In the latest Superman Homepage Member Poll we asked you the following question:
Who has been the best Superman movie director?
While Zack Snyder has been the name most talked about in recent years, it’s really no surprise to see that Richard Donner received 75% of the votes for his work on “Superman: The Movie” (and “Superman II”), which are forever etched in the public consciousness when it comes to Superman on film.
Here’s the complete voting breakdown:
Who has been the best Superman movie director?
- Richard Donner 75%, 155 votes155 votes 75%155 votes - 75% of all votes
- Zack Snyder 20%, 42 votes42 votes 20%42 votes - 20% of all votes
- Bryan Singer 2%, 5 votes5 votes 2%5 votes - 2% of all votes
- Richard Lester 2%, 4 votes4 votes 2%4 votes - 2% of all votes
- Sidney J. Furie 0%, 1 vote1 vote1 vote - 0% of all votes
Total Votes: 207
December 2, 2020
- December 9, 2020
Voting is closed
Be sure to get involved in the new Member Poll available near the bottom of the front page of our website.
Way to leave Lee “Roll’em” Sholem out of the running! He has the distinction of directing the first ever Superman feature film, 1951’s Superman and the Mole Men.
It’s said that in his fifty year career, he never once went over budget or behind schedule.
I picked Donner as well, despite my general indifference (and sometimes dislike) of the 1978 movie, but it was a hard pick, because of the complex and multi-faceted nature of a director’s job. Are we judging based on which movie is overall better? Is it only for Superman movies, or their overall body of work? Are we judging the tweaks to the story? Camera work? The direction of actors? Editing (which a director oversees)? It has to be all of it and it’s kind of impossible to just pick one. Most of my problems with the “big three” (Donner, Snyder,… Read more »
I’m not sure if the word “best” is correct and fair description. All of them were unique to an extent. Half the reason why Donner’s movie turned out the way it did was for the times, the special affects were out standing. A lot of credit goes to the actual story as well. If a movie turns out good, is it always and entirely because of the director?
I think this is the wrong question to ask for this poll because the question you’re really asking is do you prefer Silver Age Superman (Donner) or Post-Crisis/New 52 Superman (Synder). Because it’s two different types and Era of Superman that you’re really comparing here.
Post Crisis and New 52 Superman are 2 very different things. So are the Silver and Bronze Ages and it’s the Bronze Age that the movie came out in.
Also you can look at them as films despite their respective eras and decide which is a better movie and which one represents the character and what he is about better.
That last part is debatable, though and the era the film represents is part of that. I don’t think the Donner Superman accurately represents the character (a position I’m sure you’d disagree with). I agree that the film making takes precedence, but inherent bias in this preference is a given.
I agree Post-Crisis and New 52 Superman are two different things or era’s but that is what Snyder’s movies were based off of and if we really want to go into depth about it was based more off of Superman: Earth One than anything else. However I stand by what I said this poll is more or less asking which era you prefer because both represent two different era’s of Superman. And further more you can even argue that the Donner movies hurt more than they help because people always refer back to those movies thinking that’s how he is… Read more »
And that’s a big problem. People don’t want him to evolve cinema-wise. He’s changed in the books and even animation. But for some reason, people won’t let him do the same when it comes to live-action, especially for film…
🙂 I’m so happy to see the results of this poll. Superman the movie is my favorite Superman film as well as my favorite movie. Both Donner and Reeve made us believe a man can fly. If I’m not mistaken, Superman the movie won an Academy award for Visual effects. 🙂
Here’s an idea. How about a Superman HBOmax series starring Brandon Routh as Superman with Richard Donner directing? I would love to see that happen! 😀
Well…..if you want to see Brandon you can catch him on the police drama show, The Rookies, on ABC Sunday nights!!
I heard about that. I’m not familiar with the Rookies. Is it any good?
It can be. If you like a police drama then you may like it. I think this is the third year for that show, so he’ll be joining a cast of established characters. He won’t be playing any kind of goof ball as on LoT.
I may watch the episodes of Brandon’s time on the Rookies when it airs. I’ll see how it goes. Who knows? Maybe this will be a show that I’ll end up watching on a weekly basis.
I honestly don’t see the point of stuff like this. Every director got to tell their story (the first two eventually) and it’s not a competition. If it was, of course Donner’s version gets the majority vote. Nothing can compete with childhood nostalgia. But here’s how I look at it. These are two COMPLETELY different eras of Superman. Donner’s is basically the silver age because its a bit lighter and somewhat sillier even if it does have its moments. Snyder’s is the modern age in that it gets down in the filth of reality while also still introducing some chilling… Read more »
I just want to say that I don’t want JJ Abrams or any of his disciples (Kurtzman, lindeof) anywhere near my Superman.
After watching how well 2 seasons of the mandalorian were done and comparing that to the sequel trilogy and how the Star Trek properties have been handled by JJ and his team, I’m convinced more than ever that they’re better off doing their own Original stuff.
We need someone who truly loves and understands the character like favreau and Filoni understand Star Wars.