Superman The Movie: Feed The Babies

You will believe a man can fly.

ADigitalMan Presents
Superman: The Movie
Feed The Babies Extended Edition (V.2)

original film name: Superman: The Movie
film studio name: Salkind/WB
Date Original Film Was Released: 12-10-1978
Date Edit Was Released: 19 FEb 2007
Original Runtime: 143 min
New Runtime: 154 min
Amount of time Cut/Added: 11 minutes added

Cuts removed/added/extended:
A far cry from the holy grail that would be a fully anamorphic restored KCOP cut, this merely gives us two more scenes in the film (about 3:15 to the runtime of the 2001 Expanded Edition.). Richard Donner noted in his 2001 interview with IGNFF about the forthcoming Expanded Edition that he was particularly looking forward to the reinsertion of "Ned Beatty feeding those things underground." Well, they didn't show up in the actual 2001 Expanded Edition, but they were included as a supplement on the DVD. So I've put the two scenes with this tiny subplot back in. It greatly captures more of Lex's twisted mind, and it bridges the gap between Superman flying away from the desert differently.

This V.2 also uses the 1978 mix in almost every scene from the theatrical cut, with the 2001 mix downmixed in all the deleted or restored scenes. The result is a truer sound for the purists. 2001 mix is provided for comparison. There is also a music-only track featuring John Williams legendary score.

Editor's Soapbox:
SOAPBOX:
This fan-edit is meant to supplement, not supplant the official DVD. I consider all of these to be educational projects. Please don't support piracy; please obtain a properly-licensed copy to any of the films I do. It is important for Hollywood to get the message that we're not out to rob them, but also that digital distribution is not going away just because of the MPAA's Gestapo tactics and monopolization of distribution through fixed media. Hollywood needs to find a legitimate way to monetize file sharing and re-editing of established works, just like the Recording Industry has allowed a method for artists to "cover" songs and pay a fair royalty to the copyright holder based on length of the finished work times the number of copies distributed. Clearly, the MPAA learned nothing from the RIAA as the former is threatening BitTorrent like the latter did Napster. But if users of the technology have properly licensed materials to begin with, then we will give Hollywood little legal ground to stand on when it comes to editing and sharing our works.

Maybe downloadable from Fanedit.info

you really did it. cool.

Not many people had V.1 and when I came up with the V.2 idea I asked it not to be traded out any further. This one is worth the wait. The '78 mix is actually the default track. It really does sound better when you compare the two, so I understand Neil S. Bulk's complaints more and more. The only scene where I had to stick with the 2001 mix was the first council scene. The mixes were too different and it was VERY noticible when switching between the two, so I opted for one continuous smooth mix. The 2001 mix pops up in little bits here and there, but for the most part it's confined to the extended scenes where no 1978 mix has been provided.

I also normalized the audio on the '78 mix so it's really strong in the speakers. I left it in stereo rather than creating a faux 5.0 mix for a further attempt at preserving the original mix. I figure those with 5.1 systems can let their decoder do the work.

Sounds good on my 5.1 system

I noticed towards the end of the first "feed the babies scene" (on both the Warners DVD and yours) that part of a Lex line seems clipped off (silence followed by "--ear"). Like I said, the *official* DVD had this, and I wonder if it was a flaw in the original footage, or a DVD mastering error? On one of the Superman cartoons (the second one) on the official 4-DVD set, the intro audio changes (for a brief second) to narration from a later part of the cartoon. Is that also what happened with the "ear" line? Quality control, anyone?

I suspect it's a mastering error, but don't have the KCOP cut to reference. Else perhaps I could have patched it. When you look at the audio, there's a definite abrupt gap in the wave. I tried to smooth it as best as possible. There was a similar problem at the start of the second scene, but I did a better job of fixing that, because it was only in the piano music and didn't involve dialog.

Good call. Someday I may make my own fan edits of the Superman cartoons, using the superior WB video and some audio or other fixes from my many differing public domain sources. And while we're mentioning the KCOP cuts, what is the best way of tracking down the Restored International Salkind fan-edit versions of Supes 1 & 2?

myspleen

Is anyone familiar with a scene where Superman rescues Ms. Tesmacher from the "babies"? I vaguely remember seeing that scene in the movie once. Whether it was in the theater or a cut I saw on TV I can't remember. But I distinctly remember Superman flying up through a shaft in Luthor's lair to rescue her. From what I recall, it's not on the 2001 DVD. Anyone?

It's a bonus scene on the DVD and it's restored into this cut.

That's awesome- I was beginning to think I imagined it. No one else ever knows what I'm tallking about. I'll have to check out this cut for sure...

RS links on linktalk