Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Encyclopedia
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a 2006 re-edit of the 1980 superhero film
, Superman II
, by Richard Donner
, who shot a large part of the original movie before being replaced as director by Richard Lester
. It stars Gene Hackman
, Christopher Reeve
, Terence Stamp
, Margot Kidder
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 DVD
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, despite both versions following roughly the same storyline. 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. Some of the existing scenes were also replaced with alternative takes or footage from different camera angles. 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. 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. Certain footage filmed by Richard Lester remains in sequences that were not shot by Donner (due to the halt in production for this film) for purposes of story cohesion. As a result, approximately 83% of the footage in the film is Donner's footage.
The film was released on DVD
, HD DVD
and Blu-ray Disc
on November 28, 2006.
series. With 80% of Superman II photographed, after having to postpone the original summer 1978 release date for Superman due to an extended shoot, filming on Superman II was suspended in October 1977 so that Donner could focus on completing the first film.
Following the release of Superman in December 1978, it was widely assumed that Donner would be recalled to complete the remainder of the sequel. However, a number of events led to Donner's eventual replacement as director of the movie. Most importantly, the producers (Alexander
and Ilya Salkind
) announced that Marlon Brando's completed scenes for Superman II would be excised from the movie in order for them to avoid having to pay the actor the reported 11.75% of gross U.S. box-office takings he was now demanding for his performance in the sequel. Donner publicly lambasted this decision, announcing that he would make the film his way or not at all. The April 1978 issue of the sci-fi magazine Starburst
quotes Donner as saying, "That means no games...They have to want me to do it. It has to be on my terms and I don't mean financially. I mean control."
Tensions had existed between the Salkinds and Richard Donner throughout the almost nineteen months of filming it had taken to complete Superman and most of Superman II. The producers blamed the director for going wildly over budget and schedule. Donner claims he was never given a budget, nor a schedule. In the commentary
track on the 2006 DVD release of the theatrical version of Superman II, co-producer Pierre Spengler
recounts that Donner was indeed invited to return to complete the film as director, but, according to an Army Archerd
/Variety
magazine interview, Donner declared that if Spengler remained on the picture, Donner himself would not return to direct. In the same commentary, Ilya Salkind states the removal of Spengler was allegedly one of many demands made by Donner, who, he claimed, also wanted final cut
of the film and more control over the production, demands to which the Salkinds weren't willing to agree.
The situation finally came to a head, and on March 15, 1979, the Salkinds decided to replace Donner with U.K.-based director Richard Lester
, with whom they had worked on two successful Musketeers
films. In 1989, Donner told Starlog
magazine, "… the Salkinds, for whatever reason, chose not to bring me back. After I waited to hear for six or eight weeks, I got a telegram that said, 'Your services are no longer needed.'"
Lester himself has never fully commented on his role in the controversial production of Superman II and has refused any involvement with the 2006 DVD re-releases, although at the beginning of an AMC
widescreen telecast of Superman II, Lester acknowledged that the sequel was indeed "his film."
The situation was further complicated by the deaths of cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth
on October 28, 1978 and production designer John Barry
, who died on June 1, 1979, Richard Lester's first day as director of Superman II. Tom Mankiewicz, a key Donner ally who had re-written both Superman scripts to comply with Donner's directive to make the features more realistic and less camp
, declined to return without Donner, as did editor Stuart Baird
. Composer John Williams
also turned his attention to other projects, such as Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
and Raiders of the Lost Ark
; while the Salkinds and Lester commissioned fellow Musketeers alum Ken Thorne
to re-use Williams' themes.
Both Superman scripts were originally written by The Godfather
writer Mario Puzo
, and then re-written in 1976 by screenwriters David
& Leslie Newman
and Robert Benton
, prior to Donner's hiring as director. When Donner came on board in January 1977, he insisted on bringing in screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz
to re-write the script. Mankiewicz made numerous and considerable changes to both screenplays, removing and altering major scenes, and completely re-writing much of the dialogue. It was this Mankiewicz script that was then filmed by Donner in 1977-78. Following Donner's (and Mankiewicz's) removal, writers David & Leslie Newman were re-hired by the producers to re-write the Superman II script, even though most of it had already been filmed. Ultimately, the Newmans did this by making Superman II as similar as possible to the 1976 script they had originally written before Mankiewicz and Donner came on board. Scenes that had been most altered by Mankiewicz in 1977 were subject to the greatest revisions. For example, in the original Newman draft, Superman II begins with terrorists seizing a building in New York
. Mankiewicz's 1977 re-write removed this scene entirely. Then, the Newmans re-inserted the scene, albeit shifting the location to Paris
. The same can be said for several crucial Newman / Benton scenes, including Lois's deliberate jump into a river near Niagara Falls
(removed by Mankiewicz – reinserted by the Newmans); Clark revealing he is Superman by not burning his hand (re-written by Mankiewicz to have Lois trick Clark by firing a gun with a blank bullet at him – reinserted by the Newmans). A considerable amount of cut Newman / Benton dialogue was also reinserted by the Newmans, almost word-for-word into the re-re-revised Superman II script.
It has been suggested that if Gene Hackman (who had completed all of his scenes for Superman II under Donner) had returned for any further filming without Donner, almost all of Donner's Superman II footage would have been scrapped. As it was, only the Gene Hackman Donner footage – as well as Donner footage deemed too expensive to re-shoot – was destined to remain in the finished film. (According to Ilya Salkind's 2006 DVD commentary track for Superman II, Hackman was merely unavailable to return to shoot his remaining scenes for the final Lester cut.)
One of the early changes made for the final Lester cut was the elimination of any scenes involving Marlon Brando, even going so far as to re-shoot the scene where Jor-El lays the green crystal into Kal-El's spaceship, as millions of dollars would have had to be paid to Brando for the inclusion of scenes with him in it. Exposition scenes were assigned to other Kryptonians. The re-creation of Zod's trial from the beginning of the first film is handled instead with the narration of a member of the Kryptonian jury, and dialogue in the Fortress of Solitude about Zod and Superman's desire to give up his powers for Lois were handled by Susannah York as Superman's mother. This necessitated a change to the scene in which Clark returns to the Fortress in search of restoring his powers. In the original script, his pleas are directed solely at his "Father," but in the re-write he calls out "Father! Mother."
Lester's main task in completing Superman II was to film cheaply and quickly, to avoid further budget or scheduling overruns. According to many of the cast and crew, this entailed a noticeable drop in the quality of filmmaking, as certain scenes were hastily re-written and shot. Ultimately, the Newmans' campier take on Superman coupled with Lester's more comically-oriented sense of direction led to a Superman II that was a huge box office
and critical success, but condemned by Donner as severely flawed. Lester has often been vilified by Superman purists who link his assumption of the directorial reins with a general downward spiral in the quality of the Christopher Reeve
Superman films, e.g., Superman III
was directed entirely by Lester. In a June 2006 interview with Hotdog Magazine, producer Ilya Salkind conceded that Lester did not share the same passion for the material as had his predecessor Richard Donner.
on December 4, 1980 and June 19, 1981 in the United States. This version of Superman II combined Donner footage shot in 1977 with Lester footage shot in 1979. Approximately 30% of Lester's Superman II is Richard Donner footage.
In numerous scenes, the theatrical Superman II interweaves footage filmed years apart. Much of this interweaving was necessitated by Lex Luthor
actor Gene Hackman's refusal to return to film any further scenes with Lester. Thus, all Hackman footage in the film is Donner's, although in certain scenes, a body double was used for wide shots re-filmed by Lester. In several instances, Lester re-staged Donner-filmed scenes, inserting certain newly-filmed shots into pre-existing material. This is most evident during a scene in which the super-villains burst into the Daily Planet
. The scene was filmed in its entirety by Donner in 1977. The Perry White
office set was then partly re-built under Lester in 1979, the actors placed in exactly the same positions, costumes, etc., and new material filmed and inserted into the final film, despite the actors looking physically different.
The rest of the film, including the opening scenes at the Eiffel Tower
, some part of the scenes at Niagara Falls, the scenes of the super-villains in Midwest America
and the battle in Metropolis
were all shot by Lester. Several television stations have broadcast extended cuts over the years. These have largely featured additional Donner material including footage of Superman destroying the Fortress of Solitude
at the conclusion of the film, as well as extra scenes between Lois and Superman.
) and a man on roller-skates rolling uncontrollably backwards across the pavement.
One particular plot hole that has frustrated the film's fans involves the transition from a powerless Clark Kent finding the green crystal at the abandoned Fortress of Solitude to a restored Superman's return to the Daily Planet to fight the super-villains. Lester shot a workaround scene where Superman shows the green crystal to Lois Lane, who absentmindedly places it aside without returning it to its chamber; this explains its survival when the device is destroyed, supposedly allowing Kent to use it to reverse his loss of Superman's powers, but there is no indication as to how this is possible without the device itself. In addition, with the device destroyed, no explanation was provided as to how it was able to function later when Superman jury-rigs it to strip the three villains of their powers. (In fact, the device returned, perfectly functional, in the later movies Superman IV: The Quest for Peace as well as Superman Returns.) Furthermore, the hologram
of Lara flatly states that the process is irreversible in the first place, and despite Marlon Brando's absence from the Lester cut, Lester's "finding the crystal" scene features Clark calling out for his father, Jor-El, despite Lara having appeared earlier (though he calls out for her as well). This lack of any explanation whatsoever as to how Superman regained his powers proved frustrating to audiences.
Discussions about lost Donner footage have been raging for years, and with the advent of the internet, numerous letter-writing and other campaigns were instigated to persuade Warner Bros. to allow Richard Donner to create his version of Superman II. In 2005, the fan-restored DVD known as Superman II: Restored International Cut was released. It featured extended scenes shown in various television broadcasts over the years and helped bring much publicity to the cause when Warner Bros. threatened legal action over the bootleg release
.
, Ned Beatty
, Jackie Cooper
, Valerie Perrine
and Gene Hackman
were also completed. What remained to be filmed was the villains' arrival on Earth, and their rampage through mid-west America as well as exteriors at Washington D.C. during which Zod announces his takeover of the Earth from the tip of the Washington Monument
. Most of the battle scenes between Superman and the super-villains had yet to be shot, as well as both the interiors and exteriors at Niagara Falls, which had been planned to be shot during the Canadian shooting on Superman: The Movie, but was indefinitely postponed to make up for time and get the production back to England quicker. Several minor scenes including a love-struck Superman deliberately tilting over the Leaning Tower of Pisa
(later adapted in Superman III) and a scene in which Superman warns off some English fox-hunters were also not filmed.
The new film features most of the completed never-before-seen scenes (some scenes have been deleted for narrative/dramatic reasons), which in many cases replace scenes re-filmed or altered by Richard Lester. These include the original opening of the film set in the offices of the Daily Planet. In this opening, we see Lois trying to figure out the similarities between Clark Kent and Superman, followed by Perry White assigning Clark and Lois on the honeymoon racket in Niagara Falls, and then Lois testing Clark / Superman by jumping off the balcony of one floor of the Daily Planet (a revised version of this scene appears in the Lester theatrical cut).
The prospect of creating a Richard Donner cut of Superman II did not begin to gain momentum until the 2001 restoration of Superman for DVD. At this time, six tons of footage for Superman and six tons of footage for Superman II was discovered in vaults in England by Michael Thau, including much "lost" footage filmed by Richard Donner. Soon after, Donner was approached by Warner Bros. to do an extended version of Superman II, but remained reluctant to revisit the movie. In May 2001, he told the website IGN, "At the time, the studio wanted me to go back in and re-cut the film and add anything I wanted to add or do anything I wanted to do. Quite honestly, I was done with it. I was finished."
Nonetheless, fans continued to campaign for the film. Ultimately, three websites were instrumental in creating the momentum that finally led to the creation of the Donner cut. The first was Capedwonder.com, run by Superman collector Jim Bowers. In 2004, Bowers published numerous stills from "lost" scenes in Richard Donner's Superman II, seemingly providing definitive proof that Donner had filmed far more footage than the Salkinds or Richard Lester had initially been prepared to concede. Secondly, the website Supermancinema.co.uk provided fans with detailed breakdowns of the theatrical Superman II, identifying Donner footage within the film, and also providing speculative lists of just how much lost Donner footage might actually exist. Finally, on June 19, 2004, the Planet of the Apes
fansite TheForbidden-Zone.com organized hundreds of fans to e-mail or write letters directly to Warner Bros. president Jim Cardwell, demanding that the studio allow Donner to release his version of Superman II. This effort was the first to elicit a positive response from the studio, with many of those who wrote receiving a letter stating, "Warner Home Video is supportive of an extended version of Superman II on DVD. However, there are complex legal issues that need to be resolved before the film can be re-released. Warner Home Video is presently addressing those issues."
Other than Donner's reluctance to re-visit the project, these legal issues were ultimately the greatest obstacle towards creating a Donner Cut. The required footage was still owned by the Salkinds, and issues relating to the use of Brando's filmed footage in Superman II remained unresolved. Issues relating to whether Richard Lester or Richard Donner would be credited as director of any new cut also remained to be addressed. It was not until legal negotiations surrounding the use of certain Brando footage in the film Superman Returns
that the key issue of whether Brando's filmed Superman II footage could be used was resolved. In November 2006, Donner Cut producer Michael Thau told American Cinematographer magazine, "Marlon Brando's estate made a deal with Warner Bros. to license some of his footage for Superman Returns. This later led to the studio going back to his estate for our re-cut of Superman II. If that footage couldn't be used, it wasn't worth doing the project."
Work finally began on the project in late 2005, though without Richard Donner. At the Director's Guild screening of the Donner cut in November 2006, Michael Thau underlined Donner's reluctance to involve himself in the project, telling the audience, "Dick (Donner) was doing (the film) 16 Blocks
at the time and I was always trying to lure him in with, you know 'Dick, here's a piece of candy, come in to the cutting room.' and he said 'No, no, no..."
Thus, mixed emotions invariably followed the initial announcement in January 2006 that a new Superman II was being worked on, primarily down to the news that Richard Donner was having little or nothing to do with the re-edit. In a January 2006 interview with the website IGN, he stated, "They're doing it. I'm not doing it...I don't even want to see it until it comes out in the theater...I'm too far away from it now." A month later, when asked about the new Superman II cut, Donner told the website Dark Horizons, "I would never shoot like that now in a million years, I mean it was a different way, a different style, different interpretation."
Over the years, Donner has frequently proclaimed diametrically-opposing views with regards to the possibility of re-assembling his Superman II — often stating that he would like to do it, other times stating that he would not. In June 2006, Michael Thau finally confirmed that Donner had finally decided on a far closer involvement with the project, also bringing in writer Tom Mankiewicz to assist in its creation. In an interview with the magazine Movie Magic, he stated, "When I'd get a cut on a scene, I'd show it to Dick and he'd say, 'I don't like that line; that reading's not good,' and so on. With Dick it's always, 'Make it move faster."
In August 2006, Thau confirmed that the entire film, rather than simply featuring new material, would be re-cut from the original camera negative (including the small number of Lester scenes remaining in the film). The Donner cut comprises Donner Superman II scenes edited by Stuart Baird
in 1977-78, 1980 Superman II theatrical scenes cut by John Victor Smith, as well as a large amount of new material edited by Michael Thau.
In an interview with Now Playing magazine, Thau noted, "A lot of scenes that had been already cut, that Richard Lester had interwoven new material in — and there was a lot of them — I unwove that material and recut those scenes, basically from scratch a lot of times. I also had to deal with negatives that had already been cut. And when I wanted to recut it, and Lester had already cut it in a different way, I'd have to unwind that. It was a complicated jigsaw puzzle sometimes, to put it back the way I envisioned Dick would want it cut. We only used the Lester footage when there was material when they had not been able to shoot, and to keep some continuity to the story."
In a June 2006 interview with the website Amazon.com, George Feltenstein, Senior Vice President of Warner Home Video's Catalog Marketing division, stated:
Donner contacted composer John Williams about creating a new score for his version of the film, but Williams was unable to help out, as he had also turned down a similar request by Superman Returns
director Bryan Singer
because he was scoring another project. Donner chose to reuse Williams' music from the first film, adding unreleased cues. Subsequently, Ken Thorne was relegated to the closing credits, and the new title sequences include Williams' composing credit.
condemning General Zod
, Non, and Ursa to the Phantom Zone
, and sending Kal-El to Earth; the launching of the two XK-101 missiles; Superman
being trapped in the swimming pool with the Kryptonite
necklace by Lex Luthor
and being rescued by Ms. Teschmacher; and Superman diverting the XK-101 missile programmed to hit Hackensack
, New Jersey
into outer space. The Phantom Zone drifts towards Earth and the XK-101 missile explodes near it, freeing the three villains, who find themselves with super powers granted by the yellow light of Earth's sun. After attacking human astronauts on the moon and the small town of East Houston, Idaho
, the three travel to the White House
and force the President of the United States to surrender to Zod on behalf of the entire planet during an international television broadcast. When the President pleads for Superman to save the Earth, Zod demands that Superman come and "kneel before Zod!"
Prior to Zod's arrival, at the Daily Planet
, Lois Lane suspects that Clark Kent is Superman. She tries proving to Clark she knows his secret by jumping out of a window, but Clark uses his super-breath, heat vision, and super-speed to save her while appearing to have done nothing. The newspaper sends Clark and Lois to Niagara Falls
. Superman's rescue of a small boy renews Lois' suspicions, and she tricks Clark with a gun loaded with blank
s into admitting that he is Superman. He takes her to his Fortress of Solitude
near the North Pole and shows her the traces of his past stored in the energy crystals of the Fortress, one of which is the green crystal that created the Fortress and opened Superman's contact with his parents. After spending the night together, Superman decides to transform himself into a human by exposing himself to red Kryptonian sunlight in a crystal chamber, giving up his powers to find happiness with Lois despite the warnings of the artificial intelligence of his father Jor-El. The two return to populated areas by automobile, and learn of Zod's conquest of the world. Realizing that humanity cannot fight Zod themselves, Clark decides to return to the Fortress to try to reverse the transformation.
Lex Luthor, who has escaped from jail, finds and infiltrates the Fortress before Superman and Lois arrive, learning of Superman's connection to Jor-El and General Zod. He offers to lead Zod to Jor-El's son in exchange for control of Australia. The three Kryptonians go with Luthor to the offices of the Daily Planet where they abduct Lois. Superman arrives, after having found the green crystal and reversing the transformation process, and battles the three in Metropolis. Zod realizes Superman cares for the innocent humans, and takes advantage of this weakness by threatening bystanders. To protect the city, Superman flies off towards his Fortress, with Zod, Ursa, and Non chasing him and carrying Lois and Luthor with them. At the Fortress, Zod forces Superman to again undergo the transformation process. The three villains realize too late that Superman altered the process to expose everyone outside the chamber to the red light, removing the Kryptonian criminals' powers. After defeating them, Superman repeats the time-traveling flight from the end of the first film, altering history so that the Kryptonians never escaped the Phantom Zone, and flies into the sunrise for further adventures.
building in Hollywood and was attended by many of those associated with the film, including director Richard Donner and producer Ilya Salkind. After the screening, Richard Donner, Tom Mankiewicz, Margot Kidder, Sarah Douglas and other cast members participated in a panel discussion. On November 25, 2006, an exclusive screening benefit for Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was held at the Fine Arts Theatre in Los Angeles, California
. The proceeds of ticket sales went to the Christopher Reeve Foundation
.
Some reviewers have responded very positively, applauding the darker, more serious tone of the film and admiring that the film seems to flow as a true sequel to the original Superman. Bryant Griffin of SyFy Portal.com "It really feels like a direct continuation of the first film, honoring the Man of Steel with dignity.…" Most have praised the new performances of Marlon Brando, Margot Kidder, and especially Christopher Reeve. The Fulvuedrive-in.com review laments, "It is sad to see Reeve in such great form and not be around to see it…" Clint Morris of Moviehole.net extols, "From the storyline to the tone to the performances to the pacing. … It works a hell of a lot better than the condensed Superman II that we know.…"
Cast members Margot Kidder
, Jack O'Halloran
and Sarah Douglas
have openly stated that they believe "The Richard Donner Cut" is the superior Superman II. Rotten Tomatoes
gave the "Donner Cut" an aggregate rating of 86% compared to 88% for Lester's Superman II.
Comparisons to the theatrical release of Superman II vary widely in their criticism. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide notes, "When I compare the Donner cut to the theatrical edition, I think the latter remains more compelling and enjoyable." Other critics disparage the reliance on screen-test footage, as well as the repetition of the time-reversal element used in Superman, with other criticisms pointing to the film's inevitable restructuring and less than perfect visual effects.
As with many re-edits of popular films, particularly vocal fans have criticized the re-cut and have largely lashed out at editor Michael Thau for their misgivings. One fan "review" published on the Supermancinema.co.uk website noted "By far, the "Donner Cut"'s greatest weakness is the way the film's scenes have been re-structured and shuffled around. Scenes essentially play unto themselves, with no real cohesion between the three threads." Donner himself has also come under criticism for an apparently uncompromising approach to Richard Lester's material, which in certain cases is heavily truncated in the new film.
In addition, many fans have been critical of the fact that Michael Thau did not produce an expensive visual effects sequence using computer generated images (CGI) to create a "CGI villains-rule-the-world-scene." This scene, which has the villains destroying key monuments around the world, was not photographed by Donner before he was fired. Thau, in an interview published on www.supermancinema.co.uk justified the decision based on the amount of footage that would need to be created in CGI. Interviews included with the DVD bonus features also state that Thau and Donner agreed any new CGI shots should not overshadow the relatively limited special effects used during the original shooting. (The concept was revisited in the ninth season finale of Smallville
, in which an army led by Zod attempts a takeover of Earth).
Fan reaction to the "Donner Cut" has led to many so-called "fan-cuts," edits that attempt to address many of their criticisms of both the Lester and Donner versions of Superman II. Many of these efforts have been posted on the Internet, including YouTube
.
On November 21, 2006, Warner Bros. released the trailer for the Ultimate Superman Collection DVD box set.
Superhero film
A superhero film, superhero movie, or superhero motion picture is: action, fantasy and science fiction film; that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes, individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities relative to a normal person and are dedicated to protecting the public...
, Superman II
Superman II
Superman II is the 1980 sequel to the 1978 superhero film Superman and stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, and Jack O'Halloran. It was the only Superman film to be filmed by two directors...
, by Richard Donner
Richard Donner
Richard Donner is an American film director, film producer, and comic book writer.The production company The Donners' Company is owned by Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for the hailed creation of the first modern...
, who shot a large part of the original movie before being replaced as director by Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
. It stars Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
, Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
, Terence Stamp
Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
, Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
and Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
. The cut was supervised by Donner, creative consultant
Creative consultant
Creative consultant is a credit that has - particularly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have “doctored” a movie screenplay. It is often given by producers in lieu of official credit. Those given this credit in the television field work closely with an Executive Producer, Head...
Tom Mankiewicz
Tom Mankiewicz
Thomas Frank Mankiewicz was a screenwriter/director/producer of motion pictures and television, perhaps best known for his work on the James Bond films and his contributions to Superman: The Movie and the television series, Hart to Hart.-Early life and career:Mankiewicz was born in Los Angeles on...
(who penned the 1977 shooting script
Shooting script
A shooting script is the version of a screenplay used during the production of a motion picture. Shooting scripts are distinct from spec scripts in that they make use of scene numbers , and they follow a well defined set of procedures specifying how script revisions should be implemented and...
for Superman II, on which the Donner cut is based), and Michael Thau, an editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
who worked with Donner on the 2001 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
director's cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
and restoration of the 1978 film Superman.
Unlike many "special edition
Special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
" and "director's cuts" released over the years, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a very different film, despite both versions following roughly the same storyline. As much as half of the film contains never-before seen material filmed by Donner, including 15 minutes of Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
scenes as Superman's
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
father Jor-El
Jor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....
as well as numerous new Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder scenes. Some of this "new" material has appeared in earlier extended television cuts. Some of the existing scenes were also replaced with alternative takes or footage from different camera angles. 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. 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
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
from 1977. Certain footage filmed by Richard Lester remains in sequences that were not shot by Donner (due to the halt in production for this film) for purposes of story cohesion. As a result, approximately 83% of the footage in the film is Donner's footage.
The film was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on November 28, 2006.
History
In 1977, director Richard Donner set about simultaneously filming an epic two-part adaptation of the Superman comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series. With 80% of Superman II photographed, after having to postpone the original summer 1978 release date for Superman due to an extended shoot, filming on Superman II was suspended in October 1977 so that Donner could focus on completing the first film.
Following the release of Superman in December 1978, it was widely assumed that Donner would be recalled to complete the remainder of the sequel. However, a number of events led to Donner's eventual replacement as director of the movie. Most importantly, the producers (Alexander
Alexander Salkind
Alexander Salkind was the second of three generations of successful international film producers.-Life and career:...
and Ilya Salkind
Ilya Salkind
Ilya Juan Salkind Dominguez , usually known as Ilya Salkind, is a film and television producer, well known for his contributions to the live-action Superman films of the 1970s and '80s alongside his father, Alexander Salkind....
) announced that Marlon Brando's completed scenes for Superman II would be excised from the movie in order for them to avoid having to pay the actor the reported 11.75% of gross U.S. box-office takings he was now demanding for his performance in the sequel. Donner publicly lambasted this decision, announcing that he would make the film his way or not at all. The April 1978 issue of the sci-fi magazine Starburst
Starburst (magazine)
Starburst is a British science fiction online magazine published by Starburst Magazine Limited. The magazine is published every month on the 14th, with news and reviews being published daily.-History:...
quotes Donner as saying, "That means no games...They have to want me to do it. It has to be on my terms and I don't mean financially. I mean control."
Tensions had existed between the Salkinds and Richard Donner throughout the almost nineteen months of filming it had taken to complete Superman and most of Superman II. The producers blamed the director for going wildly over budget and schedule. Donner claims he was never given a budget, nor a schedule. In the commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
track on the 2006 DVD release of the theatrical version of Superman II, co-producer Pierre Spengler
Pierre Spengler
Pierre Spengler is a French film producer. Among many international hits, he is best known for initiating the first three Superman movies, and producing them with Ilya Salkind.-Overview:...
recounts that Donner was indeed invited to return to complete the film as director, but, according to an Army Archerd
Army Archerd
Armand Andre "Army" Archerd was a columnist for Variety for over fifty years before retiring his "Just for Variety" column in September 2005. In November 2005, Archerd began blogging for Variety and was working on a memoir when he died.-Life and career:Archerd was born in The Bronx, New York, and...
/Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine interview, Donner declared that if Spengler remained on the picture, Donner himself would not return to direct. In the same commentary, Ilya Salkind states the removal of Spengler was allegedly one of many demands made by Donner, who, he claimed, also wanted final cut
Final cut privilege
Final cut privilege is a film industry term, usually used when a director has contractual authority over how a film is ultimately released for public viewing.- Condition :...
of the film and more control over the production, demands to which the Salkinds weren't willing to agree.
The situation finally came to a head, and on March 15, 1979, the Salkinds decided to replace Donner with U.K.-based director Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
, with whom they had worked on two successful Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (1973 film)
The Three Musketeers is a 1973 film based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was directed by Richard Lester and written by George MacDonald Fraser . It was originally proposed in the 1960s as a vehicle for The Beatles, whom Lester had directed in two other films...
films. In 1989, Donner told Starlog
Starlog
Starlog was a monthly science-fiction film magazine published by Starlog Group Inc. The magazine was created by publishers Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs. O'Quinn was the magazine's editor while Jacobs ran the business side of things, dealing with typesetters, engravers and printers. They got...
magazine, "… the Salkinds, for whatever reason, chose not to bring me back. After I waited to hear for six or eight weeks, I got a telegram that said, 'Your services are no longer needed.'"
A replacement director
Lester had served as mediator (or uncredited co-producer) between the Salkinds and Donner for a large part of the initial shoot. Suspicions abounded at the time that Lester was being primed for taking over the film, despite Donner's determination to complete the project at all costs and Lester's assurances to the contrary.Lester himself has never fully commented on his role in the controversial production of Superman II and has refused any involvement with the 2006 DVD re-releases, although at the beginning of an AMC
AMC (TV network)
AMC is a cable television specialty channel that primarily airs movies, along with a limited amount of original programming. The letters originally stood for American Movie Classics; however since 2002, the full name has been deemphasized as a result of a major shift in programming...
widescreen telecast of Superman II, Lester acknowledged that the sequel was indeed "his film."
The situation was further complicated by the deaths of cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth
Geoffrey Unsworth
Geoffrey Unsworth OBE, BSC was a British cinematographer who worked on nearly 90 feature films spanning over more than 40 years....
on October 28, 1978 and production designer John Barry
John Barry (set designer)
John Barry was a British film production designer, known for his work on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.-Career:...
, who died on June 1, 1979, Richard Lester's first day as director of Superman II. Tom Mankiewicz, a key Donner ally who had re-written both Superman scripts to comply with Donner's directive to make the features more realistic and less camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
, declined to return without Donner, as did editor Stuart Baird
Stuart Baird
Stuart Baird is an English film editor, producer, and director who is mainly associated with action films. He has edited over twenty major motion pictures.-Life and career:...
. Composer John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
also turned his attention to other projects, such as Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
and Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
; while the Salkinds and Lester commissioned fellow Musketeers alum Ken Thorne
Ken Thorne
Kenneth Thorne is a British-American television and film score composer.- Early life :Thorne was born in East Dereham, a town in the English county of Norfolk. Thorne began his musical career as a pianist with the big bands of England during the 1940s, playing at night clubs and the dance halls...
to re-use Williams' themes.
An alternative Superman II
In order for Richard Lester to earn a directorial credit on the film, Superman II had to contain at least 51% of his footage. This meant that large portions of the film were subsequently re-written and re-shot by Lester, with much of Donner's filmed Superman II footage excised.Both Superman scripts were originally written by The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
writer Mario Puzo
Mario Puzo
Mario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
, and then re-written in 1976 by screenwriters David
David Newman (filmmaker)
David Newman was an American filmmaker. From the late 1960s through the early 1980s he frequently collaborated with Robert Benton. He was married to fellow writer Leslie Newman, with whom he had two children, until the time of his death...
& Leslie Newman
Leslie Newman
Leslie Newman is a screenwriter who co-wrote the first three Superman films with husband David Newman, who died in 2003. They had two children together...
and Robert Benton
Robert Benton
Robert Douglas Benton is an American screenwriter and film director.Benton was born in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Dorothy and Ellery Douglass Benton, a telephone company employee. He attended the University of Texas and Columbia University. Benton has won numerous awards for both writing and...
, prior to Donner's hiring as director. When Donner came on board in January 1977, he insisted on bringing in screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz
Tom Mankiewicz
Thomas Frank Mankiewicz was a screenwriter/director/producer of motion pictures and television, perhaps best known for his work on the James Bond films and his contributions to Superman: The Movie and the television series, Hart to Hart.-Early life and career:Mankiewicz was born in Los Angeles on...
to re-write the script. Mankiewicz made numerous and considerable changes to both screenplays, removing and altering major scenes, and completely re-writing much of the dialogue. It was this Mankiewicz script that was then filmed by Donner in 1977-78. Following Donner's (and Mankiewicz's) removal, writers David & Leslie Newman were re-hired by the producers to re-write the Superman II script, even though most of it had already been filmed. Ultimately, the Newmans did this by making Superman II as similar as possible to the 1976 script they had originally written before Mankiewicz and Donner came on board. Scenes that had been most altered by Mankiewicz in 1977 were subject to the greatest revisions. For example, in the original Newman draft, Superman II begins with terrorists seizing a building in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Mankiewicz's 1977 re-write removed this scene entirely. Then, the Newmans re-inserted the scene, albeit shifting the location to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The same can be said for several crucial Newman / Benton scenes, including Lois's deliberate jump into a river near Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
(removed by Mankiewicz – reinserted by the Newmans); Clark revealing he is Superman by not burning his hand (re-written by Mankiewicz to have Lois trick Clark by firing a gun with a blank bullet at him – reinserted by the Newmans). A considerable amount of cut Newman / Benton dialogue was also reinserted by the Newmans, almost word-for-word into the re-re-revised Superman II script.
It has been suggested that if Gene Hackman (who had completed all of his scenes for Superman II under Donner) had returned for any further filming without Donner, almost all of Donner's Superman II footage would have been scrapped. As it was, only the Gene Hackman Donner footage – as well as Donner footage deemed too expensive to re-shoot – was destined to remain in the finished film. (According to Ilya Salkind's 2006 DVD commentary track for Superman II, Hackman was merely unavailable to return to shoot his remaining scenes for the final Lester cut.)
One of the early changes made for the final Lester cut was the elimination of any scenes involving Marlon Brando, even going so far as to re-shoot the scene where Jor-El lays the green crystal into Kal-El's spaceship, as millions of dollars would have had to be paid to Brando for the inclusion of scenes with him in it. Exposition scenes were assigned to other Kryptonians. The re-creation of Zod's trial from the beginning of the first film is handled instead with the narration of a member of the Kryptonian jury, and dialogue in the Fortress of Solitude about Zod and Superman's desire to give up his powers for Lois were handled by Susannah York as Superman's mother. This necessitated a change to the scene in which Clark returns to the Fortress in search of restoring his powers. In the original script, his pleas are directed solely at his "Father," but in the re-write he calls out "Father! Mother."
Lester's main task in completing Superman II was to film cheaply and quickly, to avoid further budget or scheduling overruns. According to many of the cast and crew, this entailed a noticeable drop in the quality of filmmaking, as certain scenes were hastily re-written and shot. Ultimately, the Newmans' campier take on Superman coupled with Lester's more comically-oriented sense of direction led to a Superman II that was a huge box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
and critical success, but condemned by Donner as severely flawed. Lester has often been vilified by Superman purists who link his assumption of the directorial reins with a general downward spiral in the quality of the Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
Superman films, e.g., Superman III
Superman III
Superman III is a 1983 superhero film and the third film in the Superman film series based upon the long-running DC Comics superhero. Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure and Margot Kidder are joined by new cast members Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn and...
was directed entirely by Lester. In a June 2006 interview with Hotdog Magazine, producer Ilya Salkind conceded that Lester did not share the same passion for the material as had his predecessor Richard Donner.
The 1980 theatrical Superman II
Filming was completed for Lester's Superman II on March 10, 1980 and was released in Europe and AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on December 4, 1980 and June 19, 1981 in the United States. This version of Superman II combined Donner footage shot in 1977 with Lester footage shot in 1979. Approximately 30% of Lester's Superman II is Richard Donner footage.
In numerous scenes, the theatrical Superman II interweaves footage filmed years apart. Much of this interweaving was necessitated by Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
actor Gene Hackman's refusal to return to film any further scenes with Lester. Thus, all Hackman footage in the film is Donner's, although in certain scenes, a body double was used for wide shots re-filmed by Lester. In several instances, Lester re-staged Donner-filmed scenes, inserting certain newly-filmed shots into pre-existing material. This is most evident during a scene in which the super-villains burst into the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
. The scene was filmed in its entirety by Donner in 1977. The Perry White
Perry White
Perry White is a fictional character who appears in the Superman comics. White is the Editor-in-Chief of the Metropolis newspaper the Daily Planet.White maintains very high ethical and journalistic standards...
office set was then partly re-built under Lester in 1979, the actors placed in exactly the same positions, costumes, etc., and new material filmed and inserted into the final film, despite the actors looking physically different.
Donner footage in Superman II
The following is a list of all major Donner footage that was retained for Superman II:- Lex Luthor in prison, including the escape by balloon.
- The three super-villains land on the moon and kill the astronauts.
- Lex Luthor at the Fortress of SolitudeFortress of SolitudeThe Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...
.
- The three super-villains attack the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and force the PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
to "kneel before Zod."
- A powerless ClarkClark KentClark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
is beaten up by Rocky, a truck driver in a fast-food diner (Donner appears as an extra in this sequence).
- Lex Luthor visits the super-villains in the White House.
- The villains burst into the Daily Planet and chase after Superman (some close-ups are Lester footage).
- The villains return to the Planet and decide to go to Superman's polar fortress (some close-ups are Lester footage).
- The second part of the final scene at the Fortress of Solitude, beginning with Luthor's belated arrival (some close-ups are Lester footage).
- Clark returns to the diner and gets his revenge on the truck driver.
The rest of the film, including the opening scenes at the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
, some part of the scenes at Niagara Falls, the scenes of the super-villains in Midwest America
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
and the battle in Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
were all shot by Lester. Several television stations have broadcast extended cuts over the years. These have largely featured additional Donner material including footage of Superman destroying the Fortress of Solitude
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...
at the conclusion of the film, as well as extra scenes between Lois and Superman.
Superman II controversies and plot holes
Critics of Lester's Superman II, including Donner, have stated that Lester's penchant for comedy undermined the integrity of the film, especially when compared to Donner's Superman. Examples of this trademark comedy are evident during scenes which feature Superman fighting the super-villains in Metropolis. The villains attack the citizens of Metropolis using super-breath. Several sight gags follow, including the wind blowing off a man's toupee, the ice cream being blown off of a cone and into someone's face, a man being blown over in a telephone booth and talking the whole time, a man with an umbrella being spun around as if dancing (parodying Singin' in the RainSingin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography...
) and a man on roller-skates rolling uncontrollably backwards across the pavement.
One particular plot hole that has frustrated the film's fans involves the transition from a powerless Clark Kent finding the green crystal at the abandoned Fortress of Solitude to a restored Superman's return to the Daily Planet to fight the super-villains. Lester shot a workaround scene where Superman shows the green crystal to Lois Lane, who absentmindedly places it aside without returning it to its chamber; this explains its survival when the device is destroyed, supposedly allowing Kent to use it to reverse his loss of Superman's powers, but there is no indication as to how this is possible without the device itself. In addition, with the device destroyed, no explanation was provided as to how it was able to function later when Superman jury-rigs it to strip the three villains of their powers. (In fact, the device returned, perfectly functional, in the later movies Superman IV: The Quest for Peace as well as Superman Returns.) Furthermore, the hologram
Holography
Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present...
of Lara flatly states that the process is irreversible in the first place, and despite Marlon Brando's absence from the Lester cut, Lester's "finding the crystal" scene features Clark calling out for his father, Jor-El, despite Lara having appeared earlier (though he calls out for her as well). This lack of any explanation whatsoever as to how Superman regained his powers proved frustrating to audiences.
Discussions about lost Donner footage have been raging for years, and with the advent of the internet, numerous letter-writing and other campaigns were instigated to persuade Warner Bros. to allow Richard Donner to create his version of Superman II. In 2005, the fan-restored DVD known as Superman II: Restored International Cut was released. It featured extended scenes shown in various television broadcasts over the years and helped bring much publicity to the cause when Warner Bros. threatened legal action over the bootleg release
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
.
The Richard Donner Cut
When filming was suspended on Donner's Superman II in October 1977, the director had completed almost all of the major character-based sequences in the film. All scenes in the Daily Planet and most scenes set in the Fortress of Solitude were completed. All scenes featuring Marlon BrandoMarlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
, Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper was an American actor, television director, producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to make the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination...
, Valerie Perrine
Valerie Perrine
- Life and career :Perrine was born in Galveston, Texas, the daughter of Winifred , a dancer who appeared in Earl Carroll's Vanities, and Kenneth Perrine, a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army. Owing to her father's career, Perrine lived in many locations as the family moved to different...
and Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
were also completed. What remained to be filmed was the villains' arrival on Earth, and their rampage through mid-west America as well as exteriors at Washington D.C. during which Zod announces his takeover of the Earth from the tip of the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
. Most of the battle scenes between Superman and the super-villains had yet to be shot, as well as both the interiors and exteriors at Niagara Falls, which had been planned to be shot during the Canadian shooting on Superman: The Movie, but was indefinitely postponed to make up for time and get the production back to England quicker. Several minor scenes including a love-struck Superman deliberately tilting over the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply the Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa...
(later adapted in Superman III) and a scene in which Superman warns off some English fox-hunters were also not filmed.
The new film features most of the completed never-before-seen scenes (some scenes have been deleted for narrative/dramatic reasons), which in many cases replace scenes re-filmed or altered by Richard Lester. These include the original opening of the film set in the offices of the Daily Planet. In this opening, we see Lois trying to figure out the similarities between Clark Kent and Superman, followed by Perry White assigning Clark and Lois on the honeymoon racket in Niagara Falls, and then Lois testing Clark / Superman by jumping off the balcony of one floor of the Daily Planet (a revised version of this scene appears in the Lester theatrical cut).
Creating the Donner Cut
— Donner Cut editor/producer Michael Thau telling a reporter from IESB in July 2006 that the film had come about largely as a result of fan pressure.The prospect of creating a Richard Donner cut of Superman II did not begin to gain momentum until the 2001 restoration of Superman for DVD. At this time, six tons of footage for Superman and six tons of footage for Superman II was discovered in vaults in England by Michael Thau, including much "lost" footage filmed by Richard Donner. Soon after, Donner was approached by Warner Bros. to do an extended version of Superman II, but remained reluctant to revisit the movie. In May 2001, he told the website IGN, "At the time, the studio wanted me to go back in and re-cut the film and add anything I wanted to add or do anything I wanted to do. Quite honestly, I was done with it. I was finished."
Nonetheless, fans continued to campaign for the film. Ultimately, three websites were instrumental in creating the momentum that finally led to the creation of the Donner cut. The first was Capedwonder.com, run by Superman collector Jim Bowers. In 2004, Bowers published numerous stills from "lost" scenes in Richard Donner's Superman II, seemingly providing definitive proof that Donner had filmed far more footage than the Salkinds or Richard Lester had initially been prepared to concede. Secondly, the website Supermancinema.co.uk provided fans with detailed breakdowns of the theatrical Superman II, identifying Donner footage within the film, and also providing speculative lists of just how much lost Donner footage might actually exist. Finally, on June 19, 2004, the Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
fansite TheForbidden-Zone.com organized hundreds of fans to e-mail or write letters directly to Warner Bros. president Jim Cardwell, demanding that the studio allow Donner to release his version of Superman II. This effort was the first to elicit a positive response from the studio, with many of those who wrote receiving a letter stating, "Warner Home Video is supportive of an extended version of Superman II on DVD. However, there are complex legal issues that need to be resolved before the film can be re-released. Warner Home Video is presently addressing those issues."
Other than Donner's reluctance to re-visit the project, these legal issues were ultimately the greatest obstacle towards creating a Donner Cut. The required footage was still owned by the Salkinds, and issues relating to the use of Brando's filmed footage in Superman II remained unresolved. Issues relating to whether Richard Lester or Richard Donner would be credited as director of any new cut also remained to be addressed. It was not until legal negotiations surrounding the use of certain Brando footage in the film Superman Returns
Superman Returns
Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...
that the key issue of whether Brando's filmed Superman II footage could be used was resolved. In November 2006, Donner Cut producer Michael Thau told American Cinematographer magazine, "Marlon Brando's estate made a deal with Warner Bros. to license some of his footage for Superman Returns. This later led to the studio going back to his estate for our re-cut of Superman II. If that footage couldn't be used, it wasn't worth doing the project."
Work finally began on the project in late 2005, though without Richard Donner. At the Director's Guild screening of the Donner cut in November 2006, Michael Thau underlined Donner's reluctance to involve himself in the project, telling the audience, "Dick (Donner) was doing (the film) 16 Blocks
16 Blocks
16 Blocks is a 2006 crime thriller film directed by Richard Donner. It stars Bruce Willis, Mos Def, and David Morse. The movie unfolds in the real time narration method.- Plot :...
at the time and I was always trying to lure him in with, you know 'Dick, here's a piece of candy, come in to the cutting room.' and he said 'No, no, no..."
Thus, mixed emotions invariably followed the initial announcement in January 2006 that a new Superman II was being worked on, primarily down to the news that Richard Donner was having little or nothing to do with the re-edit. In a January 2006 interview with the website IGN, he stated, "They're doing it. I'm not doing it...I don't even want to see it until it comes out in the theater...I'm too far away from it now." A month later, when asked about the new Superman II cut, Donner told the website Dark Horizons, "I would never shoot like that now in a million years, I mean it was a different way, a different style, different interpretation."
Over the years, Donner has frequently proclaimed diametrically-opposing views with regards to the possibility of re-assembling his Superman II — often stating that he would like to do it, other times stating that he would not. In June 2006, Michael Thau finally confirmed that Donner had finally decided on a far closer involvement with the project, also bringing in writer Tom Mankiewicz to assist in its creation. In an interview with the magazine Movie Magic, he stated, "When I'd get a cut on a scene, I'd show it to Dick and he'd say, 'I don't like that line; that reading's not good,' and so on. With Dick it's always, 'Make it move faster."
In August 2006, Thau confirmed that the entire film, rather than simply featuring new material, would be re-cut from the original camera negative (including the small number of Lester scenes remaining in the film). The Donner cut comprises Donner Superman II scenes edited by Stuart Baird
Stuart Baird
Stuart Baird is an English film editor, producer, and director who is mainly associated with action films. He has edited over twenty major motion pictures.-Life and career:...
in 1977-78, 1980 Superman II theatrical scenes cut by John Victor Smith, as well as a large amount of new material edited by Michael Thau.
In an interview with Now Playing magazine, Thau noted, "A lot of scenes that had been already cut, that Richard Lester had interwoven new material in — and there was a lot of them — I unwove that material and recut those scenes, basically from scratch a lot of times. I also had to deal with negatives that had already been cut. And when I wanted to recut it, and Lester had already cut it in a different way, I'd have to unwind that. It was a complicated jigsaw puzzle sometimes, to put it back the way I envisioned Dick would want it cut. We only used the Lester footage when there was material when they had not been able to shoot, and to keep some continuity to the story."
In a June 2006 interview with the website Amazon.com, George Feltenstein, Senior Vice President of Warner Home Video's Catalog Marketing division, stated:
Donner contacted composer John Williams about creating a new score for his version of the film, but Williams was unable to help out, as he had also turned down a similar request by Superman Returns
Superman Returns
Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...
director Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer is an American film director and film producer. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially well-known among fans of the science fiction and superhero genres for his work on the X-Men films and Superman Returns.-Early life:Singer was born in New...
because he was scoring another project. Donner chose to reuse Williams' music from the first film, adding unreleased cues. Subsequently, Ken Thorne was relegated to the closing credits, and the new title sequences include Williams' composing credit.
Plot
Highlights of the first film are shown: Jor-ElJor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....
condemning General Zod
General Zod
General Zod is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, a supervillain who is one of Superman's more-prominent enemies. The character first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
, Non, and Ursa to the Phantom Zone
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
, and sending Kal-El to Earth; the launching of the two XK-101 missiles; Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
being trapped in the swimming pool with the Kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
necklace by Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
and being rescued by Ms. Teschmacher; and Superman diverting the XK-101 missile programmed to hit Hackensack
Hackensack, New Jersey
Hackensack is a city in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States and the county seat of Bergen County. Although informally called Hackensack, it was officially named New Barbadoes Township until 1921. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 43,010....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
into outer space. The Phantom Zone drifts towards Earth and the XK-101 missile explodes near it, freeing the three villains, who find themselves with super powers granted by the yellow light of Earth's sun. After attacking human astronauts on the moon and the small town of East Houston, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, the three travel to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and force the President of the United States to surrender to Zod on behalf of the entire planet during an international television broadcast. When the President pleads for Superman to save the Earth, Zod demands that Superman come and "kneel before Zod!"
Prior to Zod's arrival, at the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
, Lois Lane suspects that Clark Kent is Superman. She tries proving to Clark she knows his secret by jumping out of a window, but Clark uses his super-breath, heat vision, and super-speed to save her while appearing to have done nothing. The newspaper sends Clark and Lois to Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
. Superman's rescue of a small boy renews Lois' suspicions, and she tricks Clark with a gun loaded with blank
Blank (cartridge)
A blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound . Blanks are often used for simulation , training, and for signaling...
s into admitting that he is Superman. He takes her to his Fortress of Solitude
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...
near the North Pole and shows her the traces of his past stored in the energy crystals of the Fortress, one of which is the green crystal that created the Fortress and opened Superman's contact with his parents. After spending the night together, Superman decides to transform himself into a human by exposing himself to red Kryptonian sunlight in a crystal chamber, giving up his powers to find happiness with Lois despite the warnings of the artificial intelligence of his father Jor-El. The two return to populated areas by automobile, and learn of Zod's conquest of the world. Realizing that humanity cannot fight Zod themselves, Clark decides to return to the Fortress to try to reverse the transformation.
Lex Luthor, who has escaped from jail, finds and infiltrates the Fortress before Superman and Lois arrive, learning of Superman's connection to Jor-El and General Zod. He offers to lead Zod to Jor-El's son in exchange for control of Australia. The three Kryptonians go with Luthor to the offices of the Daily Planet where they abduct Lois. Superman arrives, after having found the green crystal and reversing the transformation process, and battles the three in Metropolis. Zod realizes Superman cares for the innocent humans, and takes advantage of this weakness by threatening bystanders. To protect the city, Superman flies off towards his Fortress, with Zod, Ursa, and Non chasing him and carrying Lois and Luthor with them. At the Fortress, Zod forces Superman to again undergo the transformation process. The three villains realize too late that Superman altered the process to expose everyone outside the chamber to the red light, removing the Kryptonian criminals' powers. After defeating them, Superman repeats the time-traveling flight from the end of the first film, altering history so that the Kryptonians never escaped the Phantom Zone, and flies into the sunrise for further adventures.
World premiere
The world premiere of the new cut took place November 2, 2006, at the Directors Guild of AmericaDirectors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
building in Hollywood and was attended by many of those associated with the film, including director Richard Donner and producer Ilya Salkind. After the screening, Richard Donner, Tom Mankiewicz, Margot Kidder, Sarah Douglas and other cast members participated in a panel discussion. On November 25, 2006, an exclusive screening benefit for Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was held at the Fine Arts Theatre in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The proceeds of ticket sales went to the Christopher Reeve Foundation
Christopher Reeve Foundation
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey and dedicated to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders...
.
Reaction
Many critics have generally applauded the effort, thrilled Donner had the chance to piece his film back together, at the same time bemoaning the lost opportunity. Filmjerk.coms Brian Orndorf proclaims the film "… a triumph of intention, sending the imagination soaring again over this new angle on a very old question mark. It breaks my heart to even consider what Richard Donner might've accomplished had he not been fired, but the "Donner Cut" gives the fans that close, breath-on-the-glass look at a lost classic that never received its chance to soar in the cinematic heavens." IGN went as far as to call the film the Best Director's Cut of 2006.Some reviewers have responded very positively, applauding the darker, more serious tone of the film and admiring that the film seems to flow as a true sequel to the original Superman. Bryant Griffin of SyFy Portal.com "It really feels like a direct continuation of the first film, honoring the Man of Steel with dignity.…" Most have praised the new performances of Marlon Brando, Margot Kidder, and especially Christopher Reeve. The Fulvuedrive-in.com review laments, "It is sad to see Reeve in such great form and not be around to see it…" Clint Morris of Moviehole.net extols, "From the storyline to the tone to the performances to the pacing. … It works a hell of a lot better than the condensed Superman II that we know.…"
Cast members Margot Kidder
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
, Jack O'Halloran
Jack O'Halloran
Jack O'Halloran is an American ex-boxer and actor.-Boxing:O'Halloran was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fighting as "Irish" Jack O'Halloran out of Boston, Massachusetts, he was a heavyweight boxing contender active from 1966 to 1974...
and Sarah Douglas
Sarah Douglas
Sarah Douglas is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the Kryptonian supervillain Ursa in the first two Superman movies , and for her role as Pamela Lynch in the 1980s primetime drama series Falcon Crest .-Early life:Douglas was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the...
have openly stated that they believe "The Richard Donner Cut" is the superior Superman II. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gave the "Donner Cut" an aggregate rating of 86% compared to 88% for Lester's Superman II.
Comparisons to the theatrical release of Superman II vary widely in their criticism. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide notes, "When I compare the Donner cut to the theatrical edition, I think the latter remains more compelling and enjoyable." Other critics disparage the reliance on screen-test footage, as well as the repetition of the time-reversal element used in Superman, with other criticisms pointing to the film's inevitable restructuring and less than perfect visual effects.
As with many re-edits of popular films, particularly vocal fans have criticized the re-cut and have largely lashed out at editor Michael Thau for their misgivings. One fan "review" published on the Supermancinema.co.uk website noted "By far, the "Donner Cut"'s greatest weakness is the way the film's scenes have been re-structured and shuffled around. Scenes essentially play unto themselves, with no real cohesion between the three threads." Donner himself has also come under criticism for an apparently uncompromising approach to Richard Lester's material, which in certain cases is heavily truncated in the new film.
In addition, many fans have been critical of the fact that Michael Thau did not produce an expensive visual effects sequence using computer generated images (CGI) to create a "CGI villains-rule-the-world-scene." This scene, which has the villains destroying key monuments around the world, was not photographed by Donner before he was fired. Thau, in an interview published on www.supermancinema.co.uk justified the decision based on the amount of footage that would need to be created in CGI. Interviews included with the DVD bonus features also state that Thau and Donner agreed any new CGI shots should not overshadow the relatively limited special effects used during the original shooting. (The concept was revisited in the ninth season finale of Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, in which an army led by Zod attempts a takeover of Earth).
Fan reaction to the "Donner Cut" has led to many so-called "fan-cuts," edits that attempt to address many of their criticisms of both the Lester and Donner versions of Superman II. Many of these efforts have been posted on the Internet, including YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
DVD special features
- All new introduction by director Richard Donner (1 minute and 53 seconds)
- Commentary by director Richard Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz
- New featuretteFeaturetteFeaturette is a term used in the American film industry to designate a film whose length is approximately three quarters of a reel, or about 20–44 minutes in running time - thus midway between a short subject and a feature film; thus it is a "small feature"...
Superman II: Restoring the Vision (13 mins. and 18 seconds) - 6 Deleted Scenes (8 minutes and 33 seconds)
- Lex and Miss Teschmacher head north
- Lex and Miss Teschmacher head south
- The villains try to enter fortress
- He's all yours, boys
- Clark and Jimmy
- Lex's getaway
- Dolby DigitalDolby DigitalDolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
5.1
- Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only) and German
Trailer
On September 20, 2006, Warner Bros. released the official trailer for the Christopher Reeve Superman Collection DVD box set. (Includes footage of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.)On November 21, 2006, Warner Bros. released the trailer for the Ultimate Superman Collection DVD box set.
See also
- Star Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
- a film that similarly saw a revised "director's edition" version created decades after its original release. - Blade RunnerBlade RunnerBlade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
- a "Final Cut" was released 25 years after the original theatrical release of the film. - Highlander II: The QuickeningHighlander II: The QuickeningHighlander II: The Quickening is the second installment to the Highlander film series, released on January 31, 1991.-Plot:In August 1994, news broadcasts announce that the ozone layer is fading, and will be completely gone in a matter of months. In Africa, millions have perished from the effects of...
- a film that was taken out of the hands of the producers and director by the insurance company that financed the picture. - Alien 3 - the second sequel of the Alien franchise, which suffered from a troubled production which resulted in the finished cut of the film being taken and dismantled and subsequently reworked profoundly. The end result was dubbed by many as the "Theatrical Cut", in which many major plot elements and scenes were omitted, ultimately the original version of the film, dubbed the "Assembly Cut", would be released over a decade later.
- Dominion: Prequel to the ExorcistDominion: Prequel to the ExorcistDominion: Prequel to the Exorcist is a 2005 supernatural horror film directed by Paul Schrader. It is a prequel to The Exorcist .-Plot:...
- another film that was taken out of the hands of the original director and radically reworked by his successor.