Superman's first adventure.

If each of the ten pictures Gunn shared does, indeed, symbolize a different aspect of Superman that inspired the newly-retitled movie,...

Lois Lane has been a part of Superman's story since Action Comics #1 (Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster) and has been a part of nearly every adaptation to other mediums since. That started with the radio serial The Adventures of Superman in 1940 when Rolly Besterfirst voiced the character. Joan Alexander took over the role and played it for many years, as well as playing Lois in the famous animated shorts from the Fleischer Brothers. And movies continue to prominently feature her with Rachel Brosnahan joining numerous big-screen Lois Lanes in the upcoming Superman: Legacy

But barring the comics themselves, television has always been the best medium for the character. A TV series provides the screen time to let her stand on her own merits, while the movies invariably relegate her to Superman's support. Lois has helped anchor nearly a half-dozen live-action series, spaced across 80 years and changing with the times just...

One of the joys of growing up in the 1960s is that you were treated to cartoons from earlier eras, long before limited animation filled the Saturday morning airwaves. Among those gems were the work of Max and Dave Fleischer, including Popeye, Gulliver’s Travels and, of course, Superman. Since then, they have fallen into public domain and were widely available, but never in the best condition.

Until Warner Bros. Home Entertainment got involved. First came a DVD set in 02006 and now we have a Blu-ray collection, mastered from the original film negatives. All seventeen episodes from September 26, 1941 through July 30, 1943 are here.

For those unfamiliar, the fairly formulaic stories involve a problem, Lois Lane (Joan Alexander) getting into trouble, Clark Kent (Bud Collyer) changing in the phone booth (the trope introduced in the second short), and Superman to the rescue. This si the early Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Superman, so...

Burbank, CA – Warner Bros. Discovery has meticulously remastered Max Fleischer’s treasured set of 17 animated Superman shorts from the original 35mm source elements. Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941-1943 will be available to purchase Digitally on HD and on Blu-ray May 16, 2023.

Superman made his comic book debut in 1938, appearing in Action Comics #1, and the Man of Steel’s popularity grew with his subsequent radio program. Max Fleischer gave the world’s first Super Hero his initial animated spotlight, producing 17 theatrical animated shorts from September 1941 to July 1943 that further elevated the character’s profile, and added many significant aspects to his canon – including coining many of Superman’s patented catchphrases and attributes.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s advanced remastering process began with a 4K, 16-bit scan of Fleischer’s original 35mm successive exposure negative. Staying true to the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37-to-1, the highest quality raw image was then scanned and...

The term ‘filmed opera’ in no way describes this phantasmagoria. Powell & Pressburger re-envisions the Offenbach work with dance sequences refracted through a cinematic prism. It’s high art made for the movies, without the condescenscion seen in Disney’s Fantasia. The stars are Moira Shearer and Robert Helpmann. Powell perfects techniques from Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes to fuse music, theater, dance and cinema; Martin Scorsese calls it a ‘composed film.’ This full restoration reinstates footage not seen since the first previews in 1951.

The Tales of Hoffmann

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 317

1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 133 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date June 7, 2022 / 39.95

Starring: Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann, Ludmilla Tchérina, Anne Ayars, Pamela Brown, Léonide Massine, Frederick Ashton, Mogens Wieth, Robert Rounseville;

— And the voices of: Robert Rounseville, Monica Sinclair, Bruce Dargavel, Fisher Morgan, Rene Soames, Dorothy Bond, Grahame Clifford, Murry Dickie, Margherita Grandi, Owen Brannigan, Ann Ayars, Joan Alexander...

She drew ire with her razor-sharp wit, but she was a groundbreaking, controversial and outspoken comedienne, a true one of a kind. Joan Rivers has died at the age of 81.Though far better known for her comedy and TV work than any contribution to cinema (yes, despite providing the voice of Dot Matrix in Spaceballs), Rivers co-wrote and directed Rabbit Test in 1978, which helped give Billy Crystal his film break and was a considerable achievement for a female filmmaker in the boys’ club of 1970s Hollywood.Born in Brooklyn in 1933 to Russian immigrants Meyer and Beatrice Molinsky, Joan Alexander Molinsky attended Barnard College, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature. Yet it was her comedy that really caught attention, landed her regular guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which in turn led to her status as the show’s frequent fill-in host, a...

The man who claims Aaron Hernandez shot him in the face earlier this year has been ordered by a judge in Massachusetts to appear before a grand jury later this month.Alexander Bradley was ordered by Superior Court Judge Joan Alexander to appear July 17. Bradley had been fighting the interstate subpoena, claiming he required medical treatment in Florida.As TMZ first reported, Bradley sued Hernandez last month, claiming Hernandez shot him in the face following...

Today, September 26th marks the 70th anniversary of Fleischer Studios Superman Animated Shorts. Widely regarded as one of the definitive interpretations of the Man of Steel, this series of 10 minute animated shorts consisted of 17 Superman adventures, the first nine were produced by Fleischer Studios while the following eight instalments were produced by Famous Studios.

Fleischer Studios was founded in 1921 by Polish cartoonist Max Fleischer, and his younger brother Dave. The studio stood out among other animation companies thanks to their rotoscoping technique. Rotoscoping, invented by Max, allowed animators to trace over live action models, leading to a more fluid and realistic look in the movements of cartoon characters. They were also home of Betty Boop, one of the most popular cartoon creations of all time. In 1939, burdened by the censorship of the recently introduced Hays Code, the studio decided to put an end to their Betty Boop series. Instead they...

We celebrate the life and times of Superman's animated adventures, and pick out the many highlights...

For any Superman fan, it's hard to have favourites and almost impossible to choose a winner between 'Fleischer' cartoons (later produced by Famous Studios) and the modern day cartoons, as they all serve well when it comes to Superman history. But I'm going to take a look at Fleischer and Famous Studios' Superman contribution and then at the more modern day Superman cartoons to see which ones are better suited to the heart of the comic book series.

The Fleischer Superman cartoons were massive hits back in the 1940s, running from 1941 to 1943, with Famous taking over roughly midway. They're responsible for making the Man of Steel fly, for originally he was only supposed to be able to "leap tall buildings at a single bound". Having tried this during the animation process and being unhappy with it,...

Wasn't Lana Lang the redhead?

This time around, L.L. will be played by A.A.

Three-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams will play Lois Lane in the new Superman movie, according to the La Times’s Hero Complex blog.

Director Zack Snyder reportedly called Adams yesterday in Paris to congratulate her. Somewhat surprisingly, Snyder did not use any of the actresses from his new film Sucker Punch, a $82-million action flick that made $19-million in its opening this weekend.

Earlier this year, Henry Cavill was announced as the Man of Steel. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane were recently cast as Superman’s adoptive Earth parents, the Kents.

This isn’t Adams’s first time with an on-screen Clark Kent; in 2001, she appeared in the first season of Smallville… because somebody from Smallville should make it into the movie.

Lois Lane has previously been played on screen by such actresses as Phyllis Coates,...

In what may be the soundest casting choice yet for Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot, actress Amy Adams has been chosen for the iconic role of reporter and love interest Lois Lane. She joins Henry Cavill, Diane Lane, and Kevin Costner as the latest to join the project. According to director Snyder, "There was a big, giant search for Lois. For us it was a big thing and obviously a really important role. We did a lot of auditioning but we had this meeting with Amy Adams and after that I just felt she was perfect for it."

But can Adams fill such big shoes? The character of Lois Lane goes back to the beginning of the comic book, where she was merely a co-worker who despised Clark for his timid nature and had a penchant for getting into bad situations that Superman had to rescue her from. Over the years,...

In this incarnation of our Videolog column (which began in 1982 with VHS and Betamax and later laserdisc), Starlog posts information usually (though not always) on Tuesdays regarding selected genre titles being released (or re-released) now on DVD and Blu-ray. Prices listed are Msrp, while clickable links lead to Amazon where the savings is significant. Here’s what coming out this week:

DVD Releases for August 25, 2009

The Adventures Of Robin Hood: The Complete Fourth Season & The Complete Series (Mill Creek Entertainment, Fourth Season, $14.98; Complete Series, $29.98): The 1955 British TV series is being released on two new DVD sets: The fourth and final season, and the complete series. Richard Greene stars as Robin Hood, who rules Sherwood Forest with his band of Merry Men in their endless fight against the despicable Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Wheatley).

Batman: The Brave And The Bold: Volume One (Warner, $14.98): In this latest Batman interpretation,...

American actress Joan A. Stanton has died at the age of 94.

The star, best known for voicing Lois Lane in 1940s radio show The Adventures of Superman, passed away on Thursday in New York after suffering an intestinal blockage, according to her daughter Jane Stanton Hitchcock.

Stanton, real name Louise Abrass, began her career as a model and stage actress before finding fame as a radio star, voicing roles on crime drama Perry Mason and the Superman series. She also went by the name of Joan Alexander.

Stanton is survived by her daughter Stanton Hitchcock, her son Tim Stanton, and a grandson, reports the New York Times.