Superman II is the 1980 sequel to the 1978 superhero film Superman. It was the only Superman film to be filmed by two directors (minus the alternate cut, see below). For this reason the film is surrounded with controversy since original director Richard Donner had completed, by his estimation, roughly 75% of the movie in 1977 before being taken off the project. Many of the scenes shot by second director Richard Lester (who had been an uncredited producer on the first film) in 1979 are refilmed Donner sequences. It was released in Europe and Australia in late 1980 but not in the United States until June 1981. Selected premiere engagements of Superman II were presented in Megasound, a high-impact surround sound system similar to Sensurround.
According to statements by Donner, roughly 25% of the theatrical cut of Superman II contains footage he shot, including all of Gene Hackman's scenes. In 1984, when Superman II premiered on television, 24 minutes were re-inserted into the film (17 minutes on the American Broadcasting Company). Much of the extra footage was directed by Richard Donner. In the ABC-TV version, a U.S. "polar patrol" is shown picking up the three Kryptonians and Lex Luthor at the end of the film. Without this ending, it appears that Superman has let the Kryptonians die, though Superman has a strict code against killing and their deaths aren't necessary once they are depowered. On the other hand, the theatrical version's ending implies that Luthor is left stranded at the Fortress of Solitude, leaving the viewer to wonder how he got to prison in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace--that question was answered in the extended versions. The ending of the extended cuts also has Superman, with Lois standing beside him, destroy the Fortress of Solitude.
A brand new re-cut of the film, restoring as much of Donner's original conception as possible, titled Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, was released in November 2006. The latter part of the aforementioned scene can also be found on Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, while the part where the police arrive is a deleted scene.
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Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a 2006 re-edit of the 1980 superhero film, Superman II.
It stars Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Terence Stamp and Marlon Brando. The cut was supervised by Donner, creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz (who penned the 1977 shooting script for Superman II, on which the Donner cut is based), and Michael Thau, an editor who worked with Donner on the 2001 director's cut and restoration of the 1978 film Superman.
Unlike many “special edition” and “director’s cuts” released over the years, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a very different film. As much as half of the film contains never-before seen material filmed by Donner, including 15 minutes of Marlon Brando scenes as Superman's father Jor-El as well as numerous new Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder scenes. Some of this "new" material has appeared in earlier extended television cuts. There are also several newly-filmed shots and many new visual effects. Richard Donner is credited as director of the film instead of Richard Lester — the original credited director of Superman II. More than half of Lester's footage filmed for Superman II has been removed from the film and replaced with Donner footage shot during the original principal photography from 1977–1978. Certain footage filmed by Richard Lester remains in sequences that were not shot by Donner due to the halt in production for this film.
The film was released on DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc on November 28, 2006. It is also the only version of Superman II to be released on HD DVD and Blu-ray format as the theatrical cut was only released on DVD.
In Richard Donner's original vision of Superman II, the Man of Steel faces his greatest challenge yet! Three villainous outcasts, Non (Jack O'Halloran), Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and their leader, General Zod (Terence Stamp), are freed from the Phantom Zone only to wreak havoc, devastation, and chaos unto Earth. While this occurs, Clark Kent and Superman (Christopher Reeve), now revealed to Lois (Margot Kidder) as one and the same, begins a forbidden romance with her that ends with the extinguishing of his powers as Earth's greatest savior for the woman he loves, all despite his father, Jor-El's (Marlon Brando) warnings. Meanwhile, Superman's arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), has escaped from prison with the help of Miss Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine). After discovering the Fortress of Solitude, and learning of the Three Deviant villains, Luthor rushes to aid them in their attempt at World Domination and revenge on Superman. It all boils down to an epic battle in which Revenge, Love, and a Legacy between Father and Son culminate. Written by J. Curcio
Picking up where "Superman: The Movie" left off, three criminals from the planet Krypton are released from the Phantom Zone by a nuclear explosion in space. They descend upon Earth where they could finally rule. Superman, meanwhile, is in love with Lois Lane, who finds out who he really is. Lex Luthor escapes from prison and is determined to destroy Superman by joining forces with the three criminals. Written by Keith Howley
Terrorists have taken over the Eiffel Tower, and threaten to blow it up with a hydrogen bomb. Once again, Superman is there and saves Paris by throwing the bomb into outer space. Unfortunately, the explosion releases the three bad guys imprisoned in the first Superman movie. They then move in on Earth, taking it over, but little do they know who they will have to defeat. Written by Colin Tinto
The meta-human heritage of the Last Son Of Krypton is tested as never before when a series of misadventures unlocks in Superman a very human emotion - love. Superman's love for journalist Lois Lane reaches a seemingly impossible peak, but requires the ultimate sacrifice - as the incompatible molecular structure of Kal-El and Lois would gravely complicate the inevitable bearing of children, Kal-El must be purged of his superpower, to live as a mortal. Kal-El, despite the pleas of the spirit of his long-lost mother, willingly agrees, and now a normal human being, consummates his love for Lois - a decision that dooms the Earth as three criminals from Krypton, freed from their extra-dimensional prison, lay waste to the planet in a path of conquest aided by the planet's most arrogant criminal, Lex Luthor, who intends to smoke out Superman for his destruction - unaware as he is of The Man Of Steel's helplessness, a condition that only one last hope can rectify. Written by Michael Daly
A group of terrorists seize the Eiffel Tower & threaten Paris with a hydrogen bomb if the French government does not meet their demands. Superman immediately heads to Paris, where he launches the elevator carrying the bomb into outer space before it can detonate. Unfortunately, when the bomb explodes, it disintegrates the 'Phantom Zone', where 3 Kryptonian criminals had been imprisoned years before by Jor-El. Immediately, the 3 criminals, led by the psychopathic General Zod, head to Earth with the intention of enslaving the people Superman protects. The Man of Steel, however, is unaware of their arrival, and is forced to sacrifice his powers for a life with Lois Lane. When he finds out about Zod & his companions, Superman returns to the Fortress of Solitude to regain his powers and confront the horrible Kryptonian criminals - on his terms. Can Superman defeat the 3 villains who are armed with identical powers to his own? Written by Derek O'Cain
This time, the Man of Steel has his hands full with a trio of super-powered villains who escape from their Phantom Zone prison (remember the weird flying diamond-shaped mirror that scooped them up from the planet Krypton?) and land on Earth, where all three have powers to rival Superman's own. How does it all come out? With a fabulous duel above the streets of Metropolis, and a startling plot twist that neatly ties in Superman's explosive past. Arch-criminal Lex Luthor plays both ends gleefully against the middle in hopes of a modest reward: Australia. Written by Robert Lynch
