Superman 2: The Donner Cut

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:27 PM

Superman takes a weeping Lois home. This flying sequence may never have been filmed.

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:29 PM

For FORD...

I'm getting to it FORD...yeah...the first one had some shit added to it...nothing big...because Donner worked on the entire film...and like I said...put in 20 hour days for the most part...he worked on both films almost the entire time...until they ran out of money...then scrapped working on 2 entirely...with it nearly finished (the filming parts anyways...)

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:31 PM

Lois’ roof-terrace. Superman says a final goodbye to Lois. Rare new footage This Donner footage has only ever been seen in rare extended television cuts, but will certainly be slightly re-edited.

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:37 PM

Superman turns back time to avoid the devastation of the planet caused by the super-villains. This sequence may be scrapped entirely in the new cut. Certain scenes that were filmed by Donner for this sequence are thus likely to be put in a deleted scenes section on the DVD release.

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:41 PM

Daily Planet interiors. Major new footage?? Lois has a feeling she may have missed something. Clark gets Lois a pizza. This scene was filmed by Donner, although if the above sequence is scrapped Lester’s “super-kiss” sequence (otherwise very similar to the original scripted scene) may be used instead.

I would rather they edited this...I don't like the "super-kiss."

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:42 PM

Daily Planet interiors. Clark bumps into Jimmy, then into a rude man, reminding him of unfinished business. Rare new footage This Donner footage has only ever been seen in rare extended television cuts.

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:45 PM

Clark gets his revenge on the bully in the diner. This Donner-filmed scene featured in Lester’s Superman II. May be slightly re-edited.

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:46 PM

Superman repairs the damage done to the leaning tower of Pisa. This sequence, never filmed by Donner, may be scrapped. Lester footage of Superman apologizing to the president will also likely be deleted.

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:48 PM

The confirmed "new" scenes

On July 21, 2006, the syndicated show Access Hollywood aired three "new" scenes that are confirmed to be in the new Donner cut:

During the Metropolis battle, Superman is hurled into the flame of the Statue of Liberty, setting it ablaze.

An alternate scene taking place during the same climactic battle of Non crashing into the Empire State Building.

The aforementioned scene where Lois jumps out of a window of the Daily Planet to prove Clark is Superman.

On that same day, at the San Diego ComicCon convention, a fifteen-minute preview reel was screened which included the "Lois jumps" sequence and the following scene which too will also be shown in the Donner cut:

The original opening sequence with the second missile (which Superman flung into space towards the end of Superman I) exploding into space, setting free the Kryptonian villains (when Richard Lester became director, the Paris subplot replaced this scene as a way to get the villains out of the Phantom Zone).

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:51 PM

In a recent interview with the British magazine Hotdog, restorationist Michael Thau confirmed that the new cut will feature less than 25% Richard Lester footage, and that this footage would be edited to reflect Donner’s vision of the film, specifically to remove many of Lester’s trademark sight-gags, which Thau stated “undercut the tension” of the film.

The project remains cloaked in a veil of secrecy and several key issues remain the subject of much speculation. Foremost amongst these is whether the film will be subjected to a new sound mix and new dialogue-looping (a process in which sound is re-dubbed in a sound studio). Many of the original scenes were never re-looped, and thus the soundtrack could potentially be of poor quality. Gene Hackman (whose original Superman II scenes were looped by a voice-double), Terence Stamp and other surviving Superman II stars could conceivably contribute new dialogue loops, but it remains unclear whether this will happen. Further, it has been noted that many Lester scenes feature poor quality audio looping, most famously during scenes which feature background extras (notably “Are you all right buddy?” spoken as a soldier emerges from a flaming car in Idaho as well as several other examples during the Metropolis fight scenes). Questions relating to how the new scenes will be scored musically also remain a mystery.

Another issue is whether Thau and Donner will only re-edit new Donner footage, rather than Donner footage featured in the original Lester version. Commentators have pointed out that Donner scenes in the Lester version, specifically scenes featuring the attack on the White House and scenes of the villains on the moon, were edited to reflect Lester’s rather than Donner’s film-making style and that these should also be re-edited in the new version. The original Superman: The Movie contained (and Superman II was to contain) a directorial style that combined long, intricate shots shot by Donner with the sharp editing style of editor Stuart Baird. However, it remains unclear whether Baird has been involved in this project.

Richard Donner has publicly conceded that his own film-making style has changed considerably over the years. In February 2006, when asked about the new Superman II cut, he told the website Dark Horizons "I would never shoot like that now in a million years, I mean it was a different way, a different style, different interpretation."

This has led to fears that this new version may well fail to capture the essence of the original 1977 shoot. Further, several fans were highly critical of Thau and Donner’s choices made during the restoration of the extended cut of Superman: The Movie in 2001. Specifically, they pointed to the apparently poor editing of a new scene featuring Superman’s father Jor-El talking with Superman, as well as several other apparently redundant additions including Superman’s earth mother repeatedly yelling “Clark, wake up!” at a young Clark early in the film.

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:52 PM

There are also concerns that the narrative of the film may struggle to make sense. The main reason for this concerns the original scripted ending for Superman II, which featured Superman travelling back through time to avoid the wide-scale destruction of the Earth created by the super-villains. This idea was then lifted and used in Superman: The Movie instead. It remains unclear whether a new ending was conceived before Donner was fired. However, a scene was filmed by Donner, in which, at the end of the film Lois Lane tells Clark that she has a feeling that a big story might have happened, but that she feels she is missing it (i.e. it never happened because Superman reversed time). Further, Donner also filmed several scenes to be played backwards as Superman traveled back in time, including Perry White in the bathroom and his toothpaste squeezing back in to the tube. Thus, it is unclear how these scenes can or will be used in the new cut without the film repeating the story device used by the first film. Ultimately, Donner may favour using the "super-kiss" sequence filmed by Richard Lester in which Superman erases Lois’ memory.

Also, because the way that the film was re-scripted under Lester, continuity may prove a problem. The afformentioned opening scene at the Daily Planet, was naturally not alluded to in the Lester script. Thus when Lois and Clark walk along the banks of the Niagara Falls, (Donner never filmed this scene, so Lester footage will have to be used) there is naturally no mention of the fact that the last time we saw her Lois jumped out of the window of the Daily Planet because she thought Clark was Superman (In Lester's version she jumps into the river).

Another concern surrounding the restoration of any new Superman II, relates to a scene which was to have taken place in the bungalow in Niagara falls. Whereas in Lester’s version, Clark trips over a fire-place, and reveals his identity when he is not burnt despite retrieving his glasses from a burning fire, Donner’s version was to have played very differently. There was to be a scene in which Lois (far more intuitive and shrewd in Donner’s version) fires a gun at Clark, who admits he is Superman, just before Lois admitted she used a blank.

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:54 PM

Despite statements to the contrary, it has now been confirmed that Donner never filmed this scene. However, it did form part of the original Reeve and Kidder screen-tests and these will now feature in the new cut. An earlier scripted scene in the bungalow (in which Lois teases Clark), was never filmed at all, and it is unclear how this has been addressed.

Another concern relates to the use of CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) to create new effects for the the Donner cut. The original effects sequences were created optically, and there have been concerns that new CGI effects may noticeably stand out in the film.

The very final scene in Tom Mankiewicz's Superman II script is an exact mirror of the conclusion of Superman III. Superman, no longer love-struck repairs the damage he initially did to the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

BACK TO SOUVENIR STAND

The SHOPKEEPER gapes. The Tower is now the Leaning Tower
again - all his wares are useless. Hysterical, he smashes
his shelves to the ground, makes violent obscene gestures
at the CAPED HERO above, weeping.

SHOPKEEPER
Cretino! Super, stronzo! ...
(and other expletives deleted)

EXT. SKY - DAY - CLOSE ON SUPERMAN

SUPERMAN flies majestically home, the setting sun behind
him, soaring toward the blue horizon, magnificent in his
power. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a
locomotive, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound.
Look - up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No!
It's SUPERMAN!

THE END
It seems highely unlikely that the new Donner cut will incorporate this scene, as Donner would have to use material from Richard Lester's Superman III. Ultimately, the Richard Donner cut, rather than fully bringing to life Donner's original vision is almost certainly going to be part compromise and part innovation.

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 08:58 PM

Okay FORD...

Here's Supe 1 Redux...

The restoration
In 2000, director Richard Donner and film restoration producer Michael Thau prepared a new 151-minute "Special Edition" originally for theatrical re-release. Working from original film elements (which were beginning to deteriorate), the film went through a six-month restoration, with both color and sound rejuvenated (and with some audio effects added, such as a different-sounding "whoosh" used for the opening credit items), and dirt that had been built in the film over twenty years cleaned. Also, Donner selected eight of the 45-plus minutes that had been used for television release to be incorporated into this new cut. This version was slated for worldwide theatrical re-issue, but was instead released to video and, for the first time ever, on DVD, in the summer of 2001. This version has been seen on cable television and in revival film houses.

The audio for this presentation of the movie is not a simple restoration. When inspecting materials for the restoration the original multi-channel soundtrack was deemed unusable for either theatrical or DVD release. The sound crew took on the job of re-recording the sound effects and mixing them in with the original dialogue and music tracks. Consequently, the soundtrack used for the DVD is an entirely new soundtrack. This caused a minor controversy in the DVD community as none of the original soundtrack mixes have, as yet, been made available.

A remastered version of the 143-minute theatrical cut was also prepared, and although this version has not been released on DVD, it has been seen on cable television. However, WB has confirmed that the theatrical cut will be issued for the first time on DVD as part of the studio's planned 14-disc box set, The Ultimate Superman Collection, on November 28, 2006. There will also be a "stand-alone" four-DVD set of the first film, which will include all the material carried over from the 2001 disc (see below) in addition to the theatrical cut and possible new supplements.

[edit]
2001 DVD Special Features
The currently available DVD (issued in 2001) is a double-sided disc.

Side A:
Feature presentation, with added scenes
Feature-length commentary with director Richard Donner and writer Tom Mankiewicz
Music-only audio track
Subtitles (in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese)
Side B:
Three behind-the-scenes documentaries (totalling over an hour)
Taking Flight: The Development of 'Superman'
Making 'Superman': Filming the Legend
The Magic Behind the Cape
Deleted scenes
Screen tests
Music outtakes
Two theatrical trailers
Vintage TV spot

A press release issued by Warner Home Video on July 21, 2006 announced The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection, an 8-disc box set featuring the DVD debut of the original 1978 theatrical version of this film, the 2001 restored edition, the original theatrical Superman II and deluxe versions of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut will not be included in this set.

Donner's new take on 2 is going to be a stand alone...

What I would suggest is to purchase 1 and 2 right now...and you'll be able to get the original version of 1 as well...if you look hard enough. I got 1 and 2 and Wal Mart for 12 buck total...although it may be up now...

3 and 4 aren't really worth having for the price they'll be offered for...you can get them now cheap...

anyways...

It will be interesting to say the least. I'm watching 2 right now...and it's a solid film...but there certainly are parts that make you go...hmmm...

for example...it's obviously not Hackman's voice used through most of the film...which sucks...

and you can see recuts pretty easily...

**ULTRAMAN VH** · 07-23-2006, 09:06 PM

GREAT!!! INVESTIGATION POJO!!!! my hats off to your prowess on this topic. You really did your homework. I read an article about this last night, but you really got into the meat and potatoes of the story. As a huge fan of the super hero genre, I am really looking forward to this release. And now you really have me chomping at the bit.

**POJO_Risin** · 07-23-2006, 09:26 PM

Well bro...it's really a ??? right now...

the first version holds up very well...

but when you watch it...after seeing all of this information...

you can certainly see where there can be improvements...but with Donner having to screw around with the audio...and the problem of having to use Lester cuts...and lots of continuity issues...

it will be interesting...

Not to mention the fact that if Supe destroys the Fortress of Solitude...well...that would make you scratch your head at the whole basis of Supe 3...