Supergirl

I could make this very long, or I could make it strict. stricted? yes... This is a truely wonderfull movie that on a mainstreame level has never gotten the attention it deserves. Faye Dunaway is a excellant adversory to Helen Slater and almost everyone in this movie seems to have a great chemistry together wich is outputed highley during it. The special FX are wonderfull and were advanced for its time, many in the movie even to today's standards. It has its roots in artistic litrature, it has heart, because the movie is about a teenager there is a vulrability to it wich feels more humane and personal to a level of a teenager myself...unlike the Superman movies where you simply feel "yes, he's super...he can do anything. good for him" This movie suffered for many reasons wich isn't about its story. It was marketed purley as a Superman "action sueprhero" sort of movie. When the fact is there is a more gentile apraoch to this film, sourcery, love and lots of imaginative things wich make it very unique to the superhero genre. unfortunatley it doesn't do it much favours considering to many it is the worst superhero movie ever. Everything about this movie is very imaginative and creative. From Supergirl flying out of a lake without getting wet to her almost flawless flying ballet (THATS when u believe a person can fly. Unlike Supermans blue screen FX) and the highly inspireing fair ground scenes. This is purley fantasy. Not a Spiderman/Superman action superhero movie wich it was promoted to be. So its real targeted audience didn't want to see it as its trailer and promotion didn't look like "their sorta thing" and the people that did see it were dissapointed as it wasn't what it was said to be. so let me say...STUPID marketting team!simply...its like making American Pie SOUND LIKE the matrix. Many people saw Supergirl and did not expect to see many of the things they saw.

If this film was marketed the way it should have been and released the way it should have been (some countries got a seriously bad edited version wich effected the charactors allot) then this would have been the success everyone thought at the time and still deserves to be This is a great movie and its one of my favourites. I don't think I could praise it enough. I think its not what many people wanted ot see back then though...they wanted explosions, action and they wanted Superman to fit into this film.

I think the fact that Supergirl arrived on earth in the supercostume without no actual logic was bad. Because firstly you need rules, and even more so in fantasy movies. Because it may be fantasy but you still should believe it. I think it could have easily been written in for Supergirl to get her costume. Zaltar could have made her it because she is a big admirer of her cousin Superman. But no, unfortunatley it isn't once explained how and were she got her costume from. Also...the instant costume portrays that she is an instant hero and she wasn't wich let many people down. As she was still nieve, cute and girly and not the strong wilded heroine she turned out to be at the end.

Also, this movie arguable did not fit into the superman mythology very well...But so be it. There is no flaw in this movie that could effect the enjoyment and believability of the movie. On its DVD release there are more visual flaws then I saw on its video release wich is surprising. Not many however but on her first ever flying shot there are...wich makes me cringe. HOWEVER, I am still to see better better flying in a movie that isn't from Supergirl. Highlights of this movie deffanitly are Supergirls flying ballet (you will never see anything as visually wonderfull and pretty as this in a film) and Supergirls scenes with Ethan. This movie is full of heart and art, with beautifull actors and its all acompanied by a wonderfull score wich captures allot of emotion and depth.

I will end this review with that you WILL believe a girl can fly. Because most of the time...it is live flying and not against a screen (when will you learn Superman?)

I guess I was 7 or 8 when my parents took me to the cinema for the first time. They picked Supergirl as something fun and unthreatening. I have been hooked on film ever since! Supergirl is a hugely under-rated movie, and while I can take on board some of the negative comments you read here, I also think they're a bit harsh. Come on people (you know who you are), it's a fantasy film! If it played the same as Superman (another great), there would be no point in making it in the first place. Sure the magic angle is slightly odd, but what the hell, it's a fun film which doesn't take itself too seriously, but doesn't go in for over the top slapstick either (take heed Richard Lester!!). And of course the effects are a little dated, it is 20 years old after all (though many still look great). Jerry Goldsmith's score it beautiful and lyrical, as it should be, becoming triumphantly heroic when it needs to (The main theme is tremendous, even with the eighties electronic whooshes and eagle squarks). Helen Slater is gorgeous in the lead role, and considering this was her first major role, she does a commendable job. Then there's Miss Dunaway: first rate as always-you can almost see the scenery going down her throat, but that's part of the charm of the character. All the actors come off well, and if you ignore some bits and pieces (there's still some huge plot holes even in the Directors Cut!) you should have a great time. It would be interesting to see a remake that perhaps didn't stray so far from the source mythology (was the omegahedron in the comics?), but on the other hand, the eighties was a different time, and perhaps today's climate (whether the world could use a super-hero or not) is not right to relaunch the poor girl to Earth. One of my all time favourites, and I'm glad to see so many other fans on the IMDB. Let's lobby Anchor Bay for an official Region 2 version. My TV can't broadcast NTSC signals, so have to watch it in black & white, or in jerky (but colour) vision on a slow laptop. Peace. Out.

While not an epic like "Superman: The Movie", "Supergirl" is an enjoyable movie and it has a special place in my heart just like the first Superman movie.

The beautiful Helen Slater is fantastic in the title role of Supergirl and she easily carries the film. Like Reeve, Slater looks like she just popped out of the comic books and she gives a great performance as both Linda Lee and Supergirl. It's a shame she doesn't have a bigger career than the one she does now.

Faye Dunaway is miscast as Selena and is too campy in the role. The rest of the cast are fine in the movie, and I enjoyed Peter O'Toole's performance as Zaltar. Also, it was nice to see Marc McLure as Jimmy Olsen. However, my biggest disappointment with the film was that Christopher Reeve was not in it. It would have been fantastic to see Superman and Supergirl together.

The script, while good, should have been better and the campiness of Selena thrown out. I've read the original script and that one should have been used as it was slightly better and had some more characterisation in it.

The special effects are fantastic, especially in the flying scenes. I enjoy the Flying Ballet sequence a great deal, it's my favourite flying scene out of all the 'Super' films. This scene has always made me wish I could fly, a desire that was created when I saw the original Superman movie.

The music, which was composed and conducted by the great Jerry Goldsmith, is also one of the film's best aspects and I love it very much. The music is beautiful to listen to and are easy on the ears -- it's very poetic and lyrical which suits the film well.

Anchor Bay released "Supergirl" on DVD last year and they did a magnificent job, doing the film justice. The Director's Cut is the best version of the movie as it provides better characterisation and some explanations for plot holes that are present in the US theatrical and domestic cuts.

"Supergirl" is one of my favourite movies despite it's flaws and I find it to be a much better film than "Superman 3" and "Superman 4: The Quest For Peace".

I first saw this movie when i was still a kid, and I enjoyed it then, as would all other children. I have seen it again, and cannot in all honesty understand why it failed. Helen Slater played the role of Supergirl perfectly, and had a strong supporting cast. Perhaps it was not the right time for it, because the macho-male action hero sterotype was still very much prevalent in the 80's. Chances are that movies like G.I. Jane and Alien would also have flopped at the box-office if they was released in the early 80's.

Supergirl was and still is a great film for people of all ages, despite what the critics may have said.

Apart from the witchcraft, I LOVE this movie!

This was the first time I ever saw Helen Slater, and rightaway I knew she was the most beautiful lady in the world! (Sorry ladies!)

I think there are some classic lines that have been overlooked: I remember when the Tractor went wild in Midvale, and Linda/Supergirl was searching for a place to change into her costume, she spied the Ladies' Room, and dashed toward it at super-speed, plowing into a woman who was just coming out. Linda apologized, "Sorry, I'm in a rush!" and shot inside. The woman looked wry. "I know what you mean!"

Perhaps Zaltar (Peter O'Toole) wasn't as important as he could have been. Although I thought Faye Dunaway was perfect as Selena (a little type-casting courtesy of Mommie Dearest), I prefer to wonder what would have happened if Zaltar had been just a little more complex (he's an artist, after all!) and a little more selfish, and actually followed through with his plans to see Outer Space with the assistance of the Omegahedron.

Then he might have been the villain of the piece, and the most dangerous kind of villain: the villain an audience can sympathize with. Then the audience would have been torn between wanting Zaltar to succeed, and wanting Kara/Supergirl to stop him before the loss of the Omegahedron destroys Argo City.

Oh! And I would've liked to see how Argo City was torn away more or less whole from Krypton as the planet detonated, and wound up in Inner Space, trapped in a warp that only Kal-El's little spaceship was equipped to navigate and exit.

I don't think it's over for Supergirl, her story could be REtold (a la Batman), but I'd only be interested in a remake if the filmmakers would remain true to the style of THIS movie (Supergirl (1984), rather than opting for a trendy, dark, angst-ridden "hero" (I use the term loosely) in a demented action "adventure". I miss the bright, cheerful style of the old Superman comics, from the 50's, 60's and 70's, and I'd love to see that back on the big screen, like Superman The Movie and Superman II, and . . . naturally, Supergirl - The First Adventure.

This is a beautiful, dream-like jewel of a movie, a real Pink Panther (I refer, of course, to the diamond).

That breath-taking, emotional moment as Supergirl arrives on Earth, and discovers her powers and her new environment, in my humble opinion, is unmatched in all the Super-movies.

Jerry Goldsmith's score, especially the Supergirl March and the Love Theme are stirring and moving respectively, and easily equal to John Williams' contributions to the Superman movies. I have Jerry's score on CD (thanks to Silva Screen Records) and the Supergirl Main Theme is my Favorite Movie Theme of all time.

(Superman was and is my hero, Superman II (1980) was THE defining movie of my youth, and I can probably sing you the entire score to Superman III, but I love the Supergirl themes more.)

And if a widescreen, remastered version of this movie ever becomes available "Down Under" , I want to see it!