Superman II Two

It's fairly well known that when Peter Jackson directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he filmed all three movies simultaneously. Less widely known is that the first two Superman movies, from 1978 and 1980, were also filmed at the same time... sort of. The story is far more complex than that.

Richard Donner was the director behind the two movies, and apparently was in constant conflict with the film's producers. The films were running over-budget and behind schedule, and there were arguments about what the overall tone should be. The release date for the first film was in jeopardy, so the order came down to stop filming any sequences for Superman II and finish the first film instead. As we know, the film was released to critical acclaim.

But the success of the film didn't resolve any of the creative differences between Donner and the producers. In short, Donner was fired from the project, and it was decided to significantly rewrite the second film. A new director, Richard Lester, was brought in to finish the film. Though Donner had finished 80% of the film, most of his work was scrapped.

It began with the elimination of Marlon Brando. His Jor-El character was to have appeared in the film, but Brando was by far the most expensive actor in the cast. By rewriting the film to have Superman's mother appear in place of his father, a huge savings was made in the budget.

The original opening was thrown out too. If you recall the theatrical release, a terrorist threat on the Eiffel Tower brings in Superman, who disposes of the bomb in space, triggering the destruction of the Phantom Zone and the release of the supervillains. The original opening more tightly connected the criminals' release with the first movie; it's Lex Luthor's missile from the end of the first film, which Superman disposes of in space, that destroys the Phantom Zone.

The ending was rewritten as well, because it had actually been stolen to use as the ending for the first movie. The "turn back the world" climax of movie one was originally conceived of as the end of movie two, reimprisoning the Kryptonians in the restored Phantom Zone, and causing Lois Lane to forget her discovery of Clark Kent's true identity, because "it never happened." But in the desperation to complete a whiz-bang first movie, this gimmick was taken for the first film, as it was thought to be the most powerful moment in either of the two film scripts.

But even though Richard Lester would go on to reshoot the vast majority of the movie, Donner's hand in it was not eliminated entirely. Gene Hackman refused to come back and re-shoot any scenes for the new director; everything featuring Lex Luthor in movie two was Donner's work, or an awkwardly filmed body double.

He wasn't the only one not to return to the project, either. Composer John Williams was busy with other work, and passed on returning to write the score for Superman II. Another composer came in and used Williams' established themes, though the finished work seems less full and powerful than the music of the first film.

Despite all this, Superman II did go on to a reception largely as positive as the first movie. But it was a very changed film from its original conception. It was more campy, never missing a moment for a joke, no matter how silly. But fans in the know were aware of the "original" Superman II, and a few years ago, their enthusiasm was sufficient to convince the studio to fund a "Richard Donner Cut" of the film.

Released on DVD, this incarnation of Superman II is definitely more in keeping with the first film. It's actually a good case study in how two different directors can approach the same material (for the most part) and end up with two very different tones in the work.

Nevertheless, "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut" is far from a perfect film. Donner supervised this re-edit, but he clearly still has a chip on his shoulder about the whole experience. It's not that he can be blamed for this attitude, but it does color the way this version is put together. Donner clearly wanted to excise as much Richard Lester footage as he possibly could... but he only had finished about 80% of the movie himself. Using even that remaining 20% of Lester's work seemed to be painful to Donner, and so he used only what was absolutely necessary. I would argue he used less than what was absolutely necessary. The pacing is rather awkward, with many sequences cut short, certain bits of "connective tissue" absent in the plot, and other abridgements. This isn't a movie that can completely stand on its own.

But there are improvements too. All the Marlon Brando footage has been restored, and the "loss of powers" subplot of the film works far better in the father/son context than it does in the theatrical version. The procession of schticky jokes is gone; no toupees flying off in the Super-wind, no defacing of Mount Rushmore, far less of the hick Idaho cops, and almost no "Non is such a stupid oaf" jokes. Superman's more stupid super-powers have been eliminated -- ripping giant a cellophane S off his suit to throw at the bad guys, creating multiple duplicate images of himself, amnesia-inducing kisses. Make no mistake; the tone hasn't suddenly shifted to Dark Knight-like seriousness, but it is more dramatic.

I'd rate the Donner cut of Superman II a B-. It's probably still not something you should make time for unless you're a big fan of Superman, or of movie-making. But it is an interesting look at a road not taken.