World Two things I didn't like from Donner's version.

[Road Warrior]

Allow me to begin by saying that I LOVED Donner's version. Way better than the stuff Lester gave us. However, Donner's version is not without flaws. There's two flaws.

1) They deleted too much. After watching the movie I checked out the deleted section. And, honestly, why did they cut all that stuff out? Seriously? Those scenes were AWESOME and would have improved the film.

2) They ruined my favorite scene from Lester's version. I always loved the scene in which Clark goes back to the diner to get revenge from that trucker. However, in Donner's version this scene makes no sense whatsoever. Superman turned the Earth around. His encounter with that trucker never happened! Or atleast that's how I interpreted the scene. I guess this is something else the "whole turning the Earth around" thing ruined.

 

[matthooper]

Allow me to begin by saying that I LOVED Donner's version. Way better than the stuff Lester gave us. However, Donner's version is not without flaws. There's two flaws.

2) They ruined my favorite scene from Lester's version. I always loved the scene in which Clark goes back to the diner to get revenge from that trucker. However, in Donner's version this scene makes no sense whatsoever. Superman turned the Earth around. His encounter with that trucker never happened! Or atleast that's how I interpreted the scene. I guess this is something else the "whole turning the Earth around" thing ruined.

He deserved it anyway, and Clark knew it. We knew it too. And even though Clark's beatdown was technically reversed, it still happened to Clark since he exists outside of the space-time continuum.

 

[Catman]

I'm gonna buy the DVD this afternoon when I get off work so I don't exactly know what it's been talked about. But, if memory serves me well, didn't Clark say after beating up the guy, "been working out." As to imply to the owner that they had fought before.

So, I can sort of see where the complain is coming from. ALSO, remember that they changed the turning the Earth around ending to part 1. Maybe when they shot that it was already decided that turning the Earth around was gonna be for #1 and they were in the process of figuring out the ending of #2

 

[superdupersuper]

yep the original ending for the first movie should have been the real ending for the second movie

unfortunately the salkinds decided to use the turn back time ending for part 1,

and donner never got to film his new ending for part 2

bastards!!!

If they had just let donner get on with it and not interfered, we would have had perfect movies for both part 1 and 2 without any flaws, and then we would had great sequels for 3 and possibly more,

instead, the dream was killed after only 1 movie.

what a shame

those scenes with reeve and brando are some of the best ive seen ever,
better than anything in returns

truly there is no comparison with reeve, he was the best, awesome!

 

[mcflytrap]

Allow me to begin by saying that I LOVED Donner's version. Way better than the stuff Lester gave us. However, Donner's version is not without flaws. There's two flaws.

1) They deleted too much. After watching the movie I checked out the deleted section. And, honestly, why did they cut all that stuff out? Seriously? Those scenes were AWESOME and would have improved the film.

2) They ruined my favorite scene from Lester's version. I always loved the scene in which Clark goes back to the diner to get revenge from that trucker. However, in Donner's version this scene makes no sense whatsoever. Superman turned the Earth around. His encounter with that trucker never happened! Or atleast that's how I interpreted the scene. I guess this is something else the "whole turning the Earth around" thing ruined.

My favorite scene from the original Supes II was cut. It was when Superman returns to the city and says, "General! Would you care to step outside?" The cuts and the music and the dialogue all fit together so well. This was altered in the new version and ruined that bit for me.

Other than that, I loved it.

 

[Smegger56]

I really thought the Donner cut was excellent. Well worth the wait.

However, some things seem a bit out of place:

Spoiler

In the new begining, we see a recap of Supes 1, showing supes hurl one of the rockets into outer space. NOW, in supes 1, he turns back time and so the rockets never occurred, but, the rocket he hurled released the kryptonian criminals. So there is one problem with the Donner cut.

However, with the whole fiasco with the Salklinds, this can be forgiven. Without a doubt, the turning back time was never originally intended to happen in Superman 1. This is the closest we'll get to Donners vision. I loved it. It's a shame those idiot producers didn't realise at the time what they had. If they did, we would have had 4 great superman films instead of just 2 (3 if you count the Lester Supes ).

 

[Catman]

My favorite scene from the original Supes II was cut. It was when Superman returns to the city and says, "General! Would you care to step outside?" The cuts and the music and the dialogue all fit together so well. This was altered in the new version and ruined that bit for me.

Other than that, I loved it.

Agreed. What I didn't like was how short the movie is. I bought the DVD like three hours ago and I already saw the movie, deleted scenes, and I'm currently watching the documentary. I expected something long and epic like Superman 1.

But, I guess we need to realize that this isn't Donner's cut per say. It's more of a way to show us what it may have looked like. And, I gotta say that Donner had a masterpiece on his hands. Too bad he never finished.

 

[Prognosticator]

To all you people who are watching the Donner cut: Did you buy the 14 disc set to get this or are they selling it seperately where you live b/c I haven't seen it anywhere??

 

[Catman]

I bought it separately. I think it depends where you go. I went to Target to get that great Superman Returns offer with the radio episodes and I saw that they were also selling original Superman II separately. But, I didn't see the other movies being sold separately. At Target it was pretty much Superman Returns, Superman II, Superman II: RDC, Collectors Edition, and Chris Reeve edition.

 

[buggs0268]

yep the original ending for the first movie should have been the real ending for the second movie

unfortunately the salkinds decided to use the turn back time ending for part 1,

and donner never got to film his new ending for part 2

bastards!!!

If they had just let donner get on with it and not interfered, we would have had perfect movies for both part 1 and 2 without any flaws, and then we would had great sequels for 3 and possibly more,

instead, the dream was killed after only 1 movie.

what a shame

those scenes with reeve and brando are some of the best ive seen ever,
better than anything in returns

truly there is no comparison with reeve, he was the best, awesome!

Actually it was Dpnner and Malk that decided to do the turning back time thing in one. There is an interview with Mank where he states that they decided it because they didnt have an ending so they went and shot that whole thing of Lois Dying in the car and Supes pulling the car out and all as the last thing before the films release. Originally Supe gets there and saves her just in time. So that was not the Salkind's. That was Donner. I thought it was a great climax to 1 and was needed. They would have come up with another ending for 2 had then been able to finish it. They always intended too. Just read the interview with Mank and that was the plan when they came back to finish 2 after 1 was released.

 

[morphmaster]

I'm with you on the "General, would you care to step outside?" line. That is probably one of the best superhero "kick ass" lines to have ever been written. I rank it up there with "I'm Batman!", from Batman '89 and Batman Begins.

Besides that change and a couple of others, I laughed my butt off at the new comedic scenes. Hey, who knew there was actually a bathroom in the Fortress? I died laughing at that.

Also, I know this has probably shown up on another thread, but in the Donner version he sleeps with Lois before he gives up his powers. So, you can offically connect this with Superman Returns and Jason will grow up to be like Clark.

But also, if he turned back the world they wouldn't have slept together. Unless, when you said Superman turning the world back he was protected by space and time, being Kryptonian he would have passed his genes on to Jason and being a Krypto-human hybrid...he would survive the time shift. With Jason growing in her womb, he could've telepathically restarted her memory bringing back the time that she and Clark spent together. That's what she probably whispered to him while he was in the coma at the end.

What do you guys think?

 

[Moviefan2k4]

Here are my biggest gripes with the Donner Cut:

1) The oprning titles were barely readable before the zooming effects took over, plus the whole thing looked way too saturated.

2) The revealing scene in the hotel room was way too...corny. I like the concept, but Chris' struggle to keep from smiling was all too obvious. Plus, I just couldn't get over the weight shifts.

3) Jor-El's scenes I just don't get. One moment he's full color, the next he's blue or gray (same thing as the original film's 2001 release).

4) Quite a few scenes were way too campy, almost as if the actors were thinking as they shot the picture, "This is so lame". Most of them are far out of character, and it borders on annoying. Plus, both Reeve's and Stamp's voices crack and squeak like crazy. One minute, it's all classic, with deep tones; the next, Chris Reeve sounds like a 12-year old: "Aye'm not a cauwird, Zawd." The studio either fumbled up the audio, or someone was very deaf when they reconstructed it.

5) One last thing is the very quick cuts between the Lester and Donner footage; it's so abrupt it interrupts the flow of the film.

I did like some of the line changes, though, like when Ursa says about Lex: "Let me kill him..."

 

[TheWebline]

My favorite scene from the original Supes II was cut. It was when Superman returns to the city and says, "General! Would you care to step outside?" The cuts and the music and the dialogue all fit together so well. This was altered in the new version and ruined that bit for me.

Other than that, I loved it.

YES!!! I said this too in another post. I totally hate this scene in the donnor cut. It just doesn't have the emotional impact as the original Superman II cut.

 

[Freddy_Krueger]

Just watched the Donner Cut. I really liked it, but I do agree that there are problems (which is understandable since it really is a rough cut and not a final picture).

One of the problems was some changes in audio. Both Ursa and Zod's voices change from the deep ADR versions seen in the theatrical version to York's and Stamp's not so deep voices. Of course, this again has to do with it not being a complete picture, but it still stuck out.

Another problem would be the lack of Clark/Superman for a lot of the picture. We literally get the opening scene in the Planet, then a ten second shot of him and Lois going into their hotel room, the boy rescue from the theatrical version cut down severely, etc. Even when they get to the Fortress a lot is cut out. They eat, then we get Zod and co., come back and their in bed together (looks like Supes really doesn't need a Kryptonite condom ). In fact, by the quick cuts and lack of Clark/Superman scenes, it makes the film feel like the Zod/Ursa/Non show until the climax of the picture.

And a funny thing I noticed. At the end we go from Lex trying to con Superman into being his "pal" to Superman and Lois standing outside the fortress while Superman destroys it with his heat vision. The way it's edited makes it look like Superman is literally killing Lex Luthor.

Of course, again, this isn't the fault of Richard Donner or Michael Thau or anyone involved. The used what they had and I'm eternally grateful to have the Richard Donner Cut in my collection.

I won't, however, exactly be throwing away my Richard Lester version either.

 

[Catman]

I really liked it, but I do agree that there are problems (which is understandable since it really is a rough cut and not a final picture).

That's the thing. WB promote it as the Donner cut but it isn't. It's what the Donner cut would have looked like. Most of us went into it thinking it would be a movie but it isn't. It's a presentation.

 

[C. Lee]

The end scene at the diner still makes sense. Even though he has turned back time...he remembers what happened (whereas others don't). He's at the Daily Planet, when a big guy bumps into Clark...Clark says his usual excuse me, but the guy still threatens him....so, Superman decides to go pay the bully a visit and teach hima lesson.

And the part where he says he has been working out still fits in. Sure, the diner owner doesn't remember the bully beating him up....but he has to try and explain to the guy why he can beat up the bully that everyone knows is strong.

 

[Catman]

The end scene at the diner still makes sense. Even though he has turned back time...he remembers what happened (whereas others don't). He's at the Daily Planet, when a big guy bumps into Clark...Clark says his usual excuse me, but the guy still threatens him....so, Superman decides to go pay the bully a visit and teach hima lesson.

And the part where he says he has been working out still fits in. Sure, the diner owner doesn't remember the bully beating him up....but he has to try and explain to the guy why he can beat up the bully that everyone knows is strong.

I'm sticking to my theory that when Donner shot that scene he had already decided to end Superman 1 with the Earth turned around. Just the way that scene plays out you can tell that Superman never turned the Earth around. I'm gonna listen to the commentary track to see if they say anything about it.

 

[C. Lee]

I'm playing it with the commentary right now, myself.

 

[Catman]

I will do that when Conan is over.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Spoiler

In the new begining, we see a recap of Supes 1, showing supes hurl one of the rockets into outer space. NOW, in supes 1, he turns back time and so the rockets never occurred, but, the rocket he hurled released the kryptonian criminals. So there is one problem with the Donner cut.

QUOTE]

SPOILER REPLY TO POST...PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

In Superman: The Movie, the rockets did launch. Lois makes mention of destruction happening all around her while she was driving, and Jimmy complains about being stranded on the dam. It happend. How it was resolved to where Lois wasn't sinking into the ground isn't clear (and that inconsistant ending is a problem I had with S:TM), but the launch itself happend. Therefore, the rocket releasing Zod and co. from the Phantom Zone is still applicable.

 

[Catman]

How it was resolved to where Lois wasn't sinking into the ground isn't clear (and that inconsistant ending is a problem I had with S:TM), but the launch itself happend.

Turning the Earth around was a bad idea from the getco. It shouldn't have been done in either version.

 

[C. Lee]

I'm still watching it...but Donner has already said that the second movie was planned to end with Supes reversing time.

 

[Catman]

I'm still watching it...but Donner has already said that the second movie was planned to end with Supes reversing time.

It was originally planned but they OBVIOUSLY had to come up with a different ending since they used it for Superman 1. Did Mank correct him on that?

 

[HR-PUFF&STUFF]

the movie rocked and all you *****es know it!

 

[Catman]

Yeah...even in it's incomplete stage it does indeed rock.