Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut

Product Description

Superman II: Richard Donner Cut, The (DVD)

It's the version you've never seen. Finally released as visionary director Richard Donner originally conceived and intended, Superman II: The Richard Donner Director's Cut is a reedited rendering of the legendary superhero film that closely follows the original script and restores the lost footage originally shot by Donner in 1977 before he was taken off the project. Among the fascinating new elements in the director's cut are the original opening and ending, alternate takes and camera angles and deleted scenes featuring Marlon Brando. In the blockbuster sequel, Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, and Margot Kidder return as Superman confronts three supercriminals with abilities equal to his. The Kryptonian threesome arrives just as Superman is preparing to exchange his powers for a romantic relationship with Lois Lane.

Amazon.com The Richard Donner cut of Superman II is an infamous legend come to life. Director Donner shot most of the sequel at the same time as his first blockbuster film, but somewhere along the line, the producers and studio lost confidence and brought in Richard Lester ( The Three Musketeers) to rework the film, and receive sole credit. For years fans speculated on how different the final film was from Donner's original until an underground copy appeared showing a fully formed feature. In an unprecedented move, Warner Brothers officially embraces this alternate version. For those who have not been part of the rumor mill, know that Donner shot all the footage with Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). You can find blow-by-blow descriptions of what is new/changed elsewhere, but most of the changes deal with Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder as the comic-book couple. Donner's cut provides alternate scenes for how Lois tests her hunch that Clark is Superman, the moment he reveals his identity, and how Lois unlearns that truth. Thing is, Lester's reshots are stronger, adding weight to the romance between the two, lifting the picture's stature. Lester also added the dandy Eiffel Tower opening. Donner's chief additions are in the Fortress of Solitude, where Marlon Brando returns to teach (Susannah York, as Superman's mom, appears in the Lester cut). The producers cut Brando's footage so they wouldn't have to pay him millions. The Brando/Reeve scenes continue the father/son dyn