It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
----
James Gunn will have to win me over I have now got doubts whether he is the right person to write and direct a Superman movie.
All Star Superman is one my favourite Superman graphic novels, Gunn also posted other random images of Superman in Kingdom Come etc. Time will tell if he is a good fit.
The new botched Dolby sound mix on this abomination is even worse than I could have imagined. I do have a fondness for this bad film, the picture has never looked better to be fair it was worth the purchase for the remaster.
I am actually enjoying watching this, picture looks great, though the effects don't improve much lol
'Destroy Superman now!'
Nuclear Man's energy depletes ridiculously quickly in the shade :))
Christopher Reeves dodgy wig is even more apparent in 4K, its quite distracting.
Wow this film is an absolute masterpiece of bad film making, its failings are glorious in 4K.
---
Watching Superman 2 Lester Cut 4K, really impressed it sounds amazing and the color grading is very different more vibrant than my other versions. Feel like i am watching this for the first time. The Donner shot scenes are incredible far superior to Lester's even more so than before. Great restoration and not my favorite version of the film, this was awesome.
If I had to have only one, it would be the Lester version, but the 'Donner Cut' adds SO much to the second half!!!!!
I watched the Lester Cut first, on 4K you get both Cuts of Superman II together.
I will watch the better Donner Cut later.
The Donner cut is far superior. The Salkinds were morons to fire Dick Donner.
In another universe Donner went on to make 4 or 5 great Superman movies.
I was the 2nd assistant film editor on Superman IV. I got to know Chris Reeve quite well because he was in the cutting rooms all the time during post production because, with an ambition to direct, he wanted to learn all about film editing. He was a really nice guy and his riding accident a few years later and his early death were tragic.
I can say that when the film was 2 hours and had Nuclear Man 1, it worked much better than the short 90 min version, which was hastily done at the last minute. I wish I could tell you what really went on behind the scenes!
Edited: Joking aside its clear when watching the 90 minute cut that the missing scenes really hurt the film, there are some very abrupt cuts that make no sense at all narratively speaking. A prime example is Superman turning up to save Lacey and there is nothing to suggest Supes knew she was a target of Nuclear Man. Jeremy inexplicably vanishes from the film.
I know the film is an easy target though I am sure all involved tried to do there best and the huge budget cuts must have been very difficult to deal with. If I remember correctly Lifeforce (Amazing film) failings at the box office hugely effected the budget of Quest for Peace and led to the demise of Canon.
There are a lot of poor creative decisions like Lacey being thousand's of miles out in space from Earth and breathing, with more time and thought I am sure decisions like that would have been corrected.
Despite me making fun of the film I have watched it hundred's of times, its a bad movie I love for sure.
From recall, Lacey was only meant to have reached the edge of the atmosphere, but the rush to get the VFX done meant it was quicker and cheaper to just add in a star-field background. Many of the VFX shots were not completed properly because of the sudden removal of over 30 mins of material - hence the poor quality of many of the shots. We were given a list of edits to make and no time to finesse the truncated version because we had to meet the sound mixing deadline which couldn't be moved back due to the locked release dates.
The list of cuts meant Superman actually just turned up at Luther's penthouse base to rescue Lacey - ( or was it he pulled her out of the lift, I can't quite remember) a scene which originally came later in the film, but that made absolutely no sense at all so, ignoring the orders to follow the recut instructions, we switched that later scene for the earlier scene you mention - which, still doesn't really make sense, but was at least a bit better. Ripping the guts out of the film, made the entire editing team, particularly our leader, John Shirley (a marvellous editor I assisted many times - he also cut Chitty, Chitty, LALD and TMWTGG) very glum. Chris Reeve was very upset and I don't think he could really believe it was happening. The director, Sidney Furie, had no say in the changes, but he put on a brave face.
I edited my previous post...
I have watched I think all of the cut scenes available online, I have always wanted to see some kind of assembly cut of the film I am sure a lot of fan's would be interested in purchasing that.
Interesting interview, it just occurred to me Reeve may have had to wear the wig in Quest for Peace because of Switching Channels. Reeve totally understood the character of Superman better than anyone, his comment on society is even more relevant today.
There was talk of Cannon doing a fifth film, but all that stopped once the studio demanded the cuts.
The full version of the film was running at 121 mins from what I recall. So we had that version and many 35mm colour dupe copies for the sound team to work with. But once the cuts were made, most of the dupes were also cut to match the final version and all the sound tracks etc. and music score were adjusted to fit the shorter film. And the 35mm negative was only cut for the final 90 min version, so all the extended scenes on the blu-ray are from the cutting copy because the negative for those scenes was never cut and a graded print of those deleted scenes was never made. The elements are all there to do an extended version, but I suspect Warners would not commit to the cost and the time required to do it.
It is unfortunate I appreciate your knowledge and insight of the film, thank you.
I thought he had alopecia- I think he wore wigs as Clark and Superman in all the films? One touch I always like is that Clark and Superman part their hair on different sides :)
I wasn’t a massive fan of the Donner cut: I think there’s a lot which just works better in the Lester one- I much prefer the fireplace Superman reveal, for instance.
IV is certainly frustrating as there’s a fun superhero flick in there struggling to get out. I think I may even prefer it to III, even though that’s obviously made much better. Would love to see an expanded cut someday.
That is terrible they should have had the decency to inform him, I knew of Clive Mantel from Casualty prior to seeing his cut scenes much later, and Clive was one of the inmates in Alien3 another film that fascinates for it behind the scenes issues.
Yes, he did have alopecia and had lumps of hair missing which he was also very self- conscious about, hence needing the wig.
I have thought perhaps there was something added to his hair in this shot, they got Superman's hair perfect here I think....
I know, it was very disrespectful to Clive Mantel. I also know a lot about Alien 3 because my best mate, Tim Grover, who I shared a house with back then, was the first assistant editor on the film, so I heard all the details. Plus, I'm great friends with actor Chris Fairbank, who has a part in the film.
Chris Fairbank was excellent recently in Andor, he brought a lot to the episodes he was in. very good actor very impressive resume.
I watched Auf Wiedersehen, Pet when I was very young, I actually caught an episode of the newer series recently on late night TV I completely forgot the show made a comeback though I was not watching much TV around that time.
The Alien Anthology boxset is arguably the best set I have seen, the extensive interviews and information on the films is superb.
I think the Special Edition of Alien3 is the better movie, I find the Special Edition has a stronger narrative and more profound.
Agree, the original cut of Alien 3 is the better film by far.
At least Mr Mantle didn't turn up to the premiere in costume :))
I think that's right but I may be wrong.
Superman 4 does have the makings to be a better movie, I agree. It’s a shame so many people who worked hard on it got stabbed in the back.
As for James Gunn and Superman Legacy, I hope we get a well balanced tone of a movie. Not as goofy as Guardians at times, not as dark as Zack Snyder’s movies. Oh and above all, a villain(s) from the comics we haven’t seen before!
And in another universe Lethal Weapons 3 and 4 were better than they actually turned out.
I don't mind 3 and 4, admittedly 4 did not focus on the main plot enough.
If Donner had continued making Superman movies we may not have had any Lethal Weapon films.