SUPERMAN ANTHOLOGY (Blu-Ray)
I'm as subject to overwhelming floods of emotion due to nostalgic attachment as the next guy, and what does it for me is often the all-too familiar leitmotifs in movie and television show themes. Of all of them, arguably the one that makes me need to go fetch a handkerchief just as it begins to stir, is John Williams' iconic score for Superman. Ironically, it's kind of my kryptonite. Even though I only even like 3 out of the five theatrical films that have been made. I know, I know, I'm a big crybaby. Regardless of my super-weaknesses, this new Superman Anthology set, finally gives us the two classic Richard Donner films a proper HD upgrade, unlike the previous releases which were pretty much straight DVD ports. That being said, they're still not perfect transfers, but a mighty big step up from the rip-off versions previously released. The joy to be had here is the completeness of the set. What you get is:

Disc 1 - Superman - The Movie

-Audio Commentary with Executive Producer Ilya Salkind and Producer Pierre Spengler
-The Making of Superman - The Movie
-Superman and the Mole-Men
-Cartoons - Looney Tunes shorts "Snafuperman", "Stupor Duck", and "Super Rabbit"
-TV Spots and Trailers

Disc 2 - Superman - The Movie - Expanded Edition

-Audio Commentary with Director Richard Donner and Creative Consultant Tom Mankiewicz
-Taking Flight - The Development of Superman
-Making Superman - Filming the Legend
-The Magic Behind the Cape
-Original Screen Tests
-Restored Scenes
-Additional Scenes
-Additional Music Cues
-Music-Only Track

Disc 3 - Superman II - Original Theatrical Release

-Audio Commentary with Executive Producer Ilya Salkind and Producer Pierre Spengler
-The Making of Superman II
-Superman's Soufflé Deleted Scene
-First Flight - The Fleischer Superman Series
-Fleischer Studios' Superman - Includes 9 Max Fleischer Superman Cartoons
-Original Theatrical Trailer
Disc 4 - Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut

-Audio Commentary with Director Richard Donner and Creative Consultant Tom Mankiewicz
-Introduction by Richard Donner
-Superman II - Restoring the Vision
-Deleted Scenes
-Famous Studios' Superman Cartoons (6)

Disc 5 - Superman III

-Audio Commentary with Executive Producer Ilya Salkind and Producer Pierre Spengler
-The Making of Superman III
-Deleted Scenes
-Theatrical Trailer

Disc 6 - Superman IV - The Quest for Peace

-Audio Commentary with Screenwriter Mark Rosenthal
-Superman 50th Anniversary Special - Hosted by Dana Carvey
-Deleted Scenes
-Theatrical Trailer

Disc 7 - Superman Returns

-Requiem for Krypton: Making Superman Returns
-Bryan Singer's Journals
-Original Opening to Superman Returns
-Deleted Scenes
-Resurrecting Jor-El
-Trailers

Disc 8 - Additional Bonus Material

-Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman
-You Will Believe - The Cinematic Saga of Superman
-The Science of Superman
-The Mythology of Superman
-The Heart of a Hero - A Tribute to Christopher Reeve
-The Adventures of Superpup Pilot

You see? That's freakin' solid. That 8th disk has got some really nice bonus stuff, as that "Look, Up in the Sky!" is a feature length documentary on the history of the character, "You Will Believe" is also movie-length and focuses on the history of the films, "The Science of Superman" is a really fun National Geographic special...those are just the tip of the Fortress of Solitude here. There's more than 20 hours of bonus features gathered together along with the films, ah, the films, which I most certainly will be going back to re-watch multiple times...well, not "Quest for Peace", which is actually worse than "Batman and Robin", but the rest, for sure.

The biggest let-down here is that absolutely no fix was done to the famously abysmal blu-ray transfer of Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns", which makes no sense since it was filmed for the format to begin with. I can only assume it was an oversight on Warner Brothers' part, but a pretty serious one, considering it's a bit of an investment to pick up the set. Not that apparently most of you snarky bastards will care. I've never understood the absolute hatred for Singers' film. It's certainly far from a perfect film, but you'd think they made the character into a guido on the Jersey Shore or something, the way some of my fellow geeks gnash their misshapen teeth about it. At its worst, it was confusing...famously to take place after Superman II (wisely ignoring the significantly less-than-good III and IV), the film still repeats line sequences from the previous films and just seems confusing at points as to what Singer actually wanted to do, a continuation or a reboot. But I've already accepted that no amount of discourse on this underrated film seems to make anyone change their mind (except Leon) so I'll just let it go for now.

As a film collector, a superhero fanatic, and specifically a fan of the original films in this series, it's necessary to point out that this is by far the best way to own the Superman films. Right now, anyway. Hopefully, when we all upgrade to crystal holographic viewing machines, they'll fix the problems still left frustratingly unaddressed here. But, for the meantime, it's going right next to WB's Blu-Ray Batman set from last year on my 'mainly for display purposes' shelf. At least its real pretty to look at.

--CLICK HERE TO BUY Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology (1978-2006) [Blu-ray]