Richard Donner Returns - Superman II: The Donner Cut
| 11 Jan 2007
Ever watched Superman II and had the nagging feeling that you were watching two clashing versions of the same movie woven together? If so, pat yourself on the cape as 1980's cinema release was actually the result of two separate directors' work.
Originally, it was planned that Omen director Richard Donner would shoot the first two Superman movies simultaneously. Unfortunately, midway through filming and with an estimated eighty per cent of the sequel completed and in the lead-lined can, production was suspended. The plan was to concentrate on finishing the first movie in time for its 1978 release.
Despite the success of the epic Superman: The Movie, Donner was fired after numerous confrontations with producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind and was not brought back, as was intended, to finish what he had started on the second movie. Instead, the producers hired comedy-man Richard Lester who set about filming his own material. The notable absence was that of Gene Hackman as Luthor; Hackman refused to do re-shoots due to Donner's treatment. Lester deleted many of Donner's crucial scenes and re-worked the sequel with gags thrown about like fragments of Kryptonite.
Thankfully the plot stayed ostensibly the same. The Last Son of Krypton chooses to give up his powers and blue tights for the love of his life, Lois Lane, only to discover that three Kryptonian rebels that his father jailed have escaped and are hell-bent on revenge. Regardless, with Lester's Superman now exhibiting silly new powers (such as multiplying himself and throwing a big plastic S-symbol as a weapon) and the villains being transformed from darkly grim to camply dim, it was clear that Lester's zany take on DC's flagship character was as far from Donner's interpretation as Smallville is from Metropolis.
However, after years of speculation and fan-boy protests, an internet campaign finally persuaded Warner Bros to release a new cut with Richard Donner going back to re-do the movie as he had initially intended. By combining his unused archive footage, clever editing, and some Lester footage as gap-filler, Donner has leapt 26 years in a single bound and managed to tell the story in the way he had always planned.
And the final product? Well, when viewed as something that "could have been", Superman II: The Donner Cut is endlessly fascinating and a must-have for any comic-book movie enthusiast. Watching new footage of Christopher Reeve in the role he was born to play is something special, as his dual performance of the bumbling Cary Grant-like Clark Kent who suddenly becomes the dominant Man of Steel will never grow old. Add into the mix the fifteen minutes of lost footage of Brando as Supes' dead father Jor-El, which nicely ties up the crucial father-son plot thread from the first movie, and we are given an absorbing glimpse into how good this 'could' have been. Sadly, despite the best efforts of those involved, the holes that were impossible to fill have ensured that this new version is a movie which soars up and up, but not quite away.
Originally, it was planned that Omen director Richard Donner would shoot the first two Superman movies simultaneously. Unfortunately, midway through filming and with an estimated eighty per cent of the sequel completed and in the lead-lined can, production was suspended. The plan was to concentrate on finishing the first movie in time for its 1978 release.
Despite the success of the epic Superman: The Movie, Donner was fired after numerous confrontations with producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind and was not brought back, as was intended, to finish what he had started on the second movie. Instead, the producers hired comedy-man Richard Lester who set about filming his own material. The notable absence was that of Gene Hackman as Luthor; Hackman refused to do re-shoots due to Donner's treatment. Lester deleted many of Donner's crucial scenes and re-worked the sequel with gags thrown about like fragments of Kryptonite.
Thankfully the plot stayed ostensibly the same. The Last Son of Krypton chooses to give up his powers and blue tights for the love of his life, Lois Lane, only to discover that three Kryptonian rebels that his father jailed have escaped and are hell-bent on revenge. Regardless, with Lester's Superman now exhibiting silly new powers (such as multiplying himself and throwing a big plastic S-symbol as a weapon) and the villains being transformed from darkly grim to camply dim, it was clear that Lester's zany take on DC's flagship character was as far from Donner's interpretation as Smallville is from Metropolis.
However, after years of speculation and fan-boy protests, an internet campaign finally persuaded Warner Bros to release a new cut with Richard Donner going back to re-do the movie as he had initially intended. By combining his unused archive footage, clever editing, and some Lester footage as gap-filler, Donner has leapt 26 years in a single bound and managed to tell the story in the way he had always planned.
And the final product? Well, when viewed as something that "could have been", Superman II: The Donner Cut is endlessly fascinating and a must-have for any comic-book movie enthusiast. Watching new footage of Christopher Reeve in the role he was born to play is something special, as his dual performance of the bumbling Cary Grant-like Clark Kent who suddenly becomes the dominant Man of Steel will never grow old. Add into the mix the fifteen minutes of lost footage of Brando as Supes' dead father Jor-El, which nicely ties up the crucial father-son plot thread from the first movie, and we are given an absorbing glimpse into how good this 'could' have been. Sadly, despite the best efforts of those involved, the holes that were impossible to fill have ensured that this new version is a movie which soars up and up, but not quite away.
out now