Review of the 8 Disc Superman Motion Picture Anthology (8 Disc Set) on Blu-Ray
This is the blu-ray set that has all the original four Christopher Reeve-Margot Kidder (as Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane) led movies, and the 2006 Superman Returns starring Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth in the same roles. It also includes the Richard Donner Cut of Superman II, which shows that movie as Donner, who was the director of Superman I and the original director of Superman II envisioned the movie. The set has eight discs, which include a ton of special features, including behind-the-scenes material from each of the movies as they were filmed, as well as the great "Look, up in the Sky" documentary that was produced by Bryan Singer, the director of Superman Returns. This is a must-have for any fan of Superman from throughout the years.
Superman: The Movie (1978)
Disc 1 contains the theatrical release of Superman, as it was released in 1978. This was really the movie that launched the modern-day superhero movies, and was, for its day, the innovator of practical effects (mainly to make Superman fly, and make it look realistic) like The Matrix was the innovator of digital effects about 20 years later. Of course, computer-generated effects did not exist back in 1978, so the kinds of effects that are used now were not available to the filmmakers back then. Interestingly, Marlon Brando received top billing, followed by Gene Hackman, then Christopher Reeve. This was, in large part because Reeve was a total unknown when he was hired, and Brando (and then Hackman) committing to the movie was really what got the movie made. And, Brando was still a huge star, although his career was starting to wind down at that point.
The movie is set in three acts, the first on Krypton (which is where the majority of Brando's scenes are set. It also sets up Superman II, which was initially being filmed at the same time as the first movie, with Zod, Non, and Ursa being exiled to The Phantom Zone. The second act is set in Smallville, with Clark being found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, and then a few minutes of footage with a teenaged Clark. Then, the Fortress of Solitude is the bridge between Smallville and Metropolis (set in NY City) which is the third act, and where Christopher Reeve shows up as the 30-year old Clark/Superman.
The writing, acting, and direction of the film were all very good. I think the fact that the film took itself seriously and did not go the campy route of the 1966 Batman TV series and some of the prior Superman serials, made it work. Reeve did a great job as both Clark and Superman, and Margo Kidder was very good as Lois Lane. I personally think Hackman and Ned Beatty stole all the scenes as Luthor and Otis, the bumbling lackey.
The extras include a commentary track on the movie with the producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spangler. They detailed how the film was made and provided a counterpoint to the commentary by Donner and the screenwriter/creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz on the extended cut of the film (on disc two). For those who don't know, Donner was supposed to direct both Superman and Superman II. The two movies were initially being filmed at the same time and Donner completed about 70% of Superman II, but because of budget overruns and timing the decision was made to complete Superman I and hope it was a hit, then finish filming Superman II. Even though Superman I was a massive hit, Donner, depending on whose account you believe, was either fired after Superman I was released and not allowed to (or refused to) come back to complete Superman II.
As a result, there is a lot of hard feelings between Donner and the surviving producers. Although they all tried to stay civil when talking about each other on their respective commentary tracks, a lot of the bad blood and hard feelings managed to come through. The rest of the extras include a making-of feature that was made for television back around the time the movie was released, the very cheesy Superman and the Mole Men movie from back in 1951 starring George Reeves, some Looney Tunes parodies of Superman, and original trailers and TV spots.
Superman: The Movie (extended cut):
Disc 2 contains the extended cut of the original movie, adding about 15 minutes worth of additional footage, sometimes extending scenes that were in the movie (such as the post-trial scene on Krypton), or adding new scenes (such as a new fortress of solitude scene between Superman and Jor-El after Superman reveals himself in Metropolis). There is also an additional scene where young Lois sees Clark running alongside the train in Smallville. In that scene, Noel Neill, who played Lois in the 1940s and 1950s, and Kirk Alyn who played Superman in some of the Movie Serials before George Reeves took over the role, played Lois's parents.
The extras on disc two include the commentary track with Richard Donner and his creative consultant/screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz then updated behind-the-scenes and making-of documentaries that were made sometime around 2000 (when the extended cut was put together) which were hosted by Marc McClure (who played Jimmy Olsen).
Overall, the extended cut was very good but did make the film drag on a bit too long, and it is understandable why the scenes that got cut from the movie were cut out. The most interesting extra was the commentary by Donner and Mankiewicz that discussed the process of figuring out how to make the film the way they wanted to and going into some of the behind-the-scenes drama that went on between Donner and Salkind/Spangler.
Superman II (Theatrical Cut 1980)
Disc three has the theatrical release of Superman II. As die-hard fans of the movies likely know, and is discussed above Richard Donner was originally hired to direct both Superman I and II, but was either fired or essentially refused to return to finish the filming of the second movie after the first movie was released. According to Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spangler, they invited Donner to return and he issued an ultimatum that he wanted total control over the rest of the filming and wanted Pierre Spangler off the movie, and only hired Richard Lester after Donner's ultimatum. Donner basically says he was straight-up fired by telegram, and never invited to be brought back. As a result, Superman II was released with some of the footage that was filmed concurrently with the first movie (basically anything with Gene Hackman in it), and a lot of new material(including the Paris footage, the scene where Lois discovers Clark is Superman, and some of the footage of the villains).
For extras, the disc includes a commentary track on the movie with Salkind and Spangler, where they give their side of the Donner controversy, and why the decisions that were made regarding changes to the story were made. Then, there is nearly an hour-long making-of documentary that was released sometime back in the 1980s. Then there are nine episodes of the 1941 Max Fleischer serial cartoons that were played before movies. The nine episodes are about half of those that were made. There is also a short feature on the animated versions of Superman by the creators of the Batman and Superman animated series that played in the 1990s.
Superman II (Richard Donner Cut 2006)
Disc 4 includes the "Donner Cut" which was the early 2000's version of "The Snyder Cut". From what I remember from back then was some clamoring on internet message boards to have Donner finish his version of the movie as he originally conceived it. Nothing like the social media campaign for The Snyder Cut, but enough that the studio cooperated in a restoration of the film using the footage that had been in storage for years. There are, obviously, a lot of differences between this cut and the theatrical version that was completed by Richard Lester. The film totally changes the beginning and the ending of the movie, and some of what appears in the middle of the film. Some of the footage shot by Lester had to be used to complete the movie (much to Donner's chagrin because he hated the theatrical version), and there were some scenes where screen test footage had to be used because
Donner was not able to actually film them for the movie before they stopped filming for Superman II while Superman I was being shot. So, you will see both Christopher Reeve and Margo Kidder looking totally different within the same scene as footage from two different screen tests was used. The other big change was re-inserting the footage of Brando that was shot to be used for Superman II but got replaced with Susannah York in the theatrical version to save money.
Overall, I think this cut of the movie did some things better and some worse. For example, what is probably the second most iconic line from the movie after "kneel before Zod" when Superman asks Zod to step outside is not included in this cut. Also, Hackman's great line from the theatrical version about the dummies not learning how to use a doorknob is not in this version. I do think the reveal to Lois is better in this version, and the NY fight is a bit better. But, the climax in the fortress is a lot better in the theatrical cut. So, I personally think that the best version of Superman II would be a combination of what Lester and Donner envisioned.
For extras, there is a commentary track from Donner and Mankiewicz, where you can tell there is still a lot of hard feelings from Donner that he was not allowed to finish his version of the movie and keep directing additional movies (which may have meant he would never direct Lethal Weapon, which ultimately became his franchise of movies). There is also a short feature on how this cut of the film was made and restored and the rest of the episodes from the 1941-1942 cartoon series.
Superman III (1983)
Disc 5 contains Superman III is where the franchise dips its toe into the hot-garbage category. The movie was still decent, and in parts very funny, but it definitely shifted from the feel of the first two movies and had some very stupid elements to it (like a killer computer that was not Brainiac). The main villain of the movie, since Gene Hackman refused to return in large part because of Richard Donner's firing from Superman II, was played by Robert Vaughn. He played a mogul named Ross Webster who wants to take over the coffee and oil industries. Richard Pryor, who famously got the role because of a segment on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show where he acted out Superman I and said he wanted to be in a Superman Film, plays Gus Gorman who goes from being unemployed to being a computer genius in a matter of days. His role was famous for inspiring the "fractions of pennies" embezzlement from Office Space. Rounding out the main cast was Annette O'Toole playing Lana Lang. Of course, she would go on to play Martha Kent in the series Smallville about 18 years later. Pamela Stephenson was brought in to play a Miss Tessmacher like role, and Annie Ross played Vera Webster, the other villain of the movie.
Like I said earlier, the film has some good points, but a lot of bad stuff as well, including the cheesy Rube Goldberg like opening credit sequence, having Margo Kidder in for what was basically a cameo appearance, Lana's whole existence revolving around needing a man, and the killer computer. The good, however, was pretty much any scene with Pryor, the Clark vs. evil Superman fight, and Christopher Reeve's ability to play a bad, almost Bizzaro version of Superman.
The extras include a commentary track on the film by Ilya Salkind and Pierre Salinger. As you can imagine, they mostly stick up for the movie, but Salkind does mention some aspects he would change. He also vehemently denied that Margo Kidder's role was downgraded in the movie because of the fact that she was very vocal about Richard Donner's firing from Superman II, but given how tiny a role she had, it is not surprising that rumor got going. And, in later bonus materials, Kidder basically said she was cut out of most of the movie for sticking up for Donner. The rest of the bonus material includes a 50+ minute making-of documentary, deleted scenes, and the theatrical trailer.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Disc 6 has the movie that pretty much ended the live-action Superman Movies for about a decade. If Superman III dipped its proverbial toe into the hot garbage category, Superman IV jumped into it headfirst. The main problem that the movie encountered is that the Salkinds sold the production rights to the Cannon/Golan-Golbus group, which were mainly known for making extremely low-budget B movies like Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, Ninja III: Domination, etc. Basically, movies that could be filmed in a few weeks on a shoestring budget. They tried to branch out into major motion pictures and failed miserably. Therefore, the Superman IV budget was cut both in pre-production and in post-production so what was supposed to be a slightly longer than two-hour-long movie ended up being an hour-and-a-half. That said, the script was not all that great either.
The movie was made as the cold war was nearing an end, and Christopher Reeve wanted to do a plot that revolved around the nuclear arms crisis. It was an issue that he was passionate about, so much that he helped write the screenplay. While the plot is pretty cheesy 30+ years down the line, for its day it made sense, the main issue was that the execution of the story was horrible because of the budget issues. That is evident from the opening credits which were a very poor man's version of the opening credit sequences from the first three movies. Basically a dollar store version of what the first movie did with the opening credits. The only good thing about the movie is that they were able to get Gene Hackman and Margo Kidder to return (which was a requirement of Christopher Reeve). Hackman outright refused to do Superman III and Kidder basically had a cameo in that movie. The basic story is that Lex breaks out of prison with the help of his nephew Lenny (played by Jon Cryer, who now plays a great Lex Luthor on the Supergirl TV series), steals a lock of Supermans's hair, and manages to "clone" a nuclear man using Superman's DNA. It would have worked 1000 percent better had they used Reeve in a dual role by introducing Bizzaro, but alas they found a guy named Mark Pillow to play nuclear man, who basically just growled and had long fingernails. The other main addition to the cast was Mariel Hemmingway, who was brought in to play a love interest for Clark and do a love rectangle with Lois and Superman.
The Extras include a commentary track on the movie by the screenwriter (who basically slams the final outcome repeatedly, and notes how Cannon was way in over its head producing the movie), a Superman 50th anniversary special from 1989 that was part SNL skit (including being hosted by Dana Carvey) and part retrospective on the character. The parts that were like an SNL skit were cringe-worthy bad, but the historical parts were interesting. Then there were deleted scenes that showed just how much worse the movie could have been (the first version of Nuclear Man was even worse than the one we get in the film), and the theatrical trailer.
Ironically, this was supposed to be a Superman Returns kind of movie, to reintroduce the characters and reinvigorate the franchise. Instead, it was the Batman and Robin of its day and ended the movie franchise until Bryan Singer resurrected it with the actual Superman Returns movie about a decade later. It seems that almost all the comic franchise movies that go beyond a trilogy have a horrible entry (see X-men, the original Batman Franchise, and the DC Cinematic Universe movies). This was definitely a horrible movie that could not even be saved with Reeve and Hackman giving strong performances and Kidder returning in a major role. The special effects were horrendous, and there was not a ton of thought in some elements, such as having Superman and Nuclear Man fly around in space carrying humans who would be dead instantly. It is worth watching once just to see the trainwreck, but it is not one that needs repeated viewings at all.
Superman Returns (2006):
Disc 7 contains Superman Returns which is essentially a direct sequel to Superman I and II, of course, made almost 20 years after Superman IV was filmed with an entirely new cast. Although in the Arrowverse Crisis on infinite Earths event, in which Brandon Routh reprised his role also referenced part of Superman III. The basic story was that Astronomers believed that they found Krypton and Superman leaves Earth to try and find it. How exactly he did so is not exactly clear (did he just fly off, did he have a ship or build a ship, etc.). Then, after five years he returns to earth (in a ship, which may or may not be how he left). Lois (played by Kate Bosworth) is in a relationship (but not married) to Perry White's (played by Frank Langella, who was actually up for the bad guy role in Superman III) nephew Richard (played by James Marsden). Superman tries to readjust to his new life both as Clark and as Superman, and his feelings for Lois. Rounding out the cast is Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, Parker Posey as Kitty Kowalski who is Lex's girlfriend (maybe), Sam Huntington as Jimmy Olson, and Tristan Leabu as Jason, Lois' son.
The movie was not as huge a hit, despite being very good, as the studio wanted, and as a result the multiple sequels that were hoped for by everyone never materialized. Honestly, all the actors did a great job with their characters, which was especially hard given that they were playing the same characters as Margo Kidder, Christopher Reeve, etc. This is easier to accept now given the multiverse concept that the DC television universe introduced, but at the time, a lot of the criticism was around replacing Christopher Reeve, who had recently passed away. Now you can just handwave it away and say that this version was on a different Earth than Reeve's version, although they shared some commonalities (like having Marlon Brando as a father). But, when the movie was released, it was acknowledged that Routh was taking over Reeve's version of Superman. Even with that pressure, Routh did an awesome job, nailing both Clark and Superman very well. Bosworth was great as Lois, and personally my favorite version behind Teri Hatcher's and Erica Durance's versions of Lois in live-action. Sam Huntington was hands down, in my opinion anyway, the best version of Jimmy Olson. Granted, he had a lot better material than Marc McClure ever had to work with. Spacey played a much more constantly sadistic version of Lex than Hackman (basically if you take Hackman's version and removed the one-liners and jokes, you get Spacey's version). The movie was definitely setting up for at least one sequel, but as I said that never materialized. Routh was able to get closure for the character with his arc in Crisis where he basically stole all the scenes he appeared as Superman. The movie also was able to get Noel Neill and Jack Larson, who played Lois and Jimmy in the 1950s series (and Neill also played Lois in some of the Superman Serials that aired before the TV series) for small cameo roles. I believe those were the last cameos either of them made in a Superman-related movie or series before they passed away.
The movie does not have a commentary track, but there is a massive making-of documentary as the main extra. It is about an hour and twenty minutes longer than the movie itself. There are also about an hour and twenty minutes of video journal entries from Singer, deleted scenes (which make some of the plot holes make more sense), a feature on resurrecting Marlon Brando (his role was a mix of the live-action material he had filmed for the first movie and CGI effects) and the theatrical trailers. So, there are a ton of extras for those who like watching the bonus material.
Bonus Disc:
Disc 8, the final disc of the set is just bonus material. This includes the wonderful "Look, up in the Sky" documentary that was produced by Singer, which detailed basically the entire history of Superman from the comics to all the live-action versions (up to 2006, give or take) so there was no discussion of the Arrowverse version. The documentary was light years beyond the 50th-anniversary special included on the other disc. There is also the You Will Believe documentary which is basically a giant making-of documentary on Superman I through Superman IV and gave a lot more detail on the Donner vs. Salkind controversy. Then there is a documentary on the science of Superman, a featurette about Christopher Reeve, and the horrid Superpup pilot which was filmed after George Reeves's death and was going to potentially replace The Adventures of Superman. Thankfully, it never went beyond the pilot stage, but it makes Superman IV look like a masterpiece it is so bad.
Overall, this is a dream set for Superman fans. It basically has everything as far as the movies go that you could possibly ever want, and hours and hours of bonus material. If you are not one who likes to watch the bonus materials then this set is probably a bit overkill for you, but if you like watching all the extras, you definitely get your money's worth and then some. I highly recommend it.
