Use code OLLIE to get 5% off a purchase of a cheaper Netflix account using the link below bit.ly/GamsGo-OLLIE I thought this film was very interesting. Some great ideas mixed with some strange ad break cuts left me with mixed feelings. Mr. Reeve's was amazing as always and Zod was so cool! Also that ending was very unexpected and super bitter sweet. I will be watching the 3rd Superman film and probably the 4th plus Superman Returns just a heads up! May as well watch all of them. I also have no desire to watch Supergirl. Thanks for watching! Have a great day! :)
Supergirl, for all its shortcomings, is better than the disastrous Superman 4. It has some great sequences bolstered by an amazing Jerry Goldsmith score and Helen Slater is absolutely delightful.
The theatrical version definitely did NOT have those fade-to-black transitions. Whatever version you watched had those transitions added later for commercial breaks.
Yes that is the same guy who played that annoying sheriff in Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun. And yes, this is a TV edited version you are watching.
I've seen this movie countless times on VHS growing up, and I don't recall there being any abrupt 'tv commercial' style cuts, so I do wonder if there's a weird version out there that you're watching. I know that there was an extended cut that ran on TV in the 80s, but that had extra footage, not cut scenes.
There were cuts, but not long ones. they designed it like a comic book. TV version takes advantage of it, and places their time delays at the start of each cut. Donner version is uncut and the added video can seem out of place sometimes. Especially when it cuts to Zod with a M-16 and using it lol. That scene was one take, and he was not trying to laugh for real. You will see with the donner cut, that some scenes go on to long.
@@ericjanssen394 This version was edited by tv, but by a station that added a ton of commercials. The original version does have the cuts, but they are designed in a way to mimic a comic book cut away. people like the donner cut for the extra footage of Krypton life, while some for the extra comedy. I'm the first half, i did enjoy Marlon Brandon's extra footage.
I have it on DVD and no, there was none of that abruptness! My guess is this was neither the theatrical version nor the extended T.V. version but the theatrical version but edited for television (with commercials)! It just depends on who posted the video and which version they chose!
Poor Sheriff J.W. Pepper, he can't have a moment of peace in his town, first Bond and now Zod and his goons showed up with a bad attitude and start tearing up the place.
You should check out The Donner Cut of Superman II just to get an idea of how Superman II would've been if Donner had been allowed to finish the movie before he got fired by the Salkinds. 70% of Superman II was completed when Donner got fired, so about half of what you see in this version was directed by Donner, and the other half was by Richard Lester, and you can tell which is which. All of the scenes with Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor were directed by Donner, as Hackman refused to return for reshoots. The scenes where Lois Lane looks pale and gaunt are all from the Lester scenes. Margot Kidder was not happy about Donner's firing and let the Salkinds know it.
The only good thing about the Donner Cut was the Marlon Brando scenes....but ironically the one involving Jor El giving back Superman his powers, lessen the impact of Superman's dramatic return to Metropolis to confront Zod.
@@PungiFungi I think the Daily Planet scenes in the Donner Cut were also better than the ones in the Lester version, which featured the chain-smoking, orange juice-squeezing Lois Lane. Also, having Jor-El repower Clark brings their story arc from the first movie full circle. The Lester version never explains how Clark gets his powers back. It just shows the green crystal glowing and that's it.
@@44excalibur one can only speculate the Jor El repowering Clark took place offscreen. Then again, the theatrical cut left it to the audience's own imagination and interpretation...something sadly lacking in today's movies.
@@PungiFungi Yeah, but I think the point that you're missing is that the scene where Jor El repowers Clark is supposed to be the fulfillment of their story arc that was set up in the first movie - the son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son. It establishes that not only does Jor El repower Clark, but that he also does it at the cost of his own remaining existence, and that this will be the last time that Clark will ever see him. Clark not only has his powers back, but from that point on, Clark is on his own. The Lester version ruins the denouement.
"Come to me, son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod!" Fun Fact: In an early draft of the screenplay, the crystal chamber which removes Superman's powers (and which ultimately enables him to defeat Zod and company) was lined with Yellow (or Gold) Kryptonite, exposure to which, as in the comic books, will strip him of his super-abilities. Had it been kept, this would have been the movie's sole reference to Kryptonite. Bonus Fact: Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor), Ned Beatty (Otis), Valerie Perrine (Eve Teschmacher) and E.G. Marshall (The President) were the only actors not to participate in the film's re-shoots under the direction of Richard Lester. Bonus Fact: Clark uses the rare "super-kiss" to make Lois forget he is Superman. While this was a real power Superman had in the comics, it was rarely used, and eventually removed.
Superman never had the ability to move people telepathically or appears in multiple places at the same time. His suit never had a S shield frisbee. This all Richard Lester.
I hate it when a company can just take an established classic that's been known for decades and just completely rewrite the canon. The good thing about fantasy is that down the road you can just turn a blind eye to bs material while someone can always do a relaunch. In the end the fans can choose which media survives the test of time.
superman freeze breath "for real" first occurs in Superman #129 (May 1959), once again to take out a fire, this time in the Superman Museum. The "super-breath caused super-cooling", covering all the room in ice
"Don't go away! Superman will be RIGHT BACK after these important messages from our sponsors" Ahh, the good 'ol days of non-stop commercials interrupting the movie on TV just when it is getting good.
One of my chores as a kid when growing up to earn pocket money was our family had two VHS players, one was hooked into the aux ports of the other… My parents would tape shows off of tv using the timer etc, then I would be tasked with watching the tapes whilst the primary player was set to record the incoming feed through aux, pausing the recording to edit out the commercial breaks. So they had seasons worth of tv shows on 5 hour long tapes recorded on “long play” (a reduction in audio video quality of about 5-10% but double play time), and this was in an era before DVDs were even a thing, and tv shows were available to purchase…with two episodes per volume…
This was obviously edited for tv. Along with all the breaks for commercials, many parts were edited out including where Lex Luthor strikes a deal with the villains to get them Superman. I wish you could see the full movie. It is the best Superman movie EVER!
As someone that has read the comics (mostly Doomsday era), and seen just about every iteration of the character on the big screen and television, I can tell you that Kryptonians never had the ability to move things or people with their minds, remove the S shield from his suit and use it as a weapon of sorts, project illusions of himself or had a memory wiping kiss. Freeze breath, however, is a consistant power in all iterations of Superman.
Freezing breath has always been one of Superman’s core powers, and he is portrayed with this ability in almost every live medium, from comic books, to cartoons, to live action version. Dean Cain, Tom Welling, and Henry Cavill were all shown using freezing breath in their respective media. However, you are correct about the telekinesis power and the cellophane S. The teleporting and holograms in the Fortress I always just chalked up to some advanced Kryptonian technology built into the Fortress. We know it has holographic technology, and they only use that while in the Fortress, so the teleporting could be similar to that. But they shouldn’t have telekinesis. They do have “tactile telekinesis” based on the manipulation of gravitons. This is how they manifest many of their superhuman powers including strength, invulnerability, and flight. They can extend this field to anything they touch, which is how Superman can catch Lois from a falling building without killing her, or how they can catch large objects in flight without them collapsing under the force of their own weight. We actually see Richard Donner inadvertently demonstrate this power when Superman flies with Lois in the clouds only touching her fingers. However, it is not true telekinesis since he cannot project this ability away from his body to levitate other objects. That’s not a Kryptonian core power and I think that and the cellophane S was mostly Richard Lester adding his own fun. I don’t think that is in the Donner cut.
Superman III isn't as bad as you may be thinking from all youve heard. While it may not be as good as I or II, it definitely has its memorable moments. I would love to see you react to it.
Yes it is. I hated it. The movie tried to do a version of Brainac but they were too scared to go fully. I hated it. The animated series got Brainac done better
You're right. You've watched a very weird version. The original theatrical version didn't have those cuts. And I noticed it even watching the edited reaction.
You watched the theatrical version, all right--it feels like it's been cut-down and re-edited because it was, a lot of Richard Donner footage was thrown out (like Marlon Brando) and new scenes were filmed (such as the entire Paris sequence).
If you have reacted to 'Batman Forever' and 'Batman & Robin', you definitely should watch 'Superman III' on the channel. In my opinion is a better movie than those Batman sequels by far. And you can't miss Christopher Reeve amazing performance in it. Reeve was also great in 'Street Smart', alongside Morgan Freeman.
You can...SORT of forgive Richard Pryor for Superman III, just because he's so clearly a Superman fan--And yes, even most of Superman IV, because Chris Reeve put his personal offscreen heart into the story. While Joel Schumacher was clearly not a Batman fan, and those are still unforgivable.
The three hours version relates to the "Superman: The Movie", not to this one. In the original comics, Superman doesn't fly, he could bounce tall buildings.
It's interesting that you said "The Three Musketeers descending from heaven." Richard Lester had directed a two-part film of The Three Musketeers for the same producers earlier in the 70s. They actually had to resolve a lawsuit with him, because they never told him they were making two movies out of the one he thought he was directing. They certainly only paid him for one. They had to pay him what he was owed on The Four Musketeers (the second film) before he came on board for Superman.
I knew that they never told the actors, but Lester didn't know either? Really? Out of everybody, I would have thought that the director was the one person who *had* to know. It does seem like a thing for the Salkinds, though. Apparently, Marlon Brando didn't know that some of his scenes were for Superman II either, insisted that he should be paid for two, but that's why they reshot his scenes using Superman's mother instead.
Again great movie . my favorite superhero of all time Superman :) . Christoper. Reeve Rip is the gold standard of Superman no one else ever even come close. I am glad you are doing Superman 2 The Theatrical version. This is the first Superman movie I remember from my childhood and I love it.
I like the fact you don't shy away from sequels For better or worse it's interesting seeing and hearing your reaction. Like the Batman's you just reacted to the goofyness level intensifies with 3 and 4!
"Richard Lester or something like that" directed the Beatles' films A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), The Three Musketeers (1973), etc.
And Supe 3, of course! I *love* Lester's films. Royal Flash (1975) and The Bed Sitting Room (1969) are other weird and wonderful films from him. Anyone seen How I Won the War (1967) from Lester starring John Lennon? I just ordered a DVD of it and I'm excited!
I have to disagree Somewhere is not that good. The only really good things in it are the beautiful score by the great 007 composer John Barry, and the fact it makes Lake Michigan into a romantic getaway- the kind of portrayal the Great Lakes don’t get enough of. But a lot of it doesn’t make sense.
There was, at the time, a fairly well-known essay by science fiction writer Larry Niven, "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex", explaining that sex with Superman would be dangerous and probably fatal ("ripping her from crotch to sternum, gutting her like a trout"). The de-powering of Superman in the film was perhaps better understood back then because of this.
This was the “edited for tv” version. They take the theater version and cut it down to fit the time slot, cut out or dub over cuss words, and cut any nudity. Those cuts are just what you expected… that’s where the commercials were inserted.
I know people have a hard-on for Brando, but I didn't mind that he wasn't in this one. He was in it the first one enough, and honestly, I've never been impressed with his mumbling performance. People complain that Superman's mother comes in to advise him, but I thought it made perfect sense. She has to have SOME influence on her son, it can't all be about his dad, and it makes sense that she would be the one for him to talk to about matters of the heart.
This was shot back to back with the first one apparently, but ran into difficulties like losing Donmer as director, losing Brando. Puzo's involvement really was from the first one only. His story draft for the first one was immense enough to split it into two movies. Back then, this was a highly anticipated sequel since it was stated at the end credits of the first one...Supermen II coming soon.
See the Donner cut. It makes more sense, has Brando and I'm biased... if you remember my comment from your previous film reaction. When I interviewed Richard Donner he had just been fired by the producers and told me so in no uncertain terms. We had such a great time he returned to our school with Margot Kidder when this came out.
I recommend you watch "Superman 2: The Richard Donner Cut", this is the cut shot as intended (with some lacking footage and alternate scenes, no strange powers such a "forget me" kiss etc...). You'll get why when you watch it.
In order for Lester, the director credited for the theatrical cut, to receive director credit, he had to shoot a ton of new footage in order to replace Donner's material. Lester shot the Paris opening scene as well as most of the fight scene in Metropolis as well as a lot of the footage with Zod and his minions in the midwest. For some reason, Lester chose not to have Marlon brando in the movie. Brando is blacked out in some scenes and they even use a hands double for him. Gene Hackman, out of respect for Donner, chose not to return to film additional scenes. So Lester had a double stand in for him and even used a voice double. Christopher Reeve was sued by the Salkinds (producers) and claimed he had walked away from doing the movie. Reeve had already finished the film and moved on to another movie. He agreed to come back as long as he got some form of creative control with his character. John Williams refused to work with Lester after the two got into a heated argument while watching a cut of the movie. The Donner cuts restores the original opening of the movie. the original way Zod escapes and the original ending. as well as a ton of footage. some of it was test footage of Lois and Clark that was part of the plot but hadn't been completed. Originally footage of Brando that was shot during the first Superman movie was going to be use during the Fortress of Solitude scene. but Brando and his estate chose not to allow it. That's why they ended up using Superman's mom instead. When the movie Superman Returns was being made, Brando had already passed away, so his estate allowed for footage of him to be used in that movie. When this happened, they also allowed for the unused footage to be used in the Donner Cut. It's a lot of footage by the way.
One of the Eiffel Tower terrorists was played by a very young Richard Griffiths. Surely many will know him more for his role as Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter saga. He also appeared as the King of England in Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides. Unfortunately, he passed away a long time ago.
Though I do enjoy Michael Shannon's version of Zod... this is the superior Zod and Luthor for obvious reasons. MISS Teschmacher! Have Otis get my neutonian-powered motorscooter & pack the laser sharks, we are going to Peru for convoluted reasons! Yes...do watch Superman 3 & 4.
That is why Superman, is favorite for so long! He just sees the World as his home, and he has to protect it! He doesn't care how you live your life, so long as it doesn't hurt. Your fellow man or woman, he's just here to protect it, in spite of humanity's misgivings! 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
The Eiffel Tower was a Derek Meddings miniature, the cars flying around were also miniatures, there was a whole miniature street. The scenes with the flying cars were reshot for the Lester version which, as you can imagine, pissed off all the guys who worked to get it right the first time. Not sure if they put the original footage back in the Donner Cut - only saw it once. I have no idea where the ad breaks came from, never seen them before. I'd be interested to know what platform you're watching the film on, so I know to avoid that platform. 'When has he been able to freeze things?' They did make up a number of powers in this film but his ability to freeze things always stood to reason to me. What do you do when something is hot? You blow. Not as effective but imagine Superman blowing - likely to be a lot colder, wouldn't you say? And yes please do Superman III. I know it's hated for being too comedic but there's also a scene where Clark Kent fights Superman that watching the whole film is worth it to see. In truth the film could have done without Richard Pryor who I wouldn't say was at his funniest. I always laugh more at the comedy in the scenes between Clark and Lara. There, I've spoiled it just enough for you to be interested - admit it. I think you will enjoy it.
Superman III isn't nearly as bad as its reviews-especially if you can watch it as just a standalone movie. Superman IV is one of the worst things ever created. Rather than watching Superman IV, watch Supergirl. It's not absolutely terrible. And Superman Returns is highly underrated.
@@rjd6214 That's not saying much...they're both horrible films...that Supergirl may have been better than Superman IV...doesn't mean watching Supergirl is a good recommendation, my friend.
@@rjd6214 That's not saying much...they're both horrible films...that Supergirl may have been better than Superman IV...doesn't mean watching Supergirl is a good recommendation, my friend.
I think there was an extended version called the "TV Cut" that was released, and that must be what he was watching. When the movie first appeared on television in the 1980's, there was a version that added a couple minutes of footage, but of course had advertisement breaks. I know the original cut of the film was released, as well as a Richard Donner Cut, but the extended TV Cut must have been released as well.
Since you happen to stumble on a weird cut that apparently was for TV, why not watch the Richard Donner version now? It would clean a lot of those bad feelings for sure :D And you'll have the pleasure to hear and see more of Malron Brando too.
26:11 it was this line which helped define Zod as a villain…and was used in nearly every iteration of the character (man of steel version sticks out as not) There was a quote from someone working on the smallville series in a season 9 bonus DVD feature discussing Zod as a character, how yeah he was a villain, but he wasn’t the maniacally laughing over the top villain type. The way this person described Zod confidence and superiority was perfect “Kneel before me…submit…right, now set yourself on fire and get out of my way”
For the record, Richard Donner was actually filming both Superman 1 and Superman 2 simultaneously. That's why Zod is in the beginning of the first movie. The producers, who didn't like Donner personally, got into a huge fight with him and caused him to either quit or fired him. Brando wanted too much money to be included in the second half. No, I don't remember the "Ad cuts" when I saw this in the movie theater or on Blu-ray. Superman has always had Freeze Breath. Superman throwing his giant S symbol was actually Kryptonian technology and not his power. And finally, don't bother watching Superman 3, Supergirl, or Superman 4.
Eehhh…of those three you mentioned, 4 was somewhat tolerable Yeah was a bit on the nose from the sociopolitical commentary of the era…but aside from that Now…personally, despite the fan opinion, if he was to continue the series, jumping to “superman returns” would be the better option…as like what Cameron did with “dark fate”…returns ignores films 3&4 and acts as a sequel to 2
@@trayolphia5756this is also how Halloween H20 functions - being a direct sequel to the original and Halloween 2. Only difference is Superman Returns and H20 are far superior to Dark Fate as sequels lol
Superman 3 is worth watching for the fight between good superman and bad superman in the scrap yard, and the woman turning into a robot (which gave me nightmares as a kid) but the rest of the plot, the hokey comedy, and the performances are not good. Lois Lane is hardly in it, and the new lady in Clarkes life, who played Beverly in the original IT mini series, is one of the worst actresses ive ever seen
Guessing all the cuts that you have seen throughout this. Is probably because this video is probably taken from the made for TV version. The one that was adapted for television.
Good review Ollie...I have Superman II (along with all the other Christopher Reeve/Superman films and the other cuts of Superman 1-4 in the box set) and that version you watched here must have been a streaming or TV cut or something like that because the actual theatrical version of the film (on both DVD and Blu-Ray) do not have those fade out cut/ edits in them at all....
The only real cut/fade was in the first movie when Superman first flies out of the Fortress of Solitude, then it fades out, and fades in on Jimmy's camera POV in the newsroom in New York (Oops... "Metropolis". ;) ) The version of II you just watched must have been made before all stations (ALL of them, now) put a permanent station ID icon in the corner of their screen during the shows. Or it was edited for intent to broadcast.
Yeah, those fade-to-black's were weird, they definitely weren't in the original one I saw in the theatre, and many times since. Maybe it was a weird cut made for streaming? I found this clip that shows how it went down originally (scroll to the end): th-cam.com/video/n25_VrFphG8/w-d-xo.html
That clip is from the Donner Cut, not the theatrical. The theatrical version played as seen here, just with a hard cut instead of the fade-out/fade-in.
@@Nexus6BT Lol, what are you talking about?! Don't you love those memories we have of us playing as kids? On that planet? That blew up when we were born? ;)
Yeah, these old Superman films gave him extra powers beyond flight, strengths, and heat/x-ray visions. He’s able to freeze with his breath is understandable but turning back time in part one to throwing a cellophane badge at Non are head-scratchers, lol! Superman 3 is the lesser of the first three films but still has two impressive scenes; Vera Webster's turning into a cyborg scared the crap out of me as a kid and the fight between Clark Kent and Evil Superman! Just the duel alone is iconic, one of the first where the superhero fights a version of themselves, lol.
Superman has had super-breath sinc e the Silver Age of comics. So him being able to freeze stuff with super-breath has been part of his powerset for a long time. Similarly, his super-speed has allowed him to travel through time since the Siver Age, although he usually used that power to visit the Legion of Superheroes in the 31st Century. The shrink-wrap badge is weird, but the Fortress of Solitude typically has a bunch of Kryptonian tech laying about - although they never estalished that in the movie.
@@flatebo1, I can see Superman fly back through time, but, however, in Superman 1, turning the world backward to rewind everything back to the "supposed" normalcy is just one of those even suspensions of disbelief can't help. How are some things remained destroyed while others are not? We know this because the rockets did launch, and Lois explained what happened to her, lol! Also, the kiss of Alzheimer at the end of Superman 2! How does that work? LOL!
Lol...I think you've got the cut for network television broadcast...thus the fades (to commercials). Those were not there for the theatrical nor.video, cable tv, dvd releases.
Good choice watching the theatrical cut. I recently watched a reactor watch the Director's cut, and virtually none of the subscriber's had ever seen it.
they were making Superman 1 and 2 at the same time and Richard Donner was directing both of them but I believe the producers didn't like the way he was doing the second one so they had Richard Lester finish it.
Superman III has enough merits for itself to be worth watching. Yes, thia was not any kind of "Theatrical Cut", clearly someone bootlegged the made for TV Edit onto this service. Superbreath has always been a Superman Power. Telekenisis and Shield Trap were movie only goofy adds. The "Teleporting" is actually just Superspeed, pausing repeatedly in one (or several) place to create visual copies. This has been done since Superboy when he was playing baseball by himself with himself in all positions. Man of Steel is implied to be a direct sequel to this due to Lois' mystery superbaby. The kiss mindwipe didn't clear out "Everyrhing"......
I agree The superman music is absolutely amazing. Then only one that is as good is Indiana Jones. Also my favorite part was towards the end when superman said that him going in the crystal chamber would take away his power so Zod of course told him to go in. And kneel before him. Then Superman crushed his hand and threw him into the vortex epic!!!!!! Omg one of the best scenes in movie history
Your streaming service clearly showed the TV edition or something, although you didn't miss much. The B-Team that replaced Donner and Mankiewicz (the writer after Puzo) basically turned Superman II into an unmitigated farce and added stupid-powers like heat vision that makes things levitate, finger beams that make things levitate, the plastic-wrap S-symbol, and the ridiculous "magic kiss" at the end. It's a FUN movie, and more action-oriented than "Superman: The Movie" but it killed the franchise before it could fly with an excess of dumb stuff. The Donner Cut is a better story overall, but kind of a tragedy because we never got to see how they would've actually ended it (Mario Puzo wrote both films as one ginormous screenplay, and Donner and Mank split it into two films and convinced the producers to use the ending on the first, promising to come up with something else to end the sequel, which they never got to do after Donner and the Salkinds had a falling out - they wanted camp, Donner wanted classic, and they won, but also torpedoed the quality of the franchise). If you can get your hands on the Anthology edition, it's worth the price, having a lot of FANTASTIC behind-the-scenes documentaries that are just as fun and dramatic as the films. The Anthology includes the original theatrical film, the extended version, the TRUE Superman II (not the TV cut you watched), plus the Donner Cut - which is very much worth watching, despite the fact that it's not a polished/ finished product at the end of the day, AND it also has the fun-but-dumb sequels (3 & 4), and Brandon Routh's Superman Returns, which works as an alternate version of Superman III if you can't handle the dorkiness of the original 3 & 4. Bryan Singer's production couldn't generate the same level of FUN as the Donner films, but it's CLEARLY a love letter to Donner's work. Great reaction/ review though, and your fans would LOVE IT if you'd react to the Donner Cut at the very least - including Donner's intro explaining it - just because there are enough differences to make you see how badly audiences were ROBBED when the producers fired him. Same general story - Zod comes to Earth - and not being able to do reshoots obviously, they HAD to use some of Lester's footage, but at least 35% of the movie is never-before-seen material, and the new edit is totally worth it, albeit bitter-sweet. I'd recommend watching the Donner Cut and then jumping straight to Superman Returns. It makes a LOT more sense that way and works as a better (if still not quite perfect) trilogy. Can't wait to see whatever's next though - thanks!
I SWEAR those "ad break" fades were NOT there when I saw this in theaters!!! They cut right to the next scenes. Deleted scene showed Zod, Ursa & Non being taken away by arctic police. Superman doesn't kill.
I think you may have gotten one of the lesser quality versions of this movie. Like many movies out there, there are multiple versions thanks to decisions made by the studio as well as which ever director was in charge of that version. Each has different scenes and changes made to the movie as a whole. Alas I fear you may have gotten the made for tv version. Currently the newest version is the Richard Donner cut which is in many ways like the Zach Snyder cut. A version that favors the original storyline created by the director. Im not sure exactly which cut you have though but if I had to guess it might be one of the other versions created earlier possibly for tv. If you think this cut is weird you should check out the chop jobs done on dune. There are several different version with some butchering the movie to cut it tight on time and others so expanded that it takes a lot longer to watch.
Those ad break fade-outs are weird. As far as I can tell you're not missing any major bits of footage or scenes from the theatrical cut, but for some reason, they added unnecessary fades on whatever source file you are watching as if it were intended for television broadcast. I can tell you for sure that those were not seen in the theater in 1980-'81 (while it was released almost everywhere else in the world during the holiday season of 1980, North America got it six months later), as I saw the film several times upon its initial release.
Christopher Reeve is so beautiful God, I know it's off topic but the eyes. Yikes. I like Henry but Christopher just had some sort of stunning quality. Glad you reviewed this 80's classic! Love the dramatic fight scene at the end.
You need to see the Donner Cut who was the original Director . The Studio got cheap and did not want to pay Brando for the second part. Also if you notice there is long stages of the Theater cut that Luger and Lois Lane are not in. That is because they refused to work with Lester so they were shot around.
Superman II is not only the greatest Superman film of all time, it's the greatest comic book movie of all time. It's just as influential as the first. Superman II introduced and was the first to... 1. Have a City battle 2. Hero loses his power and gets it back 3. Idea that the hero cannot have a normal life and be in love, no matter how much he desires it. 4. Villains actually take over the planet 5. Hero kills the villains because they're far too dangerous to be kept alive 6. Hero and love interest become intimate 7. Terrorist scene 8. Previous villain is involved, but not in charge 9. Misogynistic men and assholes getting their comeuppance 10. The American flag troupe (which was APPROPRIATE in this movie. Spider-Man 3 doing it, for example, was just stupid).
😅 that would have been awesome if Supes chucked the little sht back over the side than waited til the last second do go get him. Sadly that little seamen demon probably would have liked it. You must have a bad copy because mine doesn't have those cuts or cut off scenes.
It didn't do that in the theaters when it first came out, you blurred these "ads" that you kept complaining about so it was hard for me to see what was going on there. But there were no weird cuts when it was in the theater. Sorry, I don't agree with you, I STILL think this one "SUPERMAN II" was the best, and again "Superman" was my 2nd favorite.
Re-watching it here with Roly, i didn't realize how many things about this film bother me now. How did Clark lose the fight with the trucker? Despite losing his power, he's still half his age and jacked. Or how about despite being from Krypton, Ursa gets hurt when bitten by the snake, and minutes later, Supes doesn't get burned in fire? "They need machines to fly?" Yeah, so did you like 5 minutes ago! And neither Supes nor Lois had any qualms about taking away his powers? They treat it like it meant nothing. Were these all Lester things, or were some of them still Donner's stuff?
I never read the comics; as Superman was never a favorite of mine. As a kid; I did watch the Saturday morning cartoons of DC heroes, and yes, Superman didn't display any powers I didn't see before.
There's a scene or two I do not remember ever seeing, plus the odd fades, you are not watching the normal theatrical cut. Probably an edit of the movie for TV.
Regardless of the inaccuracies of what a Krypton can and cannot do, the part that always bothered me was how Superman went back to the dinner to beat up the truck driver with his super powers.
I was so young when I saw the first two movies that I didn’t know how to be a critic of them. I just loved them, ultimately. Superman III is the first movie I grew a critical attitude about.
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I thought this film was very interesting. Some great ideas mixed with some strange ad break cuts left me with mixed feelings. Mr. Reeve's was amazing as always and Zod was so cool! Also that ending was very unexpected and super bitter sweet. I will be watching the 3rd Superman film and probably the 4th plus Superman Returns just a heads up! May as well watch all of them. I also have no desire to watch Supergirl.
Thanks for watching! Have a great day! :)
It's Reeve, for the love of Jehova.
Supergirl, for all its shortcomings, is better than the disastrous Superman 4. It has some great sequences bolstered by an amazing Jerry Goldsmith score and Helen Slater is absolutely delightful.
Please react to some classic British films like 'The Long Good Friday'. Keep up the great work!
I think you will find something to like in the sequels. Reeve is still great, and there’s an iconic scene or two left, at least.
Whether you post it as a review or not, you seriously owe it to yourself to watch the Donner cut.
The theatrical version definitely did NOT have those fade-to-black transitions. Whatever version you watched had those transitions added later for commercial breaks.
Yes that is the same guy who played that annoying sheriff in Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun. And yes, this is a TV edited version you are watching.
Terrence Stamp a perfect actor and an excellent General Zod
I've seen this movie countless times on VHS growing up, and I don't recall there being any abrupt 'tv commercial' style cuts, so I do wonder if there's a weird version out there that you're watching. I know that there was an extended cut that ran on TV in the 80s, but that had extra footage, not cut scenes.
Yes, where is he cheapskate enough to watch a TV cut version, and not disk or Amazon? 💿😎👍
There were cuts, but not long ones. they designed it like a comic book. TV version takes advantage of it, and places their time delays at the start of each cut. Donner version is uncut and the added video can seem out of place sometimes. Especially when it cuts to Zod with a M-16 and using it lol. That scene was one take, and he was not trying to laugh for real. You will see with the donner cut, that some scenes go on to long.
@@ericjanssen394 This version was edited by tv, but by a station that added a ton of commercials. The original version does have the cuts, but they are designed in a way to mimic a comic book cut away. people like the donner cut for the extra footage of Krypton life, while some for the extra comedy. I'm the first half, i did enjoy Marlon Brandon's extra footage.
Those cuts are not supposed to be there, but they do roughly match TV ad points and DVD chapters.
I have it on DVD and no, there was none of that abruptness! My guess is this was neither the theatrical version nor the extended T.V. version but the theatrical version but edited for television (with commercials)! It just depends on who posted the video and which version they chose!
Poor Sheriff J.W. Pepper, he can't have a moment of peace in his town, first Bond and now Zod and his goons showed up with a bad attitude and start tearing up the place.
You should check out The Donner Cut of Superman II just to get an idea of how Superman II would've been if Donner had been allowed to finish the movie before he got fired by the Salkinds. 70% of Superman II was completed when Donner got fired, so about half of what you see in this version was directed by Donner, and the other half was by Richard Lester, and you can tell which is which. All of the scenes with Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor were directed by Donner, as Hackman refused to return for reshoots. The scenes where Lois Lane looks pale and gaunt are all from the Lester scenes. Margot Kidder was not happy about Donner's firing and let the Salkinds know it.
The only good thing about the Donner Cut was the Marlon Brando scenes....but ironically the one involving Jor El giving back Superman his powers, lessen the impact of Superman's dramatic return to Metropolis to confront Zod.
@@PungiFungi I think the Daily Planet scenes in the Donner Cut were also better than the ones in the Lester version, which featured the chain-smoking, orange juice-squeezing Lois Lane. Also, having Jor-El repower Clark brings their story arc from the first movie full circle. The Lester version never explains how Clark gets his powers back. It just shows the green crystal glowing and that's it.
@@44excalibur one can only speculate the Jor El repowering Clark took place offscreen. Then again, the theatrical cut left it to the audience's own imagination and interpretation...something sadly lacking in today's movies.
@@PungiFungi Yeah, but I think the point that you're missing is that the scene where Jor El repowers Clark is supposed to be the fulfillment of their story arc that was set up in the first movie - the son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son. It establishes that not only does Jor El repower Clark, but that he also does it at the cost of his own remaining existence, and that this will be the last time that Clark will ever see him. Clark not only has his powers back, but from that point on, Clark is on his own. The Lester version ruins the denouement.
"Come to me, son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod!"
Fun Fact: In an early draft of the screenplay, the crystal chamber which removes Superman's powers (and which ultimately enables him to defeat Zod and company) was lined with Yellow (or Gold) Kryptonite, exposure to which, as in the comic books, will strip him of his super-abilities. Had it been kept, this would have been the movie's sole reference to Kryptonite.
Bonus Fact: Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor), Ned Beatty (Otis), Valerie Perrine (Eve Teschmacher) and E.G. Marshall (The President) were the only actors not to participate in the film's re-shoots under the direction of Richard Lester.
Bonus Fact: Clark uses the rare "super-kiss" to make Lois forget he is Superman. While this was a real power Superman had in the comics, it was rarely used, and eventually removed.
I keep thinking Zod is also going to yell "SNOOTCHIE BOOTCHIES" after he says that. I've watched Mallrats too many times.
Superman never had the ability to move people telepathically or appears in multiple places at the same time. His suit never had a S shield frisbee. This all Richard Lester.
Lester was only the director, it was the writers who wrote that, the Newman's
I hate it when a company can just take an established classic that's been known for decades and just completely rewrite the canon. The good thing about fantasy is that down the road you can just turn a blind eye to bs material while someone can always do a relaunch. In the end the fans can choose which media survives the test of time.
honestly, this is the same method religion uses to write the bible. But I digress lol.
superman freeze breath "for real" first occurs in Superman #129 (May 1959), once again to take out a fire, this time in the Superman Museum. The "super-breath caused super-cooling", covering all the room in ice
"Don't go away! Superman will be RIGHT BACK after these important messages from our sponsors"
Ahh, the good 'ol days of non-stop commercials interrupting the movie on TV just when it is getting good.
I know right, and they get really bad towards the end of the movie!
One of my chores as a kid when growing up to earn pocket money was our family had two VHS players, one was hooked into the aux ports of the other…
My parents would tape shows off of tv using the timer etc, then I would be tasked with watching the tapes whilst the primary player was set to record the incoming feed through aux, pausing the recording to edit out the commercial breaks.
So they had seasons worth of tv shows on 5 hour long tapes recorded on “long play” (a reduction in audio video quality of about 5-10% but double play time), and this was in an era before DVDs were even a thing, and tv shows were available to purchase…with two episodes per volume…
This was obviously edited for tv. Along with all the breaks for commercials, many parts were edited out including where Lex Luthor strikes a deal with the villains to get them Superman. I wish you could see the full movie. It is the best Superman movie EVER!
Looks like you got a cut for the TV version :( Those cuts are probably jarring if you are really engrossed in the film. "KNEEEEEEL before Zod!!!"
As someone that has read the comics (mostly Doomsday era), and seen just about every iteration of the character on the big screen and television, I can tell you that Kryptonians never had the ability to move things or people with their minds, remove the S shield from his suit and use it as a weapon of sorts, project illusions of himself or had a memory wiping kiss.
Freeze breath, however, is a consistant power in all iterations of Superman.
Freezing breath has always been one of Superman’s core powers, and he is portrayed with this ability in almost every live medium, from comic books, to cartoons, to live action version. Dean Cain, Tom Welling, and Henry Cavill were all shown using freezing breath in their respective media. However, you are correct about the telekinesis power and the cellophane S.
The teleporting and holograms in the Fortress I always just chalked up to some advanced Kryptonian technology built into the Fortress. We know it has holographic technology, and they only use that while in the Fortress, so the teleporting could be similar to that. But they shouldn’t have telekinesis.
They do have “tactile telekinesis” based on the manipulation of gravitons. This is how they manifest many of their superhuman powers including strength, invulnerability, and flight. They can extend this field to anything they touch, which is how Superman can catch Lois from a falling building without killing her, or how they can catch large objects in flight without them collapsing under the force of their own weight. We actually see Richard Donner inadvertently demonstrate this power when Superman flies with Lois in the clouds only touching her fingers. However, it is not true telekinesis since he cannot project this ability away from his body to levitate other objects. That’s not a Kryptonian core power and I think that and the cellophane S was mostly Richard Lester adding his own fun. I don’t think that is in the Donner cut.
Superman III isn't as bad as you may be thinking from all youve heard. While it may not be as good as I or II, it definitely has its memorable moments. I would love to see you react to it.
Memorable moments indeed, specially that one scene that gave a lot of us 80's kids nightmares for weeks!
@@Voltabulous Yes... THAT scene. 😨
Yes it is. I hated it. The movie tried to do a version of Brainac but they were too scared to go fully. I hated it. The animated series got Brainac done better
@@biguy617 You must admit tho, the good vs evil superman scene in this movie was badass
@@hrs2044 that was the only scene I liked that felt like a touch of Donner.
You're right. You've watched a very weird version. The original theatrical version didn't have those cuts. And I noticed it even watching the edited reaction.
You watched the theatrical version, all right--it feels like it's been cut-down and re-edited because it was, a lot of Richard Donner footage was thrown out (like Marlon Brando) and new scenes were filmed (such as the entire Paris sequence).
If you have reacted to 'Batman Forever' and 'Batman & Robin', you definitely should watch 'Superman III' on the channel. In my opinion is a better movie than those Batman sequels by far. And you can't miss Christopher Reeve amazing performance in it.
Reeve was also great in 'Street Smart', alongside Morgan Freeman.
You can...SORT of forgive Richard Pryor for Superman III, just because he's so clearly a Superman fan--And yes, even most of Superman IV, because Chris Reeve put his personal offscreen heart into the story.
While Joel Schumacher was clearly not a Batman fan, and those are still unforgivable.
Honestly I've always thought Superman 3 was better than Superman 2. Still not great, but better by miles
The three hours version relates to the "Superman: The Movie", not to this one. In the original comics, Superman doesn't fly, he could bounce tall buildings.
Terence Stamp IS the BEST and ONLY true iteration of General Zod.
Anyone else confused by how the Kryptonians are invulnerable to bullets and explosions...but a snake managed to bite and hurt Ursa?
Always bothered me, so stupid!
It was more of an involuntary reaction than a reaction of her actually being hurt.
It's interesting that you said "The Three Musketeers descending from heaven." Richard Lester had directed a two-part film of The Three Musketeers for the same producers earlier in the 70s. They actually had to resolve a lawsuit with him, because they never told him they were making two movies out of the one he thought he was directing. They certainly only paid him for one. They had to pay him what he was owed on The Four Musketeers (the second film) before he came on board for Superman.
The Salkinds didn’t tell the actors either they were making two movies but only being paid for one.
I knew that they never told the actors, but Lester didn't know either? Really? Out of everybody, I would have thought that the director was the one person who *had* to know.
It does seem like a thing for the Salkinds, though. Apparently, Marlon Brando didn't know that some of his scenes were for Superman II either, insisted that he should be paid for two, but that's why they reshot his scenes using Superman's mother instead.
Again great movie . my favorite superhero of all time Superman :) . Christoper. Reeve Rip is the gold standard of Superman no one else ever even come close. I am glad you are doing Superman 2 The Theatrical version. This is the first Superman movie I remember from my childhood and I love it.
I like the fact you don't shy away from sequels For better or worse it's interesting seeing and hearing your reaction. Like the Batman's you just reacted to the goofyness level intensifies with 3 and 4!
he should do 3 and 4. 3 is ok. Goofy but still good. 4... yes watch, but it is pretty lame. but Christopher Reeves is still great.
"Richard Lester or something like that" directed the Beatles' films A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), The Three Musketeers (1973), etc.
And Supe 3, of course! I *love* Lester's films. Royal Flash (1975) and The Bed Sitting Room (1969) are other weird and wonderful films from him.
Anyone seen How I Won the War (1967) from Lester starring John Lennon? I just ordered a DVD of it and I'm excited!
@@gggooding Not to mention all the work he did with Peter Sellers.
That is the Actor that played the Serriff on James Bond!!!
Again want to suggest Somewhere in Time or Deathtrap. No one else has done Deathtrap, you won't regret it! Long time sub, love your videos.
@maxwesty Agreed
'Deathtrap' is a brilliant little film.
@maxwesty Well that's the same of every film ever made!
Somewhere in time is his best film. One of the best romance films ever
I have to disagree Somewhere is not that good. The only really good things in it are the beautiful score by the great 007 composer John Barry, and the fact it makes Lake Michigan into a romantic getaway- the kind of portrayal the Great Lakes don’t get enough of. But a lot of it doesn’t make sense.
There was, at the time, a fairly well-known essay by science fiction writer Larry Niven, "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex", explaining that sex with Superman would be dangerous and probably fatal ("ripping her from crotch to sternum, gutting her like a trout"). The de-powering of Superman in the film was perhaps better understood back then because of this.
i always wondered about that and thought it strange that Lois and Clark didnt even address it.
i like how ursa does everything half heartedly
After years and years of watching this movie on VHS and DVD, I’ve never seen those cuts. You MUST have some TV version because those are just bizarre.
Gene Hackman cutting to Superman flying in IS the movie. However in your case extra fade may of been added. Hard to tell on TH-cam.
Saw this originally at the cinema and there were no odd cuts. Looks like your version has been edited for tv.
That was the TV version you were watching
This was the “edited for tv” version. They take the theater version and cut it down to fit the time slot, cut out or dub over cuss words, and cut any nudity. Those cuts are just what you expected… that’s where the commercials were inserted.
I know people have a hard-on for Brando, but I didn't mind that he wasn't in this one. He was in it the first one enough, and honestly, I've never been impressed with his mumbling performance. People complain that Superman's mother comes in to advise him, but I thought it made perfect sense. She has to have SOME influence on her son, it can't all be about his dad, and it makes sense that she would be the one for him to talk to about matters of the heart.
wow for Brando? well in Streetcar, yes i might.
Finally I'm not the only one that thinks Brando was overrated
This was shot back to back with the first one apparently, but ran into difficulties like losing Donmer as director, losing Brando. Puzo's involvement really was from the first one only. His story draft for the first one was immense enough to split it into two movies. Back then, this was a highly anticipated sequel since it was stated at the end credits of the first one...Supermen II coming soon.
And when they mentioned number three in this one…yyeeeeaaaaahhhhhhhh….uhhhmmmm…
Don't stop now!!
SUPERMAN III is my favorite. Richard Pryor!!!!!
No 3 is garbage
See the Donner cut. It makes more sense, has Brando and I'm biased... if you remember my comment from your previous film reaction. When I interviewed Richard Donner he had just been fired by the producers and told me so in no uncertain terms. We had such a great time he returned to our school with Margot Kidder when this came out.
That guy has a Zod complex.
I believe the version you are watching is a TV cut of Superman II, I have watched most of the versions and I have not seen your version of the movie.
I recommend you watch "Superman 2: The Richard Donner Cut", this is the cut shot as intended (with some lacking footage and alternate scenes, no strange powers such a "forget me" kiss etc...). You'll get why when you watch it.
I love the 'New Yorkers pull together for the win' trope. 'Let's get 'em!' 'Yeah, I know some Judo!'
*Metropolis 🤨
@@ComeOnIsSuchAJoy Ha! Good point.
In order for Lester, the director credited for the theatrical cut, to receive director credit, he had to shoot a ton of new footage in order to replace Donner's material. Lester shot the Paris opening scene as well as most of the fight scene in Metropolis as well as a lot of the footage with Zod and his minions in the midwest. For some reason, Lester chose not to have Marlon brando in the movie. Brando is blacked out in some scenes and they even use a hands double for him. Gene Hackman, out of respect for Donner, chose not to return to film additional scenes. So Lester had a double stand in for him and even used a voice double. Christopher Reeve was sued by the Salkinds (producers) and claimed he had walked away from doing the movie. Reeve had already finished the film and moved on to another movie. He agreed to come back as long as he got some form of creative control with his character. John Williams refused to work with Lester after the two got into a heated argument while watching a cut of the movie.
The Donner cuts restores the original opening of the movie. the original way Zod escapes and the original ending. as well as a ton of footage. some of it was test footage of Lois and Clark that was part of the plot but hadn't been completed. Originally footage of Brando that was shot during the first Superman movie was going to be use during the Fortress of Solitude scene. but Brando and his estate chose not to allow it. That's why they ended up using Superman's mom instead. When the movie Superman Returns was being made, Brando had already passed away, so his estate allowed for footage of him to be used in that movie. When this happened, they also allowed for the unused footage to be used in the Donner Cut. It's a lot of footage by the way.
One of the Eiffel Tower terrorists was played by a very young Richard Griffiths. Surely many will know him more for his role as Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter saga. He also appeared as the King of England in Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides. Unfortunately, he passed away a long time ago.
Richard Lester is the brilliant director of The Beatles' "Hard Days Night" and "Help!'. AND MANY OTHERS!
Though I do enjoy Michael Shannon's version of Zod...
this is the superior Zod and Luthor for obvious reasons.
MISS Teschmacher! Have Otis get my neutonian-powered motorscooter & pack the laser sharks, we are going to Peru for convoluted reasons! Yes...do watch Superman 3 & 4.
That is why Superman, is favorite for so long! He just sees the World as his home, and he has to protect it! He doesn't care how you live your life, so long as it doesn't hurt. Your fellow man or woman, he's just here to protect it, in spite of humanity's misgivings! 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
The Eiffel Tower was a Derek Meddings miniature, the cars flying around were also miniatures, there was a whole miniature street. The scenes with the flying cars were reshot for the Lester version which, as you can imagine, pissed off all the guys who worked to get it right the first time. Not sure if they put the original footage back in the Donner Cut - only saw it once.
I have no idea where the ad breaks came from, never seen them before. I'd be interested to know what platform you're watching the film on, so I know to avoid that platform.
'When has he been able to freeze things?' They did make up a number of powers in this film but his ability to freeze things always stood to reason to me. What do you do when something is hot? You blow. Not as effective but imagine Superman blowing - likely to be a lot colder, wouldn't you say?
And yes please do Superman III. I know it's hated for being too comedic but there's also a scene where Clark Kent fights Superman that watching the whole film is worth it to see. In truth the film could have done without Richard Pryor who I wouldn't say was at his funniest. I always laugh more at the comedy in the scenes between Clark and Lara. There, I've spoiled it just enough for you to be interested - admit it. I think you will enjoy it.
Yes!! Clark walking back to The Fortress Of Solitude is a powerful scene!!!
Yep, that is indeed Sheriff J.W. Pepper!
The third film has a scene which absolutely terrified me as a kid!
That scene terrified me as a teenager.
Superman III isn't nearly as bad as its reviews-especially if you can watch it as just a standalone movie. Superman IV is one of the worst things ever created. Rather than watching Superman IV, watch Supergirl. It's not absolutely terrible. And Superman Returns is highly underrated.
Um..yes, Supergirl IS absolutely terrible. God-awful film.
@@leslauner5062 Superman IV makes Supergirl look like The Godfather by comparison.
@@rjd6214 That's not saying much...they're both horrible films...that Supergirl may have been better than Superman IV...doesn't mean watching Supergirl is a good recommendation, my friend.
@@rjd6214 That's not saying much...they're both horrible films...that Supergirl may have been better than Superman IV...doesn't mean watching Supergirl is a good recommendation, my friend.
I think there was an extended version called the "TV Cut" that was released, and that must be what he was watching. When the movie first appeared on television in the 1980's, there was a version that added a couple minutes of footage, but of course had advertisement breaks. I know the original cut of the film was released, as well as a Richard Donner Cut, but the extended TV Cut must have been released as well.
One of the Krypton hologram judge faces was the same actor who plays Lobot in Empire Strikes Back. Did you recognize him? 😁
Since you happen to stumble on a weird cut that apparently was for TV, why not watch the Richard Donner version now? It would clean a lot of those bad feelings for sure :D And you'll have the pleasure to hear and see more of Malron Brando too.
But no "Eiffel Tower scene" in Donner version. 😢
26:11 it was this line which helped define Zod as a villain…and was used in nearly every iteration of the character (man of steel version sticks out as not)
There was a quote from someone working on the smallville series in a season 9 bonus DVD feature discussing Zod as a character, how yeah he was a villain, but he wasn’t the maniacally laughing over the top villain type. The way this person described Zod confidence and superiority was perfect
“Kneel before me…submit…right, now set yourself on fire and get out of my way”
For the record, Richard Donner was actually filming both Superman 1 and Superman 2 simultaneously. That's why Zod is in the beginning of the first movie. The producers, who didn't like Donner personally, got into a huge fight with him and caused him to either quit or fired him.
Brando wanted too much money to be included in the second half.
No, I don't remember the "Ad cuts" when I saw this in the movie theater or on Blu-ray.
Superman has always had Freeze Breath.
Superman throwing his giant S symbol was actually Kryptonian technology and not his power.
And finally, don't bother watching Superman 3, Supergirl, or Superman 4.
Eehhh…of those three you mentioned, 4 was somewhat tolerable
Yeah was a bit on the nose from the sociopolitical commentary of the era…but aside from that
Now…personally, despite the fan opinion, if he was to continue the series, jumping to “superman returns” would be the better option…as like what Cameron did with “dark fate”…returns ignores films 3&4 and acts as a sequel to 2
I thought that was the Fortress making stronger to do that. The fight in the Fortress is done better in the Donner cut
@@trayolphia5756this is also how Halloween H20 functions - being a direct sequel to the original and Halloween 2. Only difference is Superman Returns and H20 are far superior to Dark Fate as sequels lol
Also, he may have been watching a version of Superman 2 made for streaming services that have ads built in but no actual ads were attached to the file
Superman 3 is worth watching for the fight between good superman and bad superman in the scrap yard, and the woman turning into a robot (which gave me nightmares as a kid) but the rest of the plot, the hokey comedy, and the performances are not good. Lois Lane is hardly in it, and the new lady in Clarkes life, who played Beverly in the original IT mini series, is one of the worst actresses ive ever seen
Guessing all the cuts that you have seen throughout this. Is probably because this video is probably taken from the made for TV version. The one that was adapted for television.
I loved your appreciation for this classic movie! Well done you 🎊😎🥰
Actually felt this was better than the first of this series (Reeves). 👍
Good review Ollie...I have Superman II (along with all the other Christopher Reeve/Superman films and the other cuts of Superman 1-4 in the box set) and that version you watched here must have been a streaming or TV cut or something like that because the actual theatrical version of the film (on both DVD and Blu-Ray) do not have those fade out cut/ edits in them at all....
I think you got a cut edited for TV. Those cuts aren't in the theatrical version
Since you're in it now , just watch all the superman movies ,, love them all
The only real cut/fade was in the first movie when Superman first flies out of the Fortress of Solitude, then it fades out, and fades in on Jimmy's camera POV in the newsroom in New York (Oops... "Metropolis". ;) )
The version of II you just watched must have been made before all stations (ALL of them, now) put a permanent station ID icon in the corner of their screen during the shows. Or it was edited for intent to broadcast.
Where did you find this television cut of the movie?
Yeah, those fade-to-black's were weird, they definitely weren't in the original one I saw in the theatre, and many times since. Maybe it was a weird cut made for streaming? I found this clip that shows how it went down originally (scroll to the end):
th-cam.com/video/n25_VrFphG8/w-d-xo.html
That clip is from the Donner Cut, not the theatrical. The theatrical version played as seen here, just with a hard cut instead of the fade-out/fade-in.
@@Nexus6BT Huh, good to know. Thanks. Still, kinda weird, dontcha think?
@@chefskiss6179 "Weird" is kinda par for the course with the different versions of this movie. :)
@@Nexus6BT Lol, what are you talking about?! Don't you love those memories we have of us playing as kids? On that planet? That blew up when we were born?
;)
Yeah, these old Superman films gave him extra powers beyond flight, strengths, and heat/x-ray visions. He’s able to freeze with his breath is understandable but turning back time in part one to throwing a cellophane badge at Non are head-scratchers, lol! Superman 3 is the lesser of the first three films but still has two impressive scenes; Vera Webster's turning into a cyborg scared the crap out of me as a kid and the fight between Clark Kent and Evil Superman! Just the duel alone is iconic, one of the first where the superhero fights a version of themselves, lol.
Superman has had super-breath sinc e the Silver Age of comics. So him being able to freeze stuff with super-breath has been part of his powerset for a long time. Similarly, his super-speed has allowed him to travel through time since the Siver Age, although he usually used that power to visit the Legion of Superheroes in the 31st Century. The shrink-wrap badge is weird, but the Fortress of Solitude typically has a bunch of Kryptonian tech laying about - although they never estalished that in the movie.
@@flatebo1, I can see Superman fly back through time, but, however, in Superman 1, turning the world backward to rewind everything back to the "supposed" normalcy is just one of those even suspensions of disbelief can't help. How are some things remained destroyed while others are not? We know this because the rockets did launch, and Lois explained what happened to her, lol! Also, the kiss of Alzheimer at the end of Superman 2! How does that work? LOL!
I have a question:
If the Phantom Zone Mirror can be shattered by a nuclear explosion, why didn't it shatter when Krypton and it's star exploded?
Because it’s a movie and that wouldn’t have fit the story they wanted to tell.
Lol...I think you've got the cut for network television broadcast...thus the fades (to commercials). Those were not there for the theatrical nor.video, cable tv, dvd releases.
Good choice watching the theatrical cut. I recently watched a reactor watch the Director's cut, and virtually none of the subscriber's had ever seen it.
All of the music in this film IS by John Williams. Ken Thorne just did the arrangements.
There's no cuts on any of the versions I've seen, must be you !
You should have watched the director’s cut
they were making Superman 1 and 2 at the same time and Richard Donner was directing both of them but I believe the producers didn't like the way he was doing the second one so they had Richard Lester finish it.
Superman III has enough merits for itself to be worth watching.
Yes, thia was not any kind of "Theatrical Cut", clearly someone bootlegged the made for TV Edit onto this service.
Superbreath has always been a Superman Power. Telekenisis and Shield Trap were movie only goofy adds.
The "Teleporting" is actually just Superspeed, pausing repeatedly in one (or several) place to create visual copies. This has been done since Superboy when he was playing baseball by himself with himself in all positions.
Man of Steel is implied to be a direct sequel to this due to Lois' mystery superbaby. The kiss mindwipe didn't clear out "Everyrhing"......
29:24 that’s called the cellophane S 32:55 feel free to watch Superman 2: Richard Donner’s cut and Superman 3-4. 33:45 that’ll teach Rocky a lesson.
I agree The superman music is absolutely amazing. Then only one that is as good is Indiana Jones. Also my favorite part was towards the end when superman said that him going in the crystal chamber would take away his power so Zod of course told him to go in. And kneel before him. Then Superman crushed his hand and threw him into the vortex epic!!!!!! Omg one of the best scenes in movie history
Your streaming service clearly showed the TV edition or something, although you didn't miss much. The B-Team that replaced Donner and Mankiewicz (the writer after Puzo) basically turned Superman II into an unmitigated farce and added stupid-powers like heat vision that makes things levitate, finger beams that make things levitate, the plastic-wrap S-symbol, and the ridiculous "magic kiss" at the end. It's a FUN movie, and more action-oriented than "Superman: The Movie" but it killed the franchise before it could fly with an excess of dumb stuff.
The Donner Cut is a better story overall, but kind of a tragedy because we never got to see how they would've actually ended it (Mario Puzo wrote both films as one ginormous screenplay, and Donner and Mank split it into two films and convinced the producers to use the ending on the first, promising to come up with something else to end the sequel, which they never got to do after Donner and the Salkinds had a falling out - they wanted camp, Donner wanted classic, and they won, but also torpedoed the quality of the franchise).
If you can get your hands on the Anthology edition, it's worth the price, having a lot of FANTASTIC behind-the-scenes documentaries that are just as fun and dramatic as the films. The Anthology includes the original theatrical film, the extended version, the TRUE Superman II (not the TV cut you watched), plus the Donner Cut - which is very much worth watching, despite the fact that it's not a polished/ finished product at the end of the day, AND it also has the fun-but-dumb sequels (3 & 4), and Brandon Routh's Superman Returns, which works as an alternate version of Superman III if you can't handle the dorkiness of the original 3 & 4. Bryan Singer's production couldn't generate the same level of FUN as the Donner films, but it's CLEARLY a love letter to Donner's work.
Great reaction/ review though, and your fans would LOVE IT if you'd react to the Donner Cut at the very least - including Donner's intro explaining it - just because there are enough differences to make you see how badly audiences were ROBBED when the producers fired him. Same general story - Zod comes to Earth - and not being able to do reshoots obviously, they HAD to use some of Lester's footage, but at least 35% of the movie is never-before-seen material, and the new edit is totally worth it, albeit bitter-sweet. I'd recommend watching the Donner Cut and then jumping straight to Superman Returns. It makes a LOT more sense that way and works as a better (if still not quite perfect) trilogy. Can't wait to see whatever's next though - thanks!
I SWEAR those "ad break" fades were NOT there when I saw this in theaters!!! They cut right to the next scenes. Deleted scene showed Zod, Ursa & Non being taken away by arctic police. Superman doesn't kill.
I think you may have gotten one of the lesser quality versions of this movie. Like many movies out there, there are multiple versions thanks to decisions made by the studio as well as which ever director was in charge of that version. Each has different scenes and changes made to the movie as a whole. Alas I fear you may have gotten the made for tv version. Currently the newest version is the Richard Donner cut which is in many ways like the Zach Snyder cut. A version that favors the original storyline created by the director. Im not sure exactly which cut you have though but if I had to guess it might be one of the other versions created earlier possibly for tv. If you think this cut is weird you should check out the chop jobs done on dune. There are several different version with some butchering the movie to cut it tight on time and others so expanded that it takes a lot longer to watch.
Have you seen Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve as a time traveler? It's fantastic as well 😊🎉
Hey, what source are you watching from because I’ve watched Superman II on tv, home media, streaming and it has NEVER had those weird ass fades 😂
Those ad break fade-outs are weird. As far as I can tell you're not missing any major bits of footage or scenes from the theatrical cut, but for some reason, they added unnecessary fades on whatever source file you are watching as if it were intended for television broadcast. I can tell you for sure that those were not seen in the theater in 1980-'81 (while it was released almost everywhere else in the world during the holiday season of 1980, North America got it six months later), as I saw the film several times upon its initial release.
11:33...that's super weird. I promise you this isn't part of the original theatrical cut. Those "commercial cut breaks"
That Green Crystal is his Powers also known as Positive Kryptonite!!! The Negative Kryptonite came from the fragments of Krypton from the red sun.
Hair Cut looks good Brother Love the reaction Keep up the fantastic work
Christopher Reeve is so beautiful God, I know it's off topic but the eyes. Yikes. I like Henry but Christopher just had some sort of stunning quality. Glad you reviewed this 80's classic! Love the dramatic fight scene at the end.
You need to see the Donner Cut who was the original Director . The Studio got cheap and did not want to pay Brando for the second part. Also if you notice there is long stages of the Theater cut that Luger and Lois Lane are not in. That is because they refused to work with Lester so they were shot around.
Superman II is not only the greatest Superman film of all time, it's the greatest comic book movie of all time. It's just as influential as the first. Superman II introduced and was the first to...
1. Have a City battle
2. Hero loses his power and gets it back
3. Idea that the hero cannot have a normal life and be in love, no matter how much he desires it.
4. Villains actually take over the planet
5. Hero kills the villains because they're far too dangerous to be kept alive
6. Hero and love interest become intimate
7. Terrorist scene
8. Previous villain is involved, but not in charge
9. Misogynistic men and assholes getting their comeuppance
10. The American flag troupe (which was APPROPRIATE in this movie. Spider-Man 3 doing it, for example, was just stupid).
😅 that would have been awesome if Supes chucked the little sht back over the side than waited til the last second do go get him. Sadly that little seamen demon probably would have liked it.
You must have a bad copy because mine doesn't have those cuts or cut off scenes.
It didn't do that in the theaters when it first came out, you blurred these "ads" that you kept complaining about so it was hard for me to see what was going on there. But there were no weird cuts when it was in the theater. Sorry, I don't agree with you, I STILL think this one "SUPERMAN II" was the best, and again "Superman" was my 2nd favorite.
You gained a subscriber. You remind me of guys I went to high school with.
Re-watching it here with Roly, i didn't realize how many things about this film bother me now. How did Clark lose the fight with the trucker? Despite losing his power, he's still half his age and jacked. Or how about despite being from Krypton, Ursa gets hurt when bitten by the snake, and minutes later, Supes doesn't get burned in fire? "They need machines to fly?" Yeah, so did you like 5 minutes ago! And neither Supes nor Lois had any qualms about taking away his powers? They treat it like it meant nothing. Were these all Lester things, or were some of them still Donner's stuff?
I never read the comics; as Superman was never a favorite of mine. As a kid; I did watch the Saturday morning cartoons of DC heroes, and yes, Superman didn't display any powers I didn't see before.
You’d like the Smallville series, it’s very close adaptation to these movies, the 78 - 80 Superman movies.
There's a scene or two I do not remember ever seeing, plus the odd fades, you are not watching the normal theatrical cut. Probably an edit of the movie for TV.
Regardless of the inaccuracies of what a Krypton can and cannot do, the part that always bothered me was how Superman went back to the dinner to beat up the truck driver with his super powers.
You need to watch the Richard Donner cut of this film.
One of the very few sequels that surpassed the original movie, along The Empire Strikes Back and Aliens
I personally love Superman 3, but I realize I'm in the minority. I grew up with it.
I’ve never really loved it, but I really like it. Very underrated.
I was so young when I saw the first two movies that I didn’t know how to be a critic of them. I just loved them, ultimately. Superman III is the first movie I grew a critical attitude about.