Superman II (1980)

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

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

Jerry Siegel (characters), Joe Shuster (characters),

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman	...	Lex Luthor
Christopher Reeve	...	Superman / Clark Kent
Ned Beatty	...	Otis
Jackie Cooper	...	Perry White
Sarah Douglas	...	Ursa
Margot Kidder	...	Lois Lane
Jack O'Halloran	...	Non
Valerie Perrine	...	Eve Teschmacher
Susannah York	...	Lara
Clifton James	...	Sheriff
E.G. Marshall	...	The President
Marc McClure	...	Jimmy Olsen
Terence Stamp	...	General Zod
Leueen Willoughby	...	Leueen
Robin Pappas	...	Alice

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

criminal | bomb | phantom zone | prison | explosion | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

WB Home Entertainment - DVD site

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English French Russian

Release Date:

19 June 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Superman 2

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$54,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$108,200,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dovemead Films, Film Export A.G., International Film Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min 116 min (Richard Donner Cut)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original script, the nuclear missile from Superman releases Zod and companions from the Phantom Zone. This scene was added to "The Richard Donner Cut" DVD edition, and the scene in Paris was deleted.

---

Goofs

The faceplates of the astronauts' space suits are transparent, with no glare shield to filter out cosmic rays, direct sunlight or radiation.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Krypton guard: Alert, alert, alert.

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Connections

Featured in I Love the '80s Strikes Back: 1980 (2003)

---

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

User Reviews

Excellent film from the days when a good story was essential!

Not many films from the 70's have stood the test of time but those that have had one basic fact in common: "a good story". The fact that this film has a great story as well as some of the best special effects available in the 1970s is perhaps the reason for it's success. If you are reading this thread and have not seen this film you must certainly be from another planet.

I will not spoil this film by telling you the plot or anything that happens in the film as others more worthy of my name ("filmspoiler") have done. I will only say that this film joins the very few (Terminator 2, Back to the future 2, Final Destination 2) sequels that are as good as, if not better than, there prequels. I only hope that the 2006 remake "Superman Returns" is 30 years ahead of it's time!!

(PS: Above comments written by someone old enough to remember the much older "Rocket Man" TV series)