Donner Superman 2 SE (merged thread) (1 Viewer)

[TheBat]

I consider superman 2 Donner cut as the official sequel. I can't even watch the lester version anymore.
Jacob

 

[Roger Rollins]

I consider superman 2 Donner cut as the official sequel. I can't even watch the lester version anymore.
Jacob

I couldn't agree with you more, Jacob. It is superb, and something that I never thought I'd see in my lifetime.

 

[Steve Christou]

While I enjoyed watching the Donner cut once, I'll stick with the original. "It is forbidden to interfere with human history" and that means Superman II is the official film.

Exactly my feelings too, interesting to see what might have been but it's not the film I've enjoyed watching over the past 25 years. I thought the Donner Cut was amateurishly edited and badly put together. The insertion of the screen test was laughable and took me out of the picture. Terence Stamp's voice pitch kept changing from scene to scene, and the horrendous 'turn back the clock' climax was bad enough the first time we saw it. Great seeing Marlon Brando as Jor-El though, I wish they kept him in the Lester version. I see the 'Donner Cut' more as a fascinating 'extra' than a movie in itself. 3 stars out of 5.

 

[AlexCosmo]

Hate the ending, love the rest. If the Lester version was some model of smooth Kubrickian perfection, then the roughness of the Donner cut would bother me more.

 

[Patrick H.]

If the Lester version was some model of smooth Kubrickian perfection, then the roughness of the Donner cut would bother me more.

Exactly. In either version, 'II' is a Frankenstein project, with footage from two different directors shoehorned together to attempt a whole. The Lester version may be the more polished, but it is fundamentally the same as the Donner one...a film built in the editing room from two very different approaches. As a huge fan of the original film, I greatly prefer Donner's take, since he seemed more invested in the material. But the interesting thing is that, now that some semblance of his film has finally seen the light of day, I find I'm a little less critical of the Lester version. I suppose it's just because the annoyance that I've felt all these years - that there was a potentially-better version forever lost in a vault somewhere - is finally gone, and I can just watch the film for what it is.
My take on this whole situation, though, is basically this: when I was a kid, 'II' was the best film in the series. When I watched them again in my 20s, it was clear that the original's sincerity and gravitas made 'II' look silly and immature. So, in a weird way, the Donner cut of 'II', filtered through my adult mind, is actually is far closer to my childhood impressions of the film. Minor quibbles aside, its dramatic punch has been restored, and that is a real accomplishment.

 

[fanofthau]

good point! i ask this to moriarty on ain't cool news, i don't understand why don't ask to Donner and Mr Thau this specific things.
i think without villains rule the world scene there's no the right scale of drama, and overall is very important for the jor-el speech during the trial, he decribed the villains like true assassins....and with superpowers we need to see this bad guys destroying all over the world. i hope in some ways mr Thau insert this stuff. what do you think about it?

I agree totally. He must do it using CGI backgrounds and a little bit of CGI villains.
Mr Thau please create in CGI villains rule the world scene.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

Mr Thau please create in CGI villains rule the world scene.

 

[James Phillips]

We need that scene.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

We need that scene.

You going to pay for it?

 

[James Phillips]

Hopefully, Mr Thau will. If we say please.

 

[PeterTHX]

Hopefully if they do it the VFX won't be as bad as what they did for the Donner cut. They were just awful. "Superman I" had better VFX using 1978 tech.

 

[fanofthau]

Maybe we will see this scene in a later release. Mr Thau try to do it please!

 

[fanofthau]

Here's an interesting interview I found with Mr Thau on youtube:

Very informative. Thau explains the problems he faced with the CGI and also explains the choices and decisions he had to make.
The answer he gives to the last question is a bit open-ended. It seems like there MAY be a budget for a new release at some stage.

 

[James Phillips]

Did he edit that interview himself?

 

[fanofthau]

"We're talking about I dunno how much footage - new footage - of three villains."

 

[PeterTHX]

Here's an interesting interview I found with Mr Thau on youtube:

WTF was that???
Seemed like someone chopped up some interview, added their own voiceover.

 

[TheBat]

some hardcore fans have been bitching about the villains ruling the world before the donner cut was released.. and they were very unhappy when thau did not includes those scenes..
its has divided the fans about the new cut.. I think the cut works as is. I would not worry too much about that part of the donner cut.. the whole issue of the villains ruling the world was totally overrated in my view.
Jacob

 

[Josh Simpson]

Was this "ruling the world scene" ever in any script or is it just fan wishes?

 

[TheBat]

I believe it was in the script.
Jacob

 

[fanofthau]

If it was in the script, then it should be in the Donner Cut.

Without it, the Donner Cut is not truly Donner's vision (just like the blank bullets scene)

I'm quite surprised that it wasn't done, because nowadays creating CGI villains can't be that difficult.