I have seen both recently again after a long while. I really find the Donner cut more lacking and that might be due to unfinished SE and also don't like the Niagara Falls scenes earlier in the movie and of course there is the emission of the Paris bomb scene which as a kid always excited me.
The Donner cut gets a lot of love from fans, but I don't get it. I know the theatrical cut has its issues, e.g. the huge "how did he get his powers back" plot hole, the silly humor, the "amnesia kiss" etc. But the Donner cut is anything but a replacement for it. It's interesting, but it doesn't work as a sequel at all, between the use of screen test footage, and the strange re-use of the ending of the first film. I know that's how the sequel was originally "supposed" to end, but, tough, they already used it for the first film. The result of Superman straining to turn back time just a short distance at the end of the first film was almost/relatively believable. But at the end of the Donner cut, he basically erases everything that happens in the Donner cut, from its very start! Which is silly and over-the-top, it makes the entire film (and anything that might happen to the character in the future) kind of pointless. I think Superman II could be greatly improved by cutting out some of the more silly moments, and putting in the Brando footage that explains how Superman got his powers back. But at this point, it's a 40+ year old film, it is what it is.
I prefer the Donner cut, although there's no way I would say it's a finished movie. It was interesting to see what might have been nonetheless. The theatrical release was just too stupid for words, and the stupidity metastasized to the rest of the franchise. I can see a direct line from Superman II to III and IV very easily. The Donner cut at least has no "roller skating and ice cream in the wind" gags.
If Donner had been able to have control over "S2" in 1980, it probably would've been superior to the Lester version. However, the product we got in 2006 offers a compromised melange that just doesn't work tremendously well. Flawed though it may be, the Lester one seems better executed. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut - The Motion Picture Anthology (1978-2006) [Blu-Ray] (2006)
Probably 1984 or 1985 I first saw it. So I would have been about 8. Void of any critique for screenplay, effects, direction etc.. I haven't seen it in about 15 years or so. I still liked it then so I guess it will always hold a special place in my heart despite it's flaws.
Yeah, as kids we like movies that we later see as not-so-hot... but we maintain an affection for them. I was 16 when I saw "Supes III" so it lacks that youthful magic!
When I was growing up, I knew people who thought Superman II was better than the original ( Not in my opinion) The one thing about Lester's that I didn't have an issue with that the creators did was using Superman's mom in order to avoid paying Brando twice. She's very good in her scenes in Superman II. Its a good movie. The Donner Cut suffers from bad editing. I've seen some fan edits that are better.
Donner Cut for sure. By the way, I have a question about Superman '78: When Kal-El/Superman rescues Lois from the helicopter incident. I remember some frames of Superman flying along with the building, in a large camera shot, like we viewers would be distant from it. We can see Superman flying, and it's an impressive shot, because you see the entire building. Then cut, and we see Superman accelerating and then grabbing Lois from below? Could please someone describe me the entire sequence frame by frame? Because I feel like something was missing the last time that I watched it on TV. I could be wrong, even...
Several years ago a fan editor calling himself BOOSHMAN Made a version called SUPERMAN II: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT REDUX. This is the closest I've seen to a cut that incorporated the best of both versions and feels like a coherent movie. It's "my go to" version when I feel like watching the old Chris Reeve Era movies. As for the question in the original post, I gotta say the theatrical cut. The Donner cut just feels too incomplete and I can't abide reusing the ending to the first movie. I know it was supposed to be the original ending before it was decided to take that ending and use or for part 1, but Donner should have put his hurt ego aside and keep Lester's ending, even if It was cheesy. Donner cut as is only works as a "what if" version if Supeman the movie and II ended up as originally intended.
I'm sure we can all agree "Haven't you ever heard of freedom of the press?" is vastly inferior to "Would you care to step outside?"
Superman II I think has the most quotable dialogue . I even think some of the throw away dialogue cracks me up.
perry white- I need a a background story for the three page side bar. get me everything you can on this terrorist group clark kent- Right! Uh? T- Terrorist Group? perry white- get your head out of the clouds, Kent. Where have you been the last 12 hours? clark kent- uh, home... perry white-well, don't you watch television? clark kent- frankly, mr white, I don't enjoy television. too much violence. I was just reading Dickens.
Donner Cut I think the commentary track really helped me appreciate the Donner Cut. The commentary also made me more upset that Donner wasn't allowed to continue with the project.
