I bought this on Blu-Ray along with the first Superman. I own the films on DVD and laserdisc - and I was pretty hyped to see the Donner cut. As I sit here now, I don't know why. It was terrible.
More serious? No - not really. The toilet flush in the Fortress of Solitude was 20 times worse than any comedy inserted in the other cut. The loooonnng recap of Superman 1 was unnecessary. When they did Wrath of Khan, they didn't first show pieces of the original Trek episode - they just went right on it. A couple of establishing shots were all that was needed. And the first film had it's little funny moments - all of Clark's slapstick, and the phone booth scene where it's not a phone booth. Classic.
Brando footage ... who cares. Brando frankly always struck me as more of an alcoholic at that point in his career. To be frank, when Jorel "appears" and "gives himself up" to give Superman his power back - it ruined it for me. He was dead long ago - but now he can walk up and touch Superman? How did he do that? In the original, there's the green crystal that begins to glow - and it hearkens to the first film - even as a kid I was able to imagine how it happened - and I was fine with it. To me this was VERY similar to George Lucas deciding to explain the "Force" in Episode I as "midichlorians." Seeing this in Superman II does not explain to me better how he got his power back - it makes it by having a completely illogical occurrence.
The scenes at Nigara in this version make next to no sense. The Lois shooting Superman scene had no drama to it. It wasn't poignant - or anything else. It was a lame plot device. Next you know, they are flying off to have dinner at the Fortress of solitude, where somehow there is chicken and champaign that is really good, but we have no idea where that came from. So earlier, we get that there must be a bathroom because Miss Tessmarker flushes, but then here I have to take it for granted that there is a kitchen to prepare food in. Then, they cut to Superman in post coitus. Then they cut immediately to him asking to lose his powers so he can be with her. Honestly, without the explanation for why the question is asked - it doesn't make sense. In fact, given the way Lois is presented in the film, talking about Superman and how once you've seen him in action, etc - it's very hard to believe that she would have asked him to do that. If I had never seen the theatrical, this whole seen would literally make no sense.
The big fight seen was a complete incoherent mess in the Donner cut. I actually suspect Lester simply shot the additions directly from the script - but for the Donner cut, because they were not Donner's shots - he cut them. This to me is a key issue - cutting shots because they are not yours as the sole reason doesn't make it good - if it leaves holes (which it does here), it makes it bad. Should have left in Lester's shots - and removing them simply shows the arrogance of Donner.
The original Lester work to me is the single greatest tale of the horror of giving up everything for your own desire - most directly, for a man giving up everything to be with a woman. Lois falls in love - Superman falls in love, but to be with her - and have children, he must become earthly. She says she wants it, but when she sees how he's not the same, she realizes that was not what she really wanted. All the while, some bad people are taking over the planet. At the end of Lester's version, there is a great shot of Superman returning the American flag to the White House - and he says to the President that he was sorry he had been away for a while - and that it won't happen again. In this version - it's gone. Instead - we just get the re-tread of reversing time, and then the non-sensical return to the diner to have it out.
Oh that's enough. This cut was self indulgent nonsense from a director who passed his prime a long time ago. Donner needs to hit the golf course with Lucas and stay away from making movies anymore.
More serious? No - not really. The toilet flush in the Fortress of Solitude was 20 times worse than any comedy inserted in the other cut. The loooonnng recap of Superman 1 was unnecessary. When they did Wrath of Khan, they didn't first show pieces of the original Trek episode - they just went right on it. A couple of establishing shots were all that was needed. And the first film had it's little funny moments - all of Clark's slapstick, and the phone booth scene where it's not a phone booth. Classic.
Brando footage ... who cares. Brando frankly always struck me as more of an alcoholic at that point in his career. To be frank, when Jorel "appears" and "gives himself up" to give Superman his power back - it ruined it for me. He was dead long ago - but now he can walk up and touch Superman? How did he do that? In the original, there's the green crystal that begins to glow - and it hearkens to the first film - even as a kid I was able to imagine how it happened - and I was fine with it. To me this was VERY similar to George Lucas deciding to explain the "Force" in Episode I as "midichlorians." Seeing this in Superman II does not explain to me better how he got his power back - it makes it by having a completely illogical occurrence.
The scenes at Nigara in this version make next to no sense. The Lois shooting Superman scene had no drama to it. It wasn't poignant - or anything else. It was a lame plot device. Next you know, they are flying off to have dinner at the Fortress of solitude, where somehow there is chicken and champaign that is really good, but we have no idea where that came from. So earlier, we get that there must be a bathroom because Miss Tessmarker flushes, but then here I have to take it for granted that there is a kitchen to prepare food in. Then, they cut to Superman in post coitus. Then they cut immediately to him asking to lose his powers so he can be with her. Honestly, without the explanation for why the question is asked - it doesn't make sense. In fact, given the way Lois is presented in the film, talking about Superman and how once you've seen him in action, etc - it's very hard to believe that she would have asked him to do that. If I had never seen the theatrical, this whole seen would literally make no sense.
The big fight seen was a complete incoherent mess in the Donner cut. I actually suspect Lester simply shot the additions directly from the script - but for the Donner cut, because they were not Donner's shots - he cut them. This to me is a key issue - cutting shots because they are not yours as the sole reason doesn't make it good - if it leaves holes (which it does here), it makes it bad. Should have left in Lester's shots - and removing them simply shows the arrogance of Donner.
The original Lester work to me is the single greatest tale of the horror of giving up everything for your own desire - most directly, for a man giving up everything to be with a woman. Lois falls in love - Superman falls in love, but to be with her - and have children, he must become earthly. She says she wants it, but when she sees how he's not the same, she realizes that was not what she really wanted. All the while, some bad people are taking over the planet. At the end of Lester's version, there is a great shot of Superman returning the American flag to the White House - and he says to the President that he was sorry he had been away for a while - and that it won't happen again. In this version - it's gone. Instead - we just get the re-tread of reversing time, and then the non-sensical return to the diner to have it out.
Oh that's enough. This cut was self indulgent nonsense from a director who passed his prime a long time ago. Donner needs to hit the golf course with Lucas and stay away from making movies anymore.