{"id":125,"date":"2021-07-21T10:16:20","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T10:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/?p=125"},"modified":"2021-07-21T10:17:13","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T10:17:13","slug":"christopher-reeve-superman-suits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/christopher-reeve-superman-suits\/","title":{"rendered":"Superman’s First Big-Budget Film Franchise Suits"},"content":{"rendered":"

We continue our series on the evolution of the\u00a0Superman suit<\/strong><\/a>, taking a look at the costumes of the 1970s and 1980s film franchise.<\/p>\n

Christopher Reeve is Superman.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It had been nearly 20 years since the last live-action\u00a0Superman<\/strong>\u00a0graced either the small or silver screen when Richard Donner’s Superman opened in December of 1978. \u00a0Christopher Reeve<\/strong>, who has become forever associated with the man of steel, had been initially passed over for the role in auditions. \u00a0Some of the original A-list contenders included Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds and Paul Newman, all of which turned down the role.<\/p>\n

\"Superman's<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Christopher Reeve is Superman, 1978-1987.<\/p>\n

Looking back, it is hard to imagine any of these other men embodying the role of Superman quite like Reeve. \u00a0With his dyed black hair styled with Superman’s iconic front curl, Christopher Reeve certainly looked more the part than any of the screen actors who had come before him.<\/p>\n

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Superman<\/em>, starring Christopher Reeve, 1978.<\/p>\n

Christopher Reeve starred in a total of four Superman films;\u00a0Superman, Superman II, Superman III, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace<\/em>. Little to no changes were made in the overall look of the costume from film to film, save for some coloring to adjust for different filming conditions.<\/p>\n

The Reeve’s costume marks the first time Superman’s suit was created in a synthetic, high-shine fabric. The use of a polyester blend gave the costume a more sleek and futuristic finish, while allowing for an even tighter fit than had been previously accomplished. \u00a0The suit was originally designed to be a darker blue, but complications with blue screen scenes required a lighter overall color. \u00a0This explains the almost turquoise shade of the costume. \u00a0Reeve’s suit continued the style of the cape tucked into a tunic (this time with a slightly wider neck opening), originated on the 1966 Broadway costume for Bob Holiday, but added pleating that gave the cape more fullness and drama. \u00a0Another holdover from the Holiday costume is that of the larger “S” shield on the chest. \u00a0You will also note that the trunks have wider belt-loops and a higher cut leg opening, giving Superman a slimmer look than previous versions. \u00a0Reeve’s red boots are taller than previous incarnations and feature a deeper front “v.”<\/p>\n

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Christopher Reeves is Superman, 1978-1987.<\/p>\n

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Superman II,<\/em>\u00a0Christopher Reeve, 1980.<\/p>\n

Because of the repeat use of several of the Superman suits across multiple films, the first two of which were shot back-to-back, there are few remaining original costumes in existence.<\/p>\n

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Christopher Reeve’s Superman suit costume, sans belt,\u00a0Superman VI,<\/em>\u00a01987.<\/p>\n

As part of a strange plot-line featuring synthetic kryptonite in\u00a0Superman III<\/em>, the man of steel temporarily turns “evil.” \u00a0After this transformation, we see Reeve in a version of the suit made in deeper, greyed out shades of his iconic colors, with a gaunt face, and slightly disheveled hair.<\/p>\n

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Christopher Reeve as “evil” Superman,\u00a0Superman III<\/em>, 1983.<\/p>\n

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Christopher Reeve’s “evil” Superman suit costume,\u00a0Superman III<\/em>, 1983.<\/p>\n

To this date, Christopher Reeve and his suit remain, argueably, the most famous dipiction of Superman in live-action entertainment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Superman II<\/em>, starring Chrisopher Reeve, 1980.<\/p>\n

Superman<\/em>\u00a0(1978) Costume Design by Yvonne Blake<\/p>\n

Superman 2<\/em>\u00a0(1980) Costume Design by Yvonne Blake and Susan Yelland<\/p>\n

Superman 3<\/em>\u00a0(1983) Costume Design by Evangeline Harrison<\/p>\n

Superman 4<\/em>\u00a0(1987) Costume Design by John Bloomfield<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We continue our series on the evolution of the\u00a0Superman suit, taking a look at the costumes of the 1970s and 1980s film franchise. Christopher Reeve is Superman. It had been nearly 20 years since the last live-action\u00a0Superman\u00a0graced either the small or silver screen when Richard Donner’s Superman opened in December of 1978. \u00a0Christopher Reeve, who … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyrannyofstyle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}