Superman: The Richard Donner Vision

Yes, I have the various cuts of Superman and Superman II. Notably the TV Cut was important to me because I saw it THOSE 2 NIGHTS it premiered , and years later, people thought I was crazy recalling scenes most folks never saw, like feeding the babies. I also watched the TV Cut of Superman II when it premiered and when I'd bring up Zod killing the kid on the horse, my friends would say I'm crazy. I wish they would release the TV cut of Superman II as well, but if you have that long Restored International Cut - you're good to go if you can handle the quality. SO...those 2 combined would be well over 6 hours...and you'll watch both Donner AND Lester footage.

SO when the Superman II Donner Cut was released, people really started to learn and understand the situation he went through and his original intentions. Back in the 70s, that was pretty revolutionary - and risky - for all parties involved to film such a long movie, too. Then when they broke it up into 2 movies, continuity was messed up and they had to make and ending for the first movie and add more beef to the second. Script changes, pissed off folks, and it all fell apart.

So - when I found this fanedit - I understood the purpose of it. The original script has been out there for some time, yet technology really made it tough to piece together Richard Donner's Vision based on that full script that was butchered. Well Fran - what you have created was TOTALLY AMAZING!

Fran told me he has been working on his cut for YEARS - that is serious devotion! When I watched it, Fran presented that EPIC feel with an intermission in the middle! Gone With The Wind, Ben-Hur, Gandhi, etc... He pieced together a comprehensive reconstruction of the original script to the best of his ability with what footage he had to work with that followed it.

Of course this reconstruction required all the things Fran lovingly created - transitions, special effects, enhancements, and countless things you might not notice at first, but later I found to be quite important instead of just eye candy and generic to keep the pace. Constructing a conclusion to the fist Act does prepare you for the 2nd Act after the intermission. That was not easy using Donner footage, but Fran did it!

Fran recreated the opening credits - which was beautiful with the special effects improved! In the Theater in the 70s, as kids, we hated that long credits opening, and most lacked the understanding of it;s importance as this only a 2 hour movie now. Then Superman II had a short credits scene. Now you are watching an epic! and the opening credits have so much more importance!

Fran's added details also were strategically placed to explain a lot of things one might not have realized....the shockwave of Krypton exploding now bumps the Phantom Zone's course and during the movie, we revisit the Zone's new course as it passes the planets in our solar system. Then the rocket Superman pushed off into space becomes the catalyst that frees the criminals in space -- and luckily for them in a system with a Yellow Sun!.

Act2 with the Leaning tower of Pisa - I now got it after watching Fran's special effect which showed Superman 'drunk in love' excitingly swirling around the tower, never realizing what he did. Nice catch using footage from Superman III to recreate that moment in the original script.

Keep and eye out! So much fun to watch. Now the ending - this is when he turned back time (because Lois did not die in Act 1...that was a butchered ending used when the movies were to be split up). He reversed back all that damage done to the world as well as his own relationship with Lois and the additional damage that caused..

What fun! No longer do I care about missing Zod killing a little British Boy in a country town in Texas, LOLOL.

Fran! thank you for your devotion and hard work! I burned this to a Bluray and can;t wait to show it to my old friends!!!

steve

As a kid, I would seek any enhanced ABC TV or KCOP cut of Superman from EBAY. This cut really makes me feel like a kid again. Pacing is great and the quality superb. Great job! Wonderful version of a classic film.

This is clearly a labor of love and the care put into each frame is evident. Although I respect the desire to put every last bit of Donner's footage in there, I don't think that necessarily makes for the best movie. Stuart Baird cut a lot of these scenes for good reasons. They slowed down the pace too much or were redundant. Unfortunately, that's the case here. Also, while I understand that this wasn't the original intention, the death of Lois makes for a far more compelling reason for Superman to change history than doing it to clean up his mess at the end, and causes confusing continuity problems in regards to the bully at the dinner and the Tower of Pisa.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves these films. I particularly appreciated the clever fixes for the Phantom Zone criminals inexplicable powers that Lester introduced. Well done.