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Yes, Superman II has probably nearly as many fan edits as Phantom Menace, and it’s unlikely that people are interested in downloading yet another one.
My goal here was to make an edit on the extremely conservative side. I really had no intention of producing a ‘best version’ using the two sources. Others have done a great job with that. Instead,
I simply wanted to make a version of the 2006 film that is watchable in terms of effects. Really, to un-botch some of the most glaring problems that make me cringe when I watch the BluRay. Things that should have honestly never been included in a final product that people paid money for. For that matter, whenever I’d see Superman II on TV between 2006 and 2010, it was the Donner cut (without warning), including its CGI that makes SciFi originals look like academy award winners. The effects shots that are most obviously from 2006 are gone, while keeping the scenes/takes from the Donner Cut whenever possible (almost).
Changes:
Used WB logo from Superman I, altered Reeve tribute.
Replaced the worst Phantom Zone shot. The planets of our solar system are no longer hanging out together, having a party. I surprised myself in keeping the early ‘new’ phantom zone FX. They’re not as bad, and there’s not a ton of material to replace with (I reused/rejigged a shot for the replacement I did).
Removed bad rocket effect.
Used elevator explosion. Had to paint the elevator itself out, and I ended up replacing it with the rocket model shot from the behind the scenes video on the BluRay. Despite it being an SD source, it turned out nicely (better than my attempt to use a Superman IV rocket).
The following release and approach to the moon are from Lester. Sadly, we no longer can see Saturn taking up most of our night sky.
Replaced the awful S logo and “Superman II” with the Lester Cut versions.
Used the bullet scene rather than pink bear. In the commentary, Donner really despised the pink bear scene. So I’ve included everything I could. It’s basically every shot/line that doesn’t show Chris with long hair and normal glasses. I’ve managed to include a bit more of the scene than most edits I’ve seen. Works fairly seamlessly.
The kiss. This is the only case where I decided to make a call on content. Listening to the commentary (or making of?), they clearly contemplated using the kiss in 2006, but decided to go with the plan from before Superman I was completed. If Donner had stayed on board, he would have had to come up with something. He says they hadn’t decided what they would use. But there are other examples of the 2006 version where Donner “had” to use Lester’s footage due to the circumstances. This should have been one of those. Now it can be watched following Superman I.
(I don’t see the missing pizza scene as a loss. Especially the cut down version where Lois has her memory and it is literally only a scene about pizza).
White house scene. Donner said that if they had included the kiss, he would have included this too. Fountains don’t move. I’m not sure what black magic was used to fix them in other edits, but I don’t have an HD source.
Back to Donner version for the credits.
I considered doing something about the stand-ins/voiceover, but in he end I decided it wasn’t as big of a deal. Maybe I’ll remove the fake Christopher Reeve voice. The worst stand-in is removed, as the turn-back-time scene gone.
I think it’s unlikely that anyone will be interested in it. But let me know if you are. I’ve posted a clip of the first ~9 minutes, as there were a number of changes there. I can upload the bullet scene as well if anyone cares. And if you’d like the whole thing, I’d appreciate feedback. Changes are minimal, but there’s always a chance for stray errors.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2gpj3s_superman-ii-1
edit: Especially if you have thoughts on the rocket explosion rework, would be appreciated.
