Superman II (1980)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Superman II (1980) – R. Lester

I have mostly skipped the comic book fare of the last decade (or two) but, at the insistence of Amon (aged 8), I re-watched Superman (1978) and this sequel, which is perhaps a better film. (I’m not even going to tell him about Superman III with Richard Pryor which I still remember with horror).  As foreshadowed at the start of the first film, Superman has to fight three supervillains led by General Zod (Terence Stamp) after they are freed (by a nuclear explosion in space) from the “Phantom Zone” jail created by the leaders of the planet Krypton to lock them away forever.  Of course, they arrive on Earth (via the Moon) and start to wreak havoc.  Meanwhile, Clark Kent has finally let Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) know his secret identity and has given up his super-powers to become mortal – just at exactly the wrong time!  Even more than in the first film, Superman II (directed by Richard Lester, best known for his work with The Beatles; e.g., Help!) has its tongue firmly in its cheek and Christopher Reeve carries it off.  The old-school action sequences are so much better than the CGI explosions of today, even if the citizens of Metropolis are seen to be laughing as the villains and Superman throw each other through buildings and cars get blown across the city streets (by Zod’s bad breath). Of course, it all ends well (and Clark even gives Lois a magic kiss to wipe her memory).  This is what larger than life comic-book style is all about. Amon gave it a big thumbs up.

 

The Magician (1958)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Magician (1958) – I. Bergman 

A complicated film that can be enjoyed on a number of levels (which is probably something that could be said about much of Ingmar Bergman’s oeuvre), The Magician is at once a beguiling horror movie, a naughty sex comedy, a meditation on the relationship between the artist and the audience or patron, another querying of faith in the unknown by empiricists, and finally a cheeky riposte to Bergman’s critics.  A travelling group of performers, who may be healers (using Franz Mesmer’s theories of animal magnetism), witches, or simply show-people practiced in the art of deception ready to create an entertainment, is hauled in front of the leading citizens (including the police chief and medical examiner) of an unnamed capital city. They are interrogated about their true selves/abilities/purposes and forced to reveal the secrets of their arts. Their leader is Vogler (von Sydow) who is declared to be mute and wears a Jesus/Mephistopheles beard – he will later rise from the dead, perhaps to do harm or perhaps as testament to the divine power of his art. Meanwhile downstairs, the other members of his troupe fraternise with the help, offering them love potions and prophecies. Everyone seems to have a different relationship with these artists, representing how artists are treated by different cross-sections of society. The artists themselves may be full of doubt and despair about their motives for performing, their abilities, and their message. One could write a treatise here but suffice it to say the film looks gorgeous and is thoroughly watchable even if one doesn’t seek to analyse it – these artists hope to entertain as well as communicate something deeper.