Superman / Superman 2 [1978]

Although Superman II is credited to director Richard Lester the film is largely the work of Richard Donner, who shot 70 per cent of the footage back-to-back with Superman at a staggering combined cost of $55 million. Indeed, while each film works perfectly well alone, together they form four-and-a-half hours of the finest fantasy in cinema history. Superman II sees the release of the three super-villains exiled at the beginning of Superman, then without the need to tell Superman's origins offers a full two hours of rip-roaring comic-book action. The villains, led by a marvellously menacing Terrance Stamp, prove stronger adversaries than Lex Luthor, while Clarke's romance with Lois Lane is developed through polished comedy and a serious subplot in which Superman must chose between love and duty. From an atom bomb on the Eiffel Tower to an epic battle amid the skyscrapers of Metropolis (New York) the action and special effects are superb, the characters portrayed with verve and the story delivered with just the right amount of seriousness. A rousing entertainment very nearly as fine as its predecessor, the wirework battles paved the way for Hong Kong's seminal Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain (1983) and ultimately The Matrix (1999).

On the DVD:Superman is presented in an extended director's cut which adds eight minutes to the theatrical original. The restored material is so artfully integrated many viewers may not even notice, but it would have been nice to at least have the opportunity to watch the original via seamless branching. The sound has been remixed into extraordinarily powerful Dolby Digital 5.1--the superb main title sequence is worth the price alone--and the anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is, except for some unavoidably grainy effects shots, pristine. The commentary by Richard Donner and writer Tom Mankiewicz reveals more about the background than all but the most dedicated fan will ever need to know, while film music aficionados will revel in the opportunity to listen to John Williams' score isolated in Dolby Digital 5.1. On the second side of the disc are a eight alternate John Williams music cues, a selection of deleted scenes and the screen tests of a variety of would-be Lois Lanes, introduced and with optional commentary by casting director Lynn Stalmaster. These are fascinating, and show how right for the part Margot Kidder really was. A DVD-ROM only feature presents the storyboards plus various Web features, while the real highlight is a 90-minute documentary divided into three sections covering pre-production, filming and special effects. The picture quality on all the extras is very good indeed. An enthralling package, DVD doesn't get much better than this.

In contrast to the fantastic Superman DVD the Superman II disc is a bare-bones release with the original trailer being the only extra. The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is absolutely first-rate, but if Superman can be presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with an isolated score there is absolutely no excuse for the sequel being offered in lacklustre stereo. --Gary S Dalkin

Customer reviews:

super!, 2008-08-16
I bought this boxset because superman is one of those classic films that everyone has seen in their childhood, but I hadn't for some reason,I had caught odd bits of it on tv before, but never sat and watched it. Now having two sons I thought it was a good time to buy it.Both films were much btter than i anticipated and not at all what I expected. This is not only an action film about a superhero, it's also about a young man growing up and finding his way in life.Unlike some films of it's genre, there is a good balance between the emotional stuff and the action, its great for all ages and should be in everyones collection, at this price you can't go wrong.

But wait....theres a 14 DVD version coming out, 2006-02-25
If you have ever looked up some information on Superman 1 and 2 then you will have stumbled across a movement of people trying to get an alternate version of Superman 2. A version that lay on the cutting room floor. For along time it simply didn't exist....but after some fans around the world re-cut a version they had, recorded from TV and running about 30 mins longer than the version on DVD, it seems Warner Brothers finally figured out a way of making extra money.

A 14 DVD boxset !!

It is supposed to have 3 versions of Superman 1, one running for 3 hours, and 3 versions of Superman 2...and one of those versions is using unused footage that lay in the vault of a film studio somewhere.

It will also have Superman 3 & 4 and Supergirl.

Might be worth hanging on.....it should be around the same time as the new movie !!