In the case of the first three "Superman" films, the extended broadcasts were independently produced by the Salkinds. Some of the extra footage for "Superman: The Movie" is pretty much extraneous material Richard Donner filmed during production - in other words, "cover your ass" footage. Some 11 minutes of footage (eight minutes of reintegrated footage and three minutes of outtakes) were included on the DVD.
For the extended TV broadcasts of "Superman II", that was cobbled together using some of the lost Richard Donner footage from his work on the film in 1977-78, including a lost outtake from "Superman" (where Superman races the Concorde - yes, it WAS filmed for the first film, not the second, it's in the Tom Mankiewicz script for I) and some cheated footage of Superman and Lois' night flight. To the Salkinds, it was all about one thing: making money. And yet, for the extended TV broadcasts, only Richard Lester's directorial credit is retained. For the complete, convoluted history of "Superman II", go to
http://www.supermancinema.net or
http://superman.rossiters.com/index.html.
With "Superman III", it was also done by the Salkinds, and all of the 17 minutes of extra footage is simply extraneous "cover your ass" footage as well.
In the case of "Superman IV", the syndicated TV broadcasts from 1990-on utilized three extra minutes of footage included by Viacom. The extra clips, of the tornado scene and Superman saving Red Square from a nuclear missile attack, were taken from the 93-minute international print of the film distributed by Cannon Films. (I have the Japanese widescreen laserdisc released by Tohokushinsha Home Video, which has additional Japanese credits prior to the start of the film, the Cannon logo instead of the WB logo, some slightly different title credits at the start of the film, and the three extra minutes of footage.) Warner Bros. removed those three minutes of footage for the 90-minute domestic theatrical release. Both versions, the 90-minute U.S. print and the 93-minute European print, were cobbled together from the 134-minute master print which had been shown only once in 1987 to a sneak preview audience prior to its U.S. theatrical release. Everyone who attended that sneak preview showing said the film sucked big-time, and Warner Bros. officials ordered drastic edits to the film and reportedly ordered the 40+ minutes of extra footage destroyed. Yet, here's where things get interesting:
- The U.S. theatrical trailer (on the Region 1 DVD) includes two additional clips, of Lex Luthor saying "I'm smarter than I thought!" and of the Nuclear Man in his silo.
- The 1990 Viacom preview trailer included a clip of Lacy and Clark kissing in the back seat of a taxi. Yet it's not in the 90-minute version or the 93-minute version.
- There were at least two TV spots for the film, one of which has two extra clips in it, of Lex Luthor and his nephew Lenny putting on nuclear helmets and witnessing the creation of the first Nuclear Man (Clive Mantle) and of Lex Luthor saying to Superman, "Isn't he adorable?"
- There's also reportedly an international trailer to the film that was assembled. A reliable friend of mine supplied me with the transcript of the trailer that was included on the head of the overseas VHS release of Cannon's "Masters of the Universe", and according to the transcript it contained the clip of Lacy and Clark kissing in the taxi, of Superman flying through the clouds (the start of the tornado sequence), and a clip of Superman confronting the first Nuclear Man at night on the streets of Metropolis. He sent me the tape, but the tape got lost in overseas mail. He did confirm that Paris Films in Brazil distributed all of Cannon Films' releases and that "Superman IV" was distributed by Paris Films. (Anyone reading this around the world who has an international copy of "Masters of the Universe" on VHS with the "Superman IV" international trailer on it, please get in touch with me.) Bottom line: documentation is important.
An urban legend surfaced in the mid-90's in which it had been reported that the complete 134-minute master print of "Superman IV" had aired on the now-defunct SFM Holiday Network syndicated series of TV programs and films, prior to its ending in 1990. According to the urban legend, someone's friend/brother/sister/uncle/aunt/mother/father taped it but then taped over it/lost it/couldn't find it. Contacts in the late 90's with people who worked for SFM confirmed that the complete version of "Superman IV" was never shown on their network.
I personally contacted several video store retailers around the world and inquired if any of them had the 134-minute print of "Superman IV" on video. One lead I tracked went to a video retailer in the Netherlands, in which it was reported that they had a 120-minute version of the film on video. When I contacted them, they verified that they didn't have that version on tape, only an 88-minute version (most likely a PAL transfer of the 90-minute U.S. cut or 93-minute European cut). Another lead I tracked to Washington state, where it had been reported that a fellow had the 134-minute master print of the film on videotape for $20. When I contacted him, he confirmed that he didn't have it, either.
Whether we will get to see the complete 134-minute master print of "Superman IV", restored with completed visual FX, on DVD is quite unlikely, although you never know. They said the same thing about Ridley Scott's original cut of "Legend" and David Fincher's original cut of "Alien 3", and we have both of them now on DVD. So never say never.
As for the case of a restored "Superman II", click here for more information:
http://www.theforbidden-zone.com/supermanii/index.shtml
