which was a mistake. Took two sessions to get through and though I could spot the extra footage I don't believe it added anything.
To be honest I suspect watching the normal length version would have been a bit disappointing as well. This was a family favourite long ago and I always liked Margot Kidder but it all looked a bit creaky and everyone seems a caricature rather than a character.
I myself prefer the extended version that is about 2 hours and 20 minutes. I bought the 3 hour cut and the only scenes not in the regular extended cut I really liked was Superman provoding extra water to that village and Superman rescuing Miss Tessmocker. Although, that later scene really makes it more messed up that she helped Lex escape prison in the 2nd. Then again even with what happened in the original version that plotpoint makes no sense. Then again, that might be a Richard Lester idea and not a Donnor one.
shareWhen the water arrived at the village I immediately wondered why they are so happy given they've just sold the land.
I think if I ever watch this film again I'll be looking for the shorter cut - which is probably the one I remember as liking so much in the increasingly distant past.
Never watched the extended cut, what are the brief differences between the original and the extended cut? Is it worth the watch?
shareI haven’t watched the 3-hour cut, but from what I remember about the regular extended cut, it adds more scenes with Marlon Brando, a scene with Lois as a little girl when young Clark runs next to the train, a longer flight for Lois and Superman, I think some more scenes at the Daily Planet, and a scene where Superman must go through a series of obstacles to enter Lex’s lair.
shareThere is also an extra scene of Superman fighting some guys that shoot him with Machine guns.
shareOne of the first movies we record on VCR (1982-ish) was a TV cut of the movie. It was three hours long (it reached the end of the cassette). It had all the extra mentioned above. Also included, when Lex gets angry at Otis for putting in the wrong coordinates and they get into a fight and Otis drops his marshmallows.
It's always strange for me to see the theatrical version.
I'd only seen a shorter TV version and assumed the three hour cut was a later release for the big fans. Personally I think this is one of those times when less is more.
shareI think whatever version the film overall is just a masterpiece of the superhero genre of films. Richard Donner did a remarkable job considering he was filming the two Superman films back to back. I've gone through the extended version it's not like light years better it's just a version where you go deeper into the moments of the film.
Actually the version I saw as a child was probably a TV cut (or European cut) of the film because when I saw the DVD I was really puzzled that the scene where Luther gets angry at Otis for inputting the wrong coordinates is not there.
I think the original version is a masterpiece, one of the easiest 10/10 ratings I have given. I probably enjoy it more now than when I was a kid. It got everything just right. To me, it is the perfect superhero film.
The longer version is interesting but in this case less is more. Donner was right to get rid of all the extra scenes, they added nothing and in fact interrupted the pacing of the film. I wonder if I would feel that way if I had seen the long version first? Who knows!
Most longer versions, or director's cuts, are not as good as the original. Aliens is a better film as it was originally released, even if the longer version has some interesting scenes. Cameron got it right the first time.
But I do prefer the longer Alien film to the original because there are added scenes that work remarkably well, especially when Ripley finds what happened to Dallas and Brett. I can understand his reason for leaving it out.
Superman Returns doesn't have a longer version but why they decided to leave out what he finds when he goes back to Krypton makes no sense. They leave in the unnecessary weird scene of Luthor ripping off a rich elderly woman but omit the fascinating trip to Krypton? Which explains why he was so weak when he arrived home?
Frankly i rather watch the 3 hour cut of this than the boring 4 hours Snyder Emo League. Its long but i wasn't bored by the 3 hour cut. I don't think it made it better or worse. But watching after again all these years later. It really showed just how good Christopher Reeve was in the part.
shareHow funny i just watched for the first time in years and i thought something was off ,i checked the time and my eyes nearly came out when it read 188 minutes, i wondered if it was always this long.
So if the scenes with Brando were extended then they were excellent, i was far more engaged than i was previously and i thought it added another layer.
I can't believe people ridicule this film, they might have better effects today and bigger budgets today but there is no heart in them, and the reason they continue to try and remake Superman is because it is the Godfather (Literally the same writer Mario Puzo) but they still can't recapture the tone or spirit of this film, also there is only one Gene Hackman
People should have more respect, my favourite was always S2 i was never that fond of one when i was younger because S2 had the baddies who could challenge him and it was more traditional but after rewatching this again i agree with others that it is a masterpiece, a dated and flawed one but still never the less this has true heart
These movies have so much filler, they could ALL be condensed into one movie, and still have an hour free time.
We don't need the origin story, so 75% of the first movie is cut.
We don't need the stupid Lois-romance crap, so most of the two movies are gone.
Zod is an interesting villain, the hag and the giant idiot aren't, but if we take their best scenes (though most of them seem like filler, too), add the 'Clark vs. Evil Superman' (should've been Superman vs. Superman instead of Clark - I realize the symbolism and I do think it's great in some ways, but Clark is less real than Tyler Durden, so why does HE win? He's a MADE-UP character, not anyone real! Anyone that disagrees should watch Kill Bill Vol. 2 ending speech), and whatever else was good about the third and fourth movies (is there anything else?), we could have a more interesting movie.
There's just so little in idea department in these movies, and so much filler and 'origin story' stuff, we almost never get to the point; Superman protecting Earth from super villains and fighting Lex Luthor's madness (which is so much better in the comics).
My favorite Superman issue is when they basically find old Atlantians buried deep underground inside a giant robot. They somehow installed their souls into that robot, and the souls also function as source of power, so Superman is able to.. well, read the comic, it's a bit silly, but somehow intriquing, as the story is quite original and movies would probably never dare attempt such a story.
If that was added to it, there could be one good Superman movie. But as these movies are now, they're just boring messes with amazing soundtrack and Reeve's charisma, plus cool 'font effects' and not much more.