Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut [HD DVD]

With different Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) schemes to unmask Clark Kent as Superman. Director Richard Donner began shooting his vision of Superman II while concurrently filming Superman The Movie. With...well, with so many changes, large and small, that this Superman II is an eye-opening alternate experience. With Jor-El (Marlon Brando in recently discovered footage) in key scenes that amplify Superman lore and deepen the profound relationship between father and son. Now, for the first time, his never-before-seen vision is here. In the year of Superman Returns, Superman II starring Christopher Reeve also returns - with a totally different beginning and resolution. And it's a must for every Superman fan, an important addition to the legend of the Man of Steel.

He also explains why the déjà vu ending of this edition was used in the first movie and a new ending would have been thought up for part 2. For those who have not been part of the rumor mill, know that Donner shot all the footage with Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). A quick featurette looks at how Michael Thau and a small crew reconstructed the film and compares several scenes from both versions. --Doug Thomas Donner's cut provides alternate scenes for how Lois tests her hunch that Clark is Superman, the moment he reveals his identity, and how Lois unlearns that truth. The Donner cut is completely formed but does use some rehearsal footage, new effects, and some pieces shot by Lester. The producers cut Brando's footage so they wouldn't have to pay him millions. Donner's chief additions are in the Fortress of Solitude, where Marlon Brando returns to teach (Susannah York, as Superman's mom, appears in the Lester cut). There is a great lesson in editing--Lester's less is better than Donner's more--when you compare how Kent turns back into Superman after losing his powers. Lester also added the dandy Eiffel Tower opening. The Richard Donner cut of Superman II is an infamous legend come to life. The Brando/Reeve scenes continue the father/son dynamic of the first film. Donner doesn't go much into why he was dropped, just a difference of opinion and the need not to pay Brando. The history of cinema has many of these stories of movies reshot, hijacked, and changed from the original version, but here the underdog wins and Donner gets his chance to change history, even adding a note in the end credits about the use of fur and smoking as regrettable choices of the time.

Director Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz have a jolly good time revisiting their past on the commentary track. You get a clearer picture of who shot what, but the two have nothing good to say about Lester's edition. For years fans speculated on how different the final film was from Donner's original until an underground copy appeared showing a fully formed feature. In an unprecedented move, Warner Brothers officially embraces this alternate version. Thing is, Lester's reshots are stronger, adding weight to the romance between the two, lifting the picture's stature. Director Donner shot most of the sequel at the same time as his first blockbuster film, but somewhere along the line, the producers and studio lost confidence and brought in Richard Lester (The Three Musketeers) to rework the film, and receive sole credit. You can find blow-by-blow descriptions of what is new/changed elsewhere, but most of the changes deal with Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder as the comic-book couple. Also added are additional scenes shot by Donner but not used, most with Hackman.