It is my opinion that the best and greatest of the super hero movies is still the original of the super hero movies, 1978's Superman. It was a huge success. The money is clearly seen on the screen. The cast had some big stars, but the title role was filled by an unknown. It set up a series of sequels and made the public hungry for more superheroes sharing a same universe.
Yet is was troubled production featuring a highly-paid megastar who refused to learn his lines. The casting of Superman was difficult and prolonged -- the likes of Robert Redford, Paul Newman, James Caan, and Dustin Hoffman passed on the role. The script was a mess and constantly being rewritten. The producers decided to make two films at the same time, filming scenes for the sequel as scenes for the first were being filmed -- for instance, all of the Daily Planet news set scenes were filmed at the same time, and Marlon Brandon and Gene Hackman did all of their work, for both movies, at the very start of filming.
Then there was the problem with the director. Guy Hamilton, known for big budget James Bond movies, was the original director, but then he he had to drop out when filming was moved from Italy and Great Britain. Richard Donner (hot off making The Omen) was brought on to direct. He brought in Tom Mankiewicz (also known for his work on multiple James Bond movies) to rewrite the script. And because the filming dates for Brando and Hamilton were locked into place, Donner had to rush into production.
Donner and the producers did not get along, especially as filming fell behind schedule and the budget ballooned. A lot of budget problems were the result of money spent by Hamilton in pre-production for items that were junked -- like the look of Krypton -- and on figuring how to make Christopher Reeve look like he could actually fly.
It was ultimately decided to stop work on the second film so that the first could be completed in time for its release date. The estimate was that Donner had finished 75% of the second, but the ending was going to need be reconfigured as it was decided to take the planned ending for the second movie and make it the ending for the first. It was further decided by the producers that the second movie would just be junked if Superman flopped.
Superman did not flop. It was, instead a huge hit.
That caused a few more problems.
Brando sued for more money As a result, it was decided to not use the scenes he had already filmed for the second movie.
But the bigger problem was that Donner and the producers didn't get along. During production, director Richard Lester had been brought onboard to serve as a buffer. When it was decided to go forward and finish the second, the decision was made to drop Donner and to Lester take over. Lester had to recreate Brando's scenes with Susannah York. And because of Director Guild rules, Lester had to reshoot numerous scenes that had already been shot, causing continuity issues -- if you watch, you'll notice, for instance, that Margot Kidder's hairstyle looks slightly different, Kidder looks skinnier at times, and Reeves' body shape has changed due to his continuous workouts.
Then there was the Gene Hackman problem, as Hackman refused to work for Lester. His scenes, as well as those featuring Ned Beatty and Valerie Perrine, had been shot, so he saw he know reason to return to work for Lester, especially since he would not be doing any new scenes, or any scenes with new actors.
Superman II was a hit. There were some critics who considered better than the first, but it's still a strange hybrid as Lester's style was totally different than Donner. Lester, known for his work on the first two movies of The Beatles, was more of a comedy and slapstick guy. So have these grand, epic scenes of Donner stuck together with Lester's comedy scenes. John Williams was busy on The Empire Strikes Back, so Ken Thorne did the music, which took away more of the epic feel of the first movie.
I've never seen the Donner cut of the movie. But it does exist. Warner Bros and some film historians got together and found bits and pieces of the Donner footage around the world. His work was spliced back into the finished film in place of Lester's work. Since Donner never had a chance to shoot an ending for the second film, it was decided to go with what was originally planned -- and luckily some of that effects work had been done -- so once again Superman flew up into Earth orbit and flew so fast that time reversed. And because Donner never finished his work, the Reeve/Kidder screen test was used for a vital scene, causing a strange continuity issue where Reeve's hairstyle constantly changes during the scene.
But the final result is worth it. Brandon's footage as Superman's father is reinserted into the film. The John Williams score returns. The slapstick elements are toned down. And it makes one wonder what the Superman series would have been if Donner had stayed on instead of being replaced by Lester.
The Donner edit is available on DVD and Blu-Ray. It's a good watch. The movie is beautiful and thrilling and Gene Hackman is still clearly having a good time as Lex Luthor.
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