Superman II - The Expanded Richard Donner Cut

Excellent edit, I feel now that I watched a more complete version of the movie, definitely my ultimate cut of Superman 2, thanks.

Bobson's edit will be the end-all-be-all for this film, which has its intrinsic ups and downs, but I never wanted to ever give up on it, as, yes, this is childhood and a film I grew to love, despite Lester's silliness.

Donner's official edit was noble, but seemed a little haphazard. Our intrepid editor here has taken the narrative and - most importantly - has drawn it out, and developed the nuances of the scenes that matter while, yes, killing the silliness in general and getting it together. Is it just me, or does the Lois-falling-out-of-the-building-scene just look better than it did on the Donner cut?

The ending with the trucker, btw: love it. It's funny, because, yes, in the alternate timeline there is no need for the "unprovoked attack", but in this case it's totally Kal-El getting a little private revenge that only he knows about. Justified? Well, who knows, but it's a snarky little move - who hasn't dreamed of such things? Kal-El isn't infallible! In fact, the irony is that this is his all-too-human moment, a moment perhaps "beneath" him, but very human nonetheless.

Brilliant narrative, careful, well-paced, and essential. I'm not a fan of most superhero movies and couldn't care less about anything Marvel, but Superman I and II are parts of growing up in the early 1980s, and anyone who was a kid in those days knows what it means to feel that chill when Zod realizes what Kal-El pulled off in the chamber during the film's climax.

Beautiful edit, Bobson! -

It is nice to see the extra footage included but there were a few times when I was taken out of the moment, from what I understand the Donner Cut has a few audio issues (haven't got my copy to hand to check) where the voices sound like a different person is dubbing over the actor, not sure if these could be fixed. There also seemed to be a couple of occasions where the audio transitions could have been smoother, Ursa chasing after an astronaut for example, but video quality is generally excellent (considering some of the sources).

The fifth version of the film I have seen so far (after the Lester, Donner, Booshman Redux and Ollie W cuts), this was never going to be a definitive cut for me (am not a fan of Superman turning back time twice), but it certainly fulfills its title and I commend Bobson for the work. I still favour Superman Part II for the moment, looking forward to seeing what other editors have made/will make of this seemingly infinitely editable title.

Dugnutt has a keen eye for what shots work and what don't. The edit doesn't rock the boat too much, but all the moments were carefully considered and expand on the overall experience of watching the Donner Cut, making it feel more complete than the original as intended. I have give serious props to the color correction on these clips, they're done so well I didn't even recognize they were from the Lester Cut or deleted scenes! I especially love how they darkened the Fortress when Clark goes back there, that wass a nice touch. On the visual editing department, it is gorgeous, and the extra stuff means the narrative is improved as a result.

However, what hurts it for me is the audio editing. Some places are pretty solid, like the Niagra Falls or Houston scenes, and some are actually great like the scene where the guard notices Lex escaped, but other parts suffer from pretty violent transitions (such as the first Ursa expanded shot), or mild popping noises that let you know a scene was cut together (Lex and Teschmacher waving bye at Otis, or Lex's arrival at the Fortress as examples), which took me out of the movie too many times. It's a good edit, one worth it if you love the Donner Cut, though I think it could use some work,

A quality edit that every Superman fan should check out. Great job with upgrading the deleted scenes.