That was the first convincing explanation I saw about the disguise working. The difference his posture and the way he carries himself makes it perfect. I was never a fan of bumbling Clark but he sold the distinction so well.
It's crazy how he is IDENTICAL to the long time comic book. If you open a comic book and compare it to Reeve you can't find one single difference between the two visuals, not one detail is off on the costume itself! Not one detail is off on his hair! Not one detail is off on any single color! Even his face is as if they've been drawing Christopher Reeves face this whole time! Add to the fact that his performance EXACTLY imitates the way he acts in the comics is absolutely masterful. Watching these two movies is like LITERALLY seeing Superman actually step out of the comic book into the real world.
It's kind of awe-inspiring that Christopher Reeve more or less BECAME Superman later in life, in terms of his positive attitude against circumstances, and his devotion to causes. Tom Welling, who played Clark in "Smallville," had the chance to act opposite Reeve when the show was able to get him for a couple of episodes - Reeve loved the show and was happy to sign on. He immediately put Welling, who as a very green actor was more than a bit starstruck and also understandably nervous to meet him, at ease. Welling has described it in interviews as Reeve making it immediately clear that he didn't feel sorry for himself, which in turn made it absolutely impossible for you to feel sorry for him, either - which is damned impressive when you stop to consider it for a moment. Welling has a number of great anecdotes about their meetings - it's definitely worth tracking down on UA-cam.
As a kid I used to love watching the old black and white TV series starring George Reeves as Superman. Not saying George is/was the definitive one just that it's a series I highly recommend. Edit: Fixed a typo.
Now you know why Gen-X calls Christopher Reeves the real Superman. It's not because they saw him first as Superman (George Reeves was my first Superman), but because Christopher Reeves portrayed both Superman and Clark Kent to perfection. Even if other actors have portrayed him excellently, none of the others have been quite as good.
Of all the modern-day supermen, Brandon Routh is my favorite. I feel like people sleep on how well he captured the superman/Clark Kent dynamic, the only one to really do this since Mr. Reeve, imo.
He was in the 1998 remake of Rear Window, also starring Daryl Hannah. The original is one of my favorites, but the remake isn’t that bad and and the new story with its different aspects makes it worth a watch.
YES! So glad Cassie left it in. Some other reactors don't include it. Terence Stamp really brought power to that line, and the character. One of the greatest portrayals of a villain.
I saw Margot Kidder in one of her last public appearances. She was at Metropolis, IL, for the annual Superman Celebration. She did a Q&A along with Sarah Douglas, the actress who played Ursa (the Kryptonian woman). Margot was very frail (even though she was only 68) and Sarah was very kind to her, helping Margot onto and off the stage. They were great fun together and I'm very happy I was able to see it. Fun fact just for Cassie: Margot was married for almost a whole year to John Heard, who later played the dad in Home Alone.
@@pablosonic892 I've said for years that Courtney Cox would have been a brilliant Lois Lane! Obvs that won't happen now as they're going younger with the cast. Such a shame!
One of my favorite scenes in this movie is when Lex goes to the Fortress of Solitude and can't help but scream how FANTASTIC it is. Wish more villains would be shown admiring part of the hero's background and giving credit to them where credit is due. Shows how intelligent Lex really is when he can appreciate a great thing when he sees it.
Kneel before Zod! I saw an interview of Terrence Stamp (Zod) where he spoke of an incident in a men's room during the premiere of Man of Steel. He was in a stall when he overheard a group of Gen-X men lament how Zod in the Man of Steel was nothing like Zod in Superman II. Terrence emerged from the stall in his Zod persona and those guys nerded-out and kneeled at his command.
That's an awesome story. Only when watching this video did I notice Michael Shannon was in Superman 2 as the jail guard. I'm pretty sure he was Zod in Man of Steel. I haven't seen it.
The moment after he 'burns' his hand his entire composure changes as he drops the nerdy routine and admits that he's Superman....That was some amazing acting in that moment...Made it believable that people wouldn't recognize 'Clark and Superman as the same guy.
@@jeetkunedoatlanta2464 The Donner version was INSANELY stupid, Lois Lane spends MOST OF THAT VERSION trying to expose him as Superman and that's something an Elite reporter wouldn't WASTE TIME DOING. You don't understand these characters, do you? Lois Lane is NOT a shrinking violet always gushing over Superman, she's an honorary Amazon FFS.
I was just wonder with how smart Louis is, how she never put two and two together especially with Superman showing up at the Niagara Falls. You’d think she’d at least consider he is stalking her… and right after I thought that, she started to question things like Clark not being around haha.
He had a similar scene in the first one, after he and Lois have their date. He shows up after, as Clark, and almost tells her, and he does that same composure shift that he does so well :)
I love how when Clark took off his glasses to reveal himself to Lois, his posture, voice and entire attitude changed. Christopher Reeve was a brilliant actor. Also, Superman learning how to safely be intimate with his significant other is actually a plot point in the Smallville TV show.
@@Cadinho93 that’s what people refuse to understand. It’s not just the glasses that hide his identity, it’s his whole manner. Clark and Supes really do not look like each other
In reality, according the the laws of physics there's no way Superman could be safely intimate. The famous sc fi writer Larry Niven wrote a hilarious essay in 1973 called, "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex". The fact is, if a being such as Superman existed, he would do more harm than good even if he meant well. For example, if you fell off a building and Superman files up and catches you, the impact of landing in his arms would kill you. It's not the fall that kills you it's the sudden stop. Of course he's not literally made of steel, but, it's just simple physics. He would be most effective at saving large groups of people in a train or a plane or some other vehicle. But, if he were trying to save an individual, he would kill them even if he didn't mean to.. So, there is no way he could be safely intimate, despite what Smallville says.
Fun fact: "KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!" became Zod's catchphrase because of this movie. Terrence Stamp delivered it so terrifyingly well that Zod started using it in the comics. Secondary fun fact: Terrence Stamp ironically provided the voice for Jor-El in the smash hit tv series "Smallville"(which I highly, highly recommend checking out).
@@chand911 I wouldn’t say “convenient”. Even if they had wanted to do that for other scenes, it wouldn’t have been practical/possible with 70s filmmaking technology.
Somebody who has access to her Patreon, please, add Deep Blue Sea and Amityville 2005 Horror movie to her recommended list, instead of this boring nonsense!
Not probably but the greatest ending of any movie. Going into this as an 8 yr old kid in 1980. we all knew he would stop them by using kryptonite. When he came out of that chamber and crushed Zods hand. the entire theater erupted in cheers. One of the best movie moments in my life
It’s nice of Cassie to be a sport about these films. This was absolute magic when I was a kid, but I can only imagine how it appears to someone nowadays. She always respects whatever she’s watching and goes with the flow. It’s much appreciated.
Her reactions are just like mine as a probably 5-6 year old boy watching this movie in a theater and VHS 20 times (except for the kissing part!). Like when Superman threw the S or when they teleported and she said "this is new." It's amazing -- whether it's this, Popeye, Tremors, Beetlejuice, Star Wars or Trek, Spaceballs, or any movie from my childhood, she immediately brings up the same points and concerns as I did when first watching it, exactly.
She's the ideal movie watcher. She always takes a movie for what it is, instead of imposing assumptions and expectations on it. She'll get sucked into whatever she's watching, making the movie her reality for the short time she's watching. I wish all people could watch movies like she does, they'd enjoy them more.
@@micahnieman673 There's some she just doesn't like, such as horror movies. (Same as me.) Sure, some good "horror" movies have heart, like Tremors, and she likes those. She made it clear that she did not like Big Trouble in Little China. And she pointed out the same plot problems as I did when I was 10 or so and saw it. It had a few cool parts, but some things made no sense. Sometimes she misses things, like in Generations. The rocket, even at impulse or warp, would still need to clear the planet first, and that would take many minutes. Then the supernova would not reach the planet for 7-8 minutes even if the sun was somehow destroyed immediately. I think she would be less forgiving if she were more aware of the science. She didn't detect all the problems, but she did detect all the interpersonal and character stuff -- good and bad. And she did point out some of the nonsense regarding the nexus itself, right away. She goes pretty easy on it, probably to be nice, but she does notice and call it out.
@peterp2153 thank you I was pointing out how he was good at it and no has come close to that level yet..When Cavill who is a horrible Clark just puts on glasses, doesn't slouch or be clumsy etc etc so he doesn't need much
One of my favorite movies of all time. Somehow watching it with her commentary makes it even more enjoyable. Her reactions are just adorable. I can see why somebody put that big rock on her finger.
Yep, he also directed the 1973 version of The Three Musketeers. Apparently, he wanted The Beatles to play The Musketeers but the movie was made not long after The Beatles broke up.
Fun fact: Terrance Stamp, who played General Zod in this movie (and the opening moments of the first movie), later played Jor-El in the TV series 'Smallville'.
For its time the battle of Metropolis was incredibly done. All wire work and practical effects. ❤
2 місяці тому+12
That fight was a pinnacle back then. The whole Niagara Falls's intrigue… the villains, the visual effects… Superman II was always the top best of the franchise, I also remember the hype before opening day it was insane.
I saw a comment on another video where someone said the whole audience at their screening started laughing and cheering AS SOON AS the shot of the diner appeared at the end of the movie. They all knew what was coming. I unfortunately didn't get to see it in the theater back then.
The opening theme is one of the best ever recorded. I have it on vinyl, CD and digital. I make the speakers rattle in my theater every time I play it. Still gives me the same goose bumps as when i watched it the first time in 1980….😮
Well the 80 version isn't the original Williams version we all adore. They cut parts out so the composer for 2 could get the screen credit. Same thing the producers did for everything in this franchise cut the budget and hope they had tons of profit
In Australia back in the early 1980s, we got to see the 3 hour tv cut of this, where it was the better combination of both the Donner and Lester cut of Superman II. Kept in all the jokes (especially the extended prison break scene) and for years I would watch the VHS tape we recorded that day over and over again not knowing how special that cut was (it only aired once in Australia and Ireland and one or two other regions, not the US or UK or Canada) and I grew up with that version till we recorded over it and years later when I would watch THIS version Cassie is watching now, I would be disappointed cause I know all the scenes cut out by heart and miss them.
Superman 1 & 2 were originally written as one long movie by Mario Puzo (writer of the Godfather) before being split. Originally, the trio of criminals is freed by the missile that Lex Luthor fires toward New Jersey that Superman throws into space (the Eiffel Tower hydrogen bomb was added when the movies were divided). That's why the trio is somewhat oddly introduced at the very beginning of the first movie only to never been seen again until the sequel, and why Lex is in jail and then out of jail so quickly; in the original script, he isn't captured until the very end of the events of Superman 2.
For years, I actually remembered the explosion in space at the end of the first movie as being responsible for freeing the criminals. It wasn't until recently that I remembered that the hydrogen bomb from the Eiffel Tower was responsible for it, in the second movie. By rights, they could have easily shown the missile explosion at the start of the second movie, (as they did quite a few recaps from the first movie), and used that to explain how the criminal got released.
@@j0hnf_uk Funny, as a kid I remembered it that way too, probably because it flows together so smoothly that way. So now Superman just casually throws multiple nuclear bombs into space without caring what happens next. But then I read somewhere that the reason they added the Eiffel Tower scene was that otherwise the second movie was too short.
After Mario Puzo wrote his long synopsis, the people who did the job of turning it into screenplays for two movies were David and Leslie Newman. They put a lot of silliness into it, including having a cameo of bald actor Telly Savalas, famous at the time for playing Kojak, TV detective with a fondness for lollipops. Superman would confuse him for Lex Luthor, and he'd say his TV catchphrase "Who loves ya", and give Superman a lollipop. Richard Donner rid the script of a lot of that. But it must be said that with Superman III, the Newmans were back, and with them, an awful lot of silliness.
And??? This is not a fun fact, LOL!! They are all actors. Do you think actors just do one movie and that's it? You will find this actor as well as the entire cast in many other movies.
There was a DC comic episode where Clark Kent chastised himself for choosing glasses thinking it was a cheap disguise. I don't remember the whole story, but in the end, Clark discovered that he subconsciously hypnotize people into thinking that he's an older man with a receding hairline.. He found that out when he received an artist picture from a forensic artist showing what he looked like to the artist and to others.
Every time I saw him save her from under that Eiffel Tower elevator, I keep expecting him to say, "You again? What is it with you, Lois?" Instead though, we get that beatific smile, so I suppose it's an acceptable trade. But still -- he could retire and just focus on keeping her safe, and that alone would be a full-time job. I have no idea how Lois survived to adulthood before he showed up.
As a comic fan I love that name. Authorised users/visitors of the fortress of "solitude" by this point include Lois, Ma & Pa, Supergirl, Power Girl, Jon Kent, Steel, Natasha Irons, Kon-El, Super-Man of China, the two kids he rescued from Warworld, Kelex, Krypto, Lana, Prof. Hamilton, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Flash, a Green Lantern or two, probably a few other long time Justice Leaguers, Dick Grayson...
@@SJHFoto In the very beginning there wasn't even a key. Then the first post-Crisis version was hidden under the ice. Since around the time of One Year Later it's been the Donner design, though he also had a smaller sphere housing the Fortress inside a teseract, TARDIS style, for a time (a temporary replacement after Lex literally dropped Lexcorp Tower on the fortress from orbit), and had a secondary fortress in the southern hemisphere for a while. All Star Superman used the key (kinda'). The version in the 90s cartoon was just a spot under a glacier that Clark found himself. Smallville and the Arrowverse both used the Donner look, while in Superman & Lois it sometimes looks like just a cave entrance. My Adventures with Superman and (sigh) the Snyder movies just use a Kryptonian spaceship.
@@dupersuper1938 I know nothing about the post-Crisis fortress (or very little) The comics I have are from the 50s to the 80s (stopping at Crisis). I don't remember a time when there wasn't a key, but it's been awhile since I've read the comics
@dupersuper1938 The name Fortress of Solitude originally came from the old pulp novels about Doc Savage, who was a genius scientist and crimefighting sleuth. It was said that once or twice a year Doc would spend some time doing intensive research in the incredibly advanced lab facility at his Fortress of Solitude, hidden away, not actually at the North Pole, but merely in the wilderness of northern Canada somewhere above the Arctic Circle. Among other things, he kept some incredibly powerful weapons stored there, items he'd developed but didn't want to reveal to the general public. In one of the novels a criminal found and infiltrated the facility, stole the weapons, and outfitted his gang with them, prompting Doc and his associates to combat them and retake the weapons from them. The Superman comic book writers stole the concept of a Fortress of Solitude from Doc Savage. But hey, Doc and his friends often went into action wearing compartmented equipment belts they called "utility belts", a term invented for the novels, and Batman stole that from Doc.
26:41 This guy here (Rocky) is played by the late Howard "Pepper" Martin, and was a Canadian-American actor and professional wrestler. He was born in my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. He died on March 18, 2022.
The Donner Cut is presented as it was originally written before they decided to just focus on the first one. In the shooting script, Lois didn't die at the end of Superman so there was no need to turn back tine to save Lois. Also, thr memory erasing bit is one of the only real elements that remain from Mario Puzo's original script. The memory erasing bit was originally supposed to be done with a drink and throughout the different drafts Superman used it on not only Lois, but also on Lex and the 4 (that's right, 4) Kryptonian criminals.
1. Same reason Spiderman couldn't be with Mary Jane, his enemies would find out and constantly use her against him. 2. Superman gains more and more powers as he ages, just like humans mature and get strong as we age ('super' man), and he learned lots of minor powers from his biological dad. In the comics, he gets so powerful he's essentially a god.
This was the first movie I remember seeing inside a movie theater. We saw it at the Loews Astor Plaza in Times Square. I remember getting a program filled with photos from the movie. It was a big deal back then.
All the sillness like the comedy stuff and the super-kiss, the throwing of the super "S", etc... were added by the second director that replaced Richard Donner. That is why some of us prefer the Director's Cut. The second guy Richard Lester is known as a comedy director. The reason why Superman cannot stay with Lois is because it would be too dangerous for her. As Superman's enemies could always kidnap her to get to him. That is why super-hero secret identities are important.
That's why keeping their identities from VILLAINS is important. LOIS knowing puts her in no more danger than she's already in. Lex knew nothing about his revealing his identity to her when he led Zod straight to her.
@@dupersuper1938 True. (I have no idea why I threw that last line lol) The key is for the villains is to not know the civilian identity of the hero so they might not go after their love ones. I guess for Superman it's a different situation since it's the super-hero that is dating the love interest. I guess all they can do is maybe reveal it to the World so he might lose his job.
@@dupersuper1938 -- Well, the idea is that with some sleuthing, a villain could find out who Superman is dating, even if he tried to keep it secret. Then she would be a liability to him, and potentially the safety of others.
There is a really good series with 10 seasons about Clarks years in high school learning his powers and how to use them. Cristopher Reeve makes a series of guest appearances before he dies. The woman who plays Lois Lane in the movies makes a few appearances as well.
They fired Donner, then had to reshoot 51% of the movie to not pay Donner. Gene Hackman refused to shoot new scenes, Brando wanted a huge pay increase to do reshoots, and Lester brought a level of slapstick and silliness that spoiled this movie.
Me too. Christopher Reeve was incomparably gorgeous. Played it outside (re-enacted all scenes) all that summer with my neighborhood gang. I always was Ursa. We picked up our jungle gym and laughed diabolically pretending to be Zod, Ursa, and Non on the moon destroying the rocket. Lolol. Loved growing up in the 80's!
Zod explains it at 11:45. The more exposure to the yellow sun they have the more powerful they become. So at the snake bite time they are still “charging up”.
Superman II actually came out in 1981, the same summer as Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Donner Cut of Superman II restores a lot of the scenes in Superman II that were removed from the theatrical release.
No, Superman II was released in Europe in late 1980 and first came out in America in summer 1981. A lot of the deleted scenes in the Donner Cut were first released in the TV cut shown on broadcast television a few years later. The biggest thing new the Donner Cut brought was the missing Marlon Brando scenes which were never released before at that time. The Theatrical Cut is the best version and most complete and should be watched first with the Donner Cut second just to see the deleted scenes.
Jor-El is the father of Kal-El ( Superman ) of the house of El. The people that Jor-El was debating with in the first movie are like him...the scientists were the ruling class of Krypton and science became their religion, displacing their original god known as Rao.
It’s more than that. As this movie showed, Lois is vulnerable just because she was seen as Superman’s “favourite”. Imagine how much threat she’d be under from criminals if word got out that they were lovers. He knows how much sacrifice she’d have to make, and how much danger she’d be in.
If you ever want to see what Clark and Lois's relationship is like after he tells her his identity, the tv show to watch would have to be "Superman and Lois." Right now, its in it's fourth ( and sadly, final) season, but it really captures a lot of what modern Superman is. He and Lois are happily married, and she doesnt have any kind of hangups about "sharing Superman with the world", Lois is so much more emotionally intelligent than that in both the current comics and in most of the modern tv shows from the 90's til today. Also ..... they have teenage sons! I'm not gonna say anymore, but you should definitely watch that shpw, its currently the fifth highest rated tv show on Max! You dont HAVE to react to it if you don't want to but Superman and LOis comes highly, highly, HIGHLY recommended! But if you did react to Superman and Lois" I'd wath every reaction, because i love the characters on that show!
It is one of the better Superman shows they did. I just wish they had Jonathan like in the comics, Superdad is a thing all in itself, and I hated them aging Jon up in the comics. Liked him at Damians age.
I'm actually glad you watched the theatrical version. Even though I'm a huge Richard Donner fan, I feel this cut has a better rhythm and screenplay. 🎥 🎬
I must respectfully slightly disagree with your opinion. As compared to the Richard Danica yes it is a better rhythm and screenplay, but watching the Richard Donner cut and seeing what was supposed to happen it is clear the original version was going to have the better rhythm and screenplay had it been able to be completed. The movie definitely gets way too comical with the stuff Richard Lester had to add in order to get the full director's credit and it does make it jarring moving from scene to scene. If you compare it though to the Richard Donner cut then obviously it's going to have a better rhythm and screenplay. So comparatively yes it does but logistically in the sense of what we were supposed to get, no it doesn't.
We saw this as kids and even then, laughed our asses off, instantly loving it because it was so Superman. Even his attempt at sh*t talking is wholesome. It's totally in character Sups trash talk would come off like a dad joke.
@@trefen2534 the one thing about Donner cut I hated. Spoiler: Instead of memory wipe, Superman reverses time (again!🤨) prevents the 3 baddies escape, then goes and picks a fight with a bully who doesn't remember meeting him!
Is there no one on this planet to even challenge me?!! Where is this,. SUPER---MAN,?!? This guy played an awesome villain. Was also in Wall Street, and other films I can't think of at the moment.
I shook Christopher Reeves hand in Cambridge Mass back in 1984.....He was filming a period piece amd was wearing an 1880 outfit amd tophat. I think it was called The Bostonians....not sure. He was in between takes and while waiting he walked over to a crowd of us and shook our hands.
I always recommend watching the theatrical cut before the Donner Cut so you can see the difference between the two. The big thing to remember about the Donner Cut is that it was finished the way the movie was originally intended. They had to do some rewrites with the first and, as a result, had to move some scenes around. I hope this helps. I love your reactions and am excited that you're reacting to these classics.
I'm so confused. I first watched this one as a kid, which one is this? Donner or Lester? I watched a clip of Lois jumping out of a building instead of jumping into Niagra Falls. Which one is that one?
Hi Joshua, Cassie has just viewed Richard Lester's Theatrical Cut. The version You're thinking of is the Richard Donner Cut. Which most importantly restores the original Jor-El footage and works as a logical continuation of the first film's narrative. Albeit a incomplete, compromised work that gives us a glimpse of what might have been.@@JoshuaMartian-go3tm
Kal-El is his birth name. Whether or not Clark is a disguise depends on the version of him you are watching. On Lois and Clark and Smallville, Clark is the real person and Supes is the alter ego.
Christopher Reeve’s background as a classically-trained actor as well as his natural charm, 6’4 height and movie star good looks to all the ladies were also important factors into making him the greatest Superman in the eyes of millions of fans. Reeve also showed these great qualities in other movie classics such as Somewhere In Time and Street Smart, co-starring the equally-impressive Morgan Freeman. I was always of big fan of Christopher Reeve, because of his ability to walk with the kings and queens of this world, yet keep the common touch. THAT is another endearing quality that cannot be taught. Rest In Power, Mr. Reeve.
At a convention years ago In the cons dealers room I passed Sarah Douglas / Ursa the Krypton criminal, In passing She looked at me and said "My, what an interesting face." I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing as I didn't ask I thanked her and she smiled and nodded. I'm still on cloud nine at her noticng me.
If you plan to watch the rest of the Superman series, and if you recognize actors from more recent Superman media, you're in for a treat in Superman III: Annette O'Toole plays Lana Lang; she also played Martha Kent in the Smallville television series.
It's funny to hear you question which personality is real or dominant, Superman or Clark Kent. Remember watching Kill Bill vol 2 when Bill was explaining to Uma's character the difference between Superman and the other heroes like Batman or Spiderman ? He was trying to point out to her that she was like Superman in that her real personality was that of Beatrix Kiddo, the killer. Not some record store girl she would pretend to be in El Paso. Superman is Superman, Clark Kent (according to Bill) was how Superman saw the human race and so he pretended to be Clark.
I love this movie! When I was a little girl I was obsessed with Superman, I used to make my mom take me to the theater to see the movies when they came out.
I saw Superman II at a drive-in theater (double feature) with my parents when I was 5 years old. My sister and I were told to go sleep in the back of the station wagon when the 2nd movie came on after Superman II. They'd tell us to stop peeking and go to sleep...😄 LOL Great Movie!
38:00 It’s like trying to work in a factory made of glass, one wrong move or too much power and everything will break. He has to control how much force he uses in everyday life so he doesn’t hurt anyone or break something too easy. Not to mention that Lois is always around Superman and if she was captured and forced to reveal who her really was, that would be bad.
He does and they do. In the storyline of the Imperiex War Superman trained with Mongul to be able to be in deep space for extended periods. These movies are great but the writing is SO awful. Lex is a PT Barnum type of huckster instead of an untouchable Billionaire. They just start adding powers Superman has NEVER had and powers are inconsistent. So Ursa's powers are enough to activate her heat vision but a snake bites her and she feels it? Great acting can make up for crappy writing.
@@jsharp3165 It's supposed to be more of a force field, but I guess after getting all the other epic practical effects going they just threw some cellophane at it and called it a day!
@@jsharp3165 Is that a power though? That just just seemed like something he'd added to his costume for...some reason. The telekinesis, finger lasers and phoney doubles on the other hand... My instinct was always to say that he used fortress tech for the fake projections, except he mentions "playing this game in school"...
"so it's hardly surprising that the "Super-Kiss" also debuted during this period - more specifically, in Action Comics #306, dated November 1963. At the end of the story "The Great Superman Impersonation", the Man of Steel kisses Lois so fiercely that she ends up dizzy and faint."
Always have good memories watching this as 9-year old at my local ABC cinema in Enfied, North London with my brother and some friends, causing chaos as usual. Then realised my parents and sister were further down the aisle - that made me behave a bit. We only had 3 (count'em) 3 UK TV channels in 1980 so cinema was a great escape, full of stories of optimism, challenge and hope. We were innocent, not cynical, so when the villains pick up the bus, we were genuinely amazed but also saw the peril - not like kids thesedays who know majority is computer generated. What a great 2 movies. We didn't have much content out there, but when we did it was special and first-of-a-kind...
Great reaction:) as much as I enjoy the theatrical version of this movie l, there is an alternate version called “the Donner Cut”. Director Richard Donner was originally hired to make both Superman 1&2, but left due to creative differences with the producers. The Richard Donner cut uses all the footage he shot for the film. Even tough it’s incomplete, I still prefer it
You should also watch "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut"... It's a very different version of the same film. It isn't as polished as the Theatrical cut (as expected as the film wasn't completed in post-production), but in my opinion is a much better take on Superman, with a superior plot and flow, and could have been a much better movie if they've stayed with Donner's vision instead of switching to Lester.
Superman II: The Donner Cut is strictly for hard-core deep-dive fans as it is really an assembly cut with even one crucial scene between Clark and Lois early on a filmed dress rehearsal with Reeves and Kidder as part of Reeves final audition before securing the part. This was the only way to include this scene as they never got to film it because they abandoned shooting the sequel to focus solely on finishing production on the first movie (both 1 and 2 were filmed simultaneously) to meet their release date. But the footage is still fascinating because both actors are clearly younger and Reeves is still skinny before he would bulk up for the role. The original director is Richard Donner. Long story short: the people's director, an actor's auteur, cast and crew loved this guy. Even Marlon Brando was less a diva with him than other directors. Donner pulled off the impossible as he was tasked with the unheard of endeavor to film the first film and it's sequel together to save money in the long run as they could just keep everybody working by staying in production without any work stoppage and union delays and overages. Cast and crew all have wild stories how one day they're filming the first movie. The next day a scene for the middle of the second one. The day after that, back to the first film. On and on. So the legendary producers of Superman The Movie were famous tycoons who were known to screw people over and out of money and this production was no exception. Despite Donner delivering the goods and a global smash phenomenon of a first movie that made its impending sequel highly anticipated, they still lowballed him and eventually fired him while the second film was 70 percent shot, still needing the remaining 30 to be completed. They brought in a director named Richard Lester who was and is primarily a comedy director with comedy sensibilities and not a good fit for a straight across stoic story told earnestly. He didn't want to share director credit with Donner and finish his cut, but in order for the directors guild to give him sole credit, he'd have to refill 50 percent new material of footage in order to have Donner removed from the sequel's director credit. Lester was a piece of sh*t for this back-stabbing move. Donner couldn't talk about these films for decades it was such a painful experience. But, Cassie, you are absolutely correct when you bring up the oddly placed areas of humor like the telephone booth guy gag continuously talking through the villain made geo-storm. Lester couldn't help himself despite objections from cast and crew saying tonally it clashed and was inappropriate for scenes and broke tension in others. Lester did it anyways whereas Donner was a disciplined director who understood the need to ground the characters and story in reality and many humor came from the situation and was character driven coming organically. Not silly shoed-in sketch comedy bits. Agreed, these parts take you right out of the movie. Also to note, when the cast heard of Donner's firing, the entire cast revolted and refused to return to finish filming the sequel without Donner. The producers then filed a class action lawsuit against Reeves and Kidder saying they were in violation of their contract which they were unknown so signed all their negotiation power away. So they returned to finish the sequel with Lester begrudgingly. Kidder refused to talk to Lester referring to him only as Custer. Gene Hackman was already an established heavyweight star in Hollywood when he signed on so he had no such restrictions or obligation to return. Gene Hackman was so loyal to Donner he refused to return for filming and finishing his scenes for the sequel and didn't. So, all his scenes in Superman II, amazingly, were shot by Donner and his directed filmed stuff. And there is quite a bit of Lex Luther scenes here so it's pretty impressive how much footage from Donner's helmed material is still present under Lester's so-called cut, even though Donner gets zero director's credit. There's even a Donner on camera cameo in this movie when Clark and Lois pull up to the cafe, a guy walks in front of their car, that's Donner. And looks right at the camera, then continues his stride walking out of frame. Why this is hilarious and in retrospect karmically cool is because once you know the behind the scenes drama of the producers doing Donner dirty and shit-canning him, his popping up in Lester's cut of the movie now plays like the ultimate crashing the party troll job of all time. The other poetic justice is for years Lester claimed he filmed all these parts of this scene. When Donner returned to edit together his cut decades later, he was able to refute this bogus claim when he pointed himself out in the scene Lester supposedly claimed he did. Donner assured the guild and the press he didn't visit Lester's set to be an extra on his movie. This didn't help Lester's reputation after this got revealed. So, the original is superior because Donner was superior and a behind the scenes superman how he pulled off such a well done piece of filmmaking in such a limited era of special effects at the time to innovate and still tell a gripping fairy tale for adults and kids alike. Lester had to use Gene Hackman stand in and stunt double to patch together scenes with him and have the movie make some kind of narrative sense with a Gene Hackman sound-alike voice actor dubbing lines in Post-production to explain exposition what was happening and what Lex was doing. Once you know this, and then watch the movie, you can not not see the scenes the stand ins and voice over imitators are used. Gene Hackman said the one humorous thing was critics who some said that his performance as Lex was better in the sequel and they concluded that it was due to him being directed by a comedy director like Lester. Hackman made a point to do interviews with those critic's newspapers in future film press junkets to point out that both his performances were directed and guided by the same one director Richard Donner. And then, Gene added on this final hot bar spicy diss track banger of a roast: "And Richard Lester couldn't direct traffic with no traffic.' Mic drop Mr. Hackman.
Thank you for watching these films. I don't think I could ever properly articulate what these movies have always meant to me since childhood. I hope you watch the Donner cut sometime!
Cassie, you're correct that there are 2 versions of the film. The full story is a bit complicated. Richard Donner was indeed fired from the production. Superman 1 and 2 were filmed back to back. Donner was fired about 2/3 of the way through the production and replaced by Richard Lester. Under the rules of the Directors Guild of America, he had to reshoot at least 75 percent of the film in order to receive sole directorial credit. However, Gene Hackman had already completed all his scenes with Donner and refused to film any scenes with Lester. So, the film you're watching is actually a hybrid of 2 directors work. All of the Hackman footage is Donner's work, There is other footage by Donner, but I don't want to spoil if for you or have people jump on me in the comments. Donner refused to share credit with Lester, but, the theatrical version is actually the work of 2 men. Around 30 percent of the film you're watching is Donners' work.
Actually, I and II had been shot SIMULTANEOUSLY rather than in sequence (which is what "back to back" denotes. Both the 1980 ('official') and 2006 (Donner Cut) versions are works of TWO directors; due to conflicts between the Salkinds and Donner, only one person is the credited director for each version.
@@bonghunezhou5051 Only about 5 percent of the Donner cut is Richard Lester's work, Donner stated this himself, he was adamant about not using Lester's footage. And in fact Superman was filmed first then Superman 2, Donner was fired when Superman 2 was about 2/3 complete.
Due to the time the film took to shoot, Margot Kidder's appearance varies quite a bit from scene to scene. She had lost weight and appeared a little gaunt in the Lester footage but is slender in the footage shot by Donner. Also, Lois' fashions were on point for 1977 but looked dated by 1980.
Superman did the right thing as he is immortal in this movie and Lois would get old and age while he remained forever young not to mention they would have never been able to have children and last but not least her life would have been in constant danger from his many enemies.
Some versions are immortal, some aren't, some just age much slower. Some versions can have kids with humans, some can't. As far as I know the Reeve movies never say one way or another. Either way her life's already in danger: Lex didn't know anything about his revealing his secret identity to her when he served her up to Zod. The idea that HER knowing puts her in more danger has always been an absurd argument.
@@dupersuper1938 His mother tells him he will be "Mortal" one of the definitions of Mortal is that which dies, so it can be interpreted that he is immortal or beyond death as we know it either way he would far out live Lois.
@@dragonray9450 I mean, we can interpret it that way, but it's hardly explicit. She could very well just mean powerless. "Powers beyond mortal men" is one of his taglines whether you're enjoying one of the iterations in which he's immortal or not. Also, again, while him being immortal or long-lived is very common, it's not a component of every version, and was never established in the Reeve movies, so - while we can certainly interpret it that way - we "know" no such thing.
Wasn't it implied that they couldn't "do it" too without risking her life. He could hurt her as a Kryptonian and can't impregnate her and she couldn't carry a Kryptonian child anyway.
@@videostash413 While he can be gentle, there are certain reactions that are entirely involuntary, and the climax is one of those. It would be like a cannon going off.
Lois would wind up like Cindy in 'Scary Movie' when Bobby blurts a tsunami of jizz.... except Lois would be catapaulted to her doom and her lifeless, naked body would float in space for all eternity.
The Donner cut has them have sex before he gives up his powers. She even watches him talk to Jor-El wearing his clothes. So that wasn't the issue. It was all about leading a monklike existence, devoted to the world's needs, or deciding to care only about one person. Jor-El specifically says it would be betraying his gifts for him to commit his life to one person.
Christopher Reeve is my Superman.Since 1978 when the first movie dropped into Theaters. I always smile so much when I see Christopher's Version of the character. You just adore his version.
Lex's girlfriend's name is Eve Tessmacher. The Donner cut also shows a different ending at the fortress of solitude. I remember watching that TV version and loving it more than the theatrical release.. Awesome reaction!!!!
The way Reeve could just "turn" from Clark to Superman and back with just posture and inflection is the soul of his performance
That was the first convincing explanation I saw about the disguise working. The difference his posture and the way he carries himself makes it perfect. I was never a fan of bumbling Clark but he sold the distinction so well.
A masterful performance from one the truly greatest actors of his generation.
It's crazy how he is IDENTICAL to the long time comic book.
If you open a comic book and compare it to Reeve you can't find one single difference between the two visuals, not one detail is off on the costume itself! Not one detail is off on his hair! Not one detail is off on any single color! Even his face is as if they've been drawing Christopher Reeves face this whole time!
Add to the fact that his performance EXACTLY imitates the way he acts in the comics is absolutely masterful.
Watching these two movies is like LITERALLY seeing Superman actually step out of the comic book into the real world.
Clark is the Disguise!! why is Cass worried about it Lois loves Clark hahah 😅
@StayFractalesque arguably, Clark and Superman are both disguises. Neither are his true self.
Other actors did pretty good as well, but Christopher Reeve is the definitive Superman.
R.I.P
Actually, Tyler Hoechlin in Superman and Lois is giving Reeve a run for his money.
It's kind of awe-inspiring that Christopher Reeve more or less BECAME Superman later in life, in terms of his positive attitude against circumstances, and his devotion to causes. Tom Welling, who played Clark in "Smallville," had the chance to act opposite Reeve when the show was able to get him for a couple of episodes - Reeve loved the show and was happy to sign on. He immediately put Welling, who as a very green actor was more than a bit starstruck and also understandably nervous to meet him, at ease. Welling has described it in interviews as Reeve making it immediately clear that he didn't feel sorry for himself, which in turn made it absolutely impossible for you to feel sorry for him, either - which is damned impressive when you stop to consider it for a moment. Welling has a number of great anecdotes about their meetings - it's definitely worth tracking down on UA-cam.
As a kid I used to love watching the old black and white TV series starring George Reeves as Superman. Not saying George is/was the definitive one just that it's a series I highly recommend.
Edit: Fixed a typo.
@@cvonbarron i like Hoechlin, but he doesn't hold a candle to Reeves.
@@Bastiondar Matter of opinion. And taste.
Now you know why Gen-X calls Christopher Reeves the real Superman. It's not because they saw him first as Superman (George Reeves was my first Superman), but because Christopher Reeves portrayed both Superman and Clark Kent to perfection. Even if other actors have portrayed him excellently, none of the others have been quite as good.
It’s REEVE damn it! Christopher Reeve and George Reeves.
@@SamCarter-stp well said
wait a minute....are you saying that Christopher Reeve played Superman AND Clark Kent?🙃
Millennials too. He's the Superman we grew up with too, just on VHS instead of the big screen
Of all the modern-day supermen, Brandon Routh is my favorite. I feel like people sleep on how well he captured the superman/Clark Kent dynamic, the only one to really do this since Mr. Reeve, imo.
"I know some judo, come on!" 😂 44 yr since I first saw this and have seen it repeatedly and I don't think I noticed that line til today!
I think she said it's the Donner Cut, which I didn't even know about until a couple years ago.
@@tightyellowshorts Nah this is theatrical
Same. A lot of the subtle stuff went over my head as a kid
@@Dyrnwyn That's not really subtle is it
@@Takeshi357 I was 6 and it was a throwaway line
Its amazing how Reeve's charm carries the movies still almost 50 years later.
Rip Christopher Reeve. What a legend
He was in the 1998 remake of Rear Window, also starring Daryl Hannah. The original is one of my favorites, but the remake isn’t that bad and and the new story with its different aspects makes it worth a watch.
Remakes nearly always suck. The only good remake I can think of is the Bogart Maltese Falcon
these 2 superman movies still remain the gold standard for me.
Just as long as we all ignore 3 and 4....
They're still to make a live action Superman movie that even comes close to this level.
Superman 3 was traumatic
@@osmanyousif7849 Superman 3 wasn't that bad but Superman 4 let's Ignore that
@@CalciumChief Man of Steel exceeds the first 2 Superman films-EASILY.
"KNEEEEEL BEFORE ZOD!" My favorite line of the movie.
YES! So glad Cassie left it in. Some other reactors don't include it. Terence Stamp really brought power to that line, and the character. One of the greatest portrayals of a villain.
Since I watched it in the early 90s as a kid I still say that line today 😂
“General, would you care to step outside?”
"Superman, thank God... I mean, GET HIM!"
My favorite lines are:
President: "Oh God"
Zod: "Zod"
Something tells me that was adlib... Even if it wasn't, that's my favorite line(s) lol
I saw Margot Kidder in one of her last public appearances. She was at Metropolis, IL, for the annual Superman Celebration. She did a Q&A along with Sarah Douglas, the actress who played Ursa (the Kryptonian woman). Margot was very frail (even though she was only 68) and Sarah was very kind to her, helping Margot onto and off the stage. They were great fun together and I'm very happy I was able to see it. Fun fact just for Cassie: Margot was married for almost a whole year to John Heard, who later played the dad in Home Alone.
And she dated Pierre Trudeau!
What a life, what a career. What an underrated actor. Courtney Cox always has had a Margot Kidder vibe to me. They're both no nonsense and hilarious.
And John Heard was in Cat People with Anette O'Toole... who portrayed Lana Lang in Superman III... the circle is complete.
@@pablosonic892 I've said for years that Courtney Cox would have been a brilliant Lois Lane! Obvs that won't happen now as they're going younger with the cast. Such a shame!
She must have apologized for punching her into that pit
One of my favorite scenes in this movie is when Lex goes to the Fortress of Solitude and can't help but scream how FANTASTIC it is. Wish more villains would be shown admiring part of the hero's background and giving credit to them where credit is due. Shows how intelligent Lex really is when he can appreciate a great thing when he sees it.
Kneel before Zod! I saw an interview of Terrence Stamp (Zod) where he spoke of an incident in a men's room during the premiere of Man of Steel.
He was in a stall when he overheard a group of Gen-X men lament how Zod in the Man of Steel was nothing like Zod in Superman II.
Terrence emerged from the stall in his Zod persona and those guys nerded-out and kneeled at his command.
That is just precious.
That's an awesome story. Only when watching this video did I notice Michael Shannon was in Superman 2 as the jail guard. I'm pretty sure he was Zod in Man of Steel. I haven't seen it.
I would.
@@AliceBowieMichael Shannon was 6 years old when Superman 2 came out.
the mens room probably not the best thing to say to another man haha
The moment after he 'burns' his hand his entire composure changes as he drops the nerdy routine and admits that he's Superman....That was some amazing acting in that moment...Made it believable that people wouldn't recognize 'Clark and Superman as the same guy.
It was stupid. The donner version is much better reveal.
@@jeetkunedoatlanta2464 The Donner version was INSANELY stupid, Lois Lane spends MOST OF THAT VERSION trying to expose him as Superman and that's something an Elite reporter wouldn't WASTE TIME DOING. You don't understand these characters, do you? Lois Lane is NOT a shrinking violet always gushing over Superman, she's an honorary Amazon FFS.
I was just wonder with how smart Louis is, how she never put two and two together especially with Superman showing up at the Niagara Falls. You’d think she’d at least consider he is stalking her… and right after I thought that, she started to question things like Clark not being around haha.
It's a great scene EXCEPT for the fact that Clark/Supes wouldn't trip over accidentally.
He had a similar scene in the first one, after he and Lois have their date. He shows up after, as Clark, and almost tells her, and he does that same composure shift that he does so well :)
I love how when Clark took off his glasses to reveal himself to Lois, his posture, voice and entire attitude changed. Christopher Reeve was a brilliant actor.
Also, Superman learning how to safely be intimate with his significant other is actually a plot point in the Smallville TV show.
@@Cadinho93 that’s what people refuse to understand. It’s not just the glasses that hide his identity, it’s his whole manner. Clark and Supes really do not look like each other
In reality, according the the laws of physics there's no way Superman could be safely intimate. The famous sc fi writer Larry Niven wrote a hilarious essay in 1973 called, "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex". The fact is, if a being such as Superman existed, he would do more harm than good even if he meant well. For example, if you fell off a building and Superman files up and catches you, the impact of landing in his arms would kill you. It's not the fall that kills you it's the sudden stop. Of course he's not literally made of steel, but, it's just simple physics. He would be most effective at saving large groups of people in a train or a plane or some other vehicle. But, if he were trying to save an individual, he would kill them even if he didn't mean to.. So, there is no way he could be safely intimate, despite what Smallville says.
@cvonbarron, you here from the other show?
On Smallville they made it look like Clark really enjoyed getting hit without his powers. Kind of an interesting take.
This was also done in the first film.
The Donner Cut is much better.
Fun fact: "KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!" became Zod's catchphrase because of this movie. Terrence Stamp delivered it so terrifyingly well that Zod started using it in the comics. Secondary fun fact: Terrence Stamp ironically provided the voice for Jor-El in the smash hit tv series "Smallville"(which I highly, highly recommend checking out).
Somebody SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE Me!
@stevencass8849 This man knows!
I love the way Lex says “Superman. Thank God. I mean, GET HIM!!!” 😅😅
He didn’t morph in the alley. He’s taking off his day clothes at super speed. That’s why the blur.
Mighty Morphin Power Superman
Convenient he never uses that super speed when he needs it.
@@chand911 I wouldn’t say “convenient”. Even if they had wanted to do that for other scenes, it wouldn’t have been practical/possible with 70s filmmaking technology.
Somebody who has access to her Patreon, please, add Deep Blue Sea and Amityville 2005 Horror movie to her recommended list, instead of this boring nonsense!
@@cashewnuttel9054 lmao
Not probably but the greatest ending of any movie. Going into this as an 8 yr old kid in 1980. we all knew he would stop them by using kryptonite. When he came out of that chamber and crushed Zods hand. the entire theater erupted in cheers. One of the best movie moments in my life
It’s nice of Cassie to be a sport about these films. This was absolute magic when I was a kid, but I can only imagine how it appears to someone nowadays. She always respects whatever she’s watching and goes with the flow. It’s much appreciated.
Her reactions are just like mine as a probably 5-6 year old boy watching this movie in a theater and VHS 20 times (except for the kissing part!). Like when Superman threw the S or when they teleported and she said "this is new." It's amazing -- whether it's this, Popeye, Tremors, Beetlejuice, Star Wars or Trek, Spaceballs, or any movie from my childhood, she immediately brings up the same points and concerns as I did when first watching it, exactly.
@ Thanks. When did she see Popeye? On Patreon?
@@NemeanLion- It was on UA-cam for a day or 2. Maybe that copyright holder pulled it.
She's the ideal movie watcher. She always takes a movie for what it is, instead of imposing assumptions and expectations on it. She'll get sucked into whatever she's watching, making the movie her reality for the short time she's watching. I wish all people could watch movies like she does, they'd enjoy them more.
@@micahnieman673 There's some she just doesn't like, such as horror movies. (Same as me.) Sure, some good "horror" movies have heart, like Tremors, and she likes those. She made it clear that she did not like Big Trouble in Little China. And she pointed out the same plot problems as I did when I was 10 or so and saw it. It had a few cool parts, but some things made no sense. Sometimes she misses things, like in Generations. The rocket, even at impulse or warp, would still need to clear the planet first, and that would take many minutes. Then the supernova would not reach the planet for 7-8 minutes even if the sun was somehow destroyed immediately. I think she would be less forgiving if she were more aware of the science. She didn't detect all the problems, but she did detect all the interpersonal and character stuff -- good and bad. And she did point out some of the nonsense regarding the nexus itself, right away. She goes pretty easy on it, probably to be nice, but she does notice and call it out.
The way Christopher Reeve could change his whole physical stature just by taking off his glasses was amazing and turn into Superman
LOL it’s called acting.
@peterp2153 thank you I was pointing out how he was good at it and no has come close to that level yet..When Cavill who is a horrible Clark just puts on glasses, doesn't slouch or be clumsy etc etc so he doesn't need much
One of my favorite movies of all time. Somehow watching it with her commentary makes it even more enjoyable. Her reactions are just adorable. I can see why somebody put that big rock on her finger.
Yay! 1980, 10 years old, in theatre with sister, cousins, parents, etc…, Colonie, NY. Big memory!
Same age. Perfect time in life to see this. it never leaves us.
@@pablosonic892 Very cool - yup!
RIP Margot Kidder. Great Canadian actress, passed away 2018.
"What is that?!?" You haven't heard of his Super-Saran-Wrap? 🤣🤣🤣
Before directing this movie, Richard Lester did two movies with the Beatles - "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!".
Yep, he also directed the 1973 version of The Three Musketeers. Apparently, he wanted The Beatles to play The Musketeers but the movie was made not long after The Beatles broke up.
Fun fact: Terrance Stamp, who played General Zod in this movie (and the opening moments of the first movie), later played Jor-El in the TV series 'Smallville'.
For its time the battle of Metropolis was incredibly done. All wire work and practical effects. ❤
That fight was a pinnacle back then. The whole Niagara Falls's intrigue… the villains, the visual effects… Superman II was always the top best of the franchise, I also remember the hype before opening day it was insane.
I saw a comment on another video where someone said the whole audience at their screening started laughing and cheering AS SOON AS the shot of the diner appeared at the end of the movie. They all knew what was coming. I unfortunately didn't get to see it in the theater back then.
Jor El is Superman's dad. Kal El is Superman's Kryptonian name. They are of the house of El.
thank you captain obvious
@@longfootbuddyit wasn't obvious to the reactor.
Yes, and their daughters are called the El's Belles.
And it's called the House of El because "L" as in Luthor. The House of El was founded by Lex because of time travel shenanigans.
And El is the name of a god.
The opening theme is one of the best ever recorded. I have it on vinyl, CD and digital. I make the speakers rattle in my theater every time I play it. Still gives me the same goose bumps as when i watched it the first time in 1980….😮
Well the 80 version isn't the original Williams version we all adore. They cut parts out so the composer for 2 could get the screen credit. Same thing the producers did for everything in this franchise cut the budget and hope they had tons of profit
In Australia back in the early 1980s, we got to see the 3 hour tv cut of this, where it was the better combination of both the Donner and Lester cut of Superman II. Kept in all the jokes (especially the extended prison break scene) and for years I would watch the VHS tape we recorded that day over and over again not knowing how special that cut was (it only aired once in Australia and Ireland and one or two other regions, not the US or UK or Canada) and I grew up with that version till we recorded over it and years later when I would watch THIS version Cassie is watching now, I would be disappointed cause I know all the scenes cut out by heart and miss them.
Loved your “Nooooo” when your realized he took her memory away 😊
😂😂😂😂I’m laughing my head off‼️
Cassie is all about the "Luuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrvvvvvvvvvveeeeeee", no matter how large or small it's appearance in the movie! 😀
@ 🤣🤣🤣
HOLY CRAP.
My wife and I finished watching this less than an hour ago!!! Great movie, and what a theater experience.
Superman 1 & 2 were originally written as one long movie by Mario Puzo (writer of the Godfather) before being split. Originally, the trio of criminals is freed by the missile that Lex Luthor fires toward New Jersey that Superman throws into space (the Eiffel Tower hydrogen bomb was added when the movies were divided). That's why the trio is somewhat oddly introduced at the very beginning of the first movie only to never been seen again until the sequel, and why Lex is in jail and then out of jail so quickly; in the original script, he isn't captured until the very end of the events of Superman 2.
For years, I actually remembered the explosion in space at the end of the first movie as being responsible for freeing the criminals. It wasn't until recently that I remembered that the hydrogen bomb from the Eiffel Tower was responsible for it, in the second movie. By rights, they could have easily shown the missile explosion at the start of the second movie, (as they did quite a few recaps from the first movie), and used that to explain how the criminal got released.
@@j0hnf_uk Funny, as a kid I remembered it that way too, probably because it flows together so smoothly that way. So now Superman just casually throws multiple nuclear bombs into space without caring what happens next. But then I read somewhere that the reason they added the Eiffel Tower scene was that otherwise the second movie was too short.
@@j0hnf_ukto
The time reversal was also supposed to be the ending for part 2. Part 1 was supposed to end on the cliffhanger of the villains being freed.
After Mario Puzo wrote his long synopsis, the people who did the job of turning it into screenplays for two movies were David and Leslie Newman. They put a lot of silliness into it, including having a cameo of bald actor Telly Savalas, famous at the time for playing Kojak, TV detective with a fondness for lollipops. Superman would confuse him for Lex Luthor, and he'd say his TV catchphrase "Who loves ya", and give Superman a lollipop.
Richard Donner rid the script of a lot of that. But it must be said that with Superman III, the Newmans were back, and with them, an awful lot of silliness.
Terence Stamp's " Kneel Before Zod!!",.. he always did it best in swying that.
7:11 Fun Fact, the terrorist is who says “it’s started” is Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley, Harry Potter’s Uncle)
Holy shit! Well spotted! I gotta check this out.Thanks for the head's up!
And??? This is not a fun fact, LOL!! They are all actors. Do you think actors just do one movie and that's it? You will find this actor as well as the entire cast in many other movies.
And Dr. Meinheimer in Naked Gun 2 1/2.
Ursa is probably the only woman character I found truly intimidating. She was one of a kind.
Deadly, intelligent and hot, my kind of girl.
I had a crush on her back then, more so than Lois. Ursa was scary hot to me.
@ she was a perfectly picked actress for the role.
The only actress I would put alongside her is Michelle Gomez, who played Missy on Doctor Who.
Saw the first movie 10 rows back from a 20 foot tall screen. When I say Superman is bigger than life, I’m not kidding!
"They're going to blow up the Eiffel Tower?"
Its a hydrogen bomb! They're going to blow up PARIS!!
Does that include the Eiffel Tower? 😊
@@KayQue-s3rOnly the top 500 feet, lol
To her credit, the film had only overtly explained this six or seven time already.
Being on the bow of the maid of the mist boat when it gets right up to the falls is like standing next to a monster tornado
There was a DC comic episode where Clark Kent chastised himself for choosing glasses thinking it was a cheap disguise.
I don't remember the whole story, but in the end, Clark discovered that he subconsciously hypnotize people into thinking that he's an older man with a receding hairline.. He found that out when he received an artist picture from a forensic artist showing what he looked like to the artist and to others.
Every time I saw him save her from under that Eiffel Tower elevator, I keep expecting him to say, "You again? What is it with you, Lois?" Instead though, we get that beatific smile, so I suppose it's an acceptable trade. But still -- he could retire and just focus on keeping her safe, and that alone would be a full-time job. I have no idea how Lois survived to adulthood before he showed up.
Cassie, that "ice castle" is Superman's Fortress Of Solitude
As a comic fan I love that name. Authorised users/visitors of the fortress of "solitude" by this point include Lois, Ma & Pa, Supergirl, Power Girl, Jon Kent, Steel, Natasha Irons, Kon-El, Super-Man of China, the two kids he rescued from Warworld, Kelex, Krypto, Lana, Prof. Hamilton, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Flash, a Green Lantern or two, probably a few other long time Justice Leaguers, Dick Grayson...
It looked different in the comics. It was a giant building that had a giant key to unlock it
@@SJHFoto In the very beginning there wasn't even a key. Then the first post-Crisis version was hidden under the ice. Since around the time of One Year Later it's been the Donner design, though he also had a smaller sphere housing the Fortress inside a teseract, TARDIS style, for a time (a temporary replacement after Lex literally dropped Lexcorp Tower on the fortress from orbit), and had a secondary fortress in the southern hemisphere for a while. All Star Superman used the key (kinda'). The version in the 90s cartoon was just a spot under a glacier that Clark found himself. Smallville and the Arrowverse both used the Donner look, while in Superman & Lois it sometimes looks like just a cave entrance. My Adventures with Superman and (sigh) the Snyder movies just use a Kryptonian spaceship.
@@dupersuper1938 I know nothing about the post-Crisis fortress (or very little) The comics I have are from the 50s to the 80s (stopping at Crisis). I don't remember a time when there wasn't a key, but it's been awhile since I've read the comics
@dupersuper1938 The name Fortress of Solitude originally came from the old pulp novels about Doc Savage, who was a genius scientist and crimefighting sleuth. It was said that once or twice a year Doc would spend some time doing intensive research in the incredibly advanced lab facility at his Fortress of Solitude, hidden away, not actually at the North Pole, but merely in the wilderness of northern Canada somewhere above the Arctic Circle. Among other things, he kept some incredibly powerful weapons stored there, items he'd developed but didn't want to reveal to the general public. In one of the novels a criminal found and infiltrated the facility, stole the weapons, and outfitted his gang with them, prompting Doc and his associates to combat them and retake the weapons from them.
The Superman comic book writers stole the concept of a Fortress of Solitude from Doc Savage. But hey, Doc and his friends often went into action wearing compartmented equipment belts they called "utility belts", a term invented for the novels, and Batman stole that from Doc.
When I watched this in the theater as an eleven year old. It was one of the best film theater moments..much like Star Wars was when I was seven.
26:41 This guy here (Rocky) is played by the late Howard "Pepper" Martin, and was a Canadian-American actor and professional wrestler. He was born in my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. He died on March 18, 2022.
Pepper also played a henchman in "The Wrecking Crew," starring Dean Martin and Sharon Tate.
And an assassin in "Walking Tall".
Did he really spin that fast on the stool.
I didn't know that!
I'm from Hamilton too. Raised on the mountain. East 28th and fennel
@@MethosFilms im hamilton too..small world
The Donner Cut is presented as it was originally written before they decided to just focus on the first one. In the shooting script, Lois didn't die at the end of Superman so there was no need to turn back tine to save Lois. Also, thr memory erasing bit is one of the only real elements that remain from Mario Puzo's original script. The memory erasing bit was originally supposed to be done with a drink and throughout the different drafts Superman used it on not only Lois, but also on Lex and the 4 (that's right, 4) Kryptonian criminals.
1. Same reason Spiderman couldn't be with Mary Jane, his enemies would find out and constantly use her against him.
2. Superman gains more and more powers as he ages, just like humans mature and get strong as we age ('super' man), and he learned lots of minor powers from his biological dad. In the comics, he gets so powerful he's essentially a god.
Yeah, but I prefer what the show ‘Smallville’ did with Lois and Clark.
@@Darkstar72SR I liked that, too.
Uh, basically he is a god. The name El is the name of a god.
This was the first movie I remember seeing inside a movie theater. We saw it at the Loews Astor Plaza in Times Square. I remember getting a program filled with photos from the movie. It was a big deal back then.
All the sillness like the comedy stuff and the super-kiss, the throwing of the super "S", etc... were added by the second director that replaced Richard Donner. That is why some of us prefer the Director's Cut. The second guy Richard Lester is known as a comedy director.
The reason why Superman cannot stay with Lois is because it would be too dangerous for her. As Superman's enemies could always kidnap her to get to him. That is why super-hero secret identities are important.
Superman throws his cellophane "S."
"That was a minor inconvenience."
"Slowed you down."
"I'll say."
That's why keeping their identities from VILLAINS is important. LOIS knowing puts her in no more danger than she's already in. Lex knew nothing about his revealing his identity to her when he led Zod straight to her.
@@dupersuper1938 True. (I have no idea why I threw that last line lol) The key is for the villains is to not know the civilian identity of the hero so they might not go after their love ones. I guess for Superman it's a different situation since it's the super-hero that is dating the love interest. I guess all they can do is maybe reveal it to the World so he might lose his job.
@@dupersuper1938 -- Well, the idea is that with some sleuthing, a villain could find out who Superman is dating, even if he tried to keep it secret. Then she would be a liability to him, and potentially the safety of others.
@@trekkiejunk Who needs sleuthing? Superman having friends at the Daily Planet is already a matter of very public record.
There is a really good series with 10 seasons about Clarks years in high school learning his powers and how to use them. Cristopher Reeve makes a series of guest appearances before he dies. The woman who plays Lois Lane in the movies makes a few appearances as well.
Smallville, she said she watched it sometimes and also Lois&Clark: The New Adventures of Superman with her Dad!
They fired Donner, then had to reshoot 51% of the movie to not pay Donner. Gene Hackman refused to shoot new scenes, Brando wanted a huge pay increase to do reshoots, and Lester brought a level of slapstick and silliness that spoiled this movie.
Superman: “My kisses will steal your memories.”
Lois: “Oh, Clark . . . wait, WHAT!”
i love this one!!! i watched it over and over and OVER as a kid. superman & lois ❤❤❤
Me too. Christopher Reeve was incomparably gorgeous. Played it outside (re-enacted all scenes) all that summer with my neighborhood gang. I always was Ursa. We picked up our jungle gym and laughed diabolically pretending to be Zod, Ursa, and Non on the moon destroying the rocket. Lolol. Loved growing up in the 80's!
She probably thought that the snake bite would hurt, but it didn't. I sometimes say ouch too quickly even though it didn't really hurt lol
There was a whole thread about this on a message forum, imdb I think. Anyway, I always thought it was an instinctual reaction on her part.
Zod explains it at 11:45. The more exposure to the yellow sun they have the more powerful they become. So at the snake bite time they are still “charging up”.
Superman II actually came out in 1981, the same summer as Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Donner Cut of Superman II restores a lot of the scenes in Superman II that were removed from the theatrical release.
No, Superman II was released in Europe in late 1980 and first came out in America in summer 1981. A lot of the deleted scenes in the Donner Cut were first released in the TV cut shown on broadcast television a few years later. The biggest thing new the Donner Cut brought was the missing Marlon Brando scenes which were never released before at that time. The Theatrical Cut is the best version and most complete and should be watched first with the Donner Cut second just to see the deleted scenes.
Gotta love the "UM ACKCHYUALLY" guy in the UA-cam comments.
@@goldenshark3182 This is a retarded take.
@@jscan4442you got a problem with accuracy?
@@jscan4442 people like real facts
Jor-El is the father of Kal-El ( Superman ) of the house of El. The people that Jor-El was debating with in the first movie are like him...the scientists were the ruling class of Krypton and science became their religion, displacing their original god known as Rao.
You're going to LOVE the new Superman film coming out next year (I've seen large portions of it)... 😉
He took her memory because he didn't want her to hurt all the time. very tragic sacrifice.
but was it right? she can survive just the same as anyone who gets dumped
It’s more than that. As this movie showed, Lois is vulnerable just because she was seen as Superman’s “favourite”. Imagine how much threat she’d be under from criminals if word got out that they were lovers. He knows how much sacrifice she’d have to make, and how much danger she’d be in.
@@videostash413 It's better to have never loved at all than to have loved and lost. From personal experience.
If you ever want to see what Clark and Lois's relationship is like after he tells her his identity, the tv show to watch would have to be "Superman and Lois." Right now, its in it's fourth ( and sadly, final) season, but it really captures a lot of what modern Superman is. He and Lois are happily married, and she doesnt have any kind of hangups about "sharing Superman with the world", Lois is so much more emotionally intelligent than that in both the current comics and in most of the modern tv shows from the 90's til today.
Also ..... they have teenage sons! I'm not gonna say anymore, but you should definitely watch that shpw, its currently the fifth highest rated tv show on Max!
You dont HAVE to react to it if you don't want to but Superman and LOis comes highly, highly, HIGHLY recommended!
But if you did react to Superman and Lois" I'd wath every reaction, because i love the characters on that show!
It is one of the better Superman shows they did. I just wish they had Jonathan like in the comics, Superdad is a thing all in itself, and I hated them aging Jon up in the comics. Liked him at Damians age.
I found that show poorly acted and lost interested after the middle of the second season.
I'm actually glad you watched the theatrical version. Even though I'm a huge Richard Donner fan, I feel this cut has a better rhythm and screenplay. 🎥 🎬
I must respectfully slightly disagree with your opinion. As compared to the Richard Danica yes it is a better rhythm and screenplay, but watching the Richard Donner cut and seeing what was supposed to happen it is clear the original version was going to have the better rhythm and screenplay had it been able to be completed.
The movie definitely gets way too comical with the stuff Richard Lester had to add in order to get the full director's credit and it does make it jarring moving from scene to scene. If you compare it though to the Richard Donner cut then obviously it's going to have a better rhythm and screenplay. So comparatively yes it does but logistically in the sense of what we were supposed to get, no it doesn't.
Glad to hear you will watch Richard Donner cut. It rocks, and Reeves acting in it shines even more.
The man who plays the President, E.G. Marshall, also played Juror#4 in '12 Angry Men' (the one who plays the stock market).
You mean the really serious one, with the glasses?
@@BravoDox Yeah that guy!
I love the "I've never seen garbage eat garbage before" line so much lol
"Oh, I've been, uh...I've been working out."
We saw this as kids and even then, laughed our asses off, instantly loving it because it was so Superman. Even his attempt at sh*t talking is wholesome. It's totally in character Sups trash talk would come off like a dad joke.
@@trefen2534 the one thing about Donner cut I hated. Spoiler:
Instead of memory wipe, Superman reverses time (again!🤨) prevents the 3 baddies escape, then goes and picks a fight with a bully who doesn't remember meeting him!
The diner revenge scene was so satisfying. Seeing Clark take down that bully.
The actor who plays the bully looks very familiar. Was he also in Gremlins?
RIP Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper, Ned Beatty & Richard Donner
Jack O'Halloran is still alive. I actually met him and Sarah Douglas a few years ago.
They couldn't have been nicer.
Jackie Cooper, what a rascal he was. 🥲
@@GodlessScummer fake news got me it seems...fixed it
Is there no one on this planet to even challenge me?!!
Where is this,. SUPER---MAN,?!?
This guy played an awesome villain. Was also in Wall Street, and other films I can't think of at the moment.
He was in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert with Patrick Stewart and Guy Pearce.
I shook Christopher Reeves hand in Cambridge Mass back in 1984.....He was filming a period piece amd was wearing an 1880 outfit amd tophat.
I think it was called The Bostonians....not sure.
He was in between takes and while waiting he walked over to a crowd of us and shook our hands.
33:19 christopher broke character 🤣. even superman himself isnt immune to that lol
Margot Kidder looks very different during the city fight between the 2 cuts. Her hair and makeup especially. Much more glamorous in the Donner shots.
There's a rumor she had some teeth removed in between the shoots that changed the shape of her face somewhat.
I always recommend watching the theatrical cut before the Donner Cut so you can see the difference between the two.
The big thing to remember about the Donner Cut is that it was finished the way the movie was originally intended. They had to do some rewrites with the first and, as a result, had to move some scenes around.
I hope this helps. I love your reactions and am excited that you're reacting to these classics.
I like Lester's humour better. I am a big fan of the Three/Four Musketeers movies he made in the 70s-true to the book, but funnier
@@SJHFoto sad you consider Lester's third rate "humor" that ruins Superman II as better
@@monkeyzorr3090 We each are entitled to our opinion
I'm so confused. I first watched this one as a kid, which one is this? Donner or Lester? I watched a clip of Lois jumping out of a building instead of jumping into Niagra Falls. Which one is that one?
Hi Joshua, Cassie has just viewed Richard Lester's Theatrical Cut. The version You're thinking of is the Richard Donner Cut. Which most importantly restores the original Jor-El footage and works as a logical continuation of the first film's narrative. Albeit a incomplete, compromised work that gives us a glimpse of what might have been.@@JoshuaMartian-go3tm
Kal-El is Superman's true name.
He's from Krypton.
Clark Kent is his disguise.
Jor-El was his father.
His Dad was Jonathan Kent.
His real name is Clark ♥
Kal-El is his birth name. Whether or not Clark is a disguise depends on the version of him you are watching. On Lois and Clark and Smallville, Clark is the real person and Supes is the alter ego.
And MARTHA! was his mother. :)
@@MassEffectSteve Why did you say that name?!?
@@dupersuper1938 It's his mother's name!
Christopher Reeve’s background as a classically-trained actor as well as his natural charm, 6’4 height and movie star good looks to all the ladies were also important factors into making him the greatest Superman in the eyes of millions of fans. Reeve also showed these great qualities in other movie classics such as Somewhere In Time and Street Smart, co-starring the equally-impressive Morgan Freeman. I was always of big fan of Christopher Reeve, because of his ability to walk with the kings and queens of this world, yet keep the common touch. THAT is another endearing quality that cannot be taught. Rest In Power, Mr. Reeve.
At a convention years ago In the cons dealers room I passed Sarah Douglas / Ursa the Krypton criminal, In passing She looked at me and said "My, what an interesting face." I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing as I didn't ask I thanked her and she smiled and nodded. I'm still on cloud nine at her noticng me.
If you plan to watch the rest of the Superman series, and if you recognize actors from more recent Superman media, you're in for a treat in Superman III: Annette O'Toole plays Lana Lang; she also played Martha Kent in the Smallville television series.
She should skip Superman 3 and 4.
It's funny to hear you question which personality is real or dominant, Superman or Clark Kent. Remember watching Kill Bill vol 2 when Bill was explaining to Uma's character the difference between Superman and the other heroes like Batman or Spiderman ? He was trying to point out to her that she was like Superman in that her real personality was that of Beatrix Kiddo, the killer. Not some record store girl she would pretend to be in El Paso. Superman is Superman, Clark Kent (according to Bill) was how Superman saw the human race and so he pretended to be Clark.
This one is my favorite Superman movie
I love this movie! When I was a little girl I was obsessed with Superman, I used to make my mom take me to the theater to see the movies when they came out.
I saw Superman II at a drive-in theater (double feature) with my parents when I was 5 years old.
My sister and I were told to go sleep in the back of the station wagon when the 2nd movie came on after Superman II.
They'd tell us to stop peeking and go to sleep...😄
LOL Great Movie!
#popcorninbed
The mirror prison is called "The Phantom Zone."
Superman needs our sun to be able to fly. So he can’t really run out of power, he just needs the Sun.
obviously he can be defeated with suntan lotion
'I've never seen garbage eat garbage before.'
***even Superman's trash-talk is hilariously awesome***
oh yeah
Lol it reminds me of Rorschach.
"Never seen garbage eat garbage before. Obvious, really."
Henry Cavel is an amazing Superman for today's generation. Christopher Reeves was my generations Superman growing up as a kid.
38:00 It’s like trying to work in a factory made of glass, one wrong move or too much power and everything will break. He has to control how much force he uses in everyday life so he doesn’t hurt anyone or break something too easy. Not to mention that Lois is always around Superman and if she was captured and forced to reveal who her really was, that would be bad.
The first one is the best!
I really enjoy this one though!
They, like Superman, are aliens, so they don’t need oxygen to breathe in space.
They would need air on the moon to speak though.
Wonder if the comic writers ever considered giving Kryptonians more alien features.
He does and they do. In the storyline of the Imperiex War Superman trained with Mongul to be able to be in deep space for extended periods. These movies are great but the writing is SO awful. Lex is a PT Barnum type of huckster instead of an untouchable Billionaire. They just start adding powers Superman has NEVER had and powers are inconsistent. So Ursa's powers are enough to activate her heat vision but a snake bites her and she feels it? Great acting can make up for crappy writing.
Kissing amnesia into Lois was definitely one o' the weirder, less-expected powers of Superman to ever see in a film. 😆
After the cellophane S, everything was on the table.
@@jsharp3165 It's supposed to be more of a force field, but I guess after getting all the other epic practical effects going they just threw some cellophane at it and called it a day!
@@jsharp3165 Is that a power though? That just just seemed like something he'd added to his costume for...some reason. The telekinesis, finger lasers and phoney doubles on the other hand...
My instinct was always to say that he used fortress tech for the fake projections, except he mentions "playing this game in school"...
"so it's hardly surprising that the "Super-Kiss" also debuted during this period - more specifically, in Action Comics #306, dated November 1963. At the end of the story "The Great Superman Impersonation", the Man of Steel kisses Lois so fiercely that she ends up dizzy and faint."
@@Hospitaller1099 That sounds like just...a good kiss.
Perry White was played by Jackie Cooper. Jackie Cooper played Jackie in The Little Rascals in the early 1930’s.
This was awesome when I was a kid.
For more Terance Stamp try Priscilla Queen of the Desert !
Highly recommend the tv series 'Superman & Lois' if you want to see Clark and Lois together and as married parents with amazing chemistry too. :)
No one will ever be Superman better than Chris Reeve but we have had some pretty good ones.
I watched this movie probably 100 times as a kid and never heard the line “I know some judo, come on let’s go” lmao
The same goes for me 😅😂🤣
I literally said the same thing.
Always have good memories watching this as 9-year old at my local ABC cinema in Enfied, North London with my brother and some friends, causing chaos as usual. Then realised my parents and sister were further down the aisle - that made me behave a bit.
We only had 3 (count'em) 3 UK TV channels in 1980 so cinema was a great escape, full of stories of optimism, challenge and hope. We were innocent, not cynical, so when the villains pick up the bus, we were genuinely amazed but also saw the peril - not like kids thesedays who know majority is computer generated.
What a great 2 movies. We didn't have much content out there, but when we did it was special and first-of-a-kind...
Great reaction:) as much as I enjoy the theatrical version of this movie l, there is an alternate version called “the Donner Cut”. Director Richard Donner was originally hired to make both Superman 1&2, but left due to creative differences with the producers. The Richard Donner cut uses all the footage he shot for the film. Even tough it’s incomplete, I still prefer it
You should also watch "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut"... It's a very different version of the same film. It isn't as polished as the Theatrical cut (as expected as the film wasn't completed in post-production), but in my opinion is a much better take on Superman, with a superior plot and flow, and could have been a much better movie if they've stayed with Donner's vision instead of switching to Lester.
This makes me want to watch the Superman movies again
Sheriff J. W. Pepper just can't catch a break.
Superman II: The Donner Cut is strictly for hard-core deep-dive fans as it is really an assembly cut with even one crucial scene between Clark and Lois early on a filmed dress rehearsal with Reeves and Kidder as part of Reeves final audition before securing the part. This was the only way to include this scene as they never got to film it because they abandoned shooting the sequel to focus solely on finishing production on the first movie (both 1 and 2 were filmed simultaneously) to meet their release date. But the footage is still fascinating because both actors are clearly younger and Reeves is still skinny before he would bulk up for the role. The original director is Richard Donner. Long story short: the people's director, an actor's auteur, cast and crew loved this guy. Even Marlon Brando was less a diva with him than other directors. Donner pulled off the impossible as he was tasked with the unheard of endeavor to film the first film and it's sequel together to save money in the long run as they could just keep everybody working by staying in production without any work stoppage and union delays and overages. Cast and crew all have wild stories how one day they're filming the first movie. The next day a scene for the middle of the second one. The day after that, back to the first film. On and on. So the legendary producers of Superman The Movie were famous tycoons who were known to screw people over and out of money and this production was no exception. Despite Donner delivering the goods and a global smash phenomenon of a first movie that made its impending sequel highly anticipated, they still lowballed him and eventually fired him while the second film was 70 percent shot, still needing the remaining 30 to be completed. They brought in a director named Richard Lester who was and is primarily a comedy director with comedy sensibilities and not a good fit for a straight across stoic story told earnestly. He didn't want to share director credit with Donner and finish his cut, but in order for the directors guild to give him sole credit, he'd have to refill 50 percent new material of footage in order to have Donner removed from the sequel's director credit. Lester was a piece of sh*t for this back-stabbing move. Donner couldn't talk about these films for decades it was such a painful experience. But, Cassie, you are absolutely correct when you bring up the oddly placed areas of humor like the telephone booth guy gag continuously talking through the villain made geo-storm. Lester couldn't help himself despite objections from cast and crew saying tonally it clashed and was inappropriate for scenes and broke tension in others. Lester did it anyways whereas Donner was a disciplined director who understood the need to ground the characters and story in reality and many humor came from the situation and was character driven coming organically. Not silly shoed-in sketch comedy bits. Agreed, these parts take you right out of the movie. Also to note, when the cast heard of Donner's firing, the entire cast revolted and refused to return to finish filming the sequel without Donner. The producers then filed a class action lawsuit against Reeves and Kidder saying they were in violation of their contract which they were unknown so signed all their negotiation power away. So they returned to finish the sequel with Lester begrudgingly. Kidder refused to talk to Lester referring to him only as Custer. Gene Hackman was already an established heavyweight star in Hollywood when he signed on so he had no such restrictions or obligation to return. Gene Hackman was so loyal to Donner he refused to return for filming and finishing his scenes for the sequel and didn't. So, all his scenes in Superman II, amazingly, were shot by Donner and his directed filmed stuff. And there is quite a bit of Lex Luther scenes here so it's pretty impressive how much footage from Donner's helmed material is still present under Lester's so-called cut, even though Donner gets zero director's credit. There's even a Donner on camera cameo in this movie when Clark and Lois pull up to the cafe, a guy walks in front of their car, that's Donner. And looks right at the camera, then continues his stride walking out of frame. Why this is hilarious and in retrospect karmically cool is because once you know the behind the scenes drama of the producers doing Donner dirty and shit-canning him, his popping up in Lester's cut of the movie now plays like the ultimate crashing the party troll job of all time. The other poetic justice is for years Lester claimed he filmed all these parts of this scene. When Donner returned to edit together his cut decades later, he was able to refute this bogus claim when he pointed himself out in the scene Lester supposedly claimed he did. Donner assured the guild and the press he didn't visit Lester's set to be an extra on his movie. This didn't help Lester's reputation after this got revealed.
So, the original is superior because Donner was superior and a behind the scenes superman how he pulled off such a well done piece of filmmaking in such a limited era of special effects at the time to innovate and still tell a gripping fairy tale for adults and kids alike. Lester had to use Gene Hackman stand in and stunt double to patch together scenes with him and have the movie make some kind of narrative sense with a Gene Hackman sound-alike voice actor dubbing lines in Post-production to explain exposition what was happening and what Lex was doing. Once you know this, and then watch the movie, you can not not see the scenes the stand ins and voice over imitators are used. Gene Hackman said the one humorous thing was critics who some said that his performance as Lex was better in the sequel and they concluded that it was due to him being directed by a comedy director like Lester. Hackman made a point to do interviews with those critic's newspapers in future film press junkets to point out that both his performances were directed and guided by the same one director Richard Donner. And then, Gene added on this final hot bar spicy diss track banger of a roast: "And Richard Lester couldn't direct traffic with no traffic.' Mic drop Mr. Hackman.
Thank you for watching these films. I don't think I could ever properly articulate what these movies have always meant to me since childhood. I hope you watch the Donner cut sometime!
Cassie, you're correct that there are 2 versions of the film. The full story is a bit complicated. Richard Donner was indeed fired from the production. Superman 1 and 2 were filmed back to back. Donner was fired about 2/3 of the way through the production and replaced by Richard Lester. Under the rules of the Directors Guild of America, he had to reshoot at least 75 percent of the film in order to receive sole directorial credit. However, Gene Hackman had already completed all his scenes with Donner and refused to film any scenes with Lester. So, the film you're watching is actually a hybrid of 2 directors work. All of the Hackman footage is Donner's work, There is other footage by Donner, but I don't want to spoil if for you or have people jump on me in the comments. Donner refused to share credit with Lester, but, the theatrical version is actually the work of 2 men. Around 30 percent of the film you're watching is Donners' work.
Good summary.
Actually, I and II had been shot SIMULTANEOUSLY rather than in sequence (which is what "back to back" denotes.
Both the 1980 ('official') and 2006 (Donner Cut) versions are works of TWO directors; due to conflicts between the Salkinds and Donner, only one person is the credited director for each version.
@@bonghunezhou5051 Only about 5 percent of the Donner cut is Richard Lester's work, Donner stated this himself, he was adamant about not using Lester's footage. And in fact Superman was filmed first then Superman 2, Donner was fired when Superman 2 was about 2/3 complete.
Due to the time the film took to shoot, Margot Kidder's appearance varies quite a bit from scene to scene. She had lost weight and appeared a little gaunt in the Lester footage but is slender in the footage shot by Donner. Also, Lois' fashions were on point for 1977 but looked dated by 1980.
That explains why the double for Hackman was introduced along with the terrible voice dubbing during some of the Fortress of Solitude scenes. UGH.
Superman did the right thing as he is immortal in this movie and Lois would get old and age while he remained forever young not to mention they would have never been able to have children and last but not least her life would have been in constant danger from his many enemies.
Some versions are immortal, some aren't, some just age much slower. Some versions can have kids with humans, some can't. As far as I know the Reeve movies never say one way or another. Either way her life's already in danger: Lex didn't know anything about his revealing his secret identity to her when he served her up to Zod. The idea that HER knowing puts her in more danger has always been an absurd argument.
@@dupersuper1938 His mother tells him he will be "Mortal" one of the definitions of Mortal is that which dies, so it can be interpreted that he is immortal or beyond death as we know it either way he would far out live Lois.
@@dragonray9450 I mean, we can interpret it that way, but it's hardly explicit. She could very well just mean powerless. "Powers beyond mortal men" is one of his taglines whether you're enjoying one of the iterations in which he's immortal or not. Also, again, while him being immortal or long-lived is very common, it's not a component of every version, and was never established in the Reeve movies, so - while we can certainly interpret it that way - we "know" no such thing.
@@dupersuper1938 okay you're right :)
Wasn't it implied that they couldn't "do it" too without risking her life. He could hurt her as a Kryptonian and can't impregnate her and she couldn't carry a Kryptonian child anyway.
24:57 well, they don't explicitly go into it, but sex with Superman would be potentially lethal for Lois if he still had his powers and full strength.
and he couldcrush any hand with a handshake, doesn't mean be can't be gentle jeez
@@videostash413 While he can be gentle, there are certain reactions that are entirely involuntary, and the climax is one of those. It would be like a cannon going off.
Lois would wind up like Cindy in 'Scary Movie' when Bobby blurts a tsunami of jizz.... except Lois would be catapaulted to her doom and her lifeless, naked body would float in space for all eternity.
@@videostash413 read between the lines can you slow your climax.... it would pierce her organs
The Donner cut has them have sex before he gives up his powers. She even watches him talk to Jor-El wearing his clothes. So that wasn't the issue. It was all about leading a monklike existence, devoted to the world's needs, or deciding to care only about one person. Jor-El specifically says it would be betraying his gifts for him to commit his life to one person.
Christopher Reeve is my Superman.Since 1978 when the first movie dropped into Theaters. I always smile so much when I see Christopher's Version of the character. You just adore his version.
Lex's girlfriend's name is Eve Tessmacher. The Donner cut also shows a different ending at the fortress of solitude. I remember watching that TV version and loving it more than the theatrical release.. Awesome reaction!!!!