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Superman II (1980)

PG 127 min  -  Action | Sci-Fi  -   19 June 1981 (USA)
6.7
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Ratings: 6.7/10 from 39,692 users   Metascore: 99/100 
Reviews: 221 user | 83 critic | 7 from Metacritic.com

Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to marry Lois, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.

Writers:

Jerry Siegel (characters), Joe Shuster (characters), and 5 more credits »
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Superman II -- Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to marry Lois, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth. Superman II -- Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to marry Lois, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth. Superman II -- Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to marry Lois, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman ...
Christopher Reeve ...
Ned Beatty ...
Jackie Cooper ...
Sarah Douglas Sarah Douglas ...
Margot Kidder ...
Jack O'Halloran ...
Non
Valerie Perrine ...
Susannah York ...
Clifton James ...
E.G. Marshall ...
Marc McClure ...
Terence Stamp ...
Leueen Willoughby Leueen Willoughby ...
Robin Pappas Robin Pappas ...
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Storyline

Picking up where "Superman: The Movie" left off, three criminals from the planet Krypton are released from the Phantom Zone by a nuclear explosion in space. They descend upon Earth where they could finally rule. Superman, meanwhile, is in love with Lois Lane, who finds out who he really is. Lex Luthor escapes from prison and is determined to destroy Superman by joining forces with the three criminals. Written by Keith Howley <lald@ptdprolog.net>  

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Criminal | Bomb | Prison | Phantom Zone | Outer Space  | See more »

Taglines:

The Man of Steel is back, and better than ever! See more »

Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | French | Russian

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Superman 2 See more »

Box Office

Budget:

$54,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$14,100,523 (USA) (21 June 1981)

Gross:

$108,185,706 (USA)
See more »

Company Credits

Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

 | USA: (Richard Donner Cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (MegaSound encoding) (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Richard Lester was not sympathetic to the epic look that original director Richard Donner had given the original Superman, saying that he did not want to do "the David Lean thing". Imposing his own control over the Superman saga, Lester took advantage of the death of Donner's cinematographer, Oscar-winner Geoffrey Unsworth, to stamp his own look on the sequel. Lester decided to scrap most of Unsworth's footage, which created an epic stateliness through the use of a gliding camera and unique colors for different locations, and hired potboiler director Michael Winner's cinematographer, Robert Paynter, to create a comic book-style that would evoke Superman's roots in comic books. Lester deliberately wanted to break the stylistic "American epic" mold created by Donner and, with Paynter, set out to recreate the look and feel of a comic book. For this reason, Lester did not use his own long-time collaborator, lighting cameraman David Watkin, as Watkin's photographic style was too classical, and thus not adaptable to a comic book aesthetic. Working with his Lester, Paynter and his camera operator Freddie Cooper developed a different type of framing from the original, but one that was ideal for their concept of a comic book film: They replaced Unsworth's gliding camera with horizontal panning and static framing to evoke comic books and comic strips, with their static frames that are crammed with people and objects. Similarly, the composition of shots the trio developed for 'Superman II (1980'. had objects and people crammed into the frame. To further emphasize comic book composition, the action was photographed from one angle, to give the film a desired flatness. (Harkening back to the technique of the early sound era, Lester's films had always been shot with three cameras simultaneously filming the action all at one time, with two cameras for close-ups and one for the long-shot (the establishing shot). Actors do not like this technique as they do not know when their close-ups are being filmed, and must be "on" constantly, rather than saving their best takes for the close-ups. Lester's technique added to the friction on the set caused by Donner's firing, with Margot Kidder particularly disliking Lester as a director.) See more »

Goofs

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Willie, the young boy in East Houston, Idaho, does a poor job covering up his British accent. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Krypton guard: Alert, alert, alert.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Opening credits incorporate an extensive amount of footage from the first
Superman movie. See more »


Soundtracks

"Pick Up the Pieces"
Written by Roger Ball, Hamish Stuart, and Average White Band (as The Average White Band)
Performed by Average White Band (as The Average White Band)
Courtesy of Atlantic Records See more »