OK so I wasn't crazy about SUPERMAN RETURNS, but I am still looking forward to Warner's huge DVD box set.
Apparently, from what I've heard on various other forums, SUPERGIRL is NOT included in this set (no shocker, as it's not a Superman movie!
I will post any specifics as they come in but it's obvious the cut footage from I-IV will be on there to various degrees -- PLUS all of the Richard Fleischer cartoons and that LOOK UP IN THE SKY documentary (so if you haven't bought that you might want to wait!). The SUPERMAN II "pseudo Donner cut", the theatrical version of SUPERMAN I, etc. have been confirmed too.
I just hope that all the individual SEs will be made available seperately, a la the Alien Quadrilogy. All I want is the first two films, the Fleischer cartoons, and the Look Up In The Sky documentary. No way in hell am I paying good money for Richard Prior and Nuclear Man.
Monty,
Pryor wasn't THAT bad. Seriously. He wasn't
Actually Paul MacLean told me Ilya Salkind defended III in that documentary -- it WAS the 5th highest grossing film of '83 after all. And it does have some good stuff in it (Annette O'Toole, the whole evil Supes theme, etc.)
At least I wouldn't put it in the same breath as Nuclear Man, which is deserving of a thread all its own
Michael: it hasn't been "officially" announced so the pricing isn't out there just yet. Hopefully Amazon will have a decent pre-order price as I'm likely to have to splurge for this myself (can't see too many review copies out there).
I must admit, I hate Superman III far more than The Quest for Peace, if only because S3 was part of the damned triumverate of my Summer of Hell during '83 - working overtime six days a week in a cinema showing Octopussy (14 weeks!), Return of the Tedi (12 agonizing weeks) and a flying Richard Pryor (8 weeks, but it seemed longer), each at least four shows a day. Whereas Quest for Peace I only saw in the cut version once. Since the actor who played Nuclear Man Mk 1 in the cut scenes went on to become one of the stars of a long running medical soap over here, I'll admit a vaguely masochistic desire to see an extended cut, but I know I'll regret it...
The Reeve box set will retail for $79 -- meaning likely $65 or less from Amazon for pre-orders. (Not bad at all!).
Not sure about the 14 disc set version now, however, as this release makes no mention of it.
http://www.homemediaretailing.com/news/ ... le_ID=9413 SAN DIEGO — On the heels of the box office success of Superman Returns, Warner Home Video today at San Diego Comic-Con International is set to announce it is polishing up the four original “Superman” movies, starring Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, and giving them the DVD special treatment.
The highlight of the Nov. 28 DVD rollout: Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut ($24.98), a revised version of the controversial 1980 sequel as it was originally conceived and intended to be filmed by director Richard Donner, who also helmed the 1978 original.
Donner was fired midway through the shoot and replaced by Richard Lester, who gave the film more of a comic bent. The version of the film being prepared for the DVD features Donner’s original footage, shot but never used, including a never-before-seen beginning, a different ending, and 15 minutes of Marlon Brandon as Jor-El in key scenes that probe deeper into Superman lore and further the relationship between father and son.
Donner had shot most of the Superman II footage while he was filming Superman: The Movie. But as production of the sequel continued, friction between the director and the film’s producers led to his dismissal. Lester was hired to finish the shoot and wound up making substantial changes.
Fan demand ultimately led Warner Bros. to bring Donner back to the studio to remake the movie the way he intended. The re-edit, produced this year, was supervised by Donner, Tom Mankiewicz and Michael Thau, an editor who worked with Donner on the 2001 director’s cut and restoration of Superman: The Movie.
According to a Warner statement, “with this DVD release, Richard Donner has become the first director in history to be able to complete a film he left during production with nearly all his footage in the can. Adding back a substantial amount of that unused footage, the director has seen his original vision restored and brought to fruition.”
Warner Home Video also is releasing a four-disc special edition of Superman: The Movie ($39.92), “deluxe editions” of Superman III and Superman IV ($19.97 each), and a two-disc special edition of Richard Lester’s theatrical version of Superman II ($26.99). These four films also will be available in an eight-disc boxed set, The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection ($79.92).
Orders for all “Superman” movies are due Sept. 19.
The four-disc Superman: The Movie includes two versions of the movie: the 1978 theatrical original and the 2001 director’s cut. The former includes commentary by producer Pierre Spengler and executive producer Ilya Salkind; the latter, commentary by Donner and Mankiewicz.
The set also includes three documentaries and a TV special on the making of the film and the Superman legend, restored scenes, screen tests, nine vintage Max Fleischer Superman cartoons, and the 1951 movies Superman and the Mole-Men, starring TV Superman George Reeves.
Superman II comes with commentary by Spengler and Salkind, vintage TV specials on the making of the film and the 50th anniversary of Superman, a new featurette on the Fleischer cartoon series and eight Famous Studios Superman cartoons.
Today at Comic-Con, Warner’s “Superman” DVDs will be formally announced at 1 p.m. in Room 20 in a session called “Superman Through the Ages.” The studio promises special guests from the Man of Steel’s various film and TV incarnations and a reunion of the key creative talent behind the newly reconstructed Super Man II — The Richard Donner Cut, including Mankiewicz and Thau.
The 14 disc set isn't confirmed to be happening right now (maybe in lieu of SUPERMAN RETURNS' relatively disappointing financial in-take?), so they're releasing an 8-Disc CHRISTOPHER REEVE SUPERMAN Anthology -- but WITHOUT the SUPERMAN II "RICHARD DONNER" CUT, which will be available separately. Go figure!
The 14 disc set isn't confirmed to be happening right now (maybe in lieu of SUPERMAN RETURNS' relatively disappointing financial in-take?), so they're releasing an 8-Disc CHRISTOPHER REEVE SUPERMAN Anthology -- but WITHOUT the SUPERMAN II "RICHARD DONNER" CUT, which will be available separately. Go figure!
No sale. I'll probably wait for an HD version some day down the road before I buy again. I only care about Superman I and II anyways.
