Superman Ii Donner Cut 1080p Torrent
Vinay Pettyjohn
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a 2006 re-edited director's cut of the 1980 superhero film Superman II. It is a sequel to Richard Donner's 1978 film Superman, based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name, and stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, and Marlon Brando. This alternate cut was edited by Michael Thau and was overseen and completed by Donner himself. It features a significant amount of discarded footage, alternate takes, and story elements not featured in the theatrical version.[1]
In 1979, after the tense nineteen month-long shoot on Superman and a significant portion of Superman II, Alexander Salkind, who had bought the film rights to the character, removed Donner from production on the sequel and replaced him with director Richard Lester. Lester completed the remainder of the film for its theatrical release, but also re-wrote and re-shot a substantial portion of Donner's footage in order to receive full director's credit. While the sequel was a critical and financial success upon release, interest in Donner's cut of Superman II became well known after a community of online fans began petitioning for Warner Bros. Pictures to release Donner's vision. After Marlon Brando's death in 2004, his family estate allowed for Warner Bros. to feature archival footage of the late actor in the 2006 film Superman Returns, thus granting the studio permission to restore Donner's version of Superman II.
Since Donner never completed Superman II in its original form, certain key scenes filmed by Lester, along with newly created visual effects shots and an early screen test of one pivotal scene featuring Reeve and Margot Kidder, had to be added to the film in order to create a completed work. The film also features an early developed alternate opening and ending that were both envisioned before the theatrical release of Superman, in which the sequel's original ending was re-worked as the finale to the first film. Donner stated that, had he finished the film in 1980, he would have shot a different ending.[2] Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD on November 28, 2006, to positive reviews and is dedicated to Reeve's memory.
On the planet Krypton, criminals General Zod, Ursa and Non are sentenced to eternal banishment inside the Phantom Zone by Jor-El for insurrection and murder, amongst other crimes. Thirty years later, Superman diverts a missile into outer space, unknowingly freeing them from the Phantom Zone.
At the Daily Planet in Metropolis, Lois Lane suspects that Clark Kent is Superman. She tests Clark by jumping out of a window, but Clark uses his powers to save her while appearing to have done nothing. Meanwhile, with the help of Eve Teschmacher, Lex Luthor escapes from prison, abandoning Otis. They find and infiltrate the Fortress of Solitude, learning of the impending doom brought by General Zod. Lex resolves to meet Zod, and begins tracking him. On the Moon, Zod, Ursa, and Non discover that they have superpowers due to Earth's yellow sun, and ruthlessly kill a group of astronauts.
Perry White has Clark and Lois pose as newlyweds to investigate a honeymoon suite scam at Niagara Falls. Superman's appearance and rescue of a small boy at the Falls renews Lois' suspicions, and she tricks Clark with a gun loaded with blanks into admitting that he is Superman. He takes Lois Lane to the Fortress of Solitude, where the two spend the night together. Meanwhile, Zod, Ursa and Non arrive on Earth and conquer a small town in Idaho. After learning that the U.S. military takes orders from the President of the United States, the Kryptonians fly to Washington, D.C., and invade the White House.
Superman, unaware of Zod's release from the Phantom Zone and his subsequent rampage, decides to transform himself into a human and remove his super-powers by exposing himself to red Kryptonian sunlight in a crystal chamber. On their way back to Metropolis, Lois and Clark stop at a diner, where Clark gets beaten up by an obnoxious trucker and learns of Zod's conquest of the world. Knowing that humanity is helpless, Clark returns to the Fortress to reverse the transformation. Having anticipated this decision, Jor-El's artificial intelligence reveals it has been programmed to deal with this situation by sacrificing the remaining Kryptonian energy it needs to operate. To restore Clark's superpowers, it must be joined with him, fulfilling the Kryptonian prophecy concerning "the father becoming the son", resulting in the "death" of Jor-El and rendering the Fortress of Solitude inoperable.
Lex arrives at the White House. In exchange for Australia, he informs Zod that Superman is the son of Jor-El, and that he has the ability to find him. He takes the three Kryptonians to Metropolis to kidnap Lois as bait for Superman. Superman arrives and a fight ensues in and over Metropolis. After saving a bus full of civilians, Superman realizes he cannot win and flies to his Fortress, with Zod, Ursa, and Non in pursuit, bringing Lois and Lex with them. At the Fortress, Luthor shows the chamber that stripped Superman of his powers to Zod, who forces Superman to again undergo the transformation process. Superman, feigning defeat, reveals by crushing Zod's hand, that he has altered the process to expose everyone outside the chamber, removing the Kryptonian criminals' powers, while protecting himself. Zod, Ursa and Non are quickly dispatched. After destroying the Fortress of Solitude with his heat vision, Superman returns Lois to her apartment, where she wishes him a tearful goodbye, knowing that she can never be with him. To undo everything, Superman accelerates around Earth, traveling back in time to restore the past few days, rebuild the Fortress of Solitude and place Zod, Ursa and Non back into the Phantom Zone. Clark returns to work the following day as Lois and Perry experience a slight case of dj vu. Clark revisits the diner with the obnoxious trucker to teach him a lesson in humility.
In July 1977, Richard Lester, who worked with the Salkinds on The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974), was brought in as a temporary co-producer to mediate the relationship between Donner and the Salkinds who were no longer on speaking terms.[6] During production, Lester enlisted to be a second unit director where he formed an effective partnership with Donner.[7][8] By October 1977, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, and Valerie Perrine had completed their scenes as they were all under contract to finish both pictures. Nevertheless, with months left of filming, the Salkinds had halted filming Superman II and focus on finishing Superman[9] by which Donner had already completed 75% of the sequel.[10]
Eventually, on March 15, 1979, the Salkinds decided to replace Donner with Richard Lester. Donner recalled that "One day, I got a telegram from them saying my services are no longer needed and that my dear friend Richard Lester would take over. To this day, I have not heard from them."[15] Ilya Salkind countered, "Dick Donner said, 'I will do the second movie on my terms and without [Pierre] Spengler'...Spengler was my friend since childhood and my father and I were very loyal guys. We said no, and it really boiled down to that."[15]
With Lester placed as director, he was not sympathetic to Donner's filmmaking style: "Donner was emphasizing a kind of grandiose myth. There was a kind of David Lean-ish attempt in several sequences, and enormous scale. There was a type of epic quality which isn't in my nature, so my work really didn't embrace that...That's not me. That's his vision of it. I'm more quirky and I play around with slightly more unexpected silliness."[16] Since Geoffrey Unsworth had died before the release of Superman, Lester brought on cinematographer Robert Paynter to have the film evoke the garish color scheme of the comics.[17]
Tom Mankiewicz was approached by Terry Semel, then a Warner Bros. vice president, to return for the sequel, but he declined out of loyalty to Donner. Mankiewicz recounted "I have a lot of respect for [Lester]. Friendship is more important than anything. And Dick [Donner] brought me on the picture and my loyalty was with Dick and I couldn't believe that they fired him."[18][19] David and Leslie Newman were then brought back to re-tool the script constructing a new opening and an ending. The new opening involved Superman thwarting the nuclear terrorists at the Eiffel Tower. The new ending involved Clark causing Lois to forget his secret identity through a hypnotic kiss.[20]
Additionally, Christopher Reeve had become unavailable as he had accepted an offer to star in the romantic fantasy film Somewhere in Time (1980), five months into the production shutdown, by which time his contract to shoot both Superman films back-to-back had expired. Reeve claimed that twelve hours after his casting was announced, he received a letter from the producers to be available for Superman II on July 16, which was only five days after he was to finish filming Somewhere in Time.[21] In March 1979, the Salkinds filed suit against Reeve alleging he had breached his contract by walking off the sequel.[22] Furthermore, Reeve had held reservations with Lester and the Newmans' script following the departure of Donner. During the renegotiation of his contract, Reeve agreed to the financial terms, but demanded more artistic control.[23]
The remaining sequences left to be shot included the scenes of the super-villains in Midwest America and the battle in Metropolis, which were all shot by Lester. Gene Hackman, out of loyalty to Donner, declined to return for re-shoots, which necessitated the need for a stand-in actor and a voice double for several scenes.[20] Filming for Superman II re-commenced in September 1979.[24] As previously announced, Brando's scenes were removed and entirely re-shot with actress Susannah York. Throughout filming, Lester opted to retain his directorial technique for the three-camera setup while shooting scenes, which frustrated the actors as they did not know from where they were being filmed for their close-ups.[17] However, Reeve noted that it made the production move at a faster pace.[25] Filming was completed on March 10, 1980.[26]
b37509886e