Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16945 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-12-04
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 127 minutes

Synopsis
Once again mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve), hiding his identity as Superman, must fight for law and order. This time around, a triumvirate of nasty villains from the planet Krypton break free of their dimensional prison and hightail it to Earth, where they enjoy the same superpowers as Superman. Meanwhile, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) has discovered that Superman and Clark are one and the same person, so Superman debates whether to give up his abilities to become a normal man and share his life with Lois. Richard Lester (A HARD DAY'S NIGHT) takes the helm for this sequel, which is arguably the equal of the original hit film.

Customer Reviews

Richard Donner should touch this up a little more........
Okay, I'll keep this short! I'll try anyhow.

Basically I anticipated this title for so long (3 years or more).

I have this movie on the new HD DVD Format. (Nice picture and sound)

Anyhow the Richard Donner material that makes up this film is mostly great, however I feel that it was way too patchy, ie. The special effects that were touched up (since they weren't back in '78 due to the movie being halted on Donner), have been done so on a shoe string, ie. false and cheap looking with little continuity from the first film's style.

For example the villians release from the Phantom Zone. The footage is better only it just doesn't tie in with the first movie's great visuals!! On par with Lester's also crappy looking Phantom Zone release visually but more dramatic!!

It seemed a rushed affair, no dis-credit to Michael Thau as he was only working with what he had particularly budget wise. He done his best I'm sure. And Richard Donner I'm sure overseen this to the best of his efforts.

The villians didn't really get enough show time, even though they had an extended and 'vicious' attack on the White House. I noticed how much more English (London esp) Terrance stamp speaks under Donner's Direction.

Overall the movie came in about 10 mins too short and there was no excitement as the battle in the Fortress of Solitude (obviously Lester's footage) was excluded, however this would have been better left in, as it worked, ie. The big 'S'launched at Non and the 'Multiple Superman Illusions'. Basically once the villians arrive at F.O.S. it's straight into the depowering piece.

The mostly finished looking Brando scenes were excellent adding more charisma to the Superman Lore! It's worthwhile noting too that Margot Kidder looked gorgeous in Donner's work. She's very gaunt and stressed looking in Lester's cut! Terrance Stamp isn't as Grey and doesn't have that 'quiff' at the back of his head with Donner. Lester's Frankenstiened version had continuity issues here big time.

Yes Superman turns the world back at the end just like Superman The Movie, but that's how this was originally conceived and shot only with the first movie being rushed on by the producers/studio whatever it was adapted for the end scene for a resolution. I enjoyed this with STM and if edited better it would still work with the sequel.

Whether or not a 'Superman' can turn back time by spinning the earth backwards or not I don't care because at the end of the day it's a fantasy movie. I mean I really don't know what would happen if the earth was spinned backwards or forwards but do keep an open mind/imagination. The end of the movie I can accept, however if more money was spent to finish off the special effects again it would've been better. Also it didn't look right when we seen a street full of people during this scene that was so 2006 looking NYC to be believeable as 1978 Metropolis. Stock footage would suffice!

I'm glad he still went back and whacked Rocky up at the end even though time was turned back. That guy was a bad ass so really he needed straightened out none the less.

I do believe that if Donner had been Left to his Devices in '78 we'd have no complaints over this sequel. It probably would have been the 'EMPIRE STRIKES BACK' of Superman.

However considering Donner was to have 75% of Superman II in the can surely he can take a page out of George Lucas's book and tweak this movie a little further to perfect it more even if it means using a little more of Lester's F.O.S. shots to even the ending out. Georgy boy's re-worked 3 movies I can think of more than once. Dicky boy get your finger out, and Warner Bros get your wallet out!!

Thanks however for this 2006 version of Superman II...............

Would be better compiled with the other films - More of a Workprint,rather than a finished film.
This version grabbed my attention the moment i heard of it.

I love the Superman films, from the solid first installment, through the less well received sequels and the most recent addition Superman Returns.

I thought this would be a treasure trove of a feature, nevermind the so called lack luster special effects etc (which while noticable, doesnt really interfere with the film).

Having seen the original Superman II i enjoyed seeing the different cuts and additional information, however this release doesnt have the flow of a completed film. The continuity,editing and pace of this release doesnt seem right, it seems like little snippets to round out scenes in the cinematic release are gone, as is subtle-ty in scene transitions.

Unfortunately, while without being QUITE so bad as it sounds, this release of Superman 2 is like watching the bare-bones of a main release stitched together with deleted scenes and alternate takes in lieu of the final performance. I dont understand other comments ive read in regard to this release being darker and having less comic scenes -my version has much more one liners and comic scenes, which i feel many times detract from the film and are the caliiber you would expect from sub-par deleted scenes; interesting but definately deletable in the final cut.

Bottom line Its enjoyable to watch if you're a fan, have the cash, and have seen the original release. It covers a *little* additional ground, and gives quite a few different takes and scenes, but as an immersive film/story experience it really falls short, and comes across feeling like a roughcut workprint release -in which alot of story (as well as character development- not to mention subtlety) is lost while trying to repatch what should have been the "original". If parts of the regular film (which seem to be intergrated parts of the Donner film) remained to round off the scenes, it would certainly feel like a smoother ride

All in all this felt like a completely different film from the original superman (both 1 and 2), but while interesting, it was like comparing the storyboards to a finished feature, and certainly in comparison to the recent final release of Blade Runner (which includes all its different releases), Im shocked that this is remarked in the introduction as the release it is meant to be.

As close as you can get to the Donner vision
The strengths of this cut are: the general beefing up of Lois' role, so that she is acting as a proper investigative reporter who works out about Clark from the get-go and acts on it, rather than having her suspicions confirmed by a convenient trip on a bear-skin rug; the removing of Non's comedy squeaks; the editing back in of the scene in which Jor-El sacrifices himself to restore his son's powers; the nuclear missile from the first movie being the cause of the destruction of the villains' prison, and more footage of Hackman.
The strengths of the theatrical version remain: the better pace (Donner's cut may be faster but the moment of the villains' first arrival on Earth to the army coming in is ludicrously quick, excising the much-needed scenes in Lester's movie of them roughing up the townsfolk); the heart-wrenching moments between Reeve and Susannah Yorke, who gets the chance to do her motherly bit when Superman confesses his love for Lois; the villains' story being given more weight and menace because they are seen to do terrible things more frequently in this cut, and the greater amount of action, including the fight in the Fortress of Solitude between the four super-beings.
Perhaps the biggest revelation is how both versions rely on jokes no matter what the anti-Lester brigade argue about his version being more comedic. It isn't. Sure Donner is less interested in slap-stick to lift the violent moments but he's not above a toilet joke or three either!
Ultimately, neither the Donner cut nor the Lester version is perfect but the latter feels more complete (obviously), better structured and with a greater amount of action. While the full Donner version we were denied may well have been better, this one truncates too many essential moments (was it necessary to be quite so ruthless with the available Lester footage?)
How about someone give us a version that pulls together the best of both directors' work? This is interesting but I'll stick with the cinema release.