A Tale of II Supermans

March 10, 12:06 PMPop Culture News ExaminerAndy Williamson

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Pop Culture News Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

CHRISTOPHER REEVE

Those of you who care about such things, may know that when director Richard Donner was filming his glorious Superman movie (1978), that he was actually filming two movies simultaneously.  What eventually became Superman I and II, was originally one script, split into two parts.  After filming over 70% of Superman II and going way over budget, the producers, Alexander and Ilya Salkind, and Pierre Spengler, pulled the plug on the sequel and told Donner to finish the first one.  He did, and the rest is comic book movie history.

Superman the Movie remains to many the tentpole by which all other superhero movies are measured.  Yet by the end of production, relations between Donner and the producers were so vitriolic, they weren't even speaking.  Even after the global success of the first film, Donner was told by the Salkinds that "his services would not be needed on the sequel."  Instead, the Salkinds opted to bring in Richard Lester (A Hard Days Night) with whom they had previously worked on The Three Musketeers to finish Superman II.  Not content to have a film with two directors listed, they had Lester re-film much of what Donner had shot, so that the film could be at least 51% Lester, and therefore Donner would receive no credit.

POSTER IMAGE (1978)

While the theatrical version of Superman II was a massive success, it lacked the epic grandeur of the first.  It was also -- to those rabid fans like myself, with a discerning eye -- a rather mixed bag of scenes shot three years apart.  Clark and Lois's hair changes from black to brown, Margot Kidder seems to have lost 20 pounds between shoots, a Gene Hackman impersonator dubbed many scenes since Hackman refused to come back without Donner, etc ...

For years, especially after the advent of the Internet, fans have begged Warner Bros. to release Donner's version of the film.  Well ... it only took 25 years, but in 2006, Warners relented and released Superman II ~ The Richard Donner Cut.

While not perfect, the much different film offered a fascinating look into the storytelling process.  Gone was the slapstick humor that Lester inserted into the climactic battle in Metropolis (flying toupees, ice cream splatting in faces) which severely undermined the tension.  Gone was the scene in Niagra Falls where Lois tries to prove Clark is Superman by jumping into a river.  This is replaced by Donner's version, where ... oh, but that would be giving away too much.

The most important change was the inclusion of Marlon Brando as Jor-El. Brando had filmed all of his scenes for both movies in 1977, but so they would not have to pay him twice, the Salkinds cut him out of the theatrical release of II.  It is wonderful to have him back here.

The Donner Cut was released as a stand alone disc, and also part of the massive 14-disc Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition, highly recommended.

LOIS FIGURES IT OUT

This is a true gift for Superman fans who have waited a quarter century to see what Donner would have done with the sequel to his masterpiece.  That said, it is also flawed in that it is not a finished film.  Screen tests for Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder were re-edited together for the BIG REVEAL scene.  And the ending ... (heavy sigh), the ending is the same as Superman the Movie.  Turning back time was originally the ending of Superman II, but since it was the biggest beat in both films, it was decided to cut and paste it in the first.  Rather than end The Donner Cut with Lester's "magic amnesiac kiss," editor Michael Thau (who oversaw this project, compiling negatives that had sat in a London vault for almost 30 years) decided to cut the version of II as originally scripted, with Supe turning back time again.  It feels not only like a cheat, but a huge missed opportunity.  A fatal flaw in an otherwise fascinating film.  I understand Thau's intent to try and create the most pure Donner cut possible, but by excising so much of the Lester footage that DID work, he has seriously compromised his effort.

The Donner Cut is perhaps best viewed as a "what if" scenario.  What if Donner had been able to finish this film?  We will never know.  But it is severely cool to now have what is, in essence, a brand new Christopher Reeve performance as Kal-El, Last Son of Krypton.

RICHARD DONNER

Disappointed and creative fans (most of whom have You Tube accounts) have started to make Fan Cuts, utilizing the best of both versions.  One in particular, created by a webmaster named Selutron, goes far beyond mere editing, filling in the blank spots with new scenes and effects; even going so far as to take the three Kryptonian villains OUT of Lester's Idaho town and putting them IN Washington D.C. as originally scripted.  I'm not sure how this was done, but it's pretty amazing.

Selutron, who has closed his You Tube account, is working on an Ultimate Cut, and is now petitioning Warner Bros. for another go round.  A slightly older interview conducted by Superman Homepage details his efforts.  A conversation with SupermanCinema from December ‘08 offers a cool update -- the buzz is growing and Warner’ Bros. is also impressed with what a fan has done on spec.  Caped Wonder.com (by far the biggest treasure trove of Superman imagery anywhere on the web) is now exclusively posting Selutron’s work.  You can check out his high quality videos here.

So ... for those of you who care (and if you don't, why are you still reading?), perhaps we haven't seen the last of Superman II just yet.  Considering the remarkable things I've seen so far ... here's hoping.

This article is an edited version of a post originally appearing on The Wordslinger -- go there for a treasure trove of Superman II - Donner Cut pictures.