Superman
1978
Lois Lane: Any more at home like you? Clark Kent: Uh, not really, no.
Lex Luthor: This is Lex Luthor. Only one thing alive with less than four legs can hear this frequency, Superman, and that's you.
Lex Luthor: It's kryptonite, Superman. Little souvenir from the old home town. I spared no expense to make you feel right at home.
(Miss Teschmacher asks if Superman is real; Lex Luthor says he can't be from this world) Miss Teschmacher: Why? Lex Luthor: Because if any human being were going to perpetrate such a fantastic hoax, it would've been me!
(after he's explained how a meteor from Krypton can kill Superman) Lex Luthor: Doesn't it give you kind of a, a, a... shudder... of electricity through you to be in the same room with me?
Lex Luthor: (discussing the Addis Ababa meteorite) To us, they are just meteorites. Fair enough. But the level of *specific* radioactivity is so high, to anyone from the planet Krypton, this substance is *lethal*! Otis: Wait a minute, Mr Luthor. You mean, fire and bullets can't even hurt this guy, but this stuff here... Otis, Miss Teschmacher: (in unison) ... will kill him! Lex Luthor: Doesn't it give you, like, a shudder of electricity... to be in the same room with me? Miss Teschmacher: Not like the shudder *you're* going to get when you try laying that rock on him. He can see you coming for miles with those super-peepers of his, remember? Lex Luthor: (obviously, he's already thought of this) "Oh, Lord... You gave them eyes, yet they cannot see." Nor can Superman, through *lead*. Miss Teschmacher: He... can't... see... through... lead! Lex Luthor: And Kryptonite will destroy him. Any questions, class?
Miss Teschmacher: (after learning that there is a missile heading toward Hackensack) Lex, my mother lives in Hackensack. (Luthor checks his watch and shakes his head)
Lex Luthor: (in Luthor's underground hideout) Miss Teschmacher, how many girls do you know who have a Park Avenue address like this one? Miss Teschmacher: Park Avenue address? (shouts) Two hundred feet below?
Miss Teschmacher: Lex, why do so many people have to die for the crime of the century? Lex Luthor: Why? You ask why? Why does the phone always ring when you're in the bathtub?
Air Force One Pilot: (Superman has arrived to carry the damaged Air Force One plane) What the hell happened? Did we get the whole engine back? Co Pilot: (after noticing Superman) Fly. Just fly. We got... something. I ain't saying what it is. Just... trust me.
Superman: You don't even care where that other missile is headed, do you? Lex Luthor: Of course I do. I know exactly where it's headed. Hackensack, New Jersey. (he pushes Superman into the pool)
Jor-El: (at the Fortress of Solitude) So, my son. Speak. Young Clark Kent: Who am I? Jor-El: Your name is Kal-El. You are the only survivor of the planet Krypton. Even though you've been raised as a human, you are not one of them. You have great powers, only some of which you have as yet discovered.
(pointing to a map of California and the San Andreas Fault) Lex Luthor: Everything west of this line is the richest, most expensive real estate in the world: San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Everything on THIS side of the line is just hundreds and hundreds of miles of worthless desert land, which just so happens to be owned by... (Whaps Otis with his pointer) Otis: Uhhh... Lex Luthor Incorporated. Lex Luthor: Now, call me foolish, call me irresponsible, it occurs to me that a 500 megaton bomb planted at just the proper point would, uh... Superman: Would destroy most of California. Millions of innocent people would be killed. And the west coast as we know it would-... Lex Luthor: Fall into the sea. Lex Luthor: (Gives a little wave with his hand) Bye-bye, California. Hello, new west coast. My west coast. (Otis overlays map with new map) Lex Luthor: Costa Del Lex. Luthorville. Marina del Lex. Otisburg... Otisburg? Otis: Miss Tessmacher, she's got her own place. Lex Luthor: Otisburg? Otis: It's a little bitty place. Lex Luthor: (Angrily) Otisburg? Otis: Okay, I'll just wipe it off, that's all. Just a little town. (Erases Otisburg)
(repeated line) Lex Luthor: MISS TESSMACHER!
Lex Luthor: We all have our little faults. Mine's in California.
Young Clark Kent: All those things I can do. All those powers. And I couldn't even save him.
Clark Kent: Excuse me, Mr White. I was wondering if, if, uh, perhaps you could arrange for half my salary to be sent to this address on a weekly basis. Lois Lane: Your bookie, right? Clark Kent: My what? Lois Lane: Don't tell me: he sends a check every week to his sweet, grey-haired old mother. Clark Kent: Actually, she's silver-haired.
Clark Kent: Really, Lois, supposing that man had shot you? Is it worth risking your life over ten dollars, two credit cards, a hairbrush, and a lipstick? Lois Lane: How did you know that? Clark Kent: Know what? Lois Lane: You just described the exact contents of my purse. Clark Kent: Hmm. Wild guess.
Superman: Easy, miss. I've got you. Lois Lane: You, you've got me? Who's got you?
(Superman gets a cat out of a tree) Superman: Here you go, miss. Little girl: Gee, thanks, mister. Superman: Well, good-bye, Frisky. So long, now. (Flys off, turns and waves) Bye. Little girl: Bye. (Goes inside) Little girl: Mommy! Mommy! Frisky was stuck in the tree! This man swooped out of the sky and gave him to me! Mommy: Haven't I told you to stop telling lies? (Smack, sound of little girl getting slapped)
Perry White: Now look. The Post: "It Flies." The News: "Look, Ma, No Wires." The Times: "Blue Bomb Buzzes Metropolis." The Planet. We're sitting on top of the story of the century here! I want the name of this flying whatchamacallit to go with the Daily Planet like bacon and eggs, franks and beans, death and taxes, politics and corruption.
(Superman and Lois are standing on opposite sides of a large planter) Lois Lane: What color underwear am I wearing? Superman: (looking) Hmmm... Lois Lane: Oh, I'm sorry, I embarrassed you, didn't I? Superman: Oh, no, no, no, not at all, Miss Lane, it's just that this planter must be made of lead. Lois Lane: Uh, yes it is. So? Superman: Well, you see, I, uh, I sort of have a problem seeing through lead. Lois Lane: Oh, that's interesting. Lois Lane: (Writing) Problem seeing through lead. Hmmm. Uh, d-do you have a first name? Superman: What do you mean, like, uh, Ralph or something? Lois Lane: No, no, I mean like... (Walks away from the planter) Superman: Pink. Lois Lane: Huh? Superman: Pink. (Lois walks back to the planter) Superman: Um, sorry, Miss Lane, I didn't mean to embarrass you.
Jor-El: This is no fantasy - no careless product of wild imagination. No, my friends. These indictments that I have brought to you today, specific charges herein against the individuals. Their acts of treason, their ultimate aim of sedition. These... are matters of undeniable fact. I ask you now to pronounce judgement on those accused.
Lex Luthor: (to Otis) Do you know why the number two hundred is so vitally descriptive to both you and me? It's your weight and my I.Q.
(Miss Teschmacher is posing as the victim of a car wreck) Sergeant Hayley: She's having trouble breathing sir. What do you think? Major: Well, I suggest a vigorous chest massage, and if that doesn't work, uh, uh, uh, mouth-to-mouth. Sergeant Hayley: (Enthusiastically) Yes, sir! (Bends to the task) Major: (the Major pulls him to his feet) Sergeant, I won't have one of my men doing anything I wouldn't be prepared to do myself. Sergeant Hayley: (Disappointed) Yeah, but, sir! Major: Get an ambulance. All right, men. Gather around. About face!
(Superman breaks down Lex Luthor's door) Lex Luthor: It's open, come in. My attorney will be in touch with you about the damage to the door. Otis, take the gentleman's cape. (Otis approaches Superman, who glares at him) Otis: I don't think he wants me to, Mr Luthor.
Superman: Is that how a warped brain like yours gets its kicks? By planning the death of innocent people? Lex Luthor: No, by causing the death of innocent people.
(last lines) Warden: This country is safe again, Superman, thanks to you. Superman: No, sir. Don't thank me, Warden. We're all part of the same team. Good night.
(Watching Otis approaching the hideout) Lex Luthor: It's amazing that brain can generate enough power to keep those legs moving.
Lex Luthor: (about Otis) It's amazing that brain can generate enough power to keep those legs moving. Otis: (Otis enters the room) I'm back, Mr Luthor! Lex Luthor: Oh, yes. I was just talking about you.
Lex Luthor: Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.
Lex Luthor: Miss Teschmacher, when I was six years old my father said to me... Miss Teschmacher: "Get out." Lex Luthor: Ha ha. Before that. He said, "Son, stocks may rise and fall, utilities and transportation systems may collapse. People are no damn good, but they will always need land and they'll pay through the nose to get it! Remember," my father said... Otis: "... land." Lex Luthor: Right.
(Martha Kent sees her son Clark standing outside in the vast wheat field, and she approaches him) Young Clark Kent: I have to leave. Ma Kent: I knew this day would come. We both knew it from the day we found you. Young Clark Kent: I talked to Ben Hubbard yesterday and he said... he can come around to help. (Clark's composure is rapidly breaking down) Mother... Ma Kent: I know, son. I know. Do you... know where you'll be going? Young Clark Kent: North. Ma Kent: (Martha Kent's final words to her son) Remember, son. Always remember. (the two embrace, mother and son, for a final time, and watch the rise of the sun over the beauty of the Smallvile countryside)
Superman: I'm here to fight for truth, and justice, and the American way. Lois Lane: (Laughs) You're gonna end up fighting every elected official in this country!
(Superman appears in Luthor's office) Lex Luthor: Otis, take the gentleman's cape. (Superman glares) Otis: I don't think he wants me to, Mr Luthor.
General Zod: Join us. You have been known to disagree with the Council before. Yours could become an important voice in the new order, second only to my own! I offer you a chance for greatness, Jor-El, take it! Join us!... You will bow down before me, Jor-El. I swear it, no matter that it takes an eternity! You will bow down before me! Both you and then one day your heirs!
The Pimp: Say, Jim! Whoo! Superman: Excuse me. (Flies off) The Pimp: That's a bad outfit! Whoo!
(Superman surprises Lois on her balcony) Lois Lane: Um, um, would you like a glass of wine? Clark Kent: Uh, no, no thanks. I never drink when I fly.
(Lex stands on his library sliding ladder searching for a book) Lex Luthor: n... n... n... Otis: 'M'! You want 'M' Mr Luthor? (Otis moves the sliding ladder Lex is standing on, leaving Lex hanging from a shelf) So, there you go, 'M'. Lex Luthor: 'M' as in moron Otis? No, no, no, it's 'N'! 'N' as in neanderthal, nincompoop, nitwit and 'L' as in ladder!
(as Clark discovers his heritage, this is his father's final message to him) Jor-El: Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son.
Lex Luthor: You were great in your day, Superman. But it just stands to reason, when it came time to cash in your chips, this old... diseased... maniac would be your banker.
Perry White: Lois, Clark Kent may seem like just a mild-mannered reporter, but listen, not only does he know how to treat his editor-in-chief with the proper respect, not only does he have a snappy, punchy prose style, but he is, in my forty years in this business, the fastest typist I've ever seen.
(Interviewing Superman) Lois Lane: How big are you... um... how *tall* are you?
(Superman takes Luthor and Otis to a prison and the warden asks who they are. Luthor removes his wig to reveal his bald head) Lex Luthor: Lex Luthor, the greatest criminal mind of our time! (Otis, repeating what Lex says) Otis: ... of our time. Lex Luthor: I hereby serve notice... Otis: He's serving notice... Lex Luthor: That these walls... Otis: That these walls here... Lex Luthor: Would you shut up, please!
Lex Luthor: There's a strong streak of good in you, Superman. But then nobody's perfect... almost nobody.
Lex Luthor: Otis, is that the newspaper I asked you to get me? Otis: Yeah. Lex Luthor: Why am I not reading it? Otis: (thinks for a second) 'Cause I haven't given it to you yet? Lex Luthor: (smiles) Right... (snatches the newspaper from Otis' hand)
Miss Teschmacher: Why is it I can't get it on with the good guys?
Superman: Why, Why did, why did you kiss me first? Miss Teschmacher: I, I didn't think you'd let me later.
Perry White: Now listen to me, I tell you boys and girls - whichever one of you gets it out... is going to wind up with the single most important interview since... God talked to Moses!
First Elder: (following the trial and sentencing of General Zod and "Company") An unpleasant duty has been masterfully performed, Jor-El. They have received the fate they deserve: isolation in the Phantom Zone, an eternal living death. Jor-El: A chance for survival, nonetheless... as opposed to us, if we ignore these facts. It's SUICIDE! No, it's worse. It's GENOCIDE! First Elder: Be warned, Jor-El. The Council has already evaluated this outlandish theory of yours. Jor-El: My friends, you know me to be neither rash nor impulsive. I'm not given to wild, unsupported statements. And I tell you that we must evacuate this planet immediately!
2nd Elder: (after Jor-El has told all of them how the Red Sun will destabilize and burst, causing Krypton to do the same) Jor-El, be REASONABLE. Jor-El: My friend, I've never been otherwise. This madness is yours.
First Elder: (after the Council of Elders has voted unanimously against Jor-El's desperate proposal) Any attempt by you to create a climate of fear and panic among the populace must be deemed by us an act of insurrection. Jor-El: You'd accuse ME of insurrection? Has it now become a crime to cherish life? First Elder: You would be banished to endless imprisonment in the Phantom Zone: the eternal void which you yourself discovered.
Jor-El: (bidding his son farewell, as Lara looks on) You will travel far, my little Kal-El. But we will never leave you... even in the face of our deaths... the richness of our lives shall be yours. All that I have, all that I've learned, everything I feel... all this, and more... I bequeath you, my son. You will carry me inside you all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, and see my life through your own eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father the son. This is all I can send you, Kal-El.
Jonathan Kent: (after Clark has beaten Brad's car to the Kent farmhouse... by RUNNING!) Been showing off a bit, haven't you, son? Young Clark Kent: ... Oh, I didn't mean to show off, Pop. It's just that... well, guys like that Brad, I just wanna... well, I know I shouldn't, but... Jonathan Kent: I know. You can do all these amazing things, and sometimes you think that you will BURST WIDE OPEN unless you can tell someone about it, don't you?... There's one thing I know for sure, son. And that is, YOU ARE HERE FOR A REASON. I don't know what it is, exactly, but I do know this much: it's NOT to score touchdowns.
Lex Luthor: (to Otis) You were followed again. (Otis spins around, knocking over a lamp) Lex Luthor: ... in spite of those catlike reflexes.
Miss Teschmacher: I wonder what they're wearing in Addis Ababa?
(a cat burglar is climbing up the side of a building. He looks up and sees Superman standing there) Superman: Hi there. Something wrong with the elevator?
(Superman lands holding a cat burglar) Superman: Officer! They say confession's good for the soul. (takes a handful of stolen jewelry out of the burglar's bag) Superman: I'd listen to this man.
Jor-El: Krypton!
Desk Sergeant: (on seeing a boat in the middle of the street and Superman flying off) Mooney, first bottle's on me, let me get my hat.
Lois Lane: Can you read my mind? Do you know what it is that you do to me? I don't know who you are. Just a friend from another star. Here I am, like a kid out of school. Holding hands with a god. I'm a fool. Will you look at me? Quivering. Like a little girl, shivering. You can see right through me. Can you read my mind? Can you picture the things I'm thinking of? Wondering why you are... all the wonderful things you are. You can fly. You belong in the sky. And I... could belong to each other. If you need a friend... I'm the one to fly to. If you need to be loved... here I am. Read my mind.
Lois Lane: (being rescued, stammering) Who... are you? Superman: A friend. (flies away) Superman: (waves) Bye. (Lois waves, and stares at Superman, then sinks into a faint)
Lois Lane: What a super man... "Superman"!