Almost 2 years later...thoughts on the Donner Cut?

[EvilSupes]

I wish the Lester cut was out in HD too. Why only do Donner's version in HD? I would've thought it would make sense to bring both out in HD, seeing as lots of people like Lester's version (even if they may disagree on what happened with Donner).

[Deleted]

It's almost unwatchable.

The scenes featured are sometimes absolutely amazing but as a movie it fails horribly.

It was impossible to pull off. They shouldn't have bothered. They should've released as much footage for the movie as possible and put it what fits into a cohesive story and leave the rest in the deleted scenes section.

[Jor-L5150]

i like the never before seen story material , the ending is maddening- not having the gags in the fight scenes is nice.

technically the theatrical cut is superior ( as it actual had the production value ) but brando as god/jor is amazing and it is a fascinating cautionary tale about good movie ideas getting ruined.

i typically watch fancuts, but i enjoy both official versions , for different reasons.

[Ollie W]

I'd like to think I've been one of the biggest supporters of the Donner Cut.

For those who are quite critical of it a common thread seems to be that they claim to have only watched it ONCE.

First time I watched it I was both excited and disappointed but on second viewing the material really did grow on me and I found myself truly falling in love with the new scenes. It just feels like more of a sequel to STM IMO.

Some people claim their respect for Lester has grown, but for me it's just the same. Lester simply didn't understand Superman and anything that is good about the theatrical cut of S2 is down to Donner who inspired a way of making these kinds of movies believable.

Thau's worn a lot of the blame which is mostly unfair. Certainly creative decisions were made which at times defy logic but at the end of the day he delivered mostly on what he set out to do. To create a glimpse of what Donner's S2 might have been like.

That was the goal of the project. Not to create an ultimate S2 version, as some had both assumed would happen and hoped for.

Ultimate cut is misleading anyway because if the fan cuts prove anything it's that everyone’s tastes for the material varies.

I for one am a huge fan of the blank bullets scene, yes even as a screen test and I love both of Donner's beginning and end scenes at the Daily planet. Whilst the Brando scenes are everything I had hoped for and more.

I'm not blind to it's flaws and I've watched it 4 to 5 times both alone and in company.

Nevertheless I truly hope that it is revisited and my vote would be to have Stuart Baid directly involved.

I finished my final fan cut of S2 about 3 months ago giving the film my final polish. If anyone is interested I will post some details, though I know most are quite burnt out with fan edits.

[Valentine Smith]

I'm with you, Ollie. And I'd love to hear about your cut, as I've seen none!

[EvilSupes]

I have been doing my own cut on and off for several months, but Sony Vegas keeps losing the sound which is really annoying. So I am constantly on/off doing it. I think I could with a bit more ram to do the editing too(which might also fix some of the problems). I have 4GB already, but even that isn't enough.

[HeartMonger]

I'll be honest. I haven't thought much about it. I've moved on. I guess I watched some scenes to see how they held up. What I put together is that we all had in our minds how we pictured Donner's Superman II AT THE TIME WHEN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RELEASED. Editing and what not is so much different, unfortunately, and I don't think we will ever see it the way we all know it should have been. I also think in our minds we all have somewhat of the same idea how it should have been, again, that's SOMEWHAT.



BTW- Great to see you all here!

[ye5man]

I've completely moved on too.


Lester cut only for me from now on. Its what I grew up with and that's good enough for me.

Donner Cut music is appalling. Not only is it a big slap in the face to Thorne, but it doesn't fit and the STM music is over-exposed.

[Deleted]

agree with most of you.

Some of the scenes are brilliant. The Brando scenes are fantastic even if Reeve isnt on top form in them, im positive donner would have re-shot these.

But....yeh, its all peaced together horribly so it doesnt flow well as a film.

[EvilSupes]

I'm still hoping for a Lester cut blu-ray release. Will it ever see the light of day?

[Jimbo]

There have been HD broadcasts of it and of Superman III, therefore HD masters are out there. All they have to do is slap it onto a disc.

They'll come sooner or later.

[crazy_asian_man]

"Speaking of that, what's the deal with Selutron?

He recently posted another clip on YouTube, and effectively packed up his camp and left. He said it was his last clip, and he'll be going.

I knew his Superman II cut was just a red herring. I bet all he ever did was make those clips."

Well.... I was put off by Selutron's first 'public' letter denouncing other fan cuts that weren't his own (and never really forgave him for that)--- but, having said that, I have to tip my hat at the amount of work put into some of those clilps, particularly the last one.

Unless Selutron has a 'miracle software' that does the rotoscope work for him, it's (my estimate) 6-8 hours+ of work for every few seconds of rotoscoping on-screen, not to mention 'tweaking' time afterwards. So, I'd be VERY suprised if he had a day job and completed the whole thing....

If he pulled a rabbit out of a hat and has WB thinking about a new cut with ANY new Donner footage that hasn't been released yet, though, I'll be a happy (enough) crazy asian dude.

[eccentricbeing]

Selutron is a one-trick pony in a sense that all he did was just serve or'dourves and could never cook up a real meal. I think he could've received A LOT of attention from fans if he simply put together a complete cut. I mean, Star Wars fancutters do it.

[Kirok]

From my understanding Selutron will no longer be posting clips or making announcements because it is his hope his edit or one like it will be comissioned by WB in the near future and due to bussiness procedure it has to be kept confidential. Will this come to pass? Maybe, maybe not. But the very fact there's a discussion going on about it behind the scenes is encouraging. And it would not be completely unheard of for a third definitive edit of the film to be offically released. How many versions of "Blade Runner" are there? Or "Alexander"? I'm cautiously optomistic that we'll see a "final" version of Superman II someday. The most logical time would be leading up to the next Superman film.

As for the Donner Cut itself, and this is always my comment, it's biggest problem was the involvement of Donner and Mankewitz. If Thau had been left alone and had the final say, we would've gotten ALL the deleted scenes re-instated, a much more balanced film (Donner/Lester wise), and a satisfying ending (memory kiss/diner/flag). Donner's anti-Lester sentiment and Mank's absurd ideas ("Clark Kent should never kiss Lois Lane") seriously damaged the end product. And that's just a shame.

[Gandy]

Selutron is a good friend of mine and his intentions are entirely noble and respectful, unfortunately, we live in a world where it's difficult to get what you want without stepping on toes and expecting it to be okay -- the road is long and there are many feet.

[MAVERICK]

Jul 23, 2008 22:06:09 GMT -5 Valentine Smith said:

Oh, and I've seen NO fan edits, so solicit away.

I know of one you might like

[ShogunLogan]

I've never seen the Donner cut. And there isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for it here.

I've never seen any fan cut either although I've heard Mav's is very good.

[MAVERICK]

Anyone who wants it can PM me

I can burn up a new batch soon.
Ive sent out 25 copies worldwide so far LOL!

[Jason Voorhees007]

I was so excited for the Donner cut at first, like everyone, when I watched it I was quite pleased. I know Donner would have made an incredible sequel back then. Since that 1st viewing I haven`t watched it since and haven`t been tempted to. I`ve seen the theatrical version 2 or 3 times since then, which I hadn`t watched for some time before the Donner cut was released.

So, I guess I`m agreeing with what a few have said so far in that I`ve learned to accept Lesters version and moved on from it.

[mickah]

my view is the same as when it was released, an unfinished symphony, its a small glimpse of sumting that could have been, I wouldnt even class this as a movie, but more as a extra feature,

Lesters version is like a comfortable pair of shoes, we are so used to it, frame by frame.

[phines]

My biggest beef with the Donner Cut is the weak alternate takes Thau chose. The RIC and Lester Cut used MUCH better takes, with better performances.

That's why I'm not so sure that in the Jor-El scenes, Reeve had to be that wooden. They may have just been inferior takes.

My other main gripe is that not all the RIC scenes were restored in widescreen as supplements (Lester and Donner).

I felt that "Donner Approved Assembly Cut" would've been more accurate, but that didn't have a good ring to it.

[phines]

Jul 30, 2008 6:39:48 GMT -5 Gandy said:

Selutron is a good friend of mine and his intentions are entirely noble and respectful, unfortunately, we live in a world where it's difficult to get what you want without stepping on toes and expecting it to be okay -- the road is long and there are many feet.

I only have two questions regarding Selutron's version:

1. Is it actually going to be finished?
2. If a new Donner Cut is not approved by WB, will he release it to fans?

[tomahawk]

I don't think he can release it to fans. If he is talking to people that matter, they would obviously know his "secret identity". If it doesn't happen officially and then appears all over the net, the legal people would go straight to him.

[Jimbo]

He could just claim someone stole his hard drive. ;D

[Jacob]

I got to see it a the premiere. I must say that it was a very differnt film then I thought it was going to be. .I still like it much more then the lester version..

I know that some are complaining about the lack of the lester footage.. there is a rule in hollywood that a director must have filmed like 60 percent or so to get proper credit for the movie. that could be a possible reason for most of lesters footage being cut out.. I am not trying to open a can of worms.. this is how it works.

which is why superman 2 theatre version was so differnt. they had rewrite scenes like the beginning and other stuff so lester could get the proper credit. they even talk about it on the superman documentaries.

Jacob