Superman The Movie: Extended Cut & Special Edition 2-Film Collection [Blu-ray]

I first saw "Superman The Movie" in the theater with my sister Melody when it was first released at Christmas 1978. I was was 23 at the time. Well, I'm 66 now and I got it on DVD and I appreciate it even more. You could call it the granddaddy of the comic book super hero movie. The movie won an "Oscar" for Best Visual Effects. As of 2022 it is on the list of The Top 100 Box-Office Champions of all time ,(adjusted for inflation.) The Library of Congress' National Film Registry established in 1988 to preserve films for "historic, cultural and aesthetic contributions" put "Superman" on the list in 2017. They add 25 movies to the list every year. There are only around 800 films on that list. Quite an honor. The movie opens in 1938,with a child reading from "Action Comics" where it all began when Jerry Shuster and Joel Siegel, two Jewish teenagers from Cleveland, Ohio, created the comic strip. They said this was inspired by the Holy Scriptures, The Book of Exodus, the story of Moses. We see "The Daily Planet" building in black and white. Then the camera pans upward past the full moon toward the night sky and we the fantastic opening credits, ( the graphics, new at the time, are still used in many commercials today.) Then we hear composer John Williams great score, as good as his score for "Star Wars", the year before. Then we go past the red Krypton sun and see the frozen planet Krypton. We are then introduced to "Jor-El" , council man and scientist, played by the great Marlon Brando. He tells his fellow council man that the the planet will be destroyed in 30 days by the Krypton sun. The council don't agree, so he will send his infant son "Kal-EL" on a trip to Earth. Jor-El's wife Lara well played by Susannah York asks "Why Earth Jor-El? They're primitives, thousands of years behind us. Joe-El, "He will need that advantage to survive. His dense molecular structure will make him strong. He will look like one of them." Lara-"He won't be one of them. He'll be odd, different." Jor-El ,"He'll be fast, virtually invulnerable." Lara-"He'll be isolated, alone." Jor-El, "He'll never be alone." Mario Puzo author of "The Godfather" was hired to write the original story. Richard Donner who directed "The Omen" in 1976 which was a big hit, was hired as Director. He does a really great job. Donner was dissatisfied, thought Puzo's story was too campy and brought in Tom Mankiewicz for a rewrite. Mankiewicz co- wrote the James Bond flicks "Diamonds are Forever" from 1971; "Live and Let Die" from 1973: "The Man with Golden Gun" from 1974: "The Spy Who Loved Me" from 1977 and "Moonraker" from 1979. Ben Mankiewicz of TCM, Turner Classic Movies is his cousin. Donner and Mankiewicz contribute an entertaining commentary on the DVD. Donner didn't want to parody and didn't want to take it too seriously. The first DVD has 45 minutes of additional footage not seen in the theatrical version. Includes some fantastic scenes. The second DVD, hosted by Marc McClure, who played Jimmy Olsen, an entertaining look at the making of and behind the scenes. This was one of the most expensive movies ever made up to that time. Arnold Schwarzenegger lobbied hard for the role but was ignored. The role was offered to Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Warren Beatty and they all turned it down. Sylvester Stallone was interested but Director Donner wanted an unknown for the role. And he found Christopher Reeve who was great as Clark Kent and the last son of Krypton who would become known as Superman. It features a great supporting cast including Glenn Ford as Jonathan Kent who tells his adopted son that "You were put here for a reason." Gene Hackman as the villain Lex Luthor and Margot Kidder as Lois Lane. This is the kind of family friendly entertainment Hollywood should make more of. GOD bless Marlon Brando, Richard Donner, Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve. Rest in Peace. The tagline for the movie poster read.... " You'll Believe A Man Can Fly."

Great!

SUPERMAN THE MOVIE the Extended TV version is finally officially released and in HD quality the TV version was broadcasted over 2 night's back in the early 80's about 90 mins each night but with commercials makes it 2hr time slot each night well finally Warners have officially released it on blu-ray i can throw my old VHS copy out now it's paired with richard Donner's 151min cut on Disc 2 that's 145min then the end credits starts with all the special features taken from the old special edition dvd set here's my comments on the picture & sound quality well the TV version was screened in 1:33:1 ratio but to my big surprise warners have widen the ratio to 2:40:1 Theatrical presentation so both 145min & the Longer 188min is both 2:40:1 ratio warners have made lots effort with picture quality the TV version looks excellent about 9/10 the sound quality is only 2.0 master stereo mix maybe 6/10 which is better than the old Mono sound of course it was very emotional watching all the extra scenes inserted back in compared to watching it on Grainy 1:33:1 VHS most of the extra scenes inserted back into the TV version were first Digitally restored as extras on the old special edition dvd the Richard Donner cut is 145mins so i believe the many extra scenes are about 30mins more so at 180min roughly then the end credits start, making the run time 188min so you have a choice either still watch 145-151min version or just watch the full 180min version it's matter of personal taste really 5 stars for this new reissue based on a Milestone event of the Longer Extended cut now officially released to buy

Wonderful!

I haven't done a movie review on Amazon or anywhere for that matter in probably over 5 or 10 years. With all the hate that original director Richard Donner has given this TV extended edition (and some fans have as well), I felt that I had to do a review to give this release some justice even though it is just my opinion. If I was to speak like Clark Kent I would probably say the Superman TV edition was pretty darn swell . I was all in anyway as I already had the 8 disc blu-ray set of previous films and versions. So I had to have this 2 disc set. I already had flops Superman 3, 4 and Superman Returns, so if the TV version was terrible as Donner said then I would at least have a good laugh. To my surprise, I really liked this edition. Will it be my go to of the now handful of editions for this great film? I'm not sure, but I enjoyed almost all the included scenes. Sure some went a little long and I will say that if I dropped one new scene, it would be the "skirmish in the van" between 2 characters as not to totally give it away. Some questions are answered in this edition and some scenes were just cool to see longer and fleshed some things out that may not have been needed but were still great to have. (More Jor-El with Superman and the extended earthquake scene to name a few) I have loved this film as a kid and as an adult and each edition has its own greatness and flaws, but all are worth it. So if you are wondering if this edition is for you then I say get it if you are a fan of the original and of course, as a Superman fan in general. Even if you don't like it, you still get the Special Edition which director Richard Donner endorses. It's really a no brainer if you have the $15-$20.

I have to say, it was amazing watching the Extend TV version for the first time since I was a very young boy! Being a huge fan of this movie, I watched the original version at least twice a year for the past several years. The extended TV version allowed me to view it with fresh eyes and experience things I had not experienced since my childhood. There were things that I remembered, but there were a number of scenes and extensions to scenes that I had completely forgotten about. Things to note about this version of the movie on Blu-Ray: 1. The Extended TV version is NOT in 5.1 surround sound audio. It is in Stereo only! HOWEVER, the Special Edition version that is included with this collection DOES come with 5.1 surround sound audio. 2. Though the Blu-Ray format is 1080HD, there are scenes that are clearly a lower resolution than others. You will notice a bit of grain with the lower resolution clips if you are watching it on an HD TV. This is a result of an Upconvert from lower res footage. It's equivalent to blowing up and image much larger than it's original size. Being in the business, I know that this is something that has been done a number of times with older movies. In some cases the conversion is not too noticeable, but in others it is, especially with older movies. 3. The thing to remember about this version is, it was intentionally made longer for the purpose of making it a THREE DAY television broadcast. For this reason, there are some scenes that will seem a bit drawn out and far longer than needed. 4. This movie is for diehard Superman fans that love collecting Superman memorabilia. If you are NOT a super-fan of the original Superman movie, this may not be for you. This version is not meant to improve upon the original movie, though there are some scenes that do enhance the film. This film is meant to allow viewers to simply experience the much anticipated, 3 Day television "Superman the Movie" event that many of us got to enjoy many years ago!

Ever since I was a kid I loved watching the Superman Movie, and over the years from watching the 2000 Special Edition and film sites telling me of the KCOP version I had to admit I was more than interested when said version was available to watch. I didn't even rent it, I just purchased this set. 1948, the planet Krypton is doomed as its greatest scientist proclaims this to the planet's ruling class but to no avail. So he sets his only son on a lifeboat to the planet Earth, living amongst them, being fueled by their young star rendering him strong but restrained by a loving couple with morals and the belief in his ability to do something great with his abilities. He grew up to become Clark Kent, also known as Superman to the people of Earth, standing for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. But he is envied by a powerful criminal Lex Luthor as this vile excuse of a human hopes to destroy Krypton's Last Son from ending his dreams of world domination. A classic story that everyone knows, with its late 1970s film adaptation having become timeless thanks to its great director, writer, cast, and score. While happy with the product he made, Richard Donner put forward an extended cut in the year 2000 but also worked with the Los Angeles TV station KCOP to release an alternate cut of the film exclusively for its TV audience, similar to how other big-named TV stations did for other films as VHS/Betamax made it easier to watch a movie at home away from the TV schedules, particularly if they had to omit things like language and violence for something never before seen. Having seen the theatrical cut I did enjoy it, but when I saw the 2000 Special Edition I felt it was more definitive. But the KCOP cut is too long, and the pace is very slow. I admit it feels better when seeing it for the journey to the Fortress of Solitude when the long journey gets you more anticipatory for the mystery of the Kryptonian technology. But other things made the movie feel too slow. The KCOP Cut has no special features but the Special Edition contains the same special features from the original release. There is no digital copy which would have been nice.

I think the year was 1980 or '81. After completing its amazing theatrical run, Superman: The Movie finally got its world television premiere and was aired as a two night special event. Being a kid, Having seen it in theaters in late '78, I was stoked to watch it again. Spread out over that Sunday evening and then that following Monday night, more footage was presented that supposedly Warner Bros left on the editing floor yet I could've sworn those minor scenes were in the original theatrical showing. Well no matter....because after all these decades I'm so happy to now own that long extended tv cut. In 2000, we were graced to receive director Richard Donner's definitive cut of the 143 min film with eight added minutes; this new version is just over three hours long (188 min). There's more detail added, making for a stronger narrative (more to the destruction of Krypton, insight into the life of teenage Clark Kent, his adult life as Superman, Lex Luthor's criminal machinations, etc). This is the most definitive, most fleshed out version we'll ever see. Watching this longer version reminds me of how much fun I had seeing this on tv all those years ago. But no matter what version is shown, Superman still holds up as great timeless entertainment. Hopefully now we can get the extended cuts to Superman II and III as well.

Original Superman starring Christopher Reeves. Great classic superhero movies!!

Firstly this review is for the Superman The Movie Blu ray Extended Cut (TV Version 188mins)/Expanded Discs, because for some reason Amazon reviews are jumbled up with other Superman The Move previous releases. As a child I originally saw this in 1978 in the cinema and was completely blown away from start to finish! and easily became one of my favourite films of all time along side the original 1977 Star Wars film. Wasn't it brilliant back then in the 1970s of people of a certain age, boy just fantastic! Special Effects may be dated in places, but are more organic and solid, than the over the top CGI of today's age. I won't go into the storyline, but theatrical version is well paced, with drama, action and adventure through Space to Farm to City. Christopher Reeve performance as the Man of Steel/Clark Kent is the definitive in my eyes. All the nolstalgic Actors/Actresses all excell. I remember collecting the full set of Superman Trading Cards and always wonder why certain pictures did not featured in the Cinema version. It wasn't until the early 1980s I read a review in Leonard Martins Film Book that he mentions there was a two night TV Version with around 40mins of deleted footage added to the then 1982 ABC TV Network in the US that featured those pictures in the Trading cards.(Back then there was no Internet! you found info in books and widely published magazines like Starburst) As far as I know the Extended Cut was shown only in the US in the early 1980s, and a even longer cut to 188mins in 1994 and subsequently in Australia and Ireland. Fans out there who recorded various versions on VHS or obtained 16mm film did put together an available 188mins cut for sale or download free over the years. I managed to obtain this years ago on DVD/ VHS quality. I thought the extended cut was absolutely brilliant with the expanded scenes and deleted cuts especially when Superman flies at different angles and wonder why they were cut from the theatrical version. I can understand for time constraints and pacing that alot of scenes were not used in the cinema version and suitable for TV as to why the original Producers made the TV Versions for Viewing/Financial reasons, but I'm glad they did made these versions or we would have never seen or heard about them (General public/Fans) over the decades, until maybe the DVD/Blu ray AGE as extras!!! Historically The original film source TV Version Cut seemed lost forever and patching up to match them from scratch I imagined would have required locating original film negatives and restoration as Richard Donnor did in his Expanded 2000 release. But out of the blue as I recently read prior to this Blu Ray release, the WIDESCREEN! full length TV VERSION was found in some Warner Archive Vault. And now we can fully enjoy the actual Extended Cut in HD Blu ray! albeit restored sound/visuals where necessary. I understand unknown to a majority of people/fans but probally die-hard fans of Superman a certain TAKE involving Lex and Ottis clammering around when the ambulance van doors are flung open seems shorter which was actually the edit used in the 1982 TV ABC version and a longer one in an international TV Broadcast. A downloaded version made by a fan called Restored International Cut included the longer one with Lex and Ottis as opposed to the original TV Broadcast in 1982 which also didn't include Christopher Reeve/Marlon Brando scene in the fortress of Solitude after Superfeats. I guess Pan & Scan and edit cut downs were used to form from the 188mins Widescreen recentley discovered were used in the original 1982 TV Network broadcast. Interesting stuff, though I personally think this Blu ray release is as good as it gets. For most of us the TV Extended cut is virtually new and discovered or even unheard of until now it's availability on Blu Ray Disc. From my own experience I thought I saw everyithing having been used to the Pan & Scan TV Average quality, but was blown away like being a child again by this fantastic WIDESCREEN VERSION with scenes I obviously haven't seen in my life. Overall brilliant. 3 hours or so flew by. The picture quality is unique to it's own compared to the theatrical/expanded release in a positive way. I'm glad they kept the original sound, with enhanced spacial mono where dialogue music ques/special effects are clear and in my oppinon done well. The opening/end credits include true stereo that blends in well into the film. The only quarm I have with this release is that like so many of the Superman DVD/Blu ray cover design they are too generic. They should have used the original UK 1978 UK art poster! buy hey! i'm probally being picky! Note: Though this is a WARNER ARCHIVES release only available ON DEMAND via Online/Sellers and not in shops, this is a geniune Blu ray manufactured DISC like any other commercial/chart busting film release quality disc and not a B D- R. It is also Region Free and should play on worldwide players. Thankyou to you guys at Warner BrosArchives for this TV Version on Blu Ray. A BRILLIANT MUST BUY!!!!!

以前、８枚組ＢＬＵ－ＲＡＹを購入した中に劇場公開版とディレクターズカット版は収録されていましたが、今回の購入により３バージョンすべて揃いました。 『SUPERMAN EXTENDED TV CUT 』はｄｔｓ-muster audio 2chで収録されていましたが、５．１chなら完璧でしたね。けど、購入して良かったです。

ambas versiones clasicas para recordar.

Dicen los entendidos que el director rechazó esta nueva visión de su obra y es perfectamente comprensible, ya que nunca la autorizó. Pero para los fans de superman es como un deseo hecho realidad, más de tres horas de película con bastante metraje nuevo nunca visto que se mantendrá pegado a la pantalla hasta los títulos de crédito, como si no la hubieras visto nunca. Toda una delicia.