One of the things I'm a bit tired of are multiple versions of movies being released on video formats. While there's nothing wrong with getting a true "Director's Cut" of a film where the director didn't have final cut and what was released is so drastically altered from what the director intended or is missing important sub plots and such, but the idea of "Extended Editions" and such has gotten out of hand. We are being innundated and overwhelmed by terms that no longer have any true meaning (is every Disney full length animated feature really a "classic"?).
While movies like Brazil, Dune, Blade Runner & Legend are all legitimate examples of warranting second or third versions of the film to exist, did we really need to be subjected to Extended versions of every Peter Jackson film of the last ten years? The Lord of the Rings films are perfectly legitimate in either their theatrical releases or their extended editions and the latter makes one wonder why the former had to exist in the first place, regardless of the fact that they work just as well. And did King Kong need to be even longer for a new version?
There is a new "cut" of a film now on DVD that deserves our attention for a variety of reasons. It is available as part of a box set as well as on its own...but lets talk about the box set first and my problem with the labelling.
Superman: The Ultimate Collector's Edition is a box set consisting of the four films starring Christopher Reeve and this year's Superman Returns in addition to a myriad of extras. Now, use of the word "Ultimate" to me implies that this will be the last word on the subject, but there is so much missing that it can't be (even if it actually is).
To explain this, we need to examine the history of these films and their creation. The first two films originally were made at the same time by director Richard Donner. When the producers were facing a deadline of getting part one into the theaters, the made Donner stop shooting things that weren't part of that film. By the time Superman reached theaters, Donner had reportedly shot about 70% of Superman II. He was subsequently replaced by Richard Lester who had to reshoot parts of two for a variety of reasons. All of this backstory is detailed in various forms (commentaries and documentaries) within this box set as well as several websites.
Superman was released to theaters with a running time of 143 minutes. Its an amazing film that set the standard for comic book adaptations (in spite of some people disliking the campier aspects of the villains) and still holds up very well today. (For the record, the original VHS release ran 127 minutes due to time compression and removal of the end credits...so while it's a "shorter" version of the film, its a technical anomoly). This version was released on VHS and Laser Disc, but didn't arrive on DVD until this box set (more on that later).
In 1981 producer Alexander Salkind created a cut for international release as well as syndicated TV sales that ran 188 minutes. There were lots of added bits that while making the film longer, didn't really disrupt the proceedings. Were they necessary? Probably not. Were they fun to see? Yes. (This version ran on ABC over two nights with 7 minutes missing).
In 2001, Warner Home Video wanted to release this longer cut on DVD and get Richard Donner's stamp of approval. He refused to do so with a 3 hour cut, so Warner felt it was more important to have Donner's participation and he added back 8 minutes out of the 45 "missing" minutes known to exist and seen in the International version. This 151 minute version arrived on DVD with a couple of other "deleted" scenes from the longer verion as extras on the disc (instead of being incorporated into the film ittself).
The new Ultimate DVD Box Set contains the original theatrical release at 143 minutes with commentary by producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler on Disc 1 (although a mistake in the authoring of the DVDs has left of the original soundtrack and we are left with a recreation from the 2001 DVD release which had remixed sound...there is a way to get a corrected disc via Warner directly if you have bought one of the uncorrected sets). Disc 2 contains Donner's 2001 cut and extras (there's a commentary by Donner and "Creative Consultant" Tom Mankiewicz). While Discs 3 & 4 are also devoted to the first Superman film, none of the still missing footage from the longer cut appears. It is still missing.
Now, if you're going to refer to something as being "Ultimate", to not include this footage in some form is a big mistake. Personally, it would have been better to have the 188 minute cut and not have either the 143 or 151 minute versions (I'm sure those could have been combined on one disc with seamless branching if they tried). The differences between the two "official" versions is negligible, while the differences between those and the longer cut are much more diverse (obviously since we're still missing almost 30 minutes of footage).
Superman II presents a more interesting case. For years, people have wondered what Richard Donner's version of Superman II would have been like. Richard Lester reshot enough of the footage already in the can so he could get his director's credit (by guild rules he would have had to shoot at least 50% of the film and Donner had already shot 70% of it). Lester changed the beginning and ending of the film, ditched all the footage of Marlon Brando and replaced him with Susannah York, reshot most of the Lois & Clark scenes and added some more comedy.
The theatrical cut of Superman II appears on Disc 5 of this set with commentary by Ilya Slakind and Pierre Spengler. It runs 127 minutes and holds up rather well. Lester's film got mixed reactions from fans (and still does to this day). There's a bit more comedy in the film (Lois' attempts to get Clark to reveal himself come to mind as does Luthor's demeanor which is even campier than before) and one instance of giving Superman a new stupid power he's never had before (the cellophane S he throws at Non during the final battle). In spite of this stuff, it's still a fun film.
Disc 6 of this set contains the newly compiled "Richard Donner Cut". Doing their best to create something that was 70% done had to have been a challenge, but Donner & editor Michael Thau have done an admirable job. The film is by no means perfect. In order to include one scene never officially shot, they needed to use the screen test version since Donner had used the scene to test Kidder and Reeve before they were even hired. Its a bit odd seeing both of them looking a bit different than they do in the finished footage, but it does work.
This version of the film is a bit darker than Lester's version. The villains seem more evil (watch as General Zod smiles as he uses a machine gun to kill people in the White House) and Superman's "sacrifice" seems more heartfelt as it is now his father who he talks to instead of his mother (they brought back the footage of Brando Donner shot for part Two that Lester reshot with Susannah York). The ending of Lester's version got some flack with Superman giving Lois a kiss to make her forget he's Clark Kent. This version includes Donner's original ending before he was forced to finish the first film. The ending is the same as the first film now since Superman turns back the world to make Lois forget (had Donner been allowed to finish the second film, he and Mankiewicz would have come up with a new ending for part two). That little stunt of turning back time works much better here than it does in the first film and would have left things in a nice place for a third film.
Donner's cut runs 116 minutes and moves very quickly (a bit too quickly in some spots as it feels rushed at times). And some of Lester's footage had to be included as well to complete this version. While it's easy to spot (its funny), its not too distracting. The worst I can say is that one of the best lines from the theatrical cut (General, would you care to step outside?) has been replaced by something bland and boring (Superman shows up to fight the threesome in Metropolis and says something about freedom of the press that's groan inducing).
Now...here's a potential problem. The Salkinds had also prepared a longer international cut of Superman II than ran 151 minutes. It's been a while since I've seen this version (and its not included in the set), but I believe that most, if not all, of the footage appears either as deleted scenes or parts of the new Donner cut between the two discs. Some of these scenes (like Luthor's arrest at the end of the film) should never have been cut in the first place (and why Donner didn't include them in his cut is beyond me), but at least they are here.
Disc 7 of the set contains extras devoted to Superman II as well as finishing off the Fleischer cartoons that appeared on disc 4.
While I would have liked to have seen DVD releases of the longer Salkind International cuts of the first two films, I am pleased with the amount of work Warner has put into this ultimately flawed, yet spectacular set.
I'll write up something on the rest of the set at a later date as Disc 8 which is supposed to contain Superman III with a number of extras actually contains the pervious bare bones DVD release. A replacement is on its way, so until it arrives, I'm forced to stop here.
But wasn't that enough?
Be seeing you.
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