Superman II: The Richard Donner cut REDUX by Booshman

Fanedit info:

Tagline: Watch it the way you wish you remember it.
Original film name: Superman the Movie (theatrical), Superman II, Superman II The Richard Donner Cut
New film name : Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut REDUX
Film studio name : WB
Edit crew name : Booshman
Date Original Film Was Released : 12/04/1980 & 11/28/2006
Date Edit Was Released :
Original Runtime : PAL 137/122/111=370 mins NTSC 143/127/116=386
New Runtime : PAL 110 mins NTSC 115 mins
Amount of time Cut/Added : PAL 260 mins NTSC 271 mins

Fanedit details:

Intention: To improve on my first edit of Superman II. To create a cut that I can watch instead of the Donner cut, and as an alternative to the Theatrical Cut. To tie in with STM more closely than either the DC or LC.

Editing Details: Over 50 new or digitally altered shots, A new ending, 2 restored deleted scenes, Thorne music cue's and LC audio used where possible, Removal of modern footage/ bad effects from DC, Extensive recolouring throughout, Soundtrack rebuilt in some sections.
Cuts removed/added/extended:

DC=Donner Cut, LC=Lester Cut, STM=Superman the Movie, DS=Deleted Scene

Black and white WB logo, New Reeve dedication (to match Unsworth dedication STM)
LC - space intro
DC - Zod trial and Phantom Zone (poorer effects shots of the PZ removed, explosion shot flipped back to correct way around)
STM - Lois dead/ SM turns back time (changed shots to show SM reversing his actions with XK-101 rocket, added extra "Forbidden" dialogue from STM theatrical cut)
DC - SM chases XK-101 and launches into space (new shot of SM throwing rocket added)
DC/LC - Villains released by XK-101 (DC poor star backdrops painted out, zoomed shot to remove planet)
STM/DC - Credits (Reeve receives top billing, Fan-editors credit added)
DC - Daily Planet intro (Lois goofy reaction cut, Lois jumping out of window cut, new newspaper close up added)
DC - Lex and Otis in prison (added "Life plus 25" LC audio)
LC - Moon sequence (trimmed Mission Control humour, Zod vs cosmonaut as in DC)
DC - Lex escapes from prison (added LC wave to Otis, trimmed bickering in balloon)
LC - Niagara rescue (trimmed for plot continuity, removed crowd reactions by rebuilding score and sound effects)
DC - Lex approaches Fortress.
DC - Lex enters Fortress (climbing with Eve cut)
DC/LC - Lex activates control panel (Jor-El de-coloured, Villains are displayed in education crystal viewer, crystal viewer added to wide shot for continuity, NO full body Jor-El )
LC - Lex heads South (re-worked dialogue so that the 3 sets of alpha waves are just appearing, and not like Lex has seen them before but only just connected them to the villains)
LC - Lois jumps into the river ("You're what I thought was SM" cut)
LC - Villains arrive ("a very strange surface" removed)
DC - Blank bullets (removed changing Reeve appearance, removed reference to DP jump)
LC - Cops encounter villains ("Holy skunk sweat" removed, Zod takes the gun of the cop a super speed (new effect added), end with cops reaction as in DC)
DC - Lovers fly North
LC - Non stands guard (75% audio completely rebuilt to remove Non's grunts)
LC - Bar confrontation (Added Motorhead's "Metropolis" to the jukebox, ends at "These humans are beginning to bore me")
LC - SM shows Lois the crystal (removed Lois' "Especially around dinner time")
LC - SM gets dinner
DC - Newsbeat/ Army encounter 1
LC - SM & Lois have dinner (trimmed dialogue, "He is you, it's kinda confusing" , "...go change into something more comfortable")
DC/LC - Army encounter 2
DC/LC - De-powering scene (trimmed SM "After all I've done for them..." and twitchy gestures after "humanity", Lois from LC used, DC Lois removed from wide shot, new chamber emerging shot, Clark changes to SM shot added to allow for Reeve close-ups during de-powering, ends with LC "just say you love me")
LC - Zod faces General/ Mt Rushmore
LC - Whitehouse approach
DC - Whitehouse attack (bullet hits added, Wilhelm scream added)
LC - Zod speaks to the President
LC - Dons Diner ("He knew" added from DC)
DC - Lex makes deal with the villains (Thorne cue restored)
LC/DC - Re-powing scene (Removed CGI Jor-El crystal face, trimmed goofy Reeve & Jor-El dialogue, Jor-El fades away without side step, new shirt rip, new SM flies from Fortress shot)
DC/LC - Daily Planet attack (Thorne cue restored, Non crushes camera cut)
LC - Care to step outside (Lois reaction shot DC)
DC/LC - Stand-off/ Slab throw (cut "Let him prove it"/ high pitched Reeve)
DC/LC - Metropolis battle (Non's grunts during chase cut, LC humour removed, Hackman voice double replaced, DC SM emerges from bus throw shot cut, New SM flies away shot)
DC - Villains return to DP (ambient sound added from LC)
DC/LC - Villains fly to the FOS (LC score, "Trust you are not wasting my time" added in)
DC/LC - Lex drop off ("parachutes" cut), Villains land (Lex painted out)
DC/LC - Fortress battle (Non attacked with heat vision, finger beams changed to heat vision, new Zod flies at SM shot)
DC/LC - SM beaten (Lex's finger painted out for continuity, LC SM in chamber added)
DC/LC - SM triumphs (sweat patch removed)
DS - Arctic Police (removed Smallville reference, dirt removed, music cue added)
DC - SM/Lois Arctic talk (removed FOS destruction)
DC - Balcony farewell.
NEW ENDING
[spoiler:2vvuaeiy]DC - Get a pizza scene (trimmed referenced to not remembering events, zoomed shot of Clark for continuity)[/spoiler:2vvuaeiy]
DS - Jimmy/Clark/Bully (dirt removed, trimmed Clark entering closet)
LC - Return to the Diner
LC - Return flag to the Whitehouse (working fountain added)
DC - Flyby and credits
Many other smaller trims and extensions, re-timed shots, audio tweaks and flipped shots too numerous to mention.
Tech Info:
Hardware and software information: Quad core PC, Wacom 21UX, Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5/ CS3, After Effects CS3, Photoshop CS2, DVDlab Pro 2, Besweet, Virtual Dub Mod, TMPGEnc 4.0 Xpress, Audacity, DVD Decrypter
Release details: DL & SL versions in both NTSC & PAL

Dual Layer - Motion menu's, Trailer, Alternate ending, Deleted Scene, Alternate "Villains return to Daily Planet" scene, Seamless branching option (watch either blank bullets or pink bear scene), "I am General Zod" music video, Credits/ Disclaimer, Resources/ Also Available.

Single Layer - Motion menu's, Trailer, "I am General Zod" music video, Credits/ Disclaimer, Resources/ Also Available.

Time needed for the edition: 2 years+
persons involved: Booshman
Artist name or real name: Booshman
Gender: Male
Year of birth: 1983
Where from: Liverpool UK

How have you started making fanedits and why are you making them?:
Michael Thau failed to create a Donner Cut that stood up to repeat viewings.

Will you continue making fanedits:
I have a couple of ideas, but nothing as long-winded as The Donner Cut REDUX

What are your favourite fanedits, which you didn't create yourself?
Star Wars - Deleted Magic, Star Wars Revisited, Kerr's LOTR series and many others.

This is, by far, one of, if not THE BEST fan cut of Superman 2. Booshman has gone above and beyond the call of duty as an editor, and really did an outstanding job of completing what should've been done back in 2006. Scenes now feel completed. Bad jokes are removed. Continuity errors are gone. Also, the best feature is having the dual branching option. Don't like skinny Reeve in the blank bullets scene? Choose the Pink Bear reveal. Don't like rat Lois in the pink bear reveal scene? Go with the blank bullets. For anyone who feels overwhelmed with all the different fan edits of Superman 2 that have been made over the past few years in the wake of the Donner Cut, and not sure which one to pick, THIS IS THE ONE TO PICK!!!

Narrative: 8.5 out of 10. A few little things that bug me only because I'm completely anal about a lot of things, but will not deter anyone else from the viewing experience at all. Promise!!

Video: 10 out of 10. The Lester scenes are much cleaner, and the FOS color matches perfectly with the DC blue "hue".

Audio: 9 out of 10. Some of the music transitions were a little quick for my tastes, but I don't think anyone else will have a problem with it.

Overall rating: 9.2 out of 10. Great job Booshman!!

REVIEW of SUPERMAN II: The Richard Donner Cut Redux
An Edit By BOOSHMAN

Reviewing this film is not an easy task. Having previously completed my own fan edit of Superman II and with a re-edit nearing completion I’ve reached the point where I know this film (both versions) inside out. With such a wealth of footage and different takes to choose from naturally I’ve built prejudices as to what belongs.

Because of this I decided to leave all that behind and go in fresh and watch this film akin to the first time I watch the Donner cut.

Ultimately I loved it! Booshman’s approach is both uncompromising and well executed. With new effects, visuals and rescored scenes you come away having watched something a lot more than a hybrid cut. It’s a true sequel to Superman the movie and more of a Richard Donner film than the official version.

Cuts and narrative: Ultimately very nicely put together. I’ve got a few hang-ups here and there but this is only because I’m that close to the material. Probably my two main issues would be that I’d prefer to see the Daily Planet jump included instead of the Niagara falls rescue. Irregardless of which scene is better I think in staying true to a Richard Donner film the Daily Planet jump should have been left in. However having said that the Niagara falls scene works better with the seamless branching option for the reveal scene so Booshman doesn’t loose many marks here. My other hang-up is that I’d prefer that the viewer stay with Clark following the dinner scene as is in the theatrical cut.
9/10

Video: Anyone who has worked on a fan edit of this film will know how difficult it is to match the footage. Even Donner scenes which appeared in the theatrical cut appear completely different in the Donner cut. Top marks here Booshman the theatrical footage has never looked better. Restoration of the deleted scenes whilst a huge improvement over the raw footage is still not quite DVD quality. However this is hardly Booshman's fault as the deleted scenes included in the Donner Cut package were from a particularly bad print.
9.5/10

Audio: For mine audio editing in any fan edit is the most important aspect so it warrants being super critical. In the case of this fan edit the average viewer will more then likely find it faultless. IMO there were a few transitions that could be improved both in dialogue and music. Just like in the case of the video there is a significant difference between the audio of both official versions, with the Donner cut being more compressed with little difference between the highs and the lows than the theatrical cut. For this reason I’ve found it useful to lower the volume of the theatrical cut slightly.
9/10

Effects: Worthy of its own mention this is where Booshman has gone above and beyond that of any other fan editor of this film. The effects work not only ties new edits together but it corrects issues which have plagued both official versions for some time. No levitating powers for the villains. Visible bullet hits on the villains in the Whitehouse. No fake Superman dummy flying away from a crumbling Metropolis. No new powers in the fortress of solitude making for a really exciting climax. Superman sweat patch removed. And my absolute favorite, moving fountains! On top of all that we have some extra special moments created like Superman letting go of the rocket in space and a new shirt revel and flying shot following the re-powering scene.
10/10

DVD package: Very professionally put together. Attractive animated menus and a few goodies in the special features section including a hilarious ‘I am General Zod’ music video and seamless branching options for the reveal scene which works beautifully.
10/10

Overall: Definitely the best Superman II fan edit available. GREAT WORK BOOSHMAN!!
9.5/10

Is there a megaupload SL NTSC version?

steelio2006 said:

Is there a megaupload SL NTSC version?

Click to expand...

I'd also be interested in some SL Megaupload links for this.

Though I had some consistency issues with this edit (mostly just the Niagara Falls scenes), I give Booshman an A for effort.

Did anyone have trouble burning the NTSC SL version? I just finished downloading it and once extracted it comes in at over 4.4 GB's. I even removed the artwork folder and the mp3 that are included and it comes in at 4.39 GB's. I tried burning it with TMPGEnc DVD Author 3's burning tool and ImageBurn but neither will allow me to burn it on a SL disc. They both say that it's over the limit for a SL disc.

Frantic Canadian said:

Did anyone have trouble burning the NTSC SL version? I just finished downloading it and once extracted it comes in at over 4.4 GB's. I even removed the artwork folder and the mp3 that are included and it comes in at 4.39 GB's. I tried burning it with TMPGEnc DVD Author 3's burning tool and ImageBurn but neither will allow me to burn it on a SL disc. They both say that it's over the limit for a SL disc.

Click to expand...

Had the same problem. Ended up having to use DVDShrink.

tylerdurden389 said:

Had the same problem. Ended up having to use DVDShrink.

Click to expand...

Same here, wasnt going to wait for dvdrebuilder for 4+hrs. Noticed no quality issues when all was said and done.

I'll take a look at DVD Shrink. Can you select by how much you want to shrink it by?

Frantic Canadian said:

I'll take a look at DVD Shrink. Can you select by how much you want to shrink it by?

Click to expand...

Yeppers! By default it will want to shrink it so it will be the correct SL size. You can change that Click on the button that says "automatic" and switch it to "custom ratio" and you can change how much it resizes the files.

Might be worth replacing the links to the SL disc with files that will fit a SL disc. Just throwing that out there, no offense or rudeness meant.

Awesome! I'll definitely take a look at DVD Shrink then. I don't want to shrink it too much, just so that it brings it down to the maximum allowed space for a SL disc. Does it take very long to shrink?

I dunno, about half an hour or so. I wouldnt reccomend dvdshrink for a dual layer disc tho, but for such a small ammount to be compressed it wont be a problem.

Downloaded DVD Shrink and ran this edit through it. I left the shrinking settings at automatic, they were set to 99% for the menus, main movie and extras. Took just under 8 minutes to shrink and now I have a 4.35 GB's disc that I can burn. Thanks for your help.

No prob at all Frantic ; )

I've burned off the SL version using imgburn with no problems. Apologies for the inconvenience caused to anyone, but I wouldn't have uploaded a version without testing it first. As I'm not in a position to provide new links, I'm glad the workaround has enabled you to burn the edit.

The eternal dilemma of a Fan Boy....

DC or MARVEL?
DC!!!

SUPERMAN or BATMAN?
SUPERMAN!!!

ADM's Superman II Hybrid Cut
or
Booshman's Superman II Redux Edit????

For the last couple of years, A Ditigal Man's Hybrid Cut has been my definitive go-to Superman II movie.
In fact, I had no real interest in even looking at another Superman II edit ever again
until I read Booshman's Thread.

A couple of things caught my mind's eye...
--a new opening
--a new ending
--new visual effects

Intrigued, I knew I had to check it out! So the following are my observations after viewing the SL NTSC version. Warning, there may be some SPOILERS in my reviews. Also, my observations/reviews are simply based on personal preference and taste, and are in no way meant to be an attack or rip on the Editor.

Let's get some of the easy things out of the way first....

Technically, in terms of sound and video quality, both are first rate! The soundtrack sounded awesome to me, I love all the new/old cues. For the most part, the video quality is excellent. Though some of the reinserted deleted scenes ( the elevator bully scene comes to mind) are of inferior quality compared to the rest of the movie, but I did not find it too distracting and it is acceptable considering the quality source.
So I would give the audio/video 9 out of 10.


Editing....
The newly crafted opening is fantastic! Recapping the events of Krypton's demise, Kal-el's journey to Earth, the final act of the first Superman movie are all masterfully accomplished. I would say this new opening is far superior to the Donner Cut. I absolutely LOVED it!!

Lex at the Fortress and the new intro of the Kryptonian Villains as narrated by Jor-el.... honestly, I think the Donner cuts works better. The picture seems murky and too dark when viewing through the crystal. I think the Donner version was brighter and cleaner, and more in keeping with the Fortress surroundings. But that is just my personal taste.

I was surprised to see the Blank Bullet scene. Mostly because this edit so carefully attempts to correct continuity errors, that this scene stands out like a sore thumb. Yes I agree the scene plays better than the Pink Bear sequence (and understand this scene is part of the branching option in the DL version) but the hotel room is clearly different and Clark looks completely different, that is sort of breaks the moment for me as a viewer. It stood out in the Donner Cut and it stand out here too for me.

The restructuring of the Fortress of Solitude De-Powering scene, cutting from and combining the Lester and Donner scenes is masterfully done. It is pretty much flawless. I think this version works perfectly. Bravo! Well done!!

The New Ending....
I actually had to watch this part three times before I could decide if I liked it or not.
In the end, I believe I do like it.
It is a clever solution and it plays into current comic book continuity.
Though, I think it would play even stronger if the whole balcony goodbye scene
had been greatly trimmed or removed completely. That scene plays with so much sadness
and finality, that it feels like a sudden left turn when the new ending plays out.

All in all, I like the vast majority of the edits, the selection and combination of Lester/Donner scenes.
I would give the actual editing 9 out of 10.


The New Special Effects....
I must admit, I was very nervous about this going in.
This takes a lot of courage and skill to attempt. And it needs to be good!
Or it will break the suspension of disbelief
and detract from the overall viewing experience.

I will say this, all the new effects were created solely to assist the story and improve the narration.
This is good.

The new effects involving the Deputy and the shot gun, I liked.
It works. Mostly because it so brief, you can buy into Zod using super speed to disarm the deputy.

The battle at Fortress of Solitude and the insertion of Heat Vision, also work extremely well.

The new digital Superman flying scenes did not work for me. They just look wrong for the period of the movie.
They clearly stand out.

The transformation/repowering of Clark back into Superman I am afraid just did not work for me either.
The idea is awesome. I love the whole concept. But it just looks too digital.
I think you could have accomplished the same idea by simply panning the camera down in a very tight close up from Clark's face to his chest and have him rip it open revealing the shield.
Again, this is just personal taste.

So I would give a 10 out of 10 for the concept work,
but only 7 out of 10 for the execution of the new effects.

Overall, the entertainment value was wonderful.
There is some masterful and brilliant moments in this edit.
It was a true joy to watch.

My overall score would be 8.5 out of 10.

Thank You Booshman for some awesome movie fun!

Thanks for taking the time to watch and review my edit Bob. I'm glad you were entertained, which is the most I could ask of anyone watching the edit. Cheers for the kind words and constructive criticism!

All comments arew welcomed, as I'm sure I'll revisit this at some point in the future.

Regards, Boosh.

I just wanna say I'm so glad this fancut is winning the poles right now. I was afraid it would lose because the other cuts were getting a lot more votes, but I guess enough people have seen and rated it. This is good because I truly believe a superb quality fancut such as this deserves as much credit as possible. There are so many fancuts of S2 that someone new to this community, or someone who frequents here but never cared for Superman and now wants to see a fancut would have trouble choosing. If there is ANY one fan cut of S2 that should be watched it's definitely this one.

Just echoing what Tyler said but this fan edit deserves every accolade it gets.