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At the very top of his review for Richard Donner's 1978 film adaptation of the iconic American hero Superman, The Hollywood Report critic Ron Pennington addressed the bar set for the film by its own tagline.

"First things first: The wires don’t show and the special effects are truly spectacular in Superman, an Alexander and Ilya Salkind production of a Richard Donner film," Pennington wrote. "And the promotional line, 'You’ll believe a man can fly,' that is being used by Warner Bros. in the advertising is not that far-fetched."

Clearing that bar — in a single bound, no less — earned the special effects team of Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys N. Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, and Zoran Perisic a special Academy Awards in 1979, the only Oscar ever given to a Superman film.

But what made their work so worthy of recognition? The otherworldly visuals, of which a...

Devil worshippers are running amuck in Greece, haven’t you heard? This Greek-English horror show stars Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasance, so it can claim a built-in fan interest factor whether it’s good or bad. It’s fun to check out just to see what these stars got themselves into for a paycheck, back when Hammer was calling it quits and quality roles for U.K. pros were few and far between. Even Michael Powell’s name gets dropped in connection to this ‘shocker,’ which we saw here in the states under the title Land of the Minotaur. The pagan Minotaur god is no Bullwinkle J. Moose: he demands that all trespassers in his pagan temple die, and possessed kids are doing the killing.

The Devil’s Men

All-region Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1976 / Color / 1:85 1:66 widescreen / 94 + 86 min. / Land of the Minotaur / Street Date February 21, 2022 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99

Starring: Donald Pleasence,...

To mark the release of The Phoenix and the Magic Carpet Director’s Cut on 3rd May, we’ve been given 2 copies to give away on DVD.

Directed by Zoran Perisic. Three American children discover a golden egg among old junk in their grandfather’s cottage in England. When the egg accidentally falls into the bonfire, a golden bird rises out of the flames and the Phoenix is reborn. So begins an amazing adventure as the Phoenix takes the children on a magic carpet ride to a land of enchantment and fantasy.

Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Small Print

Open to UK residents only The competition will close 3rd May 2021 at 23.59 GMT The winner will be picked at random from entries received No cash alternative is available Please note prizes may be delayed due to Covid-19 To coincide with Gdpr regulations,...

I guess there are plenty of adults now too young to remember when Christopher Reeve made his debut as The Man of Steel. It was a massive hit across the full spectrum of moviegoers. Warners is taking good care of everyone’s favorite undocumented visitor from Planet Krypton, and has assembled two separate cuts of his big-screen premiere.

Superman: The Movie

Blu-ray

2-Film Collection

Warner Bros.

1978 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 188 min. Extended Cut + 151 min. Special Edition orig. 143 min. / Street Date October 10, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Trevor Howard, Margot Kidder, Jack O’Halloran, Valerie Perrine, Maria Schell, Terence Stamp, Phyllis Thaxter, Susannah York, Jeff East, Marc McClure, Sarah Douglas, Harry Andrews, Diane Sherry, Randy Jurgensen, Larry Hagman, John Ratzenberger, Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill.

Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth

Film Editors: Stuart Baird, Michael Ellis

Production Design: John Barry

Assistant Director: Vincent Winter...