May 31, 2007

SUPERMAN II: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT

Review by Joshua Massre

Twenty-five years after having his cinematic voice silenced, Richard Donner reconstructs his version of Superman II. The result is a darker, more dramatic film with a host of never-before seen content restored from the original film archives. Don’t expect a typical “director’s cut” with extra footage and outtakes. This is a wholly different film.

In 1978, when Superman: the Movie was produced, a second movie was shot concurrently. The director of the two movies was Richard Donner, who was fresh off of the smash hit, The Omen. The first movie went massively over budget, and to make the deadline, Superman II was put on hold so that Donner could focus on the first movie and finish it by the release date.

Tension between Donner and the producers, Ilya and Alexander Salkind, had been growing during the whole production and by the release of Superman: the Movie, the producers and Donner were not speaking at all.

Superman: the Movie was released to much fanfare and was a major box office hit. Naturally, the producers wanted to finish the second movie as quickly as possible to cash in on the success of the original. This time, however, Richard Donner was not at the helm. The Salkinds, disagreeing with Donner’s vision of the movie, decided to find another director.

Richard Lester, of The Three Musketeers, was chosen after an exhaustive search, and the second movie was completed under his direction. Gene Hackman, who played Lex Luthor in the original movie refused to shoot any more scenes because he was angry with the treatment of Donner. The script was rewritten to fit around the scenes that Donner and Hackman had already shot.

The film was finished and released just two years after Superman: the Movie and received considerably mixed reviews. While critics praised its comic elements and inventive story line, many critics panned the movie for the same reason.

The finished Superman II contained only 48% of Donner’s footage. The rest was shot, or reshot, by Lester. Since just over half of the film’s footage was shot by Lester, Richard Donner’s name was not listed in the credits. The film was stripped of all relation to the original director.

In late 2005, more than 25 years since Donner had been fired from Superman II, Warner Brothers approached him to reconstruct his version of the film. For the first time in history, Donner was allowed to have his vision light up the screen.

After nearly a year of work, and tens of hours of lost footage that was recovered during the process, the film was completed and screened to critics. It was hailed as an exhibition of how differently two directors handle the same material. Many saw it as a less comedic and more dramatic film, and praised this.

Donner’s new take sharply differs from Lester’s original right from the opening scene. In this version, it is Marlon Brando (who was cut from the original for monetary reasons) who sends Zod and his men to the "Phantom Zone." Gene Hackman’s presence also has been greatly increased. A number of Hackman’s scenes are extended and several new ones are added.

The storyline changes too, revealing greater tension between Lois and Clark. Consider the two cuts' treatment of how Lois discovers Clark is Superman. In the original version, Clark falls into a fire and comes out unscathed. Donner’s version however, has Lois firing a gun at Clark, and when he is not hurt, he admits that he is Superman. The most noticeable difference is in the ending. Instead of Clark kissing Lois and turning back time, Superman flies around the earth backwards and reverses time.

Superman II: the Richard Donner Cut was released on DVD, HD DVD and Blu-Ray disc in November 2006. While the DVD release is typical, with deleted scenes, and a making of documentary; the HD DVD and Blu-Ray release showcases the new technology perfectly. The two HD versions of the film offer interactive features, such as picture-in-picture commentary where you can actually see the director and editor while they speak about the film. They also offer pop-up menus during movie play that allow you to pick a special feature, watch it and then resume the movie where you left off. This is a film that will be loved by not just Superman fans, but everyone.

Superman II: the Richard Donner Cut available on DVD, HD DVD and Blu-Ray November 2006.

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