7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Superman flagship director Richard Donner presents this special cut of the 1980 sequel starring Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, who's locked in a battle to save Earth from three evil outcasts of planet Krypton. Donner shot footage for Superman II concurrently with the first blockbuster, but director Richard Lester ultimately completed the project. This re-edited version features Donner's original vision, including restored deleted scenes.
Starring: Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty, Jackie CooperAction | 100% |
Adventure | 85% |
Sci-Fi | 80% |
Comic book | 70% |
Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This version of this film is available as part of Superman I-IV 5-Film Collection 4K.
Both the small screen and big screen adaptations of Superman have had some notable tragedies, two of them rather weirdly involving
men
with rather similar last names, as has been discussed ad infinitum by some more devoted conspiracy theorists. George Reeves, beloved
star
of television's Adventures of Superman, met a rather
ignominious and some would argue mysterious end which decades later became fodder for its own film, Hollywoodland. Christopher Reeve of course was victim of a horrifying riding
accident
which left him paralyzed, a situation that probably inarguably led to his own early demise. Part of George Reeves' problem may have been that he
was so closely identified with the character of Superman that he felt he couldn't escape (few even remember his film career, which included a
memorable bit in the very first scene of Gone with the
Wind
). Christopher Reeve was able to evade if not totally elude the formidable shadow cast by the venerable superhero, which perhaps only added
to
the feeling of melancholy after his accident and later death. But even if Reeve was able to contribute rather memorable performances in
any number of non-Superman outings ranging from
Deathtrap to Somewhere in Time, in
his own way he'll probably be as firmly tethered to the character of Superman as George Reeve is/was, and this new collection of 4K UHD
presentations
of
four or five Christopher Reeve Superman films (depending on how you want to count things) should provide fans with some memories of
happier times when
things like Kryptonite seemed to be the only threats to safety and well being. Those happy memories may nonetheless be intermittently
interrupted by some kind of odd choices Warner has made with this release, which will be discussed in the various individual reviews.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc included in this release.
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an HEVC / H.265
encoded 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. This version can't help but suffer from some of the "test footage" that has been incorporated, but I have to say I
was actually kind of pleasantly surprised with at least some improvement in color if not overall clarity and quality in some of the additional
material. Some scenes which have been rather drastically altered for this version I'd argue actually look better here, as in the opening with Zod, Ursa
and Non, which has none of the compositing anomalies seen in
Superman II 4K. The shared footage shares both the positives and negatives that I discussed in the Superman II 4K Blu-ray review. Some may feel this deserves a slightly lower score
due to the obvious deficiencies in the added footage, and so may want to adjust my score accordingly.
Much as with Superman II 4K, the Richard Donner cut enjoys at least some intermittent bursts of activity with its Dolby Atmos track. There are some probably unavoidable fidelity variances, if slight and basically interstitial, where the "new" footage has been inserted, and none of the new material struck me as offering overwhelming surround activity of any sort, but otherwise this Atmos track is certainly interchangeable with the theatrical cut's audio presentation in terms of shared footage. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.
4K UHD Disc
I'm always in favor of directors having a say in the finished product, but in this particular case, I'm really not all that concerned about any tweaking that Richard Lester may have done to Superman II, especially since, as I mentioned in the review of the theatrical cut, it's actually my favorite among the Reeve Superman films. This is an interesting curio nonetheless with some structural changes that should provide interest at least to cineastes for a taste in editing. For the shared material at least, technical merits are on a part with the theatrical version.
The Richard Donner Cut
1980-2006
The Richard Donner Cut | With INSTAWATCH
1980-2006
The Richard Donner Cut | The Superman Motion Picture Anthology Version
1980-2006
The Richard Donner Cut 4K
1980-2006
(Still not reliable for this title)
1980
1987
1978
1983
2006 Original Release
2006
2013
2019
2015
2013
1941-1943
Cinematic Universe Edition
2019
Theatrical & Extended Cut
2016
2010
The Rogue Cut
2014
2004
2007
2013
Extended and Theatrical versions
2011
2009
IMAX
2013