So earlier in the week I noticed on Facebook that someone had a copy of the overseas version of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace on VHS. It was a German VHS tape with the subtitle Die Welt Am Abgrund, which translates to The World at the Abyss. That’s a much stronger translation than The Quest for Peace, if you ask me.

And it got me thinking about some of the foreign home video releases that contain the longer 92-minute international cut that was released by Cannon Films. As you know, we in the United States have been saddled with the 89-minute theatrical cut sans those two added scenes. Thank goodness for Harrison Ellenshaw and his insistence to include those two scenes for the international cut! So here’s a few of them…

United Kingdom

This version from Warner UK and Cannon Films says that it’s 89 minutes, but because of the PAL running speed of the tape it’s actually the 92-minute international cut.

Australia

This one from the land down under indicates a 92-minute running time.

Japan

This is perhaps my favorite of the overseas editions in that it was released on VHS and laserdisc from Tohokushinsha Video and King Video with a running time of 93 minutes. The extra footage is solely the addition of the Japanese Kanji text for the film’s title logo before the start of the film and additional Kanji text at the end of the film. What makes this version unique is that until the 2001 DVD release in the United States, this was the only version of the film that was available in widescreen format, with a 2:1 aspect ratio, and the English subtitles in Kanji text superimposed on the right side of the screen. The laserdisc also contained a nice supplemental insert about the history of Superman and the development of the Christopher Reeve film series. This in my opinion is the best of the overseas releases.

I have fond memories of owning this laserdisc in my collection in Mississippi until I got married and moved to northeast Alabama in early 2005. Somehow, between the move and having everything in storage, it wasn’t until much later in 2005 that I discovered that only one of my laserdiscs had broken during the move. This one. That hurt. I had no choice but to throw it out. Thankfully I have a copy of a copy of a copy now, and while it’s not the best quality, it’s still watchable.

Then there’s this version…

Turkey

Pay particular attention to the running length on the right hand side of the tape. 120 minutes. How is this possible? It’s very likely a misprint, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case here.

At the end of the 1990s, when false rumors of people owning a copy of the original 134-minute version of the film ran rampant across the internet, hardcore fans like me began to investigate these rumors and debunk them from fact. One lead led me to contact a video store in the Netherlands which advertised on its website that they had a copy of Superman IV that ran 120 minutes long. I exchanged emails with the owner of the video store, and he verified that it was in fact 88 minutes long, which would have translated to a PAL transfer of the Cannon Films release.

Still, seeing that up for auction led me to go back to that question from the late 1990s: could a much longer cut of the film have escaped into the wild like that? And why in Turkey, of all places? All I know is that it’s no longer on eBay, but it was this past Friday for $250 plus shipping and tax, which would have pushed it close to $300. I myself would have taken the plunge, but I had to get the gaskets replaced on my car. Priorities. All I can say is that whoever got the tape, I hope you will speak up and present your findings to everyone.

Of course, there’s still talk that the Warner Bros. Archive has access to the original 134-minute pre-release cut of the film. In what shape the film is, nobody knows. But I’m believing that one day we will see it in all its unedited glory.