Marlon Brando Movie:

		List Price: $28.99		Label: Warner Home Video Salesrank: 6656 Released: November 28, 2006
		Our Price: $17.80
		Used Price: $15.47
		MPAA Rating: Unrated Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
In the year of Superman Returns, Superman II starring Christopher Reeve also returns - with a totally different beginning and resolution. With Jor-El (Marlon Brando in recently discovered footage) in key scenes that amplify Superman lore and deepen the profound relationship between father and son. With different Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) schemes to unmask Clark Kent as Superman. With...well, with so many changes, large and small, that this Superman II is an eye-opening alternate experience. Director Richard Donner began shooting his vision of Superman II while concurrently filming Superman The Movie. Now, for the first time, his never-before-seen vision is here. And it's a must for every Superman fan, an important addition to the legend of the Man of Steel.

Description of Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut [Blu-ray]:
The Richard Donner cut of Superman II is an infamous legend come to life. Director Donner shot most of the sequel at the same time as his first blockbuster film, but somewhere along the line, the producers and studio lost confidence and brought in Richard Lester (The Three Musketeers) to rework the film, and receive sole credit. For years fans speculated on how different the final film was from Donner's original until an underground copy appeared showing a fully formed feature. In an unprecedented move, Warner Brothers officially embraces this alternate version. For those who have not been part of the rumor mill, know that Donner shot all the footage with Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). You can find blow-by-blow descriptions of what is new/changed elsewhere, but most of the changes deal with Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder as the comic-book couple. Donner's cut provides alternate scenes for how Lois tests her hunch that Clark is Superman, the moment he reveals his identity, and how Lois unlearns that truth. Thing is, Lester's reshots are stronger, adding weight to the romance between the two, lifting the picture's stature. Lester also added the dandy Eiffel Tower opening. Donner's chief additions are in the Fortress of Solitude, where Marlon Brando returns to teach (Susannah York, as Superman's mom, appears in the Lester cut). The producers cut Brando's footage so they wouldn't have to pay him millions. The Brando/Reeve scenes continue the father/son dynamic of the first film. There is a great lesson in editing--Lester's less is better than Donner's more--when you compare how Kent turns back into Superman after losing his powers. The Donner cut is completely formed but does use some rehearsal footage, new effects, and some pieces shot by Lester. The history of cinema has many of these stories of movies reshot, hijacked, and changed from the original version, but here the underdog wins and Donner gets his chance to change history, even adding a note in the end credits about the use of fur and smoking as regrettable choices of the time.

Director Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz have a jolly good time revisiting their past on the commentary track. You get a clearer picture of who shot what, but the two have nothing good to say about Lester's edition. Donner doesn't go much into why he was dropped, just a difference of opinion and the need not to pay Brando. He also explains why the déjà vu ending of this edition was used in the first movie and a new ending would have been thought up for part 2. A quick featurette looks at how Michael Thau and a small crew reconstructed the film and compares several scenes from both versions. Also added are additional scenes shot by Donner but not used, most with Hackman. --Doug Thomas

Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut [Blu-ray] Reviews:
WOW
2009-12-02 - It's a shame it took over 20 years for this film to see the light of day. This films makes chronologically more sense than Mr. Lester's II. The first time I watched it, I was in awe. The second and third times I've watched, I kept thinking that it was a shame it was not released back in 1980.
I hate to think 'what if..', BUT just this once, 'WHAT IF Mr. Donner's II been released?' I'm sure it would've been a huge success, then we would've had III and IV, all with Donner at the helm, and there might not have been 'Superman Returns' (a great homage to Donner's I an II, but missing the heart).
The beginning and end sequences are a thrill to watch. The 'missing' scene where Clark gets his powers back is not only great, but if you are a father, inspirational. A father sacrifying his own life for his son to live? Great stuff.

The REAL Superman II
2009-11-12 - I am just wondering when all the whiny morons here are going to realise that Superman did NOT turn back time again in this movie. As a matter of fact, it was for THIS movie that the time reversal sequence was meant for!!! Stop your God-awful whining!!!

Secondly, this movie was NOT supposed to be a sequel but the second part of one movie! Donner had everything penned and planned perfectly; unfortunately, Alexander and Ilya Salkunt decided to make a mockery out of an American icon so they fired Donner, cut Brando and RUINED EVERYTHING!!!

Also, The Fortress Of Solitude was NOT destroyed! Yes, Superman melted it with his heat vision; however, since he reversed time and sent Zod and company back to The Phantom Zone, that means all of the other events DID NOT HAPPEN!!! Lois did not sleep with Superman, Luthor is back in prison and... THE FORTRESS IS STILL THERE!!!

Let us hope that one day all of our dreams will be realised and Selutron can release the real version of "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut"; until then, this is the TRUE version of "Superman II"!!! To Hell with Lester's Cut!!!

If this was the theatrical version, Superman II wouldn't have been my favorite Supes movie
2009-11-08 - I'm rather glad I waited three years to watch the "Richard Donner Cut" of Superman II, as it's quite apparent it's not equal to the theatrical version. For one thing, the first half hour is incredibly slow......they inexplicably include footage from the climax of Superman: The Movie. This only confused and frustrated me. From there, the quality of this alternate cut varies. While opening with the Daily Planet and Lois' foolish jump from the window, they miss an opportunity to feature Superman early in the film. We don't even see Supes until the Niagara Falls sequence, which for me is too long to go without the title character. Why do you think they have Batman appear in the 3rd scene of "The Dark Knight"? Because it's his movie, and we pay to see him kick butt.
Instead we get drawn out scenes of comic Luthor and his moron sidekick. While these scenes are amusing they add nothing to the story. Luthor's escape from the prison in a slow moving balloon was idiotic. Hey, prison guards! Shoot it down! Although I respect Gene Hackman as an actor, the choice to play Lex Luthor as a smarmy, smart alec and comic relief was always wrong (not to mention the bad toupees)
I actually appreciated seeing Brando's retored scenes. He brings so much gravitas and dignity to the film. I know some people don't think of this as a signature role of his, but he definitely elevates the whole endeavor. I also thought his sacrifice to restore his son's powers was well played.
I do have issues with how the Lois & Clark relationship plays out. Twice, she tried to trick him into revealing his alter ego, when you only needed to see that once. The original film's version of Lois leaping into the river at Niagara Falls is more effective. I also prefer Clark's bumbling fall into the fire reveal, rather than the "gee, let me shoot Clark in the chest" version. Since that's obviously test footage, it's nowhere near as effective. Chris Reeves reaction in the original is powerful. Not so here......
The edited footage is very choppy.....and there are a few changes and leaps in logic that I can't abide. How is it that the villains can talk in outer space? Zod is floating space and he screams "FREEEE"? huh?
The final confrontation also was lacking. Superman confronts the villains and they....talk? Wow, how exciting. I know the saran wrap "S" weapon was goofy, but it was some action. They also changed my absolute favorite line of the film: "General Zod, would you care to step outside?" is now, "Haven't you heard of freedom of the press"? What the....the former line reinforced his polite nature, ever in the face of danger. The ending was so protracted, it felt like I was watching "The Return of the King" again. And why does he destroy his Fortress of Solitude? What happened to Luthor? Did he leave the other villains to die? I was warming to the idea of Lois knowing who Superman really is...and then they pull a really cowardly, dirty trick and have Superman reverse time....AGAIN! What is the point of all that happened? If Superman can just reverse time whenever anything bad happens, where is the really drama or danger? How do people learn anything from the experience. A Complete and utter cop out.....totally unnecessary and negates all that came before. On top of that we still have Clark going back to the diner for some sweet revenge. In addition to being a huge plot hole, I don't think it's in character for Clark/Superman to seek such a petty revenge. He is Superman, and his abilities far outmatch any normal man. It just seems petty.........
Speaking of petty, Richard Donner's commentary is at times critical of his successor and he comes across as far too bitter. Don't you think 25 is enough time to get over something? I would have been happy never seeing this version of SII; luckily it make me appreciate Lester's version all the more.

Not Anamorphic!
2009-11-08 - Be warned that this Blu-Ray of "Superman II - The Donner Cut" is "not" anamorphic. That means it was recorded with solid bars on the top and bottom of the 4/3 box in which the film is copied. That means that the actual resolution of the film is only about 650p, not the advertised 1080p. The remaining 430 lines are used to record the black bars, which are visable when the movie is viewed with the TV set to 4/3 format. Many movies, even major releases like "The Matrix," are released like this and in so doing, misrepresent the resolution of the viewed movie.

Give us the Theatrical version on blu-ray please!
2009-10-26 - I grew up on this movie, and I love it. Superman 2 was my favorite of the Superman series. In my opinion it was the strongest and most enjoyable, and I believe there are many critics and fans who would agree.

I bought this version because the theatrical version was not available on blu-ray, and boy do I regret it. It is nothing like the film I excited to see again (no Eiffel tower sequence, the Niagara sequence is also almost entirely cut). Instead, I got a weak hodgepodge of material that was never intended to go together, or even (some of it) to be seen anywhere but as a deleted scene in the special features menu. It's a novelty, not a film, and more than that, not the film I knew and loved and would like to own. I'm sure there are many people who are glad to finally see the Donner footage, and I'm glad that this makes it available to them, but it is unacceptable as the only version of the best movie of the Superman franchise available on Blu-ray.