Superman

You'll believe a man can fly.

RELEASED 14 Dec 19782h 23m★ 7.2 TMDB★ Essential pick

Mild-mannered Clark Kent works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane. Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor launches a plan to take over the world.

WATCH NOTE

Covers Richard Donner's 1978 live-action theatrical feature, also marketed as Superman: The Movie. BBFC measures the original cinema presentation at 142:46, rounded to 143 minutes; BFI corroborates 143, while AFI lists 148 without resolving that presentation difference. The 151-minute Special Edition, 188-minute extended television presentation and packaged supplements are excluded from this theatrical runtime. US theatrical release was December 15, 1978; the saved December 14 date and earliest worldwide commercial availability remain under review. Marc McClure's Jimmy Olsen and Terence Stamp's General Zod resolve to independently verified official DC identities. General Zod's pending identity is resolved; the other six pending roles retain unresolved individual official profile matches. Ma Kent, Lara, Ursa and Lana Lang also have credited appearances, but their official profile matches and complete incidental, uncredited and silent/background coverage remain unresolved. The 1941 Superman animated short is separate coverage.

Why it matters in DC

Clark's work at the Daily Planet and conflict with Lex Luthor establish the everyday and extraordinary sides of this Superman. It is the foundation for the classic Superman sequence, introducing the relationships that make later departures, returns and sacrifices matter personally.

Watch these first

4 titles to watch before Superman — 163h 17m in total.

The Superman/Aquaman Hour of AdventureOptional background1h 48m★ 7.1
A separate adaptation of Superman; useful for comparison, but unrelated to Superman’s story continuity.
Super FriendsOptional background99h 57m★ 7.8
A separate adaptation of Superman; useful for comparison, but unrelated to Superman’s story continuity.
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!Optional background1h 32m★ 4.4
A separate adaptation of Superman and Lois Lane and Perry White; useful for comparison, but unrelated to Superman’s story continuity.
The All-New Super Friends HourOptional background60h★ 7.5
A separate adaptation of Superman; useful for comparison, but unrelated to Superman’s story continuity.

Opens the planner with just these titles, so you can set your own pace.

How these titles are selected

Story prerequisites are curated. Likely prerequisites are inferred from sequel numbering or explicit synopsis references. Recommendations are earlier stories in the same continuity; background picks are separate adaptations. Series lists cover whole shows, not an episode-by-episode watch order.

Explore the full viewing guide

Where it fits in the DC universe

Superman is title 1 of 6 in our Classic Superman viewing sequence. Begin the Christopher Reeve film saga with this origin adventure, then continue with Superman II. Superman Returns offers an alternate continuation of the first two films; earlier Superman screen adaptations are not required.

Explore this viewing sequence