Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980)

Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.

Directors:

Richard Donner, Richard Lester (uncredited)

Writers:

Joe Shuster (characters), Jerry Siegel (characters)

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman	...	Lex Luthor (archive footage)
Christopher Reeve	...	Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman (archive footage)
Marlon Brando	...	Jor-El (archive footage)
Ned Beatty	...	Otis (archive footage)
Jackie Cooper	...	Perry White (archive footage)
Sarah Douglas	...	Ursa (archive footage)
Margot Kidder	...	Lois Lane (archive footage)
Jack O'Halloran	...	Non (archive footage)
Valerie Perrine	...	Eve Teschmacher (archive footage)
Clifton James	...	Sheriff (archive footage)
E.G. Marshall	...	The President (archive footage)
Marc McClure	...	Jimmy Olsen (archive footage)
Terence Stamp	...	General Zod (archive footage)
John Ratzenberger	...	Controller #1 (archive footage)
Shane Rimmer	...	Controller #2 (archive footage)

Storyline

Before Krypton exploded and Jor-El put his baby son, Kal-El, in a rocket ship to Earth, the benevolent ruler was forced to banish three irredeemable criminals to another dimension called The Phantom Zone. The trio's leader, General Zod, vowed revenge. Later, of course, Kal-El grew up to become Superman, Earth's mighty champion. A battle with the criminal mastermind, Lex Luthor, ends with Superman hurling a nuclear warhead into space where it explodes, but not harmlessly. Instead, it frees the Kryptonian threesome from their other-dimensional prison. They soon discover they have almost unlimited power (the same powers, in fact, as Superman), which they use to take over the Earth. Meanwhile, the intrepid reporter, Lois Lane, learns that her bumbling colleague, Clark Kent, is really Superman, a revelation that leads to him bringing her to his frozen Fortress of Solitude and renouncing his powers in order to make love to her. It is only when Superman and Lois return to civilization that ...

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Plot Keywords:

supervillain | supervillainess | extraterrestrial alien | alien supervillainess | extraterrestrial | 

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Taglines:

As Originally Conceived and Intended

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sequences of action violence, some language and brief mild sensuality

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

28 November 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$54,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The actress playing Lois Lane using the typewriter during the end scene is not Margot Kidder. The ending that was written, but never filmed, had Lois Lane die at the Fortress of Solitude, which in turn caused Superman to reverse time. The typewriter scene was shot in 2006, specifically for the restoration, and had an uncredited actress stand in for Lois.

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Goofs

When Clark and Lois are talking while she is getting dressed after her shower in their hotel room, shots with only Clark show him with slicked down hair and wearing glasses with smaller lenses, whereas two-shots with Lois and Clark show him with large-lenses and bushy hair.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jor-El: I ask you now to pronounce judgment on those accused. On this... this mindless aberration, whose only means of expression are wanton violence and destruction; on the woman Ursa, whose perversions and unreasoning hatred of all mankind have threatened even the children of the planet Krypton; finally, General Zod. Chief architect of this intended revolution and author of this insidious plot to establish a new order amongst us... with himself as absolute ruler. You have heard the ...

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Crazy Credits

After the Warner Bros./DC Comics logos, there is an on-screen dedication "in loving memory" of Christopher Reeve, "Without whom we would have never believed a man could fly".

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Connections

Version of Smallville (2001)

User Reviews

The original cut of Donner's version is superior to Lester's cut.

Three villains (Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas and Jack O'Halloran) from the home planet of Krypton are coming to Earth. Which these powerful villains wants to rule the world. Clark Kent/Superman (Christopher Reeve) starts falling for Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). Which she slowly finds out that Superman is Clark Kent. But Lex Luthor (Two Time Oscar-Winner:Gene Hackman) escapes from prison. He tries to find any new weakness of Superman but Lex decides to team up with these villains are just as powerful as Superman. But these villains are three time more overpowering than Superman.

This review is for the Director's Cut, which it was originally directed by Richard Donner (Conspiracy Theory, The Goonies, Superman). Which the director was fired, when he was nearly done with the film by the producers. Which the producers made many changes for the budget of the movie, especially not hiring the late Oscar-Winner:Marlon Brando for certain key scenes (Which Donner already shot for the first picture but deleted it for using those scenes for the sequel). Which Brando was replaced by Susannah York in the Richard Lester (Superman 3, A Hard Day's Night, The Three Musketeers) version. In this new version, Donner removes all the footage shot by Lester in the original theatrical release by adding his as it was originally intended in the screenplay. The scenes with Brando are added back in, the Lois Lane character plots more designs to unmask Clark Kent as Superman and more.

DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an digitally remastered-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD has an introduction by the director, an running commentary track by the director and creative consultant:Tom Mankiewicz, a featurette about restoring Donner's cut and deleted scenes. I actually enjoy Donner's cut more than Lester's. Still Lester's version isn't bad, since about 60 percent of Lester's cut was shot by Donner. The conclusion of both cuts are different. Donner's cut is actually more personal, it is very close to the first "Superman" film. Donner had a chance to credit as co-director before the theatrical release of "Superman 2" but he decline. He felt that the producers and Lester made many changes that they were silly , especially in certain key moments. Donner's cut is actually 12 minutes shorter that Lester's version. Actually it is a matter of personal taste, what version you like best. Judge it for yourself. Panavision. (**** 1/2 out of *****).