Superman II: Donner Cut + Boxed Set Announced

[Woochifer]

After months, if not years, of speculation and rumors, the Richard Donner cut of Superman II was officially announced at Comic-Con, as reported by The Digital Bits. The DVD is due out on November 28 and will include a newly edited cut of Superman II that incorporates Richard Donner's previously discarded footage and newly done effect scenes; as well as a 5.1 soundtrack, a new commentary track, along with the remaining scenes that did not make it into new cut.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents

In addition to the Donner edition announcement, the eight-disc Christopher Reeve Superman Collection was also announced. Contrary to previous rumors, the Donner cut will only be available as a standalone DVD, and won't be part of the boxed set or the Superman II special edition DVD set.

As far as the boxed set goes, Superman: The Movie will expand into a four-disc DVD edition that includes both the original 1978 cut and the extended cut from the 2001 DVD release. The extras and documentaries that were announced seem like the same ones that the original DVD release included. The DVD will also include the 1951 George Reeves movie Superman and the Mole-Men, and 9 of the classic Max Fleischer cartoons.

So, it seems that the new edition will carry over the 2001 DVD content, and add the 1978 theatrical cut (along with a new commentary), the George Reeves movie, and the 9 Max Fleischer cartoons. IMO, this makes it a borderline double-dip, unless the new edition also does some clean up on the video and bumps up the audio bitrates from the 384k resolution Dolby Digital soundtracks that were included in the 2001 DVD edition.

The two-disc Superman II DVD set will FINALLY get a 5.1 soundtrack, along with a documentary, commentary track, and deleted scenes. It will also include the 8 other Max Fleischer Superman cartoons. As mentioned, all of the Richard Donner footage will only be included with the other standalone DVD.

III and IV will each be single-disc editions with new 5.1 soundtracks, commentary tracks, and making-of documentaries.

All in all, a mixed bag from Warner, with notable improvements to II, III, and IV in particular that correct shortcomings with the original releases that should never have been in place to begin with. I did not read anything about DTS tracks, nor does it look like Warner did anything special like the Shadow of the Bat documentary that they spanned across all four of the Batman movies in last year's boxed set.

The list price on the boxed set is $80, which is the same as the Batman set that I purchased last year for $45 on the day of release. The Donner edition DVD will list for $25, which indicates a likely street price of $15.

[Smokey]

The Donner edition DVD will list for $25, which indicates a likely street price of $15.

I wonder how long will it take for this DVD to find its way into Wal-mart's Bargain Bin. I will wait :D

Superman II and III (haven't seen IV) definitely needed some attention, especially in audio department. The audio on current Superman DVDs on the market sound so "flat" and lifeless.

Thanks for the review.

[Defshep]

Thank God I'll only have to buy the Donner cut. I've got the 2001 release of Superman: The Movie, as well as II, III, and IV. And I paid around 8 bucks a piece for each. Not enough incentive to buy S1 again. I only have 3 and 4 for the sake of having the whole series. If I want a good laugh, the current editions of the last two will suffice. I don't need them to suck in 5.1 audio.

[Defshep]

By the way, Smokey. Have you seen the Donner clips from S2? They are a major improvement over the Richard Lester cheese. I don't think it'll quite make it to the bargain bin. Although, I did see the Batman 2-disc sets for $10 individually at Sam's.

[Woochifer]

I wonder how long will it take for this DVD to find its way into Wal-mart's Bargain Bin. I will wait :D

With a list price of $25, you might see it go for somewhere around $12-$13 on the day of release. C'mon Smoke, the difference between that and your upper price limit is less than a pack of cigarettes or a Big Mac!


Superman II and III (haven't seen IV) definitely needed some attention, especially in audio department. The audio on current Superman DVDs on the market sound so "flat" and lifeless.

I avoided II, III, and IV because they were movie-only discs with 2.0 soundtracks. I did not feel like rewarding Warner for cheaping out on the audio tracks when II and III had included 5.1 soundtracks with the 70mm theatrical prints. Inexcusable IMO because Warner had 5.1 sources available, but simply chose not to use them.


Thank God I'll only have to buy the Donner cut. I've got the 2001 release of Superman: The Movie, as well as II, III, and IV. And I paid around 8 bucks a piece for each. Not enough incentive to buy S1 again. I only have 3 and 4 for the sake of having the whole series. If I want a good laugh, the current editions of the last two will suffice. I don't need them to suck in 5.1 audio.

For me, it's borderline on the four-disc Superman: The Movie set, but the Max Fleischer cartoons are a good inducement, and if Warner bumps up the audio bitrates from the 384k to 448k like they did with the Batman DVDs, that might be enough to prod me to grab the boxed set since I don't currently own II, III, or IV.

[Defshep]

For me, it's borderline on the four-disc Superman: The Movie set, but the Max Fleischer cartoons are a good inducement, and if Warner bumps up the audio bitrates from the 384k to 448k like they did with the Batman DVDs, that might be enough to prod me to grab the boxed set since I don't currently own II, III, or IV.
Yeah, Wooch. I'd be pickin' up the box if I didn't currently own the cheapies. Although, I couldn't make myself buy the double-disc Batman Forever or Batman & Robin. Are the features really worth it on that set? Kind of off-topic, but I haven't watched the extra stuff on the Batman/Batman Returns discs yet.
edit: I guess at ten bucks each, it may be worth it, now that I think of it.

[Woochifer]

Yeah, Wooch. I'd be pickin' up the box if I didn't currently own the cheapies. Although, I couldn't make myself buy the double-disc Batman Forever or Batman & Robin. Are the features really worth it on that set? Kind of off-topic, but I haven't watched the extra stuff on the Batman/Batman Returns discs yet.
edit: I guess at ten bucks each, it may be worth it, now that I think of it.

Warner did a grand treatment on that Batman DVD set. It seems that the Supeman set is falling just short of that. But, this is partly because they already did a fairly thorough job on the bonus features with the original Superman: The Movie DVD, whereas all of the original Batman DVD releases were movie-only discs saddled down with 384k DD soundtracks. However, it would have been nice to have some new documentary that links together all of the Superman movies (for one thing, to explain what the hell they were thinking with III and IV!), or at least include the Look Up In The Sky! documentary that recently aired on A&E.

Aside from fixing up the video, upgrading the DD audio, and adding the DTS soundtracks, the documentaries on that Batman set are about as good they get. The Shadows of the Bat documentary spans across all four DVDs, and is very thorough. And the Beyond Batman production and post-production documentaries are also some of the best "making of" features that I've seen. You might want to mine through the supplementals on the first two Batman movies before deciding whether or not it's worth getting the last two. The first Batman]/i] has by far the most thorough collection of material.

I got the Batman set on the day of release for $45, which cost less than buying the first three movies separately. I figured that I might as well buy the whole set, [i]even if it included Batman & Robin!

[Smokey]

By the way, Smokey. Have you seen the Donner clips from S2? They are a major improvement over the Richard Lester cheese. I don't think it'll quite make it to the bargain bin.

No, haven't seen it. But I am glad they release Superman II with Donner footage as a single disc rather than bundle it with the box set. This way don't have to buy the whole box set.

I wonder if Nov 28 Box set release date whould coincide with the release date for Superman Return DVD? Its on a Tuesday :)

[superpanavision70mm]

All of the SUPERMAN'S need some major work. The most amount of work really need to go into III and IV, but those two films are so bad it's really not worth it anyway. I and II majorly need some restoration in the picture department and the audio could also use some serious work as much of it has been damaged and the remixes created for the 2001 DVD's is a bit awkward. Going with DTS might only bring out the flaws a bit more. One thing that is for sure is that the extra footage from the theatical cuts make both I and II work and also show just how terrible the new SUPERMAN RETURNS is. It's amazing that they could churn out something that boring and insulting. I would almost rather watch Superman with the obvious strings used to make him look like he is flying that you can see in Superman III than watch this new film.

[Defshep]

Smokey, I believe the Superman Returns dvd release will coincide with the remastered anthology date. I also hear Bryan Singer is saving most of the goodies for a special extended version for next year, according to articles from Comic Con. Also, does anyone know if the new Donner clips online are newly restored, or newly filmed? They look great, without looking too enhanced (unlike Star Wars).

[superpanavision70mm]

It's amazing to me that these so-called-directors these days are 'holding' the goodies for DVD and issuing a film to the theaters that is sub-par. I heard that the Dir. Cut for DAREDEVIL is a bit superior to the theatrical cut, which isn't much of a surprise because it wouldn't take much to make something that bad actually a bit better. Perhaps the extra 30 minutes of footage is a bit more extensive and exciting. I am only wondering if extra footage would really help SUPERMAN RETURNS as it already felt incredibly long to begin with and was just...flat.

Is it just me or are we really suppose to believe that this takes place 5 years after Superman left? I seem to recall Lois Lane knowing that Clark Kent is Superman and there is a bit of age factor going on as well. Kate Bosworth hardly looks like a Lois Lane and her age is not really helping either, however someone like Courtney Cox would have been a much better choice.

For my money I thought that the 1978 SUPERMAN and it's immediate sequel actually felt more believable in terms of the special effects than the new film. The older effects might seem a bit more rigid, but they are not super polished and as fake looking in my opinion.

[Smokey]

Perhaps the extra 30 minutes of footage is a bit more extensive and exciting. I am only wondering if extra footage would really help SUPERMAN RETURNS as it already felt incredibly long to begin with and was just...flat.

I wonder if new superman would have worked better if they made the character more “darker.” Like what they did to Batman Return where lead character was more mysterious and puzzling.

And off course less dialog :D