Superman: The Epic Cut

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9.7 (12)
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Faneditor Name:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1978
Original Running Time:
253
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
247
Time Cut:
13
Time Added:
28
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
To create the Superman epic per the shooting script befor the movie was chopped in half by the producers when money ran out and the ending of the first half was changed.
Intention:
It's been a liflong dream to see this in the form that the director Richard Donner likely intended and never completed,
Additional Notes:
The 1979 SUPERRMAN: THE MOVIE was plagued with issues during production leading to many changes which resulted in two films being release (Superman and Superman II) which significantly differed from what was originally intended. SUPERMAN: THE WRIATH EPIC): Rt 3hr 59min 59 sec. NO truncation to the krypton open, cliffhanger removed and as close to the shooting script when they were thinking it would be a Lawrence of Arabia type film, with an intermission. I elected to NOT have an intermission with a cliffhanger. Producers chopped this in half as money ran out, and with 80% of Superman 2 shot, they changed the ending of the first movie, IMHO disastrously. The best account of this can be found in this LONG out of print paperback in which the author shadowed the production for a number of years leading to an astonishingly eye opening account of what went wrong...and lot went wrong. It is a miracle these films exist in the form they do frankly. The Making of Superman the Movie: Amazon.co.uk: david-michael-petrou: 9780446825658: This is a MUST read for any fan of these movies.. It is engaging, very detailed and had LOADS of things in it I knew nothing about and have not been documented anywhere else. ...Did you know about the Polar bear scene? The bear is still in one shot of the movie, but it was abandoned. This is a treasure trove !
Other Sources:
Superman CD Scores
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
The base of this edit is the Theatrical Cut of Superman The Movie: Theatrical Cut (STM-TC), NOT the extended versions, though a few shots/scenes are included. DESPITE a lot of new scenes and changes being included i have completed them with editing and music to maintain the 80s tone and feel of a Donner film.
Cuts and Additions:
- New opening dedication so the Reeve and Unsworth are honored
- MUSIC opening removes the awful key change in the TC that occurs when the "S" flies in (source CD)
- Bespoke WRAITH credit with Stuart Baird
- Villains sentencing uses some S2DC
- A few TINY trims to Jor-El discussion with council to improve flow. Some shots re-purposed
- A new shot of Jor-El lowering Kal-El from the S2DC
- A few TINY trims to the Kryptonians in the earthquake
- Villains in zone shot added from Superman Extended TV version (TV)
- Additional shot of crater from TV
- Clarke chasing train completely re-edited to remove multiple continuity errors (including a shot where Lois is seen to speak, and we hear nothing) - See below for clip.
- Young Clarke approach to barn to get crystal uses some additional TV shots
- TINY trim in Daily Planet at end of Clarkes first day. Scene fely like it naturally ends when he sits.
- Cat rescue removed
- "Can you read my mind" trimmed by 1 minute. VERY hard to pull off. Scene went on for too long. Full audio and scoring rebuild needed. A shorter unused cue was use as the base
- A re-edit of the Extended approach to Luthor's lair is used with an unused cue meant for the scene. Everything is tightened up but it is new to the TC
- First missile flies towards zone as Superman flies back to earth
- We see Jimmy run from rocks from Extended version
- TINY trims to a few bad FX shots
- Lois is NOT crushed
- As Superman flies away from the prison, the phantom zone is destroyed.
- NEXT YEAR SUPERMAN II relocated
and many many more...
- Revised the end credits "coming next year Superman II" to Superman II THE DONNER CUT" in the correct font using the same technique as in Godfather Magnum Opus
Finally, Changes NOT made to this version include....
- NO material from Superman Returns
- NO Feeding the babies
- NO score enhancements
- NO modern DC intro
- NO modern WB logo
- NO revisionist credits in CGI
- NO net addition to the original theatrical run time, yet added 12 mins of material for no discernable loss
Cover art by Wraith (DOWNLOAD HERE)
image

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User reviews

12 reviews
 
92%
7-9 stars
 
0%
 
8%
3-5 stars
 
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1-3 stars
 
0%
Overall rating
 
9.7
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.8(12)
Visual Editing
 
9.7(12)
Audio Editing
 
9.6(12)
Narrative
 
9.6(12)
Enjoyment
 
9.7(12)
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Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Wraith made Superman The Motion Picture magical once again. As a child I was never bothered by the inconsistency in quality between Superman 1 and 2. As I grew older that changed, an The Donner Cut failed to redeem the film's tarnished presence in my eyes. Wraith has constructed Donner's vision to its greatest extent, providing a seamless experience that details Superman's origin and challenges as a hero. With masterful attention to editing and tone, Wraith has provided a viewing experience that has recaptured my wonder for The Man of Steel.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
ever since i hear about the production nightmare of superman 1 and 2 ive been dreaming about the complete vision. I thought the richard donner versions would fix everything but then we had superman spinning the earth in 2 movies which just seemed silly. I watched this all the way through all 4 hours! editing was seamless. a couple of shots of dont match i imagine because test shots were used and christopher was much thinner but that is not the editors fault at all that is just the source material available. Also some of the lex scenes in the second half are a bit silly, i imagine that is because they are the lester shots? again no fault to editor - that is just the source material. available. The spinning the earth thing that everyone craps on i dont consider superman rewinding time hes just traveling faster than light and going back in time! Overall i highly recommend this! i consider this the best version by far!

User Review

Format Watched?
Digital
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Overall rating
 
6.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
6.0
Audio Editing
 
5.0
Narrative
 
6.0
Enjoyment
 
7.0
I was really looking forward to this triple edit, because even though I'm not a fan of the original I am always looking for new ways to experience this double-feature in new ways since I think there are so many great things to be done with it.
That being said, all three versions are good, and apart from some cuts, which could have been smoother, my main gripe is that I didn't find correspondance between the description the faneditor listed on the database, and the actual edits - especially, I did not find the Epic Cut to have no Superman Returns footage as promised...
Another cut I was curious about was the Kents finding the spaceship in the Epic Cut which was mysteriously cut, making the cut from the aftermath of the explosion to the modern-day setting quite abrupt.

In short, I do recommend this edit to the fans of the original looking for three new ways to watch the movies, but strongly wish Wraith had been a little more precise in his description of the three edits.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Owner's reply December 23, 2022

I have acknowledge a minor error in this edit and will be restoring the Ma/Pa Kent scene which appears to have dropped off due to a duplicate asset mis-naming creating this fault. Nevertheless, this review appears to be unduly harsh. The audio work is seamless as is the visual editing IMHO, and the impact of the one missin section should not be so dramatic. I trust thereviewer will take the time to reconsider when I reload. I would also appreciate some direct feedback on the "harsh cits" since I did not introduce any that were not already present.

I look forward to a direct engagement.
W

C
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Overall rating
 
10.0
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10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
The "Ben Hur" of Superman films - at nearly 4-hours in duration, it shows the true vision of Richard Donner, and what could (or should) have been shown in the cinema screens back in 1978 when Superman: The Movie was first released. Wraith's dedication to restoring Donner's original concept, which was mangled by the Salkinds, is a tribute to the value of the Superman narative in Western culture.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 2 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Excellent editing and communication. Merged both cuts and all content seemlessly! Thank you for this! Waited many decades for a cut like this.

User Review

Format Watched?
Digital
S
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