Now this is the true Superman 2! | Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut [Blu-ray]

A better film... until the last ten minutes! | Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut [Blu-ray] | Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve

DVDs:


	• Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut [Blu-ray] Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve Warner Home Video, 2006 average customer review:based on 217 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A worthy follow up to a classic!!!

Bear in mind, given the fact that Donner only shot 75 to 80 percent of the sequel, it is rough in places. That said, though, this is a superior film to Lester's follow up. The tone is right with the first film. It takes the subject matter seriously, but with a tongue firmly planted in it's cheek at times.

Let's face it. As good as Spider-Man and The Dark Knight were, the original 1978 Superman is the penultimate superhero movie. It's the standard by which so few can even come close. That is why it was so sad that the Salkinds and Spengler didn't wish to have Donner finish the second film...much less have Brando return. Donner made that first film what it was. Actually, I'd say it was Donner, Mankiewicz, and Reeves that really brought life to Superman.

I honestly believe that this cut, which includes screen tests in a few places to keep the plot cohesive, is a schematic of what could have been as great a film as the original Superman was. As much as I liked the Lester version as a kid, I watch it now and see how incredibly campy it was and just didn't have the pathos it's predecessor had. Lester is a fine director of slapstick and satire, that is a given. Donner was more respectful of the source material..verisimilitude is the term he uses. He really made me believe a man could fly when I was a nine-year-old in that darkened theater in 1978.

My only greivance with this film would be it's conclusion. I always had a problem with the "turning back time" conclusion with the first film. Doing the same here seems like a cop-out. It is, however, much better than giving Superman the power of an amnesia producing kiss.

All in all. I enjoyed watching Donner's vision much more than the action/comedy approach of Lester. I would recomend this version to the die hard fans of the original.

Only four stars because of the ending.

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Now this is the true Superman 2!

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!

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A better film... until the last ten minutes!

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.

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The True Successor To Superman The Movie

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.

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At last, SUPERMAN 2 as originally intended!

It was a cruel joke that much of the love, blood, sweat and tears that Richard Donner put into SUPERMAN THE MOVIE was shoved aside on SUPERMAN 2, but, at last, due to the hard work of some dedicated film fans and industry insiders, we now have as close to Donner's original vision as possible. A big round of thanks to producer and editor Michael Thau, who created the documentaries for the 2001 DVD edition of SUPERMAN THE MOVIE, and was the overseer of this restoration of SUPERMAN 2. And thank you to Warner Brothers for greenlighting the expense of this project.

As most people know, both SUPERMAN films were shot at the same time, as producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind had done with their very successful THREE and FOUR MUSKETEERS. The chaotic production of SUPERMAN, due mostly to forces beyond the control of Director Donner, was nonetheless laid at his feet by the Salkinds. When that film was hugely successful, they immediately jettisoned what they felt was baggage. This baggage also included Marlon Brando, whose name and stature helped get the first film made! Such ingratitude.

To finish SUPERMAN 2, they brought in Director Richard Lester, who had helmed the MUSKETEERS films, as well as the classic Beatles movies A HARD DAY'S NIGHT and HELP! Lester's take on the story was lighter than Donner's, and he filmed new scenes and incorporated existing material. He tightened the pacing, and did the best he could with what he was given and what he was allowed to film. Given the stressful situation, Lester managed to create an entertaining second visit to the world of SUPERMAN, and his film is, in itself, a worthy thing to view if you have not.

And now we have Donner's take. His vision of SUPERMAN 2 is a direct line from the first film, with the villains from the Phantom Zone escaping to revenge themselves on the son of Jor-El. Gene Hackman also returns as Lex Luthor, still trying to acquire "beachfront property" and a decent wig. The romance of Kal-El and Lois Lane deepens, and Jimmy Olsen, Perry White and almost all of the characters from the first film return. In this vision of SUPERMAN 2, Michael Thau edits in material shot by Donner but never used, material from other sources necessary for the telling of the story but not formally shot, and cleverly edits back in the Brando material which was intended to be used but left out so the Salkinds wouldn't have to pay him. This version of the movie is more passionate and less light, with entire sequences you have never seen before. It is revelatory.

The DVD also includes commentary by Donner and screenwriter (okay, "Creative Consultant", although he did extensive work on both films) Tom Mankiewicz. Their thoughts and recollections are fun to listen to, and a tear will come to your eye when you hear just how much Donner misses Chris Reeve. There is also a documentary on the restoration of SUPERMAN 2, an introduction by Donner for the feature, and Deleted Scenes. The film is letterboxed 2:35 to 1, with crisp 5.1 sound and restored picture. The colors are nicely balanced, and will look great on a big-screen TV.

If you are a SUPERMAN fan, you will have a lot of fun with SUPERMAN 2: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT. Enjoy!

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Warner Brothers Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (Blu-ray)
The Version You Have Never Seen!
Unwittingly released from "Phantom Zone" imprisonment, three super-powered Planet Krypton criminals (Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas and Jack O'Halloran) plan to enslaveEarth - just when "Superman" (Christopher Reeve) decides to show a more romantic side to Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). Gene Hackman (as Lex Luthor) alsoreturns from the first film and with a top supporting cast, witty Richard Lester direction and visuals that astound and delight. "Superman II" saves the day any day you watch it.

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