Superman III: The Definitive Smallville Cut

Updated
Superman III: The Definitive Smallville Cut
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1983
Original Running Time:
120
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
103
Time Cut:
23
Time Added:
4
Brief Synopsis:
A serious & dark version of Superman III using Smallville elements from Superman I & IV, but without the continuity errors & with the Evil Computer.
Intention:
To improve on my original Superman III edit by sorting out the continuity errors & putting back in the Evil Computer.
Additional Notes:
persons involved: Film edited by Father Merrin Edited Co-written by Zarius (The Junkyard Cut) Superman Titles SFX by Sepharih Idea for SI Lana/Clark & SIV Smallville Scenes by bionicbob
Other Sources:
Superman I & IV
Release Information:
DVD
Special Features
Credits & Trailer
Cuts and Additions:
1 (Prologue) Clark & Lana to Jonathan Kent���s attack (SI)
2 New Opening Credits
3 Daily Planet (Edited Slightly)
4 Gus at Work 1 (Edited Slightly)
5 Clark Morning (Re-Edited Medium SIV)
6 Gus at Work 2 (Edited Slightly)
7 Factory Fire (Edited Medium)
8 Stealing Discovery (Edited Medium)
9 Lana at Dance
10 Gus Meets Boss (Edited Medium)
11 Lana Dance Tidy Up
12 Gus & Boss Plan
13 Clark Bowling
14 Gus Hacks PC (Edited Heavily)
15 Columbia (Edited Heavily)
16 Clark & Lana Picnic
17 Ski Slope (Edited Heavily)
18 Satellite Gets Kryptonite
19 Clark Daily Planet (Edited Slightly)
20 Gus Gets Kryptonite
21 Gus & Superman (Edited Slightly)
22 Lana & Superman
23 Superman Late
24 Gus & Boss on Phone
25 Superman Olympics
26 Gus & Boss Talk
27 Superman Destroys Fortress of Solitude (Edited Heavily SII Donner Cut)
28 Gus with Boss & Oil Tankers (Edited Slightly)
29 Gus Hacks Another PC
30 Lana on Phone
31 At The Petrol Station
32 Superman Drunk
33 Superman Vs Clark
34 Superman Oil Fix
35 Superman Vs Evil Computer (Edited Medium)
36 Lana Ring
37 Daily Planet
38 Clark at Farm (Edited Slightly SIV)
39 The Fortress of Solitude Re-built (Edited Medium SII Donner Cut)
39 End Credits
Cover art by Father Merrin (DOWNLOAD HERE)
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User reviews

7 reviews
 
71%
 
29%
5-7 stars
 
0%
3-5 stars
 
0%
1-3 stars
 
0%
Overall rating
 
9.3
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.5(2)
Audio Editing
 
9.5(2)
Visual Editing
 
9.5(2)
Narrative
 
9.0(2)
Enjoyment
 
9.0(7)
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Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Ya I enjoy the movie. I saw it when it came out, it was less successful then the first 2 movies. I think the movie was too much silly and too much Richard Pryor. The movie had Pryor more then Superman, that's crazy. I don't think Richard Lester should have directed the movie, it had too much comedy. The edit was real good. The movie was more serious and less dumb Gus. I think part that should had in the movie when Ross playing Missile Atari, I think that took the fun out of it. The Visual, Audio and Narrative was nice.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
I really like the idea behind Father Merrin's fanedit. The Smallville plotline is definitely the strongest aspect of the script for Superman III, and Annette O'Toole is just wonderful as Lana Lang. I never truly got into Margot Kidder's portrayal of Lois Lane (blasphemy, I know) so seeing a film based on Clark and Lana sounds just peachy. And FM's edits do a lot to showcase that aspect of the story, even though it's not truly developed in the script as much as you'd like.

The problem is that the film is just filled with so much other goofiness. Pryor takes a lot of the blame, but it's not just him. There are so many silly moments in this film that it feels pitched squarely at children until you get to the dilemmas of a single mother and the nostalgia of going "home" and the genuinely creepy innuendo and ...Jesus, what were they thinking? Seriously, who was the audience for this film?? Anyway, you can basically remove all of one and go slapstick fun or all of the other and try for something fairly mature and interesting. FM's edit goes for the latter, but doesn't go quite far enough IMHO. There is still a bit of goofiness from Pryor that I think could be cut, some silly comedy routines about Robert Vaughn's sister and mistress, and of course the Eiffel Tower. I mean, half the "evil" Superman sequence is ridiculous, he mostly just turns kind of mischievous and douchey. Blowing out the Olympics torch? Creeping on women? I mean, compared to the villainy in Superman II, this is just peanuts (literally, in one case).

In terms of the cuts, there were a few that stood out to me as being quite abrupt. A lack of black before the opening. Several elements of the Colombia sequence. A few bits of conversation with Pryor. But I'll admit that for most of the movie I was thinking this was a "light edit", so that's a testament to how much was seamlessly removed. The quality is only about as good as what you'd remember, nothing appears to have been sharpened, graded, or tightened through filters or such. There is a lifted title sequence which looks slightly pinched but is a nice alternative to the original. I should note from the Changes list attached here, the version I saw is newer and removes a few elements, most notably the Fortress of Solitude stuff. Previous reviews noted that wasn't working for them, so I suppose it was a good cut.

All-in-all, this is definitely a better version than the theatrical. I'm afraid it still didn't turn this into a film I truly love as an adult, though. Hey, FM is only human (as far as I know). I hold out hope that there is still a better version to be made out there. Cutting more lines from the baddies, small cuts to tighten up the pacing and action, cut the whole coffee plotline, possibly cut down Ricky (is it just me or is he one of the most annoying '80s movie kids?) I wonder if there's some version that could be made of this incorporating parts of Superman II? Make it more of a true romantic triangle, make "bad" Superman run away with Lois and not give a shit about saving people? Make him use his powers to beat up a guy in a diner (isn't that a lot worse than almost anything "evil" Supes did??) I dunno, just spitballing but the point is I think there's still room to improve here. But until someone makes that edit, this is probably the best version of Superman III yet, for what that's worth.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (1) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
(Updated: September 11, 2012)
Enjoyment
 
7.0
Review by brauventura1 — December 17, 2009 @ 12:46 am

*This rating was given before reviews were required*
B
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(Updated: September 11, 2012)
Enjoyment
 
9.0
Review by rbeort — May 10, 2009 @ 11:57 am

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R
1 reviews
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(Updated: September 11, 2012)
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Review by joebshmoe — March 30, 2009 @ 12:48 pm

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