Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
In 1977, Richard Donner was hard at work making an ambitious, two-film adaptation of “Superman” for Warner Bros. and producer Alexander Salkind. As the release of the first film was getting closer and closer, the decision was made to focus on the film one, and return to finish shooting the second film after the release. After the first film’s triumphant release during the holidays in 1978, production resumed on film two, only without Donner, who had been experiencing tensions with the Salkinds over all manners of the production. Richard Lester had acted as a liaison between the Salkinds and Donner, and now, he was brought in to finish “Superman II,” and guide it to release in 1980.
The Lester cut of the film will be reviewed at some point. This is about the 2006 version, credited to Donner, that was reshaped and released the same year Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” hit theatres. I’ve seen both, and while the 1980 film has some good things about it, Donner’s cut (which, for obvious reasons, incorporates approximately 17% of Lester’s footage, as well as shots from screen tests to round out the narrative) is superior, and well worth the 26 year wait.
The storyline of both versions is roughly the same. Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) has been thrown in jail after Superman (the peerless Christopher Reeve) thwarted his plans in the first film, along with his henchman, Otis (Ned Beatty). But a more dangerous threat is to come: through Superman’s actions against Luthor, he inadvertently releases General Zod (Terence Stamp) and his acolytes (Ursa, played by Sarah Douglas, and Non, played by Jack O’Halloran) from the Phantom Zone that we saw Superman’s father, Jor-El (Marlon Brando, included here in unearthed footage), place them in at the start of the first film. As Superman started to learn in the first film, and what will become clear in this film, is that actions have consequences, and he has bigger challenges to come, especially when he lets slip to Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) that he is, indeed, his alter ego, Clark Kent. I know; you would think a slightly different haircut, and glasses, would make a cunning disguise.
It’s been a few years since I’d last watched “Superman II,” in either form, and I forgot how, in 1980, Donner and his trusted collaborator, Tom Mankiewicz (credited as “Creative Consultant,” but really a co-writer of the screenplay by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman), decided to explore an idea that has become popular in modern superhero movies: the notion of a hero sacrificing his extraordinary abilities, in hopes of having an ordinary life. Some of the best comic book films of the past few years– “Spider-Man 2,” “The Dark Knight” & “The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Incredible Hulk,” and “Iron Man 3” –have dealt with this notion in their own, exciting ways, and it’s amazing to think that they were all beaten to the punch by the Man of Steel, and by a good, long distance. Now, the Reeve “Superman” films are best remember for how spectacularly they fell from greatness after the 1978 film on to 1987’s “The Quest for Peace,” but it’s curious to realize just how ambitious Donner, Mankiewicz, and even the Salkinds, were in exploring the most famous superhero in history. (I’d say most beloved, but I don’t want Batman fans to come after me.)
Since it’s been a while since I’ve watched the Lester release of this film, I can’t really compare the two, but I can say that “The Richard Donner Cut” is one of the director’s best films. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been behind the camera since 2006’s “16 Blocks,” but his newly-restored vision of “Superman II” is proof of how good he is. Sure, the visual effects lack the sophistication of today’s blockbusters, but that’s always been part of the appeal that continues to draw us into Donner’s “Superman,” along with the sincerity of Reeve in the title role. That sincerity is what helps ground the film, and character, in a way that, honestly, no one else really has since. (That doesn’t include the just-released “Man of Steel,” but really, it’s hard to believe Henry Cavill will be able to rival Reeve.) Over 30 years later, Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve’s vision of Superman remains the most beloved, and rightfully so.
