Superman: The Movie 4K UHD (1978)

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by ShellBeacher

Ah, in the UK? Would be nice to see Warners revive this in the U.S. again as a tribute to Donner. All four of them, actually...but I guess I and II would be the only ones worth doing for them. I think the only one I've actually seen on the true big screen is III as a child, though I've screened I for a class in a smaller-stadium seating auditorium on a college campus.

Yeah, a one night one showing thing.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

Odeon did it as Donner passed

I went to two Donners in the cinema last year: The Goonies and Scrooged (and one he produced, The Lost Boys). But it would be nice if they screened some of his other films, like Lethal Weapon. ODEON sometimes shows films after someone passes, like On the Basis of Sex after RBG passed, but I can't think of much else they programmed for that reason. Maybe the Black Panther rerelease and Picturehouse did their own Boseman season (wish they'd been able to include Da 5 Bloods though.)

Rereleases have been one of the joys of the cinema during the pandemic, and I think it shows people will turn out for something even if they can watch it at home or even when the restoration hasn't only just come out. Disney kept the rerelease of The Empire Strikes Back last year around for months (I would have gone had they also been showing A New Hope, Return of the Jedi too.) I think cinemas have a few lessons to learn from the pandemic, and hopefully experimenting with windows, event cinema and rereleases will be things they keep around. Like with the Film4 season this month has been quite good and I've gone to half of it, I'd go to fewer films on the big screens if it was just new releases (this week the only thing that interests me is Deerskin - not all the blockbusters like The Forever Purge, The Croods, Space Jam). But they don't have any rereleases on their coming soon yet though Picturehouse have plenty. I hope they do more We Are Parable collabs after Precious, Yardie, Us.

I still have my Letterboxd list saved from December/January with all the rereleases they were planning had they been open - Paddington, Blade Runner, Mad Max: Fury Road, Insidious, Aliens, and Vue were planning on showing Bugsy Malone, Romeo + Juliet and the entire James Bond series. What could have been!

[CreasyBear]

Very happy I was able to see Superman in theaters finally for it's 40th anniversary a few years ago!

[supersonic395]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

In all honesty, I’ve never hated the Supes remix. I will be forever grateful that the UHD has the awesome 70mm split-surround track but if I had to watch the movie with the remixed 5.1 (and Atmos derived thereof) then I wouldn’t spontaneously combust or anything.

I have the UHD but do not see the 70mm track - is this exclusive to the US release? (I have the UK release)

[SML]

Originally Posted by supersonic395

I have the UHD but do not see the 70mm track - is this exclusive to the US release? (I have the UK release)

It's the Dolby Digital 5.1 option that is the Dolby Stereo 70mm Six-Track .

[Ben_UK]

The Donner Cut of II is such a divisive beast, whilst I approve of nearly all of the additions, it’s still an incomplete film in my eyes with really cheap shoddy CGI and awful music editing, it’s a bit like a fan film. If there was ever an impetus to assemble the best cut possible (a final cut?) which includes Brando and some better FX then I would wholeheartedly support it.

[supersonic395]

Originally Posted by SML

It's the Dolby Digital 5.1 option that is the Dolby Stereo 70mm Six-Track .

Ahhh okay perfect - I noticed it is quieter than the Atmos track but I'll give it a watch

[chocolat]

I am super confused about the versions of Superman because I have not actually seen the original 1978 and I'm now very much interested. So what I grasp so far is:

- Theatrical cut runtime??

- Donner's director's cut 143 minutes?

- WB's extended cut 188 minutes?

If this is correct then which version(s) are on the 4k release?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by chocolat

I am super confused about the versions of Superman because I have not actually seen the original 1978 and I'm now very much interested. So what I grasp so far is:

- Theatrical cut runtime??

- Donner's director's cut 143 minutes?

- WB's extended cut 188 minutes?

If this is correct then which version(s) are on the 4k release?

The theatrical version on the 4k disc is slightly shorter than the expanded director's cut not included on the 4k disc. The TV version is longer with more cut scenes that Donner did not approve of to pad the movie over a two night event.

[chocolat]

So what's the actual runtime of the theatrical version?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by chocolat

So what's the actual runtime of the theatrical version?

143 mins. theatrical

151 mins. Expanded Version

[david_blu]

Originally Posted by chocolat

So what's the actual runtime of the theatrical version?

For your first viewing watch the Theatrical Blu Ray. In my view better colours than the UHD but opinions vary.

Then watch the Director's cut after a week or so, then give it a bit longer and watch the looooong version.

[Geoff D]

I've gotta say that the UHD is winning me over. It's an automatic win just for that historical 70mm 5.1 track but on the visual side I've never quite liked how it looked, the Krypton stuff is so different to how it ever looked before and there are several other artefacts and oddities that really should've been cleaned up. (Yes, I moan when studios smash old opticals with DNR, I moan when studios leave old negatives as they are, warts and all. Whaddayagonnado?)

But I'm finally getting used to how the Krypton stuff looks, showing all that highlight detail on their suits rather than blowing it all out like previous versions did. Still looks otherworldly, just a different kind of otherworldly. Skin tones still look weirdly yellowy and pale at times though.

[sa5150]

What's the Superman and the Mole-Men
& Cartoons extras . Is this the mole man episode with George reeves that is on volume one of the tv series dvd set and the cartoons the orginal Max Fleischer cartoons ? Is there any improvements in PQ and SQ for these if that's what they are over what's on the dvd set and the bluray from cinedigm , I also see that Superman and the Mole-Men Blu-ray but no release day . This is all little confusing . I appreciate any info on this .

[JediJones77]

Originally Posted by ShellBeacher

There is also a pretty verifiable rumor that Warner Bros. has found the original longer edit of IV. While I don't expect a 4K remaster of that, would be nice to see that finally show up even as a bonus feature,

This YouTuber has done special effects fixes on several Superman IV scenes. Some of them are great improvements. It really shows how an effects polish would at least make that movie passable and watchable. And this guy has been able to do worthwhile fixes in his parents' basement. He's trying to get WB to let him fix the movie officially.

I think most of Superman IV's longer cut is in the deleted scenes. I heard the Metro Club scene was only not in there because of music rights. Other than that, there should be shorter scenes of Nuclear Man burning Lex's money (referred to in a deleted scene where Lex is asking Nuclear Man to apologize), the Warfields picking up Jeremy at the airport (this is where the dialogue of David telling Lacy not to fraternize with the help that's referred to later takes place), and maybe something else I can't remember. Granted, there may be versions of the deleted scenes with more finished effects, as we saw in the TV cut with the tornado scene.

https://www.youtube.com/c/APRICEPRODUCTION/videos

Superman IV Lacy No Longer In Space Plus NEW Demise For Nuclear Man - YouTube

Superman IV Great Wall Of China Scene Remastered/Upgraded - YouTube

[captainsolo]

Originally Posted by Ben_UK

The Donner Cut of II is such a divisive beast, whilst I approve of nearly all of the additions, it’s still an incomplete film in my eyes with really cheap shoddy CGI and awful music editing, it’s a bit like a fan film. If there was ever an impetus to assemble the best cut possible (a final cut?) which includes Brando and some better FX then I would wholeheartedly support it.

The Vudu Donner cut is apparently someone in house splicing Lester theatrical footage into the Donner Cut. Several fans have tried their hands at making a hybrid cut with the big one being the Selutron version.

I like to ponder about SII all the time. Ultimately there's no way to fix it properly as the tone is so inconsistent between the two shoots in addition to the difference in time, shot composition, set design, changes in actor's appearances, the Hackman voice impersonator and so on. The film was really forever broken when the Salkinds fired Donner.

So in spite of all its shortcomings the Donner cut wins for its consistent tone which was ruined in the theatrical cut. Is it perfect? No way!-but the film was never allowed to be finished by the original creative team. I just recently revisited the theatrical for the first time in ages and the seams are really obvious in seeing the Donner vs Lester shot footage.

Where the DC really loses me is the modern sound design. It does not sound intrinsic to the film's production and I wish to heck they had made a purist option. SII has a pretty decent mix for 1980 and it's the one thing it has over the DC.

[captainsolo]

Originally Posted by sa5150

What's the Superman and the Mole-Men
& Cartoons extras . Is this the mole man episode with George reeves that is on volume one of the tv series dvd set and the cartoons the orginal Max Fleischer cartoons ? Is there any improvements in PQ and SQ for these if that's what they are over what's on the dvd set and the bluray from cinedigm , I also see that Superman and the Mole-Men Blu-ray but no release day . This is all little confusing . I appreciate any info on this .

All the SD extras are the same as the DVDs. Which is good because my DVDs from the UCE tin are now rotted.
However, the Fleischer cartoons have slightly higher bitrates on the standalone 2 disc DVD and they did fix one or two of the audio errors but sadly not all.

[captainsolo]

IV gets a bad rap. It should have never been cut down so drastically and when examined you see they cut most of Hackman's best scenes and the entire climactic act!
Restoring the 134m original cut I think would help many people to better appreciate the film. I've liked it ever since first seeing it because most everyone is trying so damn hard that you feel their pain when the horribly low budget is holding them down.

That cut has got to exist somewhere (it was sneak previewed and tested once) but might have gotten lost in Cannon's madness. The extra scenes we did get on the DVD were workprint sourced and very rough.

[bongozoid]

Originally Posted by JediJones77

This YouTuber has done special effects fixes on several Superman IV scenes. Some of them are great improvements. It really shows how an effects polish would at least make that movie passable and watchable. And this guy has been able to do worthwhile fixes in his parents' basement. He's trying to get WB to let him fix the movie officially.

It's already totally watchable.
Fun movie. Certainly not up to the calibre of the first 2, but what is?

[JediJones77]

Well, they still can't find the lost Duckie ending of Pretty in Pink, so hopefully there isn't a Jon Cryer curse that extends to Superman IV.

I've watched a fan edit that puts all the deleted scenes in order, fills in scenes like the Metro Club with comic book panels, and restores the music from the official score CD. The story definitely flows a lot better in the full cut. But don't kid yourself, the movie badly needs a special effects tune-up. And to get rid of some of the nonsense like Lacy breathing in space and "Great Wall of China-vision." Many of the people involved in making the movie describe it as "an unfinished movie." And the bad effects are no doubt what gets it placed on many of the all-time worst movie lists.