I did a recent rewatch.

The first hour of this movie is incredible and unsurpassed as far as superhero films go.

The cinematography is beautiful. The tracking shot through the wheat field when Clark is telling Ma Kent he's leaving, which wizzes past them and ascends into the air (foreshadowing Clark himself doing the same thing!) is unbelievable.

Also the old matte painting background as he journeys towards where the fortress of solitude will be is fantastic. Gives it an epic feel like The Ten Commandments or suchlike.

I can't even think of a modern superhero film where they even tried to approach such artistry.

You can thank Richard Donner, Tom Mankiewicz, and Geoffrey Unsworth for all of that. Donner directed the picture, "Mank" rewrote the bulk of it (WGA rules prohibited him from getting a proper screen credit), and Geoffrey was the main cinematographer. Alexander Salkind was focused on getting the movie made as fast and cheap as possible; he wanted maximum reward for minimum effort. His son Ilya was a little more lenient, but at the time didn't seem up to the task of openly defying his father. Donner & Mankiewicz saw Superman as an American icon, and they both believed he should be treated with the utmost respect. While some of the film appears dated today, I still think it holds up very well.