Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

Wow, it's finally legal!

Okay, first a little backstory. Note, this is more simplified than accurate, so if you want the whole story, look it up. There's links at the end, with more info.

In 1978, Richard Donner directed the cinematic blockbuster, Superman, starring Christopher Reeve. Donner went ahead and shot footage for Superman 2 as well. However, when the time came to produce Superman 2, they gave the project to Richard Lester, and much of Donner's footage was discarded. Then, a couple of years ago, some guy put together a lot of Donner's lost footage, took out some of Lester's, and released what he dubbed the "Richard Donner" version of the film.

You have to admire a guy like this. Though he knew it was risky, he sold copies of it over the internet. But - he only charged for the price of the tape and the shipping. He refused to make any profit on the project; he only wanted to more people to see what he considered to be a superior version of the film. Well, the tactic must have worked, because now it's been officially released on DVD.

This new version does not replace the original version, in my opinion. While a lot of the changes are for the better, the execution isn't perfect. Some of the restored scenes are actually screen tests or other raw footage that doesn't quite mesh with the rest of the film. The sound might be bad in one scene, the editing my be jumpy in another, the lighting might be lacking somewhere else. So if you're just in the mood to sit down and enjoy a Superman movie, you might want to stick with the original version. The RD Cut is more of a fascinating look at how different directors handle the same story.

Now for the specific changes. Note, there's a few spoilers ahead. Granted, if you're reading this, then you've probably already seen the normal version of S2 enough times to know the importants stuff. Three Kryptonian villians find their way to Earth, Superman gives up his powers to be with Lois, etc. But even so, if you want to be surprised at the new stuff, stop reading now.

Right from the start, you know you're watching a different movie. One of the earliest scenes - where Lois investigates a group of terrorists in Paris - has been cut completely. In the theatrical cut, the Superman throws the terrorist bomb off into space, and the resulting explosion breaks the Phantom Zone villains out of their prison. In the Donner version, the Phantom Zone prison is shattered by one of the missles Superman deflected at the end of Superman 1.

Lois Lane is no longer obsessed with freshly squeezed orange juice, but her vitamin deficiency hasn't hurt her eyesight any - she makes the Clark/Superman connection much earlier in the film. She can't even wait for Niagra Falls this time, opting instead to jump out the window of the Daily Planet. Just like the other version, Clark manages to save her without changing into his tights. But once again, Lois isn't fooled for long, and soon Clark is forced to reveal his secret. Lois doesn't wait around for Clark to stick his hand in the fireplace this time. After all, she has places to go, words to misspell. Now she takes the more direct approach... she just shoots him.

"You know, Lois, if you'd been wrong, you would have just killed Clark Kent." "Not with blanks." D'oh! Apparently super-genius is not one of his powers this time around. By the way, this scene is one of the more obvious "screen test" clips. You can tell right away that it was shot at a different time than the rest of the film.

So, the Kryptonian Kryminals reach Earth, and they're a little less cheery this time around. The more lighthearted scenes have been cut, such as Ursa's arm wrestling and Non's inability to use heat vision. Actually, overall there is a lot less humor in this version of the film. Apparently Richard Lester thought that Donner's vision was too dark, and decided to throw in as much levity as possible for the theatrical release. Personally, I always thought it was cute how the bad guys changed Mount Rushmore to look like themselves. But in the Donner's cut, it's a much more grim scene involving the toppling of the Washington Monument. But that does flow better, because it leads right in to the "assault on the White House" scene.

Meanwhile, as Lois basks in the afterglow at the Fortress of Solitude, Clark (who really needs to buy a TV for his arctic getaway) decides to give up his powers. But this time he talks to his father instead of his mother. And it's a much more interesting conversation, IMO. But even better, after Clark realizes he screwed up and treks back to the Fortress, we find out HOW he gets his powers back. In the theatrical version, he just sulks around until he sees a glowing crystal. In the Donner cut, he actually gets to have one last conversation with Jor-El. It seems Papa-El had one more trick up his sleeve after all, and is able to use the last of his own power to restore Clark. And before you can say "the son becomes the father and the father becomes the son," Superman is back in action.

So, the Zod Squad invades the Daily Planet, and while there's a few alternate takes, there's not much to report here. I think they cut the line where Lois Lane's co-worker says, "The big one's just as strong as Superman!" And more humor is lost when they take out the "persistent payphone guy" from the "bad guys blow Metropolis" scene.

Now, for my favorite change in the movie. The villains confront Superman at the Fortress of Solitude. And... No stupor-ridiculous made-up powers! No "throwing the giant S symbol!" No "teleport tag!" Just a straight cut to the final confrontation, where Superman tricks them into losing their powers.

But this payoff comes at a price. For starters, the Fortress of Solitude sinks into the ground (part of Clark's punishment for using up the last of Jor-El's energy). Then, we are treated to the same silly ending as Superman 1 - instead of using a "super-amnesia kiss" to make Lois forget his identity, this time Superman feels that Ms Lane's forbidden knowledge is so important, that he uses his "reverse the Earth's rotation to turn back time" trick for that as well. Uh... were we planning on ending every Superman movie this way? Because at the end of S1 they made it pretty darn clear that this type of thing was not allowed, but Supes was doing it anyway because he loves Lois so much. Does Supes do this a lot? When else does he do turn back the clock? When his milk goes sour? When his favorite football team loses?

But the worst part is, it's not very clear just how much was changed from Superman's time trick. Did the entire movie not happen? Because even after turning back the clock, he still feels the need to return to that little cafe up North, and show up that bully who had pushed him around earlier. Okay, if he fought that guy AFTER telling Lois his identity, but he turned back time to before he told Lois, then he basically just beat up some random jerk at a cafe. "I've, uh, been working out." Uh, sure, but... who ARE you?

The important thing to remember here, is that while this is a great way to see a lot of deleted/alternate footage at once, this is NOT neccessarily how the movie would have turned out had Richard Donner completed it back in 1980. Overall, I prefer the Richard Donner cut, or at least I prefer most of the choices made. But the lack of a "clean" cut makes it much harder to watch. So while I'm happy to own a copy, I'm also glad I own the theatrical release as well, because that's the one I'll grab when I'm just in the mood to veg and watch super-beings fight. Still, the Richard Donner cut is a must-have for superfans.

For more info, check these out:

Wikipedia Article

IMDB Superman II Trivia