Superman: The Movie no 35th Anniversary? (1 Viewer)

Did Warners just decide this wasn't good enough to merit a new edition? Would have liked to see a nice stand alone with a new master... oh well.

Hi David!

I have a copy of the original Blu-ray release on my shelf.

Just from sheer memory, I think it was a pretty tremendous transfer.

On the one hand, I would say there is probably no need for a new 35th Anniversary Edition...

...but then again, just saw Warner do a Blazing Saddles reissue (probably the same transfer).

Perhaps the studio has exhausted their original Superman efforts given the original Blu-ray
reissues and then the massive boxed set of all the films.

Hard to say.

The Superman Movie Anthology box set already has everthing a fan of this film could want...both the theatrical cut and Donner's 1999 recut in 1080p and lossless surround...plus boatloads of extras and audio commentaries for BOTH versions!!! Get THAT to satiate your love for this film!!!

Rather than using anniversaries, Warner usually re-promotes their Superman catalog titles when the next new Superman film comes around. So I'd expect the next round of re-issues to be in mid-2016.

They could release the colossal TV cut which was 50 minutes longer...

Ethan Riley said:

They could release the colossal TV cut which was 50 minutes longer...

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Oh Boy Ethan, I would be all over that like stink on a monkey!
I haven't seen that since it was first on TV way back in the day. I would love to see it again.

Christian

That TV version was aired 3 decades ago in standard def...a hi-def release of THAT cut would be quite costly to produce and probably won't happen...the Donner recut is likely the final word on this movie...

Ok thanks all. Was just thinking with all the digi-books and boxes of other films, they would have done a nice stand alone set or something. I'm good with the anthology. Was just wondering what others thought. Thanks!

Yeah, I have the Anthology and the transfer of Superman is pretty good. There are a couple of optical shots that could have used some clean-up, but all in all, it'll do until the next, better iteration comes along.

2014 is actually the 36th anniversary, as Superman: The Movie was released 15 December 1978.

I know to put the insanely long TV cut on blu would mean reconstructing the 3 hour thing from scratch, but it would be nice to have. They could at least offer all those deleted scenes as extras.

The only thing that would make me double dip would be if they remastered the Superman cartoons and Superman and the Mole Men into HD (actually restored them) and the rest of the other stuff!You'd get my money then.

The existing blu transfer is very good. About the only thing they haven't released are the TV version deleted scenes which weren't incorporated into the director's cut. There's probably 15 minutes or so. Some of it is padding designed to make the film as long as possible (the producers got paid based on the running time) but it would still be nice to have. There are 16mm prints out there of the TV version which could be transferred to HD without reconstructing it from scratch. Wouldn't be pristine, but good enough for a bonus feature. There are also several scenes from the TV cuts of Superman II which haven't been released on disc. Remastered cartoons would be a great addition.

I'm confused - are you saying the TV version deleted scenes were never released on blu-ray? Because they are on DVD; the 2006 Ultimate Collection had a huge amount of extras just for S:TM, including an expanded version of the movie from 2000. I can't imagine a 35th anniversary edition could have improved on that. I've subbed the blu-ray of the feature into that set, and I'm happy with the result.

Sam Favate said:

I'm confused - are you saying the TV version deleted scenes were never released on blu-ray? Because they are on DVD; the 2006 Ultimate Collection had a huge amount of extras just for S:TM, including an expanded version of the movie from 2000. I can't imagine a 35th anniversary edition could have improved on that. I've subbed the blu-ray of the feature into that set, and I'm happy with the result.

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So the Blu-Ray set doesn't have the deleted scenes from the motion picture(Lex, and his pet Lions/Superman's test of bullets, fire and ice etc)? Just got the Blu set over Christmas, and have not checked it yet.
Got rid of my dvd set because I was informed the Blu set had everything, and more as far as features.

There's WAY more deleted scenes that have not appeared on home video. The TV cut incorporated some 50 minutes of extra footage. Most of it was crap, like a scene of Mexican villagers splashing around in the water after Superman rerouted the dam. I recall endless shots of Lana pouting in the back of the car. More dialogue in the villains' lair. More with Larry Hagman. More with Otis trying to operate the remote-controlled car. Who knows what else--I haven't seen it since 1983.

Ethan Riley said:

There's WAY more deleted scenes that have not appeared on home video. The TV cut incorporated some 50 minutes of extra footage. Most of it was crap, like a scene of Mexican villagers splashing around in the water after Superman rerouted the dam. I recall endless shots of Lana pouting in the back of the car. More dialogue in the villains' lair. More with Larry Hagman. More with Otis trying to operate the remote-controlled car. Who knows what else--I haven't seen it since 1983.

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People often make the mistake of thinking that a longer film is a better one. Sometimes it's just longer.

Ethan Riley said:

There's WAY more deleted scenes that have not appeared on home video. The TV cut incorporated some 50 minutes of extra footage. Most of it was crap, like a scene of Mexican villagers splashing around in the water after Superman rerouted the dam. I recall endless shots of Lana pouting in the back of the car. More dialogue in the villains' lair. More with Larry Hagman. More with Otis trying to operate the remote-controlled car. Who knows what else--I haven't seen it since 1983.

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I have it on VHS, but haven't watched it in a while. Also have the tv edit of Superman 2...which is far as I can tell is just a spliced version of the Donner/Lester versions.

Is the Ultimate Transfer the same as the single disc edition?

Sam Favate said:

I'm confused - are you saying the TV version deleted scenes were never released on blu-ray? Because they are on DVD; the 2006 Ultimate Collection had a huge amount of extras just for S:TM, including an expanded version of the movie from 2000. I can't imagine a 35th anniversary edition could have improved on that. I've subbed the blu-ray of the feature into that set, and I'm happy with the result.

Click to expand...

There is still a log of footage from the TV cut which has never been released. A lot of it is filler, but it would still be nice to have.