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Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut So, after 26 years we finally get to see the version of Superman II that we should have been able to see in the first place. Well, kind of. Because when Richard Donner was fired by the producers (Ilya and Alexander Salkind) despite the success of the original Superman, around 75% of the sequel was already in the can. But due to tightening schedules, filming on II was abandoned so that the first movie could be fully focused on. As tensions increased between Donner and the Salkinds, partly because they weren’t prepared to pay the fees that Marlon Brando was asking for to reprise his role as Superman’s father, Jor-El, for a time it seemed that II would never see the light of day. Importantly, Donner never got to shoot the remaining footage, and in the hiatus period, both cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth and production designer John Barry, who had been crucial in making the three worlds of Krypton, Smallville and Metropolis so distinct and convincing unto themselves, unexpectedly died.
In actual fact, thanks to the huge success of the first movie, Lester’s version was initially a bigger hit at launch, but over time, it’s become clear that it was Donner who made us believe a man could fly in the first place, and without that passion for the material, the Superman movies quickly became a parody of themselves, despite Christopher Reeve himself always remaining true to the spirit established in the first film. Donner famously encouraged the entire crew to treat the movie with ‘verisimilitude’, ie unless they all believed that they could make Superman convincing, the audience never would. And without that movie, we might never have seen Raimi’s Spiderman, and Burton’s Batman (or Nolan’s for that matter). It really did set the standard for all superhero movies that followed, and it’s no surprise that Singer’s Superman Returns (following years and years of speculation about directors and actors for a new Superman project) is essentially an homage to the spirit of that first film, and not just in Brandon Routh’s striking resemblance to Reeve (whether you see that as a compliment or a criticism of the new version is of course a different matter, but you can probably guess how we feel about it). In many ways you can almost see Singer’s movie as a belated atonement for the Salkind’s near-criminal sacking of Donner, and the poor Superman movies that followed, but that’s for another debate. Still, that both Superman Returns and the Richard Donner cut of Superman II are seeing the light of day in 2006 seems fitting, even if they’re both too late for Reeve and Brando. The cut is also dedicated to Christopher Reeve, without whom it's hard to imagine there ever having been a creditable movie version of Superman in the first place.
Anyway- to the cut itself, and frankly, it’s unbelievable just how different this version is. Brought about, or at least initiated by the persistence of the fan community, this is not an ‘extended version’, or a ‘director’s cut’ in the normal sense, and when you watch it you can’t help but be aware of the circumstances that surrounded it. Donner has replaced Lester’s footage wherever possible, but in some places this has been impossible because Donner never got to shoot the sequences at the time, and the plot thread does of course need to be maintained. A key sequence is actually pieced together from test screen footage, with a skinny Christopher Reeve as Clarke Kent getting outwitted by Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane in an obviously makeshift set.
So this isn’t a finished film by any means. Instead it’s a fascinating look at how good Superman II could and should have been, without all the incidental slapstick that we were introduced to instead (that guy getting blown along the street in a phone box by General Zod et al and still trying to talk on the phone always really annoyed me). And for that reason it’s both an exciting, and saddening experience. As a child I wholeheartedly enjoyed Superman II, with its three super baddies, but it was the first film that had really inspired and moved me in the first place, even if it was only much later that I could really identify why that was the case.
As a brief overview of some of the key changes (SPOILER ALERT), there’s no Paris bomb sequence at the beginning of the movie; Lois doesn’t discover Clarke’s secret identity because he puts his hand in the fire; and Clarke doesn’t kiss Lois to make her forget everything at the end. Not that the ending is necessarily much better, but as Donner explains on the commentary, they would have rethought it if he’d been allowed to return to finish the picture. What you get instead is Lois thinking of different ways to ‘unmask’ Clarke as Superman, and most excitingly, new scenes with Christopher Reeve and Marlon Brando in the fortress of solitude (In Lester’s cut, Superman’s’ mother appeared instead). Most importantly, this means that the story of father and son, which was always meant to be at the core of both movies, gives the Superman myth more gravitas, and ultimately informs Singer’s continuation of the story too (Singer sought Donner’s blessing before embarking on the project). General Zod, Ursa and Non also become more menacing and a more believable threat to Superman thanks to a rather darker tone in the 'new' footage.
Fans of Christopher Reeve’s Superman can revel in the fact that there’s now more of it to see, but this DVD is strongly recommended to anyone who has an interest in movie history. If nothing else, it’s a fascinating document of how a director’s vision can truly turn fantasy into reality, or fantasy into farce, when from the outside the plot arc is virtually identical. Of course it’s hard to write this review without disrespecting Lester, but it has to be said that in not sharing Donner’s and screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz’s grandiose vision, it’s no surprise that Superman III was a further dilution of that original chemistry. Lester didn’t direct IV (that was Sidney J. Furie), but by then the magic (along with the budget) had already vanished.
Also worth mentioning is the excellent commentary by Donner and Mankiewicz, which tantalizingly reveals that they had hoped to work on at least four Superman movies together, as well as shedding more light on the history of the infamous production. This has clearly been an emotional experience for both of them, and Donner in particular, and as such is an essential listen if you purchase or rent the dvd. A short ‘making-of’ the new cut, including how the original footage was painstakingly restored, and how new special effects were designed to match with what was possible in 1980, is interesting, but doesn’t really go into enough depth when you consider that serious movie fans are going to be intrigued by all this.
But overall, what you rediscover when you watch Superman II: The Richard Donner cut is that even if Superman doesn’t actually exist, his character (as gracefully portrayed by Reeve, reverentially directed by Donner, and majestically scored by John Williams) is a reflection of how we ourselves wish we could be, and by extension, we’re better off if we can keep believing in him. Of course it's just a modern retelling of an even more famous story, but thankfully, Bryan Singer also believes a man can fly. In years to come, hopefully 2006 will be remembered as the year that Superman returned in more ways than one.
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