"In a 1980's ABC-TV version of the film, when Superman is trying to get to Lex's underground hideout, he is subjected to machine gun fire, a giant blow torch, and is frozen in ice. Much of this footage was used in Superman II, in the scene where Superman's powers are stripped away by the molecule chamber in the Fortress of Solitude. Lex Luthor plays the piano in several scenes.
In the ABC version, after Superman saves Lois at the end and flies off, he's seen rescuing Miss Tessmacher from the lions' den where Lex had dropped her in.
In the ABC version, the little girl who sees the teenage Clark running faster than the train is revealed to be Lois Lane, a fact revealed when her parents talk to her by name. This revelation scene is not present in the shorter theatrical release.
Only in the ABC version are young Lois Lane and her father seen in the train. In the ABC version, Ned Beatty's walk down the street is longer. Kirk Alyn (the original screen Superman) and Noel Neill (as Lois Lane's parents) have their speaking roles restored. Ned Beatty's walk down the street is longer."
Ok just found out the versions are discussed more here: http://www.supermancinema.co.uk/superman1/general/extrafootage/page2.shtml
There's the ABC Extended cut and the International cut...which is the more worthy of tracking down, and was either ever available to the home theater public?