Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut
Image taken from cinemablend.com
After the success of Superman, Warner Brothers filmed a sequel. The film was to have the same exact cast and crew of the first film. Filming went relatively smoothly for a while, until Richard Donner, the director, went over the budget and made too many changes to the story. This did not go over well with producers. They wanted a family-friendly film very much like the first one. However, Donner felt he had to advance the story by making it darker and a bit more adult-oriented. For this, he was fired after having shot almost all of the film. Veteran British director Richard Lester stepped in to finish the films and re-shoot scenes. The film was released to a similar response to the first film and Warner Brothers made their money back.
For almost thirty years, Richard Donner always wanted to complete the film he had started. With the release of Superman Returns in 2006, Donner was able to go back to the cutting room. He reassembled all the footage he had shot and using film from the theatrical version of Superman II, his wish came true. It was released on DVD as Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut. The film was well-received from fans of the Superman franchise. Many felt this version was superior to the theatrically released version. This new version added more depth to the story and helped keep continuity between the original films and Superman Returns.
