Superman: The Movie - Theatrical Edition

[scarecroe]

I just bought Superman: The Movie on Blu-ray because I figured I should own it. It looks a lot better than my DVD copies, but it's not the version I prefer to watch. It's the Special Edition they put together 10 years (?) ago with scenes added back in and new sound effects.

The new scenes don't bother me all that much, but the new sound effects completely ruin the movie for me. They sound so very obviously modern against a vintage soundtrack, making it a cheesy listening experience. They're much too loud, and often drown out the music by John Williams. The two worst examples are when Kal-El's ship crashes through the ceiling of the House of El (the sound effect actually dictates that the score cue begin about a second later than when it should), and Superman's chilling scream as he jets off from Lois Lane's dead body.

The marketing of a new product, such as the next theatrical feature, is when studios usually bother to spend some money putting together revamped releases like this (see, the 10-disc DVD boxed set that came out shortly after Superman Returns). But I wondered if anyone's heard rumors about getting the Theatrical Edition of this movie out on Blu-ray anytime soon.

Until then, I suppose I'm stuck with my DVD copy, but it would be pretty great to have this in HD.

[Clark Kent]

I would love to see that myself, but the "new" version with remixed sound will be the only version made going forward for home video. What Superman needs is a new 4k restoration from a freshly-minted transfer, encoded at the highest bitrates that Blu-ray can handle. The current Blu-ray of it is okay, but I think it could be improved.

More shameful is the missing theatrical cut of Superman 2 on Blu-ray.

[Rinzler]

I really think it could look better, and lossless sound would be great. But *maybe this should go in an existing Superman thread if there is one.

[davidlg1971]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

I would love to see that myself, but the "new" version with remixed sound will be the only version made going forward for home video.

Really? That kind of...sucks. A lot of films include the original mono/stereo mixes for folks that like the original sounds. Do you know why they won't include it going forward?

Personally, I don't really dig modern sound reproductions and re-invented FX. I don't mind a lonely mono track. As long as the sounds are authentic.

(And even then, with modern tech they can move elements from channel to channel, despite a mono or stereo source. It's completely do-able, just...expensive.)

[bboisvert]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

More shameful is the missing theatrical cut of Superman 2 on Blu-ray.

THIS!

I can't believe that they only did the alternate cut (which is more of an interesting curiosity than a complete film). I can -- I suppose -- understand skipping III and IV, especially at the time when these were released, when BD was in its infancy.

But only putting out the RD cut of II makes no sense.

[davidlg1971]

Originally Posted by scarecroe

Until then, I suppose I'm stuck with my DVD copy, but it would be pretty great to have this in HD.

Agreed.

I have the Christopher Reeve DVD collection, and it's pretty cool. I'd love to see a Blu-Ray Superman Anthology along the lines of the Batman Anthology. It's just a wonderful set, despite the fact it has the same flaw the Reeve Superman films do: Each sequel gets progressively worse.

I'm guessing a Superman Anthology set won't happen until they make another Superman flick. After all, the Batman BD set came out around the same time as The Dark Knight BD.

I do wonder how good the Reeve Superman films can look in HD: They were shot with soft-focus lenses, for the most part. Unfortunately there may not be a lot left uncaptured at DVD resolution that you'll be able to see at BD resolution. Hopefully there will be some increase in clarity.

[Kryptonic]

They really should do a Blu-Ray version of the Ultimate Collection with the theatrical cuts of all the films with fresh new cleaned up transfers and lossless audio.