We first reported on the Richard Donner Cut way back in July, and today we are pleased to cover the final product!

Show Notes:

Our overview covers only a few of the restored scenes. If you’re still curious about what was changed in this version, there are clips of three of the restored scenes still available here: IESB.net

The history of how Superman II went from being a Richard Donner project to a Richard Lester one is a long and sordid tale. There are several good references for this:

– Wikipedia Entry (thanks to Powet.TV staffer Dru for digging up that info!)
– Newsrama’s interview with Tom Mankiewicz (thanks, Shwiggie!), which repeats but also expands upon comments he’s made on the following sources.
– Two documentaries in the special features of the Superman: The Movie Special Edition DVD: “Taking Flight: The Development of Superman”, “Making Superman: Filming the Legend”
– New featurette “Superman II: Restoring the Vision” on the Superman II: Richard Donner Cut DVD.

All of these extra features were directed by Michael Thau, who was cheifly responsible for finding, reprinting, and restoring Richard Donner’s footage for the new cut. It’s no coincidence that he was the one to take on this project — he had assisted on the extended version of the first Superman film (completed in 2000) which was included on the Special Edition DVD release. Cheers, Michael!

If any of this has convinced you that you need a copy of this movie for yourself, feel free to check it out at Amazon.com.

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