Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)

Directed by

Richard Donner, Richard Lester

Genre

action film, science fiction film

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Runtime

1h 56m

Rated

PG

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 397 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A rebuilt version of the Superman sequel includes footage and story ideas from the original director. It shows Superman facing three superpowered villains from Krypton while also trying to be with Lois Lane.

epicnostalgicbittersweetvisually lushaction-packedslow-burnsentimentalearnest

What happens

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (titled onscreen as simply Superman II) is a 2006 re-edited director's cut of the 1980 superhero film Superman II, a sequel to Richard Donner's 1978 film Superman: The Movie, based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name. It stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, and Marlon Brando and was edited by Michael Thau and overseen and completed by Donner himself. It features a significant amount of discarded footage, alternative takes, and story elements not featured in the theatrical version. In 1979, after the tense nineteen month-long shoot on Superman and a significant portion of Superman II (as much as 80%), Alexander Salkind, who had bought the film rights to the character, removed Donner from production on the sequel and replaced him with director Richard Lester. Lester completed the remainder of the film for its theatrical release, but also re-wrote and re-shot a substantial portion of Donner's footage in order to receive full director's credit. While the sequel was a critical and financial success upon release, interest in Donner's cut of Superman II became well known after a community of online fans began petitioning for Warner Bros. Pictures to release Donner's vision. After Brando's death in 2004, his family estate allowed for Warner Bros. to feature archival footage of the late actor in the 2006 film Superman Returns, thus granting the studio permission to restore Donner's version of Superman II. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is dedicated to Reeve's memory, who also died in 2004. Since Donner never completed Superman II in its original form, certain key scenes filmed by Lester, along with newly created visual effects shots and an early screen test of one pivotal scene featuring Reeve and Margot Kidder, had to be added to the film in order to create a completed work. The film also features an early developed alternate opening and ending that were both envisioned before the theatrical release of Superman, in which the sequel's original ending was re-worked as the finale to the first film. Donner stated that, had he finished the film in 1980, he would have shot a different ending. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD by Warner Bros. Pictures on November 28, 2006, to positive reviews. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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