Yesterday I discussed the additions that were found in the first Fortress of Solitude sequence in the longer alternate version of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, found on Vudu and Amazon. Now let’s turn our attention to the Richard Lester footage that is in this alternate cut.
The majority of the cuts to the film occur in the middle of the film, centering around the villains’ arrival and attack in East Houston and Superman and Lois’ dinner at the Fortress, all of which was filmed during Richard Lester’s tenure on the film in 1979. Let’s analyze each specific scene and address the changes between the two Donner Cuts.
0:49:41 – 0:51:18 – Deputy Dwayne confronts the Phantom Zone villains – In the original version of the scene, the sheriff’s line “You gotta learn to kick a– if you want to be a peacemaker” is retained, along with the shot of the sheriff encouraging Dwayne on. Both of these clips are removed from the final Donner Cut. Much of Ken Thorne’s underscore for the scene would also be cut from the scene as well, with Donner and Thau preferring to play the exchange without music instead. The music would pick up again when Zod uses his heat vision on the rifle. Once Zod fires the rifle, we then see Dwayne’s silent reaction – this is the same alternate shot that appears in the extended TV broadcast. It would be replaced with the same reaction from Non as in the theatrical version, along with Dwayne’s profanity-laced response.
The scene continues as in the theatrical version, but with some notable audio changes. First, when Non lifts up the car, Dwayne’s line “Just checking the tire” has been removed from the scene. New sound effects of the sheriff’s grunts and the police siren dying out have been added, while Non’s grunt and Zod’s sigh have been removed from the scene. Finally, the music has been moved up slightly to end the scene, as the original shot of Non cradling the siren in his arms has been cut from the film.
In this version of the Donner Cut, the sequence of events runs 1:37 in length. It would be substantially cut down to 45 seconds in the final version, with 52 seconds cut from the film.
0:51:13 – 0:51:48 – The next scene to be included in the alternate Donner Cut is of Superman cooking the souffle in the Fortress (which was taken from the extended TV broadcast). The main changes to the scene are a new sound effect for Superman’s heat vision and a partial music replacement with the original end notes from John Williams’ cue “The Mugger” (much of which would be dialed out from the first Superman film but be heard in its entirety on the 2000 Rhino CD and the 2008 Blue Box CD set). The 35-second clip would be cut from the film but included as the sole deleted scene on the 2006 Superman II special edition DVD.
0:51:48 – 0:55:06 – Next is the entire scene of the villains’ arrival and first attack in East Houston, which was completely edited from the final Donner Cut. In this scene, which runs 3:18 in length, numerous changes are made in terms of music replacement, sound effects, and dialogue. When Non tests his heat vision, the sound effect has been replaced, and music from “The Planet Krypton” has been added over the shot. Inside the diner, when Ursa tosses the man over the table, Zod’s sigh has been removed.
The most obvious replacement in the scene is the removal of the boy Willie’s (Marcus D’Amico) equally obvious British accent with an American one instead, relooped by voice actor Austin Majors. As Zod begins his attack on the townspeople, retracked music from “The Planet Krypton” is again included through the scene. Once the hotel owner points his rifle at Zod, the levitation beam has been completely removed from the film (a CGI makeover), along with its corresponding sound effect.
The scene then changes to Willie’s escape by horse and Non tossing the police siren and killing him, which was also taken from the extended TV broadcast. In addition to dialogue replacement, music from “Leaving Home” and “Destruction of Krypton” is tracked over the scene. This clip would be divided into two parts and included in the “You Will Believe” documentary for the 14-disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD set.
0:55:06 – 0:56:21 – The movie then cuts to the scene of Superman and Lois’ dinner at the Fortress. Only one sound effect has been replaced, that of the popping champagne cork. The scene then continues as in the theatrical release, ending with Superman and Lois holding hands, with no further changes. The sequence runs 1:15 in length in this version of the film but is cut down to 57 seconds for the final Donner Cut, with 18 seconds cut from the final film.
The scene is further edited down for the final version, with the long shot of Superman standing up removed from the film. Once Lois says, “It’s all confusing,” the beat of Superman laughing is also cut, and the scene quickly moves to his response, “Not to me, it isn’t.” The footage from the first part of his next line, “For the first time in my life…” is cut, and the dialogue is placed over Lois’ close-up. Once he says, “…everything’s clear,” the exchange between Lois and Superman is also cut from the film, immediately jumping instead to Superman taking Lois’ hand. The dialogue to the next scene, in which the reporter says, “This is East Houston, Idaho,” is placed over the footage to transition to the next scene.
0:56:21 – 0:58:28 – The next scene, of the reporter covering the villains’ arrival and their attack on the Army, plays intact in this version of the Donner Cut, with changes to music, sound effects, and CGI flame enhancement, and no cuts in the scene, which runs 2:07 here. The introduction of the scene, when the reporter states, “Good morning America,” is cut from the final version, and the dialogue placed over the footage of Superman taking Lois’ hand.
As the attack begins, the footage of Non using his heat vision a second time is cut, along with the footage of the Army jeep crashing through the building, later replaced with a crashing sound effect and an awkward music replacement edit retracked from “The Helicopter Sequence”. After the jeep crash, the shot of the resident asking, “Are you all right, buddy?” would also be cut from the final version.
Once the Army soldiers fire the flame gun upon Zod, after the flames hit the diner, the footage continues as in the theatrical version, of Zod’s brief smile, of the fleeing patron, and the exchange between Zod and Ursa – all of this footage was cut from the final Donner Cut, picking up with the reporter commenting on Zod’s actions.
As a result of the edits, the final version of the scene runs 1:41 in length, 26 seconds shorter than its counterpart in the alternate Donner Cut or the original theatrical release.
0:58:57 – 1:00:28 – The second part of the villains’ attack on the military is identical in appearance as in the theatrical release, running 1:31 in total, and has its share of differences between this version and the final Donner Cut. The first part of the reporter’s description is dialed out during the attack, which would be entirely edited out of the film. The footage of the Army officers firing on the villains is cut from the scene in the final Donner Cut, picking up with Non in the crosshairs.
The shot of the helicopter closing in on the villains would also be cut from the scene, as is the shot of the Army officers ordering everyone to clear the area, picking up instead with the first shot upon Zod. One shot from the theatrical version, of Ursa blinking as she walks toward Zod, has been cut from the sequence. In the shot of Deputy Dwayne ducking for cover, the voiceover of the helicopter pilot saying, “The rockets don’t have any effect!” has been removed from the shot and replaced with retracked music and sound effects.
The model effects shot of the helicopter, before it crashes into the building, plays as in the theatrical release, but for the final Donner Cut the shot is electronically sped up. The shots of Ursa smiling in glee, and the second explosion, are present in this cut, but are also edited from the final Donner Cut. The cuts to the footage bring the running length of the scene down to 1:04, with 27 seconds trimmed from the sequence.
1:00:28 – 1:00:53 – The scene of Superman and Lois asleep in bed is similar in length to its theatrical counterpart, running 25 seconds long, but it also has its differences. The close-up of Margot Kidder opening and closing her eyes is the same as in the final Donner Cut, but it crossfades into an added, previously unseen outtake of Superman and Lois asleep. This outtake was trimmed from the final Donner Cut, bringing the scene down to 19 seconds in length.
1:00:53 – 1:01:44 – In this sequence, of Zod making his declaration to the townspeople, no footage has been cut from the theatrical version, and it contains the same retracked music from the cue “Destruction of Krypton”, but there is one significant difference between the version seen here and the version seen in the final Donner Cut. In this version, when the Army general states, “I answer only to the President,” the voiceover for the general is still the same as in the theatrical release. After this assembly, the voiceover would be re-recorded for the final Donner Cut.
1:57:54 – 2:02:28 – The end credits for this version of the Donner Cut are slightly different than what appears in the final version. Here, Ken Thorne’s credit is not present. It would be restored for the final film as “Additional music composed and conducted by Ken Thorne”, appearing after Peter Murton’s credit.
Toward the end of the film credits, after all of the credits for the 2006 reconstruction have appeared, a title card appears, reading, “Priceless enthusiasm and support: George Feltenstein and Paul Hemstreet”, a reference to the two Warner Bros. executives who gave their support for the commission of the Donner Cut. For some reason, this title card was cut from the final end credits.
At the end of the film, two single title cards appear: “No real fur was used in the making of this film,” and “The filmmakers do not endorse the use of tobacco.” Richard Donner would revise these statements into a final title card which reads, “Since the making of this film in the late 1970s, a greater awareness has developed regarding the cruelty to animals in connection with the fur business, and the health risks associated with smoking and second hand smoke. Therefore I do not condone the use of tobacco and fur products as depicted in this film.”
Next time, we bring this analysis to a conclusion!
Superman: The Blog 