Superman Through the Ages! Forum

Brace yourselves!!!


Warner Home Entertainment is preparing some very special editions of the Christopher Reeve Superman films. New extras have just been made available.
Superman: The Movie Four Disc Special Edition will carry the original 1978 film as well as the extended 2001 cut of the film with audio commentaries. Additionally the set will be loaded.
Disc One:

    * Original 1978 theatrical version with soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1
    * Commentary by producer Pierre Spengler and executive producer Ilya Salkind
    * Theatrical trailers
    * TV spot

Disc Two:

    * 2000 expanded edition movie with commentary by director Richard Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz
    * Music-only audio track

Disc Three:

    * Three documentaries:
          o Taking Flight: The Development of Superman
          o Making Superman: Filming the Legend
          o The Magic Behind the Cape
    * Restored scenes
    * Screen tests
    * Audio-only bonus: additional music cues

Disc Four

    * Vintage TV special The Making of Superman: The Movie
    * 1951 Movie Superman and the Mole-Men, starring George Reeves
    * Nine Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons mastered from superior vault elements:

Superman II Two-Disc Special Edition:
Disc One:

    * Movie with commentary by executive producer Ilya Salkind and producer Pierre Spengler
    * Theatrical trailer

Disc Two:

    * Vintage TV specials The Making of Superman II and Superman 50th Anniversary
    * New featurette First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series
    * Eight Famous Studios Superman cartoons mastered from superior vault elements:

Superman III Deluxe Edition:

    * Commentary by executive producer Ilya Salkind and producer Pierre Spengler
    * Vintage TV special The Making of Superman III
    * Additional scenes
    * Theatrical trailer

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace:

    * Commentary by screenwriter Mark Rosenthal
    * Additional scenes
    * Theatrical trailer

Supergirl:

    * Commentary by Jeannot Szwarc and Scott Bosco
    * Theatrical trailer

And of course, Superman II: The Richard Donnor Cut
Donner had already shot most of the Superman II footage during Superman: The Movie. But as production on the sequel continued, creative differences between the director and the film’s producers became irreconcilable and Donner left the project. Although Richard Lester was hired to finish production, he chose to make major changes to the film, leaving only vestiges of Donner’s original vision and concepts in the version of Superman II that was ultimately released to theaters.
Now, nearly thirty years later, Warner Home Video is honored to grant the wishes of countless Superman fans. With this DVD release, Richard Donner has become the first director in history to be able to complete a film he left during production with nearly all his footage “in the can.” Adding back a substantial amount of that unused footage, the director has seen his original vision restored and brought to fruition.
Most notably, the “Donner cut” restores the Marlon Brando role, filmed for, but not included in the final theatrical release version of Superman II. The legendary Brando’s performance as Jor-El has finally been restored in key scenes that amplify Superman lore and deepen the profound relationship between father and son.
With so many other changes, large and small, including a variety of Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) schemes to unmask Clark Kent as Superman, this Superman II will prove to be an eye-opening experience and an important addition to film history.
DVD Special Features:

    * All new introduction by director Richard Donner
    * Commentary by director Richard Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz
    * New featurette Superman II: Restoring the Vision
    * Additional scenes.

All of these titles will arrive on November 28th.

Source:
http://www.dvdreview.com/news/


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Beppo, it's not clear from your posting - is the version of Superman II that's in the box set the original cut or the Donner cut?

:s:

LOL, I am not sure, I think it has both versions, the link doesn't make it clear.

Comic Con reported both versions are on the list. Finally, a chance to see Donner's original visions. Hot dog!  :P

According to what I read there'll be the Christopher Reeve collection which Beppo has above of Superman 1-IV.  However the DONNER CUT is not part of THAT particular package.

Caveat emptor, baby.

If that's true, then there's still the question of is it the theatrical cut of II, or the extended version of the Lester cut which has been available on VHS for a while - which shows Clark going back to pay for the hotdog at Niagra Falls, the PZ crooks getting arrested by the "Arctic Police," a bit more of Lex and Otis in prison, etc.  The listing above says absolutely nothing about Superman II itself - just the extras - which is an odd omission.

:s:

a bit dissapointed by the SG one