You'll believe a man can fly
Tagline for the 1978 film Superman, emphasizing its visual effects.
The phrase 'You'll believe a man can fly' became the iconic marketing tagline for the 1978 superhero film Superman (also marketed as Superman: The Movie). It encapsulated the film's groundbreaking special effects and its central premise of a flying superhero, helping to establish the film's cultural impact and its role in launching the modern Hollywood superhero film franchise.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Richard Donner
- Producer
- Pierre Spengler
- Screenplay
- Mario Puzo / David Newman / Leslie Newman / Robert Benton
- Story
- Mario Puzo
- Based On
- Superman · Jerry Siegel · Joe Shuster
- Music
- John Williams
- Cinematography
- Geoffrey Unsworth
- Editing
- Stuart Baird
- Studio
- Dovemead Ltd. / International Film Production
- Distributor
- Columbia–EMI–Warner Distributors (United Kingdom) / Warner Bros. (United States)
- Released
- 10 December 1978 · The Kennedy Center · 1978 · 12 · 14 · United Kingdom · 1978 · 12 · 15 · United States
- Runtime
- 143 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The tagline 'You'll believe a man can fly' was used in the marketing campaign for Superman, the first installment in the Superman film series starring Christopher Reeve. The film was directed by Richard Donner and featured an ensemble cast including Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Margot Kidder. It depicted the origin of Superman, from his infancy on Krypton to his career as a reporter in Metropolis and his battle with Lex Luthor.
Reader's Guide
The tagline 'You'll believe a man can fly' is significant because it directly addressed the film's groundbreaking special effects, which earned a Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects. The film was the most expensive movie made up to that point, with a budget of $55 million, and its worldwide box office earnings of $300 million made it the second-highest-grossing release of 1978. The phrase presaged the mainstream popularity of Hollywood's superhero film franchises, and the film itself was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2017.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is 'You'll believe a man can fly'?
It is the well-known marketing tagline created for the 1978 Superman film directed by Richard Donner. The line was crafted to convince moviegoers that they would finally see a hero flying in a way that felt genuine on the big screen.
Which movie does the 'You'll believe a man can fly' tagline belong to?
It was the promotional slogan for Superman (1978), sometimes catalogued as Superman: The Movie, starring Christopher Reeve. The production carried a $55 million budget and ultimately collected around $300 million at the global box office.
Why was the tagline important to the film's success?
The phrase put the movie's central selling point—convincing, in-camera flight—front and center in every advertisement and poster. By promising a visual spectacle, it helped turn the film into a cultural event and laid the groundwork for the modern Hollywood superhero franchise.
Did the 1978 Superman film receive any major awards?
Yes; the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented it a Special Achievement Award for its visual effects. That honor validated the very promise the tagline made to audiences: that a man could appear to fly in a believable, cinematic way.
How did 'You'll believe a man can fly' influence later superhero movies?
By proving that comic-book spectacle could be rendered with practical, in-camera effects rather than animation, the 1978 film set the template for every big-budget superhero adaptation that followed. The tagline itself became a shorthand for the shift toward treating superhero stories as mainstream, effects-driven cinema.
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