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This box set contains all five Superman feature films so far, and two versions of the first two films. I'll review the films individually.
Superman: The Movie
There's a good reason why pretty much every superhero origin movie follows the template of this one. It's simply because the movie just did everything so well. Sure, there are some pacing issues (the first half is a bit slow) and there's a rather marked shift in tone when Superman first shows up (from serious to tongue-in-cheek), but the film gets the key things right. Mainly, the casting of Christopher Reeve was possibly the most important casting decision in blockbuster history; there's been no one else as perfect to play a role as Reeve was to play Superman. Another big factor in the success of the film is John Williams' amazing score, which he wrote in the middle of his purple patch (others include Jaws, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET), but I think this may be his best work. Other recent superhero films have certainly felt lacking in this respect. The special effects, of course, were also instrumental, and they still hold up pretty well today. They're not seamless, but they certainly do the job, and the helicopter rescue set-piece still gets the blood pumping. Watching it objectively, it's pretty flawed, but it's still wonderfully well-written entertainment.
Superman: The Movie - Extended Edition
The added scenes are not particularly necessary, but they are definitely welcome. My favourite is the gauntlet scene in which Lex tries to kill Superman with bullets, fire and ice while the boy blue is on the way to Luthor's underground base. The only new scene that seemed completely superfluous was one showing a group of girls about to be crushed by the falling Hollywood sign during the climactic earthquake sequence. Strangely, we never see them rescued, so the scene is left unresolved.
Superman II
Despite its well-publicised production problems, Superman II is probably my favourite of the series, mainly because of Terence Stamp's chilling performance as General Zod. The villains are hugely important in the success of any superhero film (aside from, arguably, Batman Begins) and Superman II is the only entry in the franchise to have had truly compelling and threatening ones. The flaws of the film mainly involve lapses into over-the-top slapstick humour which destroy much of the tension of the scenes. For example, the battle in Metropolis is spectacular but marred by an overly jokey tone. However, the returning performers from the first film are all excellent, particularly Christopher Reeve, who, if anything, seems even more confident in the role than before. The performances are helped by some excellent snappy dialogue, particularly between Clark and Lois. The film isn't perfect, but it is excellent.
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Eagerly awaited by long-time Superman fans, the fabled 'original' version is finally here. (Quick history lesson: Richard Donner, who directed the first film, had shot 70% of Superman II before being fired; the new director, Richard Lester, then re-shot many of the scenes.) It provides a striking contrast to the theatrically released film. The slapstick 'comedy' is now absent, making the tone more consistent with the previous film. The film is in no way devoid of humour, though; in this version, it comes more from the dialogue and character interaction. In fact, one of my problems with the new version is that some of the humour seems forced and rather cheesy. I would even say that some of the scenes created for Lester's film are better written than these, with more natural performances (which probably came from the actors' experience in the roles). Still, many of the changes are a big improvement. The film is generally darker than the theatrical cut, and the rather grating instances of made-up superpowers are eliminated. It's especially pleasing to see the new opening credits, redone to match those of the first film. I was surprised how many new effects shots were made for this cut, and Warner Brothers deserve credit for providing the budget to do so (they do not feel out of place, though, because they have been made to imitate the quality of the original effects). I am undecided as to which of the versions of Superman II I prefer. The Donner Cut is an admirable achievement, and a good film in its own right, but it does unsurprisingly have a slightly incomplete feel.
Superman III
Superman III is half a good film. Unfortunately, the other half is pretty terrible. The sections focusing on Superman and Clark's Smallville reunion are actually really good. The effects team had now clearly become comfortable with the technology needed to make a man fly, resulting in this instalment having probably the most seamless effects of the Reeve films. The Lana Lang character (played by Annette O'Toole, currently Martha Kent in the Smallville TV series) is well-performed and her relationship with Clark is quite appealing. However, the film goes off the rails with the decision to focus on Richard Pryor at the expense of Superman. The failure of these scenes is not Pryor's fault - he does his best with a poor script - but it is an inescapable fact that he does not belong in a Superman film. The slapstick trend that first appeared in Superman II reaches overkill here. The opening credits even ditch the epic space look of the first two films in favour of a corny slapstick montage (neglecting John Williams' Superman theme, as well). The villainous scheme is weak, although it could have had potential, and the showdown between Superman and the villains at the climax is awful. It's a pity that Superman's narrative is relegated to a subplot because it's pretty interesting, involving Superman turning evil due to synthetic Kryptonite. Reeves' perfomance is again wonderful, here getting a chance to show off a new side of his talents. Unfortunately, not even Reeve can save the film from its generally poor script and insistence on lame 'comedy'. It is also, due to its focus on computers and technology, now extremely dated.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman IV often receives the "honour" of being named the worst comic book film ever (yes, even beating Batman & Robin) and occasionally some critics call it one of the worst Hollywood productions of all time. These criticisms are a little harsh. The film is certainly not very good, but I think simply a higher budget would have solved one of the film's main problems: its special effects. Despite being released nine years after Superman: The Movie, the effects here are easily the worst in the whole series. The budget was reportedly halved mere days before production, which does show on screen (its reduced budget was around $8 million, compared to Superman II's estimated then-gargantuan $50 million). I believe the filmmakers' intentions were good when making the film; the slapstick that so marred Superman III is gone, and Christopher Reeve had a hand in the story. The main plot involves Superman's attempt to rid the world of nuclear weapons by throwing them into the sun, prompting Lex Luthor to create a "Nuclear Man" with Superman's powers. It's a rather hackneyed plot but it is a decent set-up for some superpowered carnage, which unfortunately the budget could not handle. Barring some cavernous gaps in logic (people can breathe in space?!), and a lack of memorable dialogue, the script could've been made into a decent film. The ultimate result, though, was a disappointing failure.
Superman Returns [Read my Cinema Review here]
To me, Superman Returns is something of an oddity. It's a pretty good film (easily the best since Superman II), but it is certainly lacking in several areas. The most important of these is the simple fact that it just isn't particularly fun. The director, Bryan Singer, clearly wanted to make a serious film about the Man of Steel (which is the right way to go, if you ask me) and modelled it very much on Superman: The Movie. What he and his writers seemed to have missed is that while the earlier movie took the character of Superman seriously, the film still had a playful and light-hearted tone. Superman Returns is a slow-moving, melancholy story of unrequited love - and succeeds at being one - but that's not really what Superman is about. The film definitely has its good points, such as the breathtaking space shuttle rescue, and I must stress that it is not a bad film. Indeed, the relationship between Superman/Clark and Lois is quite touching and well executed. The film just doesn't really introduce anything new to the mythos, and the narrative is frustratingly unimaginative. I'll wait until Superman Returns Again (or whatever they're going to call it) to completely pass judgement, though, as there are several plot threads left intriguingly hanging. Bryan Singer has already proven with his X-Men films that he knows how to create the second instalment of a saga, and the first of those films was slightly uninspiring too.
The extras
Firstly, all the films (and both versions of the first two) have commentaries, except Superman Returns. I'll go through the rest of the extras by disc to make it easier. Also of note is that the box includes a nicely designed booklet with chapter listings and details about the extras. I wish more DVDs came with inserts these days.
The first film's extras are on two discs (discs 3 and 4 of the set). The first of these includes the same extras that were on the first DVD release. They're very interesting, with three featurettes totalling over an hour, as well as some other interesting stuff. The standout feature is the screen tests, which show Christopher Reeve's first audition when he was stick-thin, and also several actresses auditioning for Lois Lane, of which Margot Kidder was clearly the best. The second disc has an old documentary from the time of the film's release, lasting about an hour. While it's not very in-depth (they even admit that they're holding stuff back!) and is pretty 'retro' to say the least, it's still definitely a worthwhile watch. All the stars are interviewed and their answers don't seem as rehearsed as they often do in modern Making Ofs. There's a good amount of on-set footage too. Also the disc is a collection of the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons from the 40s. They're pretty charming but don't hugely interest me, so I haven't watched them all. I'm surprised they didn't get a separate release, really, because they have nothing to do with the films. Even more unfathomably, there's the pilot episode of the 1950s Superman TV show starring George Reeves, called 'Superman and the Mole Men', which is as brilliant as it sounds. You can't say that this set isn't comprehensive!
On the Superman II Donner Cut disc, there is a short featurette on the process of assembling this new version of the film. There is also another disc on Superman II, including another archived documentary like the one about the first film, as well as a rather cheesy 'Superman 50th Anniversary' (from 1988) documentary with a very annoying presenter. More old cartoons fill out the disc.
Some Superman III deleted scenes are included on its disc, most of which involve more of Richard Pryor's character. Needless to say, the film is better without them. There's another archived 'Making of' doc here too.
The extras on the Superman IV DVD are eye-opening to say the least. Several deleted scenes totalling over 30 minutes are included, and I had been curious to see them, thinking that maybe a great film was denied us in the editing room. Well, perhaps not. The deleted scenes include an excised subplot involving Luthor's first attempt to create Nuclear Man. The Frankenstein-like creation is a laughable, dimwitted villain who just seems like a complete joke. A fight between Superman and the first Nuclear Man is another deleted scene, and it appears that most of the budget was blown on this scene, as it actually features some of the best effects in the film. Still, it's an extremely good thing that these scenes were excluded because they would have made the film even worse. Some of the other deleted scenes may have benefited the film, though, and I can't see why they cut so much of Gene Hackman out. The commentary is worth a special mention here; it's very honest and gives great insight into how Superman IV went wrong, and proves how good the intentions were.
The main special feature for Superman Returns is a 3-hour 'fly on the wall'-type documentary that covers pre-production and the shoot itself. As you'd expect from the running time, it's very in-depth and gives a really good sense of what it was like to be on the set. It is split into several parts for ease of viewing, and I found those concentrating on the shoot (the majority) were more interesting. I would have liked to see something on the post-production, like music and effects and so on, but the documentary finishes at the end of principal photography. I would also have liked to see a featurette on the design of the suit itself, but it's barely mentioned. Also on the disc are a few deleted scenes, most of which are unexciting but a couple should really have been left in the film if you ask me. Disappointingly, the deleted Krypton sequence is not on the disc, as Bryan Singer is now apparently saving it for the sequel. Capping it off is a short technical demonstration of how they used old Marlon Brando footage and some trailers.
Disc 12 is occupied by the feature length documentary 'Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman', produced by Bryan Singer. It's a very informative piece covering the whole life of the Superman character from his very beginnings in the 1930s, and looks at how he has evolved over the years and reacted to world events. Every form of film, TV or radio show that has featured the character is touched upon. While it's extremely well-made and researched, I found certain sections of the documentary more interesting than others, but you couldn't ask for a more thorough chronicle of Superman's history.
The main material on Disc 13 is the 90-minute 'Cinematic Saga of Superman' documentary, split into five parts. These look solely at the Christopher Reeve films, and are extremely interesting, throwing up some amazing facts (DC Comics approved Muhammad Ali for the role of Superman!). As it is this part of the whole Superman legacy that mainly interests me, I found this feature more enjoyable than 'Look, Up in the Sky'. In fact, this is probably the best extra on all 13 discs. Also on the disc are a few other featurettes, including a tribute to Christopher Reeve (nice touch) and three Looney Tunes cartoons that reference Superman. Not forgetting, of course, the sole episode of 'The Adventures of Superpup', which features midgets wearing dog masks playing all the roles. I kid you not. Dear God! And you thought Superman IV was bad.
The summary
As you can see, saying that there's a lot in this set is rather an understatement. It's comprehensive with a capital C. I love the packaging too. If Superman Returns doesn't interest you, there is also the Christopher Reeve Superman Collection available which includes the first 9 discs of this set, or, alternatively, Superman: The Movie and Superman II are available in individual 4- and 3-disc sets, but best extras are exclusive to this release. I would have liked to see more extras made especially for the set, as most of them are from the vaults, but still, if you like Superman at all, this set is the holy grail. None of the films are flawless but if you want nostalgic escapism, you need look no further.
