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Rating:  -
Overall this is a much better version of Superman II (Two-Disc Special Edition), and that was a great movie! This version has much tighter plotting, Non isn't played for laughs and Lois comes off as being a lot more competent. The action sequences are every bit as good as in the original (largely cause they are the same), and the scenes with Marlon Brando are very good.
But then, sadly, we have the last ten minutes.
*** AVAST, YE SCURVY DOGS! SPOILERS AHOY! ***
** GO NO FARTHER! **
* HERE THERE BE SPOILERS! *
This movie should've ended with Lois and Clark, as it were, up north together, having their last sweet moments, knowing they can't be together as they'd like to have been.
Instead we get the ending to Superman - The Movie (Four-Disc Special Edition), where Superman hits the big reset button and sets everything back to normal. This is insulting to the audience.
To make matters even worse, there's a scene where Supes goes back to a restaurant where a man had bullied him earlier and gives the guy his cumuppance. Well, first, I never liked that scene in the original film. But in this version it MAKES NO SENSE! Superman turned back time! How the hell do these people even remember seeing Clark get bullied by this guy?! ARGH!
That said, the film is great up until the last ten minutes or so, and I do recommend seeing it. Jus stop the movie after Lois and Clark are on the ice together.
Rating:  -
Nearly three decades after its original release, there is a radically new version of the near classic sequel Superman II. This version, headed up by its original director Richard Donner, presents the film the way it was originally intended. The question is does this version live up to both fans expectations and to the version originally released in 1980 by director Richard Lester? The answer is a definite yes.
The biggest change in this so version is the addition of 15 minutes of new footage featuring Marlon Brando as Superman's father Jor-El. Originally deleted and replaced with similar scenes with Susannah York as Superman's mother, these new scenes are radically different in tone. This is mostly due to the Deepings of the relationship between father and son that was seen in the Superman The Movie. The scene were Clark loses his powers is a great example of this. There is genuine tension in the scene between the two characters as the son rebels against the father.
But it is the other Brando scene that serves as the best example of this: the much awaited "re-powering" scene. Here the love of the father for his son is in seen in a way that is both dazzling and touching. It may also be the single best scene of the Superman franchise. The acting by both Reeve and Brando is amazing and it is a shame that the footage appears now after the death of both actors.
But this is just the icing on the cake. The film is full of alternate/expanded scenes. Among these is the escape of the three Krypton villains (that is a vast improvement despite some bad CGI more on that later though), Lois jumping out of a window at the Daily Planet after figuring out Clark is Superman, a humorous expansion of Luthor's prison escape, the scene where Lois forces Clark to reveal he's Superman (that is also an improvement over the Lester scene despite being a screen-test). Also here are improvements to the final third of the film: a much more serious battle over Metropolis, a dramatic and virtully action-less confrontation at the Fortress of Solitude, the destruction of the Fortress at the hands of Superman and even an alternate ending.
It is worth noting that there is a significant amount of Lester footage in this version (due to the fact Donner never had the chance to finish filming the entire movie). But even this footage, re-edited here, seems to also have been improved. Without a lot of the Lester humor the footage does not seem out of place.
But this film is not perfect of course. The films biggest flaws are in its new CGI effects, its sound, and its music. The new CGI shot don't really ever match the original footage and at times it is way too obvious (the scene where Non goes flying after Superman punches him during the Metropolis battle is a perfect example of this). It is surprising that the original effects out shine those of the original effects of nearly three decades ago.
The sound and music is also another issue. The voices don't always match due probably to the age of the recordings. The voices are sometimes different in scenes were dubbing never happened and it is at times obvious. The music, reused almost entirely from John Williams score to Superman The Movie, works very well. But there are times when it doesn't work and seems out of place. It's a shame that he wasn't brought back to re-score the film. But these problems are not enough to bring down the entire film.
Overall, Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut may well be the definitive Superman film. When compared to Richard Lester's original version this film outshines and surpasses it. This film was meant to be, as it now is, the true successor to the classic Superman the Movie and it even surpasses it in terms of sheer quality. This is THE Superman film to see.
Rating: -
After the events of "Superman", a missle in space accidently unleashes three deadly kryptonian criminals named Non, Zod and Ursa (Jack O'Holloran, Terrence Stamp and Sarah Douglas) out of their phantom-zone prison as they head to Earth. Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) believes that Clark Kent is Superman and would do anything even if it's dangerous to Clark to prove he is Superman, later on he does reveal his secret to Lois and wants to marry her. He gives up his powers to become a mortal man, unfortunately criminal mastermind Lex Luthr (Gene Hackman) has escaped from prison to join forces with the deadly trio to take over the world, now Clark must try to get his powers back to save humanity.
This version definitely blows Richard Lester's version out of the water! This movie was originally filmed back to back with "Superman", Richard Donner was the true director behind it. Unfortunately the studios felt like they needed to rewrite some scenes and sequences with Richard Lester taking Donner's place as he was fired. I love how after years of fan requests and rumors, Warner Brothers finally had the guts to receive Donner's brilliant version back as the way it was meant to be seen with never before seen footage, alternate opening and ending credits with Donner's name, newly enhanced visual effects, and lost footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El. If your a fan of comic book movies and superhero flicks, then i suggest you seek out this version cause it's worth the wait and find.
This DVD has excellent picture and sound quality to a remarkable director's cut with some good extras like audio commentary, a featurette on the history of the film's troubled production, and deleted scenes. A Must have for Superman fans and comic book fans alike!
Rating:  -
**Warning - May Contain Spoilers**
This is a great thing for anyone who considers themselves a student of film making. This is an alternate edit of the classic second movie in the Superman franchise.
Now don't get the wrong idea about this version. Just because it is labeled "The Richard Donner Cut" does not mean that this is the way the movie would have looked had Donner not been fired after shooting roughly 75% of this movie. There would clearly have been some changes made. For instance, the scene where Lois forces Superman to reveal his identity was never actually shot for the move in this way. The footage they use here is from Margot Kidder's screen test for the original movie which was done in one camera shot originally. By interspersing reaction shots from Christopher Reeve that were taken from other actress' screen tests, they are able to create a more polished feel, but they are unable to do much more than that. (They had the scripts for both movies from the beginning and had actors try out with scenes from both.)
Another big complaint that many have regarding this movie is the ending. It comes off as too repetitive after what happened in the first movie. The fact is that the "turning back time" ending was originally intended for the end of the second movie, but was placed at the end of the first one instead. Donner did not get the chance to shoot the kind of ending he would have wanted once the original ending was moved. Had he been able to finish the movie, he would have doubtless had something else entirely.
But it is refreshing to see how two people can take such different approaches to the same basic concept.
If you get this, be sure to watch the special features where Donner explains a little about why he made many of the decisions that are shown in this version of the movie.
Rating: -
Many years ago, Richard Donner was working on filming back to back Superman adventures, and filing was put on hold for the sequel in order to finish 'Superman the Movie'. When this was a huge hit, the Salkinds, who produced the film, decided to fire Donner in favor of a director they felt would be more cooperative . . . or at least that's one version of the story. Lester used a great deal of the original footage Donner shot, but added some new scenes and adapted the sequel to mesh with the new ending of the first movie (originally, Superman would not go back and change time until the end of Superman 2). But Donner always wished he could have made the sequel his way, and while that can never really happen, this is as close as we're ever going to get. Utilizing footage and effects long considered lost, this labor of love presents a Superman sequel more in line with the original script. While retaining some Lester footage, and despite the use of some mismatched screen test footage in one scene which was never filmed any other way, this movie stands as the true sequel to Donner's groundbreaking film, and is a wonderful treat for fans of the series. So if you ever wondered what if, then check out this disc. Plus: Marlon Brando is BACK!
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