So this past Sunday I noticed on the CapedWonder Network Facebook page that Vudu Fandango had recently updated the Superman films to spotlight the new 4K UHD versions that are coming out on physical discs in the coming weeks. By now some people have received word that their copies of the 4K regular and steelbook sets are being shipped out from Amazon, so it is a sure bet that the WB Shop will ship their copies out soon as well. I have had my copy on preorder since March, so when I receive my copy, I will post about it.

The main thing that stood out is that Vudu Fandango has updated its version of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut to reflect the current 4K release. As of Sunday, this was the listing that Vudu Fandango has for the film:

As you can see, the running length of the film is 115 minutes. This corresponds to the DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K home video releases of the film.

Now if you remember, there was a longer version of the Donner Cut that ran 122 minutes in length and was unofficially referred to as the Vudu Cut. This version of the film contains an additional minute of footage shot by Richard Donner in May 1977 of Lex Luthor and Miss Teschmacher accessing the crystal program of Jor-El and learning about the Phantom Zone villains. It’s not much footage, but it’s still worth watching because it’s extra Donner footage.

The other five minutes of footage was shot by Richard Lester in 1979 and encompasses all of the East Houston footage from the theatrical version of Superman II and the extended TV cut, including the added scene of Superman cooking the soufflé in the Fortress of Solitude and the added scene of Non killing a boy who tries to escape from the town.

More changes in the sequence include revised sound effects, more retracked music, and in one instance a CGI modification where Zod’s energy beam has been removed from the film.

This version of the film also includes some slightly different end credits as it gives credit to Warner Bros. executives George Feltenstein and Paul Hemstreet for eternal gratitude and support, as well as a slightly different end card from Richard Donner about not supporting fur and tobacco.

When this version of the film was submitted to Donner for approval, Donner did not okay the cut and ordered more changes to the film, resulting in the six minutes of footage being cut from the film, presumably to give him more emphasis in the final film and to deal with less Lester footage. But this 122-minute cut of the film was archived in a file somewhere, where it sat for nearly a decade and was released on Vudu and Amazon Prime, while other streaming platforms received the 116-minute final cut.

As of today, the 122-minute version of the film remains solely available on Amazon Prime.

For how long, though, is unknown. With the new 4K update available on Vudu Fandango and other streaming platforms, it may not be on Amazon Prime much longer.

For those of you who have access to Amazon Prime, my advice to you is this: save this copy of Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut as soon as possible. Store it to your hard drive. Save it to a flash drive or burn it to disc. I will not be surprised if Amazon Prime upgrades the film to the new 4K version very soon. When that happens—not if, but when—an interesting part of Superman lore will be lost forever.