`Superman' soars with remixes.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

"Superman: The Movie," starring Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, sounds terrific on DVD.

Far be it from me to suggest yet another awards show, but at some point, someone has to publicly acknowledge the remarkable work being done by the technicians restoring prints and remixing sound for DVD re-release. A sterling example is the upgrade of "Superman: The Movie" released in a special two-sided edition (Warner Home Video, $29.98), and in a special gift box ($79.95) collecting the sequels "Superman II," "Superman III" and "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace," all available individually for $19.98.

"Superman: The Movie" is loaded with the kind of extras that will appeal to civilians as well as superfans: a smart running-audio commentary from director Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz, who is credited as creative consultant but actually rewrote the script; three 30-minute making-of documentaries, narrated by Marc (Jimmy Olsen) McClure, with new interviews from stars Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman; screen tests (with Stockard Channing, Deborah Raffin and Anne Archer all trying out for Lois Lane) and deleted scenes.

Nine of the new scenes have been integrated into the movie, but can be accessed individually. Two that take place in Lex Luthor's underground lair are presented separately. Missing, oddly, are about 25 minutes of outtakes that were included when the film had its network television premiere.

The real extra, though, is the beautiful new soundscape, which may be the best remix yet of an original stereo track into Dolby 5.1 surround. It's impeccably accomplished, with great use of sound effects and a Krypton-killing bass rumble that will make you glad you sprung for that subwoofer. And for everyone convinced John Williams' heroic score is the best ever written for an event movie, it can be heard here all alone, albeit in 5.0 sound, not the 5.1 format indicated on the packaging, meaning the subwoofer speaker isn't used.

The visual transfer, meanwhile, is ...