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Supergirl
Theatrical poster for Supergirl
Directed by	Jeannot Szwarc
Produced by	Timothy Burrill
Written by	David Odell
Starring	Faye Dunaway Helen Slater Peter O'Toole Mia Farrow Maureen Teefy Hart Bochner Peter Cook Marc McClure Brenda Vaccaro
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography	Alan Hume
Editing by	Malcolm Cooke
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures, Warner Bros. (Original distribution + Overseas)
Release date(s)	November 21, 1984
Running time	105 min. (U.S. Theatrical Version) 127 min. (Original U.S. Theatrical version) 124 min. (International Version) 138 min. (Director's Cut) 150 min. (Original Version)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$35,000,000 (estimated)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Supergirl is a 1984 superhero film. It stars Helen Slater in her first motion picture role in the title role of the DC Comics superheroine Supergirl. Faye Dunaway (who received top billing) played the primary villain, Selena. The movie was a spin-off from the popular Superman film series which lasted from 1978 to 1987 starring Christopher Reeve. The movie also featured Marc McClure reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen.

The movie performed poorly at the box office and failed to impress critics and audiences. Helen Slater, however, was nominated for a Saturn Award for her strong performance by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. The film does contain some expansions on the Superman movie mythology, such as taking the viewer into the Phantom Zone itself (in the first two Superman films, it was merely represented by a spinning black pane of glass). The story uses sorcery (a noted Superman weakness, but less favored over kryptonite) as a counter attack on Supergirl to great effect.

Released on video over the years by different companies, the film's first DVD release was on independent home video company Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2000 under license from StudioCanal. Warner Bros. recently acquired the rights to the film and reissued it on DVD late in 2006 to coincide with the reissues on DVD of the other Superman films. However, even though it is technically part of the same series of films as the ones produced between 1978 and 1987 with the late Christopher Reeve, it is not included in any of Warners' Superman-related 2006 box set DVD collections.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Brief history 3 Deleted material 4 Fans 5 Future remake 6 Cast 7 Script issues 8 Film facts 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Kara Zor-El (Helen Slater) lives in an isolated community, a Kryptonian city called Argo City, in a pocket of trans-dimensional space. Zaltar (Peter O'Toole) allows Kara to see a unique item known as the Omegahedron which can infuse an artificial structure with life. She uses it under the tutelage of Zaltar to make a butterfly-like creature; this creature breaches a window of the community and in the decompression that follows, the Omegahedron (which also powers the city) is sucked out into space. Kara follows it to Earth in an effort to recover it and save the city, which will die without it.

On Earth, the Omegahedron is recovered by Selena, (Faye Dunaway) a would-be witch, who quickly realizes that it can be used to allow her to perform real magical spells. On the radio, Selena hears that Superman has just left on a peace-seeking mission to a galaxy several light years away. Kara, now dressed as Supergirl, arrives on Earth and discovers her powers. Following the path of the Omegahedron, she takes the name Linda Lee, identifies herself as the cousin of Clark Kent, and enrolls at an all girls school. Supergirl and Selena are both enamored by Ethan, who works as a groundskeeper at the girls' school. After Selena misuses the Omegahedron to make herself a "princess of Earth", she drugs Ethan with a potion to make him love her and serve as her consort. Supergirl rescues Ethan and breaks him of Selena's spell.

Supergirl and Selena repeatedly battle in various ways, until Selena uses her powers to put Supergirl in an "eternal void" known as the Phantom Zone. Here, stripped of her powers, she wanders the bleak landscape and nearly drowns in an oily bog. Yet she finds help in Zaltar, who has been imprisoned for losing the Omegahedron. Zaltar sacrifices his life to allow Supergirl to escape. Back on Earth she regains her powers and defeats Selena. Ethan admits his love for Kara, but knows it is possible he may never see her again and understands she must save Argo City. The final scene shows Kara returning to a darkened Argo City, which promptly lights up again.

Upon gaining the rights for the film Superman, Alexander Salkind, and his son Ilya also purchased the rights to the character of Supergirl, should any sequel or spin-off occur.

Although the Salkind duo financed the film completely on their own budget, Warner Bros. still lent a big hand in the process, as they originally owned the distribution rights to the film. The entire film was shot, edited, and overlooked by Warner Bros. However, two weeks or so before the film's original Summer 1984 premiere date, Warner Bros. dropped the film due to the disappointing performance of Superman III, both critically and financially.

Supergirl was then shelved for a few months, without distribution, until fledgling company TriStar Pictures picked it up for holiday release in November. The company decided to edit the picture, cutting it from 124 minutes to 105 minutes. The drastic changes were not only damaging to the film's original intention, but also hampered the performances of stars Faye Dunaway and Helen Slater.

Upon its release, the film disappointed its anticipation. Contrary to popular belief, the film was not a major flop, but a mere disappointment. It was still the #1 movie of the box office during its first weekend. What contributed to the film's uprising was imported Laserdisc releases of the 124-minute version in the U.S.

In 1990, a re-release of the film on VHS was released by Avid Home Entertainment, featuring the 105 minute version of the film in EP mode.

By the middle of the 1990s, the rights to the film were acquired by Pueblo Film Licensing (successor-in-interest to the Salkind production company) and French production company StudioCanal, and Anchor Bay Entertainment had assumed the video rights. For their DVD release in 2000, two versions were issued: a 2-disc "Limited Edition" set (limited to 50,000 copies only) featuring both the 124-minute "International Version" (never seen in the U.S.), and a "director's cut" of 138 minutes, which had been discovered in StudioCanal's archives, and the last print of the latter version known to exist (apparently this "director's cut," which itself had been edited from a 150-minute rough cut, was prepared for release before the film was edited into its various versions), and a single-disc version featuring the 124-minute "International Version". In 2002, Anchor Bay would re-issue the 138 minute "director's cut" separately as well, where as it was only previously available through the 2-disc "Limited Edition" set.

Although the introduction to Anchor Bay's out-of-print "director's cut" DVD claims the longer version is the only cut to represent the vision of director Jeannot Szwarc, it has also been said the cut was prepared for television syndication as overseen by producer Ilya Salkind and not director Szwarc.

Aside from the stiff editing in the film's original US version, scenes that were left unseen for many years involved moments of importance. To begin, the Argo City opening was longer, and contained certain lines of dialogue that supported elements that would soon be seen later in the story. The cut dialog also developed the characters and their background. The pacing was also slower, digesting the actions enough before introducing the next chapter of the film. The next moment, and one of the most important of all scenes, was the "Flying Ballet".

As Supergirl lands on Earth, she is surprised to find herself capable of almost anything, especially flying. She can smash rocks, and use heat vision to help flowers grow. This scene establishes that she is very much like her cousin, and that she possesses the same powers. The absence of this scene in the US theatrical version created confusion in later scenes. Viewers simply saw her shoot out of the lake, and fly all around the world.

The moments concerning Selena, Bianca, and Nigel were also trimmed. Selena's introduction was merely a few lines long, when the Omegahedron suddenly lands on earth, and Selena takes it for use of magic. The full introduction establishes Selena as an impatient witch, who is sick of being under her mentor and lover, Nigel, who is himself, a warlock. Later scenes not seen before the 2000 DVD release from Anchor Bay Entertainment, included Selena using the Omegahedron for the first time, and realizing that she has no control when under its influence. She later throws a party for all her followers. Deleted material for this scene involved Nigel insulting Selena after she dismisses him. He then gets cozy on another party member, whom Selena pulls a vicious magical prank upon.

These scenes and moments listed show the characters state of mind, and their determinations, and dialog that later brought the film to making much more sense. Other scenes/moments, involve Linda Lee making a temporary home in the city of Midvale, Illinois, an extended version of the tractor sequence, in which the possessed machine runs amok on the Midvale streets, even killing a civilian. Another cut scene was a clarification that proved Supergirl possessed her cousin's weaknesses as well: she can't see where the Omegahedron is hidden because Selena keeps it in a container made out of lead. The Phantom Zone scenes are also longer, showing dramatic strength in Kara as she is willing to fight to the death in order to stop the evil witch Selena. Eventually, these scenes were restored to American audiences in 2000 when Anchor Bay Entertainment released the film under their label.

The 2006 DVD release by Warner Home Video (whose parent company Warner Bros. is the current rights holder to the Superman movies) is the International Edition (called the "European Theatrical Edition"). The original 150 minute version is rumored to still be out there^{[citation needed]}, in the vaults where all the Superman movie elements are (where they found Donner's Superman II as well.)

Many of the deleted material appeared in DC Comics' one-shot comic book adaptation of the film, primarily the scenes that fleshed out Selena's character.

Although the film was not the motion picture blockbuster anticipated, it still secured a fanbase upon its release. Even then, hard-core fans accepted the film as it was, being a Fantasy/Adventure as opposed to science fantasy/Adventure seen in the Christopher Reeve Superman films^{[citation needed]}. It is the work of the die-hard fans, that ultimately led to this film's return to the Warner Bros. label. More recently, fans have become highly active in producing skits and fan-films with sequel ideas and series pilots.^{[citation needed]}

This article or section contains information about one or more scheduled or expected films. The content may change as the film's release approaches and more information becomes available.

According to entertainment industry reports, a Supergirl remake has been in the preliminary stages on and off for years.

At one point, Akiva Goldsman, screenwriter of The Da Vinci Code, Batman & Robin, and A Beautiful Mind, was rumored to be attached to write, but later was reported to only producing the film.^[1] It is currently unknown if Goldsman is still involved.

According to some reports by entertainment insiders, Mischa Barton is a possibility for the title role. ^{[2] [3]} As of December 2006, neither Warner Bros. nor any other studio has a Supergirl film on its roster.

• Faye Dunaway ... Selena
• Helen Slater ... Kara/Supergirl/Linda Lee
• Peter O'Toole ... Zaltar
• Mia Farrow ... Alura
• Brenda Vaccaro ... Bianca
• Peter Cook ... Nigel
• Simon Ward ... Zor-El
• Marc McClure ... Jimmy Olsen
• Hart Bochner ... Ethan
• Maureen Teefy ... Lucy Lane
• David Healy ... Mr. Danvers
• Sandra Dickinson ... Pretty Young Lady
• Robyn Mandell ... Myra
• Jenifer Landor ... Muffy
• Diana Ricardo ... Mrs. Murray

• Christopher Reeve was slated to have a cameo as Superman but bowed out early on.^[4] Director Jeannot Szwarc said in the Superman documentary "You Will Believe..." that his involvement in this film would have given the feature higher credibility and he admitted he wished Christopher had made a contribution to the film's production. Szwarc also said that the film that was made wasn't the best of his intentions as he thought a lot of the magic was lost once Reeve declined.
• Marc McClure makes his fourth of five appearances in the Superman film series.
• Demi Moore auditioned for, and was cast as character Lucy Lane, but soon bowed out to make the film Blame It on Rio.

• During the dinner party, Selena says to Nigel, "I have the power." This is a catchphrase often used by He-Man in Masters of the Universe, the 1987 film version of which would be scripted by Supergirl screenwriter David Odell.

• The actual "Vortex" effect featured when Kara and Zaltar are escaping the Phantom Zone was filmed under water.

• Helen Slater is naturally a brunette, she dyed her hair blonde to match the comic book character and in every film since this one is always seen as a blonde.

• Supergirl (main page for the DC Comics character)
• List of films recut by studio

• Supergirl at the Internet Movie Database
• Supergirl at Rotten Tomatoes
• Superman Homepage: Supergirl - Movie Synopsis/Review/Critique
• Superman Cinema about Supergirl: The movie
• The Cape Is Family Link to Yahoo Group

v • d • e Superman in popular media
Actors	Bud Collyer · Kirk Alyn · George Reeves · Bob Holiday · Danny Dark (v) · David Wilson · Christopher Reeve · Beau Weaver (v) · John Haymes Newton · Gerard Christopher · Dean Cain · Timothy Daly (v) · Christopher McDonald (v) · Tom Welling · George Newbern (v) · Brandon Routh · Yuri Lowenthal (v) · Adam Baldwin (v) · Kyle MacLachlan (v)
Film	Superman (1948) · Atom Man vs. Superman · Superman and the Mole Men · Superman (1978) · Superman II · Superman III · Supergirl · Superman IV: The Quest for Peace · Superman Returns · Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut · Superman: Man of Steel
Television	Adventures of Superman · Superboy · Lois & Clark · Smallville · Look, Up in the Sky!
Animation	1940s cartoons · The New Adventures of Superman · Super Friends · Superman (1988) · Superman: The Animated Series · Justice League · Justice League Unlimited · Legion of Super Heroes · Superman: Doomsday · Justice League: The New Frontier
Video games	Atari 2600 (1979) · Arcade game (1988) · NES (1988) · Sega Genesis (1992) · The Death and Return of Superman · Superman 64 · Shadow of Apokolips · Superman: The Man of Steel · Countdown to Apokolips · Superman Returns · Fortress of Solitude
Other media	Radio · Broadway Theater · Newspaper Strips
DVD	The Ultimate Superman Collection · The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection

v • d • e DC Comics films
The Serials	Batman (1943) • Hop Harrigan (1946) • The Vigilante (1947) • Superman (1948) • Congo Bill (1948) • Batman and Robin (1949) • Atom Man Vs. Superman (1950)
Single films	Superman and the Mole Men (1951) • Batman (1966) • Supergirl (1984) • Steel (1997) • Road to Perdition (2002) • Catwoman (2004) • A History of Violence (2005) • Constantine (2005) • V for Vendetta (2006) • Watchmen (2009)
Franchises	Batman (1989–1997): Batman (1989) • Batman Returns (1992) • Batman Forever (1995) • Batman & Robin (1997) Batman (2005 — ): Batman Begins (2005) • The Dark Knight (2008) Superman: Superman (1978) • Superman II (1980) • Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006) • Superman III (1983) • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) • Superman Returns (2006) Swamp Thing: Swamp Thing (1982) • The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)