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Just Quickly

When Richard Donner was unceremoniously (and acrimoniously) dumped as director of the Superman movie sequel, producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind brought on Richard Lester to complete a project which was rapidly spiralling out of control: Donner had tried to film two movies at once, and costs had escalated to the point where friction between he and the producers caused a major fracture. With Lester named as sole director of Superman II, many fans clamoured for the release of a version of the film that Donner had wanted to give us, and clamoured long and loud enough that Warner Bros decided to do just that. With recently uncovered footage restored, as well as Donner himself overseeing the edit, Superman II was re-released to the public in a version true to the original story Donner wanted to tell. The Donner Cut, as it came to be known, included many alternative shots, takes and story points from the version released under Lester, as well as the original screen-test between Christopher Reeve & Margot Kidder being woven into the story. While the film doesn’t have the polish of the original Superman film, nor do many of the included scenes make sense logically within the narrative framework, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a fascinating look into the Superman mythos, and the dream of what might have been.

The Result

Okay, so Donner has cobbled together many scenes excised from the Lester version, such as the nuclear  bomb linkage from Superman I (where Superman throws one of the Luthor-controlled nukes into space – where it then explodes and releases Zod, Ursa and Non from the Phantom Zone) instead of the “Bomb in the Eiffel Tower” sequence, and some alternative shots and takes for the “Invasion of the White House” sequence. Plus, the romance between Superman and Lois is more effectively developed, as well as previously unseen dialogue between Clark and Jor El in the Fortress of Solitude, giving deeper emotional weight to Clarks decision to give up being Superman for the sake of love. While it does have some narrative flaws (the major one being the wonky “Lois discovering that Clark is Superman” throughline) and some of the shot selection and editing remains a little jarring, the film isn’t supposed to be a New & Improved version, just an Alternate Version – so watching it with this in mind, the film isn’t that bad. If you’re a fan of Superman, and want to investigate the convoluted and often bitter journey that was Superman II, then you’ll want to have a look at the Donner version of the film. [Editors Note: for a complete history and listing of the changes between the Lester and Donner versions, read more at this Wiki page.]

Who wrote this?

Rodney Twelftree

“Some people say I like films. Those people are wrong. I *love* films.” – Me. I said this.

Rodney has been writing about films for well over two decades, appreciates a good wine, the love of his wife and kids, and the affection of his dog and cats. He has a fondness of cheesy 90’s action and classic Hollywood, hates that physical media is disappearing, and wishes somebody would make a high-budget series of The Neverending Story.

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