Re: Have you even seen the Donner Cut?by Otis Ferguson 07/06/2021, 1:33am PDT
Mischief Maker wrote:
Otis Ferguson wrote:
I've seen Superman II, it's fantastic. The first one people think they like because Ebert said it was so great. The second one has actual moral and tonal sophistication - Superman giving up ultimate power to be with his woman, then being caught when evil shows up. The evil guys are funny and imposing. There's no big Superman fight scene until the end. It moves as adroitly between pathos and light comedy as any superhero film ever has.
If you think the complex tone is Donner's doing (no offense to him, he was brilliant), watch Petulia. In fact, watch the third film, which has those incredible scenes where Superman is drunk or horny and it somehow fits.
Everything you're attributing to Lester originated with Donner, and the Donner cut does them better.
Did you select clips to support this?
In the Donner Cut, it makes more sense that Superman would give up his powers for Lois because she reveals that Clark is Superman by outsmarting him (and they have delicious chemistry in the Donner Cut scene).
In the Lester cut she figures it out by accident because of that stupid "Flames of Love" gag and I guess he gives up his powers for her because he's horny?
The "with a blank" line is great, but it's several minutes of dull setup dialogue ending with her firing a gun in a hotel room. In the Lester version, he makes a snap decision not to hide it anymore based on some unspoken feeling related to his fireplace mishap - like he wants to tell her anyway, and why keep hiding it when some small accident can potentially blow the charade. It's a good intuitive decision, a Lester touch, and a lot more cinematic. I don't know why she confesses her love right there but I can ignore it.
And yeah, this is a *love* story. Look at Superman standing by the lava lamp there, he's bashful and stammering. There's even more raw emotion in the diner scene, almost more than I could handle when I was a kid. Lester directed Robin and Marian, he's not some rube gag man.
In the Donner Cut, the Kryptonian criminals are fucking brutal, including a scene where Zod picks up an assault rifle and laughs while gunning down humans.
In the Lester cut they're just goofballs.
As with the reveal scene, Lester's version is just more economical. The Zod bit is kind of neat but doesn't add much.
In the Donner Cut, they have more Marlon Brando,
Hey kids,
In the Lester cut they removed his scenes to save a couple bucks.
In the Donner Cut, Superman gets his powers back at the cost of destroying the Jor-El simulation, so it's clear there's no turning back after this.
In the Lester cut he just finds the green crystal on the ground and... end scene. Welp, he's got his powers back without explanation! I guess that means he can de-power to bone Lois at will, just as long as he keeps that green crystal handy.
Who on earth is going to prefer ten minutes of that cringe shit climaxing with Brando's big fat face? A very clear improvement, sorry about the sacrifice made to the lore but nothing is lost by the Lester version in my opinion. It's been ages since I've seen this but I think presumptions of economy mean the crystal only had enough juice to restore Superman's powers and sap his enemies' unless stated otherwise.
All the best comedy in 2 comes from Donner, because Gene Hackman famously refused to return to the set after they gave Donner the boot.
Shame we missed all that great Lex Luthor comedy.
Richard Lester is the reason zoomers describe Christopher Reeves Superman as stupid and cheesy, because the only thing that guy had to offer as a director was broad inappropriate slapstick.
He gave the genre exactly what it needed and deserved. He gets the tone just right and I have to assume the "Donner version" is not really complete because so much of what you've posted feels like a draft.
