The Bearded Trio

Superman The Movie (1978) was one of the first films I saw at the cinema, my mother had taken me and my brother to see ‘Grease’ but it had sold out. I had seen Star Wars in that year as well and loved it but (shock & horror to anyone that knows me) I gravitated more towards Superman in 1978...at 6 years old I was already familiar with superheroes and, besides, it looked more fun dressing up in a red cape than a dull farm boy tunic. In the school playground we played ‘swaps’ with our Star Wars & Superman bubblegum cards (it was one or the other, the inferior Black Hole cards wouldn’t turn up until a year or two later) and it was always a win to get a good shot of Superman himself as opposed to a rather dull Lex Luthor image (no offence to the wonderful Gene Hackman) The appeal of a Valerie Perrine image wouldn’t occur to me until much later. Now, after 40+ years, the film still holds a wonderful place in my cinema-loving life. Generally speaking Superman II probably gets more lo...

SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE “I’M HERE TO FIGHT FOR TRUTH, JUSTICE, AND THE AMERICAN WAY.” - Superman  U.S. Release Date: December 15, 1978 Starring: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve Music by: John Williams  Directed by: Richard Donner Oscar win: Best Visual Effects This week is the 42nd anniversary of what most people consider to be the greatest superhero film of all time. It also happens to be my all-time favorite film. It started the superhero genre on the big screen, and to this day is the gold standard on how superhero films are made or ought to be made. The director of 2017’s WONDER WOMAN used this film as a template, and the president of Marvel Studios has stated that they use it as inspiration in their films.  Much has been documented about the making of this great blockbuster that almost wasn’t. Both director Dick Donner and executive producer Ilya Salkind have gone on record about the trials and tribulations of trying to make a man fly, because many special...

This is a rendition of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Superman by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Enjoy this glorious retro video, psychedelic colours included. Rachel

Superman:  The Making of a Classic 1978's Superman is a classic movie.  I grew up in the 70's and 80's and the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve as the flying hero really captured my imagination when I was a kid.  Margot Kidder was not only Superman's Lois Lane, she was my Lois Lane too.  No doubt the same can be said for most kids who loved these movies. It was unexpected and incredibly sad news to hear the passing of Margot last week.  I met her a few years back and she was a lovely lady to have a general chit chat with.  She will be missed. I was browsing YouTube for videos to remind me of Margot's special performance as Lois Lane and came across the feature length documentary on the Superman movies that featured on the DVD.  As behind the scenes docs go, this is up there with some of the best.  Everything is discussed from casting to the opening credits to the epic soundtrack by John Williams.   Sit back and enjoy ...

Danny Elfman will be bringing us the soundtrack to DC's Justice League and it seems he's under no illusion that fans want some of the classics back.  Who wouldn't want to hear John Williams' Superman signature piece once more on the big screen?  Well it seems we're going to get just that, even if it is just for a fleeting moment. In an interview with Billboard , Elfman tells us: "There are a few little fan moments. I instated a moment of the Wonder Woman theme that Hans Zimmer did for Batman Vs. Superman, but I also had two minutes where I had the pleasure of saying, “Let’s do John Williams’ Superman.” and that for me was heaven, because now I have a melody to twist, and I’m using it in an actually very dark way, in a dark moment. It’s the kind of thing that some fans will notice. Some won’t. It’s a moment where we’re really not sure whose side he’s on. " So a twist on the iconic John Williams theme and a dark twist too.  Will be interesting to l...

Christopher Reeve  with his stand in  Donald Standen  on the set of  Superman IV The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before. BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE  is released in cinemas  March 2016 . The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and John Williams THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

 The Bearded Trio are pleased to bring you brand new stills from BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE which hits screens March 2016. Synopsis: Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before. BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE is released in cinemas March 2016. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and John Williams THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

Winning Academy Awards , Golden Globes , BAFTA 's and/or Emmys , working with film legends such as Irwin Allen, John Guillermin, George Lucas or Steven Spielberg (to name just a few) it all must have been great for composer John Williams. But people only started to notice Williams during the seventies when his work was adapted by Music producer Domenico Monarde, or, as we have come to know him: MECO . It was his version of the Star Wars music that reached the number 1 spot on various charts and it is his version of John Williams' Superman -score that is presented below. Disco wasn't all that bad (and Christopher Reeve still IS Superman (as far as I am concerned) ) Ronny. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and John Williams THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLI...

Man of Steel was a bad movie.  Over-long fight scenes, bad script and lacking the iconic John Williams soundtrack.  But another thing missing was the colour.  It was toned down, probably to look darker like the other DC movies, Batman. What if Man of Steel was in colour?  Well it would look so much better.  There is a trend these days especially with superhero movies to desaturate the colours and to tone back the costumes.  DC seems to be guilty of this more than Marvel but both do it. Take a look at this interesting video and see how leaving the colours alone actually make the movie better on the eye.  Guardians of the Galaxy is a good example of this.  A beautiful movie and stunning to watch.  Compare that to Man of Steel which has been tempted to go towards the awful 'dark and gritty' look.  Bring back the colours.  Lets hope Batman Vs Superman is prettier. Rob @thebeardedtrio The Bearded Trio - The Site For Stev...

It seems that even Marvel wanted a little bit of Superman back in 1979.  This generally forgotten magazine called Pizzazz featured a DC superhero on it's cover. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and John Williams THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

Actors Terence Stamp and Sarah Douglas discuss the making of Superman II, and introduce a rare screening of Richard Donner's cut of the film. For more BFI event videos visit www.bfi.org.uk. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

A rather funny speech from Christopher Reeve pretending he can read John Williams’ mind. Rach THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST

Now this is very clever and it explains the whole movie in just over a minute.  Make sure you stay until the end to see the explanation to Gravity. Superman saves the day on Gravity.  Or does he? Very clever. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+

The Ohio State Marching Band show off their stunning choreography as they pay tribute to the movies during a football match at the Ohio Stadium. The nine minute routine pays tribute to Superman, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean. A must watch. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+

Hans Zimmer who composed the soundtrack for Man of Steel has revealed he has not been asked to compose the soundtrack for the planned Superman Vs Batman. He said: "Honestly, I'm just sort of grappling with that right now. "Quite seriously, the thought right now is that no, I don't want to go and take what I did with [Christopher Nolan] and just plonk it into another movie. There isn't one good reason to do it, and there are so many good reasons not to do it." "I really enjoyed working with Zack Snyder, so part of it would be a personal decision. At the same time, I wouldn't want to put the ideas I used in the Chris Nolan Batman movies into a Superman movie. It just wouldn't feel right. "I'm a procrastinator, and right now, I don't want to make a decision. Zack hasn't talked to me about it, so I don't have to worry about it! I'll worry about it when I have to worry about it, and then, if I'm lucky, I'll...

With today's news that Ben Affleck is to play Batman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel sequel I thought it was appropriate to post this still from the 2007 movie I am Legend.  Was something in the works even back then? Although if you look carefully you'll see the release date was 2010. Rob THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+

Lets not take anything away from Hans Zimmer.  He's got a huge task on his hands scoring the new Superman movie.  Even Zimmer himself has recently admitted that he is under huge pressure to score a soundtrack that is very much associated with John Williams.  Many fans are questioning the wisdom of not using the maestro's familiar Superman score in some way in the new movie.  As a result and inevitably someone has remixed the latest trailer for Man Of Steel with the much loved Superman soundtrack from John Williams. Take a look. What do you think?  Just to keep if fair and balanced here is a video with just Hans Zimmer's score taken from the trailer. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CjwgkP4xX_Q?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+

This is a rare video of BBC's Barry Norman in 1978 talking about the upcoming movie called Superman .  The video quality isn't the best, after all it was recorded onto VHS in 1978 and probably didn't use a Scotch tape, (re-record not fade away.) The video then cuts to various news reports on the movie including the movie royal premiere of Superman.  This video is like a time machine and will bring a smile to your face if you remember the 70's and in particular British TV.  There is a great part when Christopher Reeve tells a kid that "no one can actually fly so don't try to jump off a kitchen table."  The video ends with Barry Norman's actual review of the movie and classes Reeve as one of his best newcomer's of the year. Enjoy. Rob Wainfur @welshslider

Actor Richard Griffiths, who starred in the Harry Potter films and played one of the terrorists in Superman 2 has died age 65 after complications following heart surgery. Richard Griffiths enjoyed a successful acting career appearing in numerous TV roles including Minder, The Sweeney and Bergerac.  He also enjoyed being in some of the biggest movie blockbusters including Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter movies, The Naked Gun and one of the terrorists in Superman 2. Daniel Radcliffe was among the first to pay tribute, saying: "Richard was by my side during two of the most important moments of my career. I was proud to know him. "Any room he walked into was made twice as funny and twice as clever just by his presence," he said. Actor Warwick Davis told BBC News he had the up most respect for someone with such a great filmography behind them. "He was lovely, he would always make time for his fans, that's what makes a great actor, it's about hav...