SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978)
EXTENDED CUT / SPECIAL EDITION 2-FILM COLLECTION
Region Code: Region-FREE
Duration: 188 Minutes (Extended Cut), 151 Minutes (Special Edition)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 – English (Extended Cut), English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English Dolby Digital Surround 5.1, French Dolby Digital Surround 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5,1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080P HD Widescreen (2.40:1)
Director: Richard Donner
Cast: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Trevor Howard, Margot Kidder, Valerie Perrine, Maria Schell, Terence Stamp, Phyllis Thaxter, Susannah York
Synopsis: Decades before blockbuster Extended Cuts were common, Superman proved a true “Man of Tomorrow.” Superman: The Movie received an ahead-of-its-time makeover for its television premiere – nearly 40 more minutes of story, creating a two-night television event. Audiences had already been swept off their feet by Christopher Reeve’s Last Son of Krypton, and now there was more to enjoy. Unseen in decades, this version is paired here with Richard Donner’s definitive vision of his film, the Special Edition Director’s Cut (2000), to create a supersized celebration of Metropolis’ favorite son that preserves the director’s intent while feeding superfan demands.
I was five when Superman: The Movie (1978) arrived at the cinemas, I was in kindergarten and I was the perfect age to take a kid to see this movie, but like Star Wars the year before I never did get to see it in the theater, I grew up poor and the cinema was a luxury my struggling parents could not afford. It wasn't until Superman aired on ABC in 1982 that I would catch-up to the Man of Steel, and that was the version I grew-up with, the 182-minute version aired over two nights on network TV packed with additional scenes not seen in the cinema, which was cool. In the 90's when I was well into my teens a longer 188-minute version was syndicated on TV, but I didn't catch that version until a VHS bootleg showed up years later, but that longer 188-minute version is what Warner Bros. have released on Blu-ray to the delight of fans.
This longer version is known as the "Salkind International Television Cut" or the "KCOP Version", it was long though to only exist in a full frame, pan and scan version, but when Warner found eighteen reels in their vaults they were delighted to discover this version of the film in the original widescreen aspect ratio, and they devoted months of preparation into restoring and cleaning it up for it's debut on any legit home video format.
Watching this 188-minute version of the film took me right back to being a nine-year old kid watching the two-night movie event, the movie that made me believe a man could fly! Now this runs about forty-five minutes longer than the theatrical cut, but some of this footage was reinstated in Donner's special edition, so what we are really getting a about twenty-minutes or so of footage not seen in either the theatrical or special edition versions of the film, though two scenes of Lex and Otis in their subway lair feeding some unseen beasts kept locked away in a pit can be found in the additional scenes section of extras on the special edition Blu-ray.
What exactly is new? Well, I'll be honest and say I don't know exactly, I sort of wish the film has the option to denote all the new/extended/alt scenes the way the Alien special editions did, but I know that there are additional/extended scenes on Krypton, Smallville, The Daily Planet and the scenes of reprogramming the nuclear missile, a fun comic scene with Lex berating/beating Otis for his incompetence. The scenes are a mix of interesting and superfluous stuff, for fans of the film this should be a delight, for the casual viewer it might be a long watch, but I fall firmly into the earlier category. I loved watching this longer cut, even if I think the theatrical version is still he best version at the end of the day, I love that I have the option to watch this longer cut.
None of the new stuff adds new story lines the film, it enhances and elongates the movie, sometimes complementary, sometimes slowing t down, but that it works as well as it does is a minor miracle as producers the Salkind's assembled this version using nearly every scrap of additional footage shot for the movie to extend the running time, it was a straight up cash grab on their part, selling the longer version to the network who paid by the additional minute!
The movie still stuns after all these years, it has a sense of innocence and wonder, after all this was made at a time when superhero movies weren't jaded - this was one of the first super hero movies, don't forget that. The stuff that worked then works still, though it is slightly dated, the miniature work is sort of laughable now, those trains and images of the dam crumbling do not hold up, but for the most part the scenes of Superman flying around still make you believe! Christopher Reeve (Death Trap) is the one true Clark Kent/Superman in my eyes, everyone else has paled in my opinion, his sense of honor, nice guy naivety and super-strength embody everything we've come to love about this character, and this movie in particular still manages to make magic that keeps me in awe, even in this longer, extended cut.
Audio/Video: The 188-minute cut of Superman: The Movie (1978) arrives on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive, sourced in large part from a recently discovered interpositive, framed in the original 2.40:1 aspect ratio. They've given it a new 2K scan with some additional clean-up done to improve the viewing experience, but thankfully they didn't scrub away the film grain, this is a very filmic looking experience. Watching both cuts and switching back and forth between the two there are notable differences in the image, the extended cut is granier, which I actually like, and the color timing is slightly different, the blacks seem deeper and the blues, yellow and reds of Superman's iconic suit look more saturated. Honestly I prefer the extended version image to the special edition disc on this set, but both are fantastic in their own unique way.
Audio on the extended cut is presented in English DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0, with optional English, French, Dutch, Chinese, Korean and Spanish subtitles. The audio is sort of true to the original TV broadcast mono presentation, the opening and end title credits present the score in stereo, but as with most re-releases of movies of such high acclaim it has not gone without some concern from die-hard and passionate audio/cinephiles who have noticed that the title credits music by John Williams have been re-edited and seemingly pitch adjusted, none of which I noticed during by two viewings, but I'm not the biggest soundtrack nerd either, I'm just happy to have this three-hour version available on Blu-ray, a tint music glitch won't affect my enjoyment.
Unfortunately there are no extras on the extended cut of the film, but this release comes with a second disc, the special edition cut of the film with all the same extras from that solo release, so this makes for a nice little package, you get the 151-minute special edition and all the extras, plus the 188-minute TV version, the only thing I would have liked s the original 143-minute theatrical cut of the film. I would like to think that someday we will see a comprehensive release of Superman: The Movie (1978) with all the versions together on one release, along the lines of the Blade Runner: 5-Disc Complete Collectors Edition or the Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition, which would be all sort of awesome, but I also applaud Warner for making this available at a great price! This 2-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a non-reversible sleeve of art, and that artwork is rather bland, it looks like a budget release (which it is) but I wish they had sprung for new artwork for this one, it deserves it.
Special Features (on Superman The Special Edition Disc):
- Commentary by Director Richard Donner and Creative Consultant Tom Mankiewicz
- Taking Flight: The Development of Superman (30 min) SD
- Making Superman: Filming the Legend (31 min) SD
- The Magic Behind the Cape (24 min)
- Screen Tests; (23 min)
- Restored Scenes (11 min)
- Additional Scenes (3 min)
- Additional Music Cues (36 min)
- Music-Only Track (91 min)
Superman: The Movie - The Extended Cut is a wonderful gift from WB to fans of this iconic superhero movie, it's not the definitive cut, but it is certainly the longest, and was previously the one least likely to ever get a home video release - let alone such a wonderful looking Blu-ray presentation. Looking ahead I have to wonder if this will spur Warner release the TV versions of Superman 2 and beyond? As a cinema-deprived fan who grew up with the TV cut of the film I love this release, this is a wish-list item for sure, and I'm glad to have it in the collection with an official Blu-ray, a high recommend.
