Superman II SE inc The Donner Cut (3 DVD)[£5.99@HMV.co.uk]

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Unwittingly released from Phantom Zone imprisonment, three super-powered Kryptonian criminals (Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas and Jack O'Halloran) plan to enslave Earth – just when Superman (Christopher Reeve) decides to show a more romantic side to Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). Gene Hackman (as Lex Luthor) also returns from the first film and with a top supporting cast, witty Richard Lester direction and visuals that astound and delight, Superman II saves the day any day you watch it.

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (Presented on Disc 3)

Superman II will delight fans who, for years, have been imploring Warner Home Video via voluminous numbers of petitions, letters, phone calls and e-mails to release the Donner cut. In fact, Donner had already shot most of the Superman II footage during Superman: The Movie. But as production on the sequel continued, creative differences between the director and the film's producers became irreconcilable and Donner left the project. Although Richard Lester was hired to finish production, he chose to make major changes to the film, leaving only vestiges of Donner's original vision and concepts in the version of Superman II that was ultimately released to theatres.

Now, nearly thirty years later, Warner Home Video is honoured to grant the wishes of countless Superman fans. With this DVD release, Richard Donner has become the first director in history to be able to complete a film he left during production with nearly all his footage “in the can.” Adding back a substantial amount of that unused footage, the director has seen his original vision restored and brought to fruition.

Most notably, the “Donner cut” restores the Marlon Brando role, filmed for, but not included in the final theatrical release version of Superman II. The legendary Brando's performance as Jor-El has finally been restored in key scenes that amplify Superman lore and deepen the profound relationship between father and son.

With so many other changes, large and small, including a variety of Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) schemes to unmask Clark Kent as Superman, this Superman II will prove to be an eye-opening experience and an important addition to film history.

This 3 disc set not only includes the original theatrical cut of Superman 2 and a second disc of extras, but also the long awaited 'Richard Donner Cut' of the film on a third disc. Donner (director of Superman the Movie) filmed the majority of Superman 2 simultaneously with the first film but never finished it due to creative differences with the producers (a long story).

However, working with Michael Thau (who Donner worked with on the 2001 SE version of Superman the movie), we can now see Donner's version as near as it was intended to be.

The film is practically a new movie altogether and contains new special effects, whole new scenes and footage not seen for nearly 30 years. The biggest addition to the film though is the return of Marlon Brando in the role of Jor-El. The theatrical version had Susannah York (Superman's mother) replace Brando in the film, but now all of Brando's scenes are put back in for this release, including the now legendary scene where Jor-El commits 'suicide' so Superman can regain his powers back after giving them up.

Extras in this set include a new introduction by Richard Donner, a featurette on the restoration of the 'Donner cut', deleted scenes, vintage making of 'Superman 2', Superman 50th anniversary documentary, commentaries for both versions of the film and more.