Superman (movie)

Superman was a 1978 science fiction action film based on the popular DC Comics character of the same name. Christopher Reeve played the title character; other prominent actors were Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen, Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, Valerine Perrine, and Ned Beatty. It was directed by Richard Donner.

Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers.

As in the comic series, Superman is the last survivor of the planet Krypton (planet) who as an infant was sent to Earth by his parents Jor-El (played by Marlon Brando to the tune of several million dollars for eight minutes' screen time) and Lara. He's raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent in Smallville and upon reaching adulthood takes a job as a reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper in Metropolis. It is in Metropolis that he first appears publicly as Superman. He gives an interview to Lois Lane and comes to the attention of Lex Luthor, a criminal mastermind who's headquartered in Metropolis' subway system.

Luthor reprogrammed two ICBMs with nuclear warheads to hit the San Andreas Fault and Hackensack, New Jersey, respectively, and he challenges Superman to stop them. He's at first weakened by Kryptonite that Luthor discovered in Addis Ababa, but he escapes to stop the missile headed for California, which he succeeds in doing, but not before it causes an earthquake in which Lois Lane, who's out there for the Daily Planet, is killed.

Fraught with grief, Superman flies fast enough and often enough around Earth to reverse its rotation, sending the planet back in time before Luthor had reprogrammed the missiles, thus enabling Lois to survive (because there now never was an earthquake). Superman flies Luthor and Otis (played by Beatty) to jail, and the movie ends as the hero flies "up, up and away".

The film led to three sequels - Superman II, Superman III and Superman IV.