Free download of Superman II restored version

SupermanII.jpgWarner Brothers have had a newly restored version of Superman II which was available for free removed from the Internet. Fans of the films had spent time restoring the full film from an overseas TV copy which was the only version to include additional footage from the original Director.

Comic Book Movies have the full story:

A “restored international cut” of Superman II which included extra footage from original director Richard Donner was free online at Superman Cinema, according to Entertainment Weekly. But by the time the issue hit newsstands, Warner Bros. had shut down its distribution.

Donner shot both Superman and its sequel at the same time in 1977 but was replaced for the sequel by Richard Lester, EW explained. Later in the 1980s, Warner Bros. put together an extended international TV version that contain previously unseen Donner footage, EW said. Thanks to fans and an anonymous team dedicated to Donner’s vision, a DVD has been put together from videotapes of that original TV broadcast. But Warner Bros. saw it as a violation of the studio’s copyright and ordered it taken down.

The website for Superman Cinema still contains a lot of details, but unfortunately not the full movie.

I’d never really taken notice of this before, I wonder if that could be because I’ve seen the overseas version before, if by overseas they might mean the UK? Has anyone had the fortune to see this? What would be the desire to get hold of a copy of this, if you want Warner Brothers to know you’re keen then comment here!

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13 thoughts on “Free download of Superman II restored version

  1. The Superman II RIC runs 20 minutes longer than the theatrical cut. It also includes several scenes not shown on the ABC airing. Some very talented people spent quite some effort to restore it. Hopefully WB will make this cut available in 2006 in it’s proper form when they release the special editions box set.

    http://www.Superman-The-Movie.com http://www.SupermanII.com http://www.SupermanIII.com http://www.SupermanIV.com http://www.SupergirlTheMovie.com

  2. I think some of the petty arguements producers are involved in because they want all of their ideas produced against the better judgement of the artists ie directors, causes wonderful movies to be comprimised and or lost.

    it’s really sad

  3. how i wish warners bros. would recognize this restored international cut version of superman II. i’m one of the avid fans of this series and im dying to acquire one to add to my collection so that someday, my descendants can see this wonderful piece of work by richard donner. lets give honor to those who really deserve it.

  4. Well, I made a comment about this earlier but I’m not sure Movie Blog will post it because I incuded the link, but just in case they don’t, I’ll abbreviate it. Basically, if you go to Petitions Online you can find a petition for a Richard Donner re-cut of Superman II. All I ask is that you be polite and respectful if you leave a comment so as not to ruin the integrity that the petition may have left. A few people have littered the petition with nonsensical, rude and just plain stupid comments that may ruin our chances of ever seeing a Donner director’s cut if the studio decides they’re not legit. Let’s prove them wrong.

  5. If anyone would like to see Richard Donner recut Superman II the way he wanted it done, go to http://www.petitiononline.com/S2Don/petition.html and sign the petition. (Please to do not sign the petition in order to write stupid and insulting comments as some people have already done. This only makes the petition look less appealing to studio execs and will hinder our cause. But please feel free to make relevant and helpful comments if you feel compelled to do so, or just sign it with no comment, either way. Thank you.)

  6. General Zod: “Come to me, Superman! I defy you! Come and kneel before Zod! Zod!”

    Wow what an excellent film Superman II is! I wish I’d heard of this while it was still online – I would have gotten it for certain!

    It’s crazy what happened to Mr. Donner during filming of this movie – too bad there isn’t an ‘official’ uncut DVD our. Although with the new film hitting, I’m sure will probably see another version of the originals on DVD again…

    Kneel before Terrance Stamp!!!

  7. This has to be the same version that aired on ABC once or twice.

    From what I remember, there was a lot of the additional footage involving the small town that the 3 criminals arrive on Earth at. In fact, there’s a rather violent (from a certain point of view) scene where this somebody (I remember a young boy) is running away to get help and Non (?), the big stupid criminal, rips a red light off of a police car, throws it, and it ends up hitting the person in the distance.

    I recall some additional footage on the moon too and there was a lot of footage of Sara Douglas that hadn’t had any sound editing done so her voice was still the original track. There’s a huge difference between her real voice and the one that is Ursa’s in the final cut.

    1. Yeah I was lucky as a kid, my parents taped the movie when it originally aired on abc, back in the mid 80s, I have all those scenes that you mentioned, it really makes the movie feel more complete, I love this version better than the theatrical.

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