Showbits

Yesterday, on the six-month anniversary of the theatrical release of Superman Returns, my friend Sir Harry (with whom I'd first seen the film that Friday) and I watched the newly-released Richard Donner cut of Superman II. I had thought my only problems with the Salkind version were the silly, non-canonical powers it gave the Kryptonians, such as levitation and cellophane shields. And those are gone in this update — but I find most of the other changes far preferable to the original as well, as Donner's approach is simply more respectful of the characters in ways I didn't realize Salkind's wasn't.

The Eiffel Tower scene is completely gone; instead, the Phantom Zone criminals make their escape in a fashion that suggests the first two Reeve films were not only shot together, but also meant to be seen together. Lois challenges Superman to save her without throwing herself over Niagara Falls; and Clark's true identity is revealed in a fashion that, though flawed, lends intelligence to Lois and finesse to the Man of Steel. The interaction between Kal-El and Jor-El also cements a tradition of passing the torch from father to son, as seen in Superman Returns.

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Released late last month was The Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition, containing 14 discs that detail every microsecond of the Man of Steel's existence, from his appearance in Action Comics #1 in 1938 to his silver screen revival in 2006 (which I don't understand how some people thought was a remake – duh).

Clearly not thinking, I eschewed this bounty, instead opting to buy Superman Returns (2-Disc Special Edition) and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut separately. I already have the Fleischer cartoons and the four-disc Superman box set released, what, six years ago now? as well as the Look! Up in the Sky (fantastic) documentary, released back in June. Why pay to get all that stuff again?

For the two items I bought last month, I paid the lowest I could: $35 total from Amazon.com. IOW, I got three discs for $35 when I could've gotten the ultimate tin of 14 discs for twice that ($70, for those of you reaching for your calculators). And if I already had seven of the discs, that's still seven more – $10/disc – I could've gotten.

Super-hindsight super-sucks.

Here's someone else's review of the new Superman II.

Did anyone else pick up any of Superman's multiple returns to home video?