SUPERMAN II (the Richard Donner cut)
SUPERMAN II
July 13 and 14 2010, DVD, home living room, Netflix
This gets its own entry because the long-hoped-for restoration of the closest thing to SUPERMAN director Richard Donner's original vision is a very different film from the campy, melodramatic awesomeness that we have come to know as SUPERMAN II. The major plot points are still there - Lois Lane figures out Clark's ruse while they're up in Niagara Falls; he chooses to become human, and hits that; Zod, Ursa, and Nog escape the record-cover Phantom Zone and come to Planet Houston to force the son of Jor-El to kneel; Lex Luthor sees an angle and gets in over his head; chaos ensues in the streets of Metropolis; justice and the American way eventually triumph. And yet - this is a very different movie altogether.
Not only is there an extensive amount of restored and extended footage, the film is also cut very differently, and in some cases, scenes have been replaced with other takes or other footage altogether. There's a lot more of Marlon Brando (which, I don't care what anybody says, I believe is awesome in this role with his plummy posh accent and enormous presence), there's a lot less campy Zod (which is a shame), and there's a whole lot more of Christopher Reeves genuinely showing off his acting chops. For such a big guy, he has a sense of almost feminine delicacy and sensitivity of which you only get vague hints in the hijacked Richard Lester-directed version.
I honestly can't say which is the superior version, actually; Donner made a more nuanced and sensitive film that's great for Reeves fans, but Lester made a funnier, snappily-paced goof with some good camp (and plenty of bad camp), and a much more coherent storyline. I will say, without spoiling anything I hope, that the ending of the film that Donner made is total bullshit, and I'm glad that was not the theatrical release.
Heavily recommended for people like me, for whom SII is one of their favorite movies, but they've started getting kind of sick of how idiotic the Richard Lester version can seem.
July 13 and 14 2010, DVD, home living room, Netflix
This gets its own entry because the long-hoped-for restoration of the closest thing to SUPERMAN director Richard Donner's original vision is a very different film from the campy, melodramatic awesomeness that we have come to know as SUPERMAN II. The major plot points are still there - Lois Lane figures out Clark's ruse while they're up in Niagara Falls; he chooses to become human, and hits that; Zod, Ursa, and Nog escape the record-cover Phantom Zone and come to Planet Houston to force the son of Jor-El to kneel; Lex Luthor sees an angle and gets in over his head; chaos ensues in the streets of Metropolis; justice and the American way eventually triumph. And yet - this is a very different movie altogether.
Not only is there an extensive amount of restored and extended footage, the film is also cut very differently, and in some cases, scenes have been replaced with other takes or other footage altogether. There's a lot more of Marlon Brando (which, I don't care what anybody says, I believe is awesome in this role with his plummy posh accent and enormous presence), there's a lot less campy Zod (which is a shame), and there's a whole lot more of Christopher Reeves genuinely showing off his acting chops. For such a big guy, he has a sense of almost feminine delicacy and sensitivity of which you only get vague hints in the hijacked Richard Lester-directed version.
I honestly can't say which is the superior version, actually; Donner made a more nuanced and sensitive film that's great for Reeves fans, but Lester made a funnier, snappily-paced goof with some good camp (and plenty of bad camp), and a much more coherent storyline. I will say, without spoiling anything I hope, that the ending of the film that Donner made is total bullshit, and I'm glad that was not the theatrical release.
Heavily recommended for people like me, for whom SII is one of their favorite movies, but they've started getting kind of sick of how idiotic the Richard Lester version can seem.