| Warner Home Video Announces Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut |
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| Home Theater News DVD Hardware-Software News | |||||||||||||
| Written by Scott Selter | |||||||||||||
| Friday, 21 July 2006 | |||||||||||||
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Do
you ever swear to yourself that you were positive there was a scene
between Otis and Lex when escaping from jail involving a “Pssst”
routine that is reminiscent of Abbot and Costello’s “Who’s on First?”?
Or do you remember hearing Superman say, “Somehow, I just can’t hear
you Zod”. Well, there is good news. No, you are not going crazy. Those
scenes along with many others will be restored in the Richard Donner
cut of Superman II. Alas, all the phone calls, and petitions, and
emails to Warner Bros. has paid off for the fans of this amazing
adventure that some would say is better than the original.
Most people probably don’t realize that Superman II came under different direction due to creative differences between director Richard Donner (director of the first Superman film) and the producers. Donner shot the majority of Superman II while filming Superman: The Movie. Richard Lester was hired to finish Donner’s project, however, he altered most all of the major concepts in Superman II from Donner’s original vision. Nearly thirty years after the original release of the film, Richard Donner becomes the first director in the history of the industry to see his vision come to fruition after leaving the project during production. Much of Donner’s added footage to the film consists of Marlon Brando’s role as Jor-El and the father and son relationship. Reviving the father/son relationship in this new Donner cut may fall nicely into place with the release of Superman Returns, which spends a large portion of screen time dealing with the concept. Other changes in this new cut includes new Lois Lane attempts to unmask Clark Kent as Superman. Dedicated Superman fans may remember the 1984 ABC “Movie Of The Week” airing of Superman II. That televised broadcast included over thirty minutes of deleted footage from the theatrical release of the film. Most all of that footage was shot and intended for use by Richard Donner. Fans will now get to see those scenes once again in the Richard Donner Cut. In addition to the Richard Donner Cut, Warner Home Video has also announced the release of Superman: The Movie Four Disc Special Edition, Superman II: 2-Disc Special Edition, as well as Superman III and Superman IV Deluxe Editions. The Superman: 4-Disc DVD set will include numerous extras in addition to the original theatrical release of the movie and the 2001 Extended Edition (as seen in the Complete Collection Package). The Superman II: 2-Disc DVD set will include a remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, multiple featurettes, and Superman cartoons from the vault. Both Superman III and IV Deluxe Editions will contain commentaries as well as additional scenes for each film. Finally, Warner will also be releasing the Christopher Reeve Superman Collection that will contain eight DVD Discs. They package will be compromised of all the new releases except for Superman II: the Richard Donner Cut. All of these revised edition DVDs are scheduled for release on November 28, 2006. The Suggested Retail Prices are as follows; Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut - $24.98, Superman: 4-Disc Collection – $39.92, Superman II: 2-Disc set - $26.99, Superman III & IV Deluxe Editions - $19.97 each, and the Christopher Reeve Superman Collection - $68.92.
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