Superman II is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman, based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is a sequel to the 1978 film Superman and stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, and Jack O'Halloran. The film was released in Australia and mainland Europe on December 4, 1980,[1] and in other countries throughout 1981. Selected premiere engagements of Superman II were presented in Megasound, a high-impact surround sound system similar to Sensurround.
Plot[]
Before the destruction of Krypton, the criminals General Zod, Ursa and Non are sentenced to banishment into the Phantom Zone. Years later, the Phantom Zone is shattered near Earth by the shockwave of a space-borne hydrogen bomb. The three criminals are freed and find themselves with superpowers granted by the yellow light of Earth's sun.
The Daily Planet sends journalist Clark Kent—whose secret identity is Superman—and his colleague Lois Lane to Niagara Falls. Lois suspects Clark and Superman are the same person. That night, when Clark recovers Lois' comb from a lit fireplace, Lois discovers that his hand is unburned, forcing Clark to admit he is Superman. He takes her to his Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic, and shows her the traces of his past stored in energy crystals. One is the green crystal that created the Fortress and opened Superman's contact with his parents. Superman declares his love for Lois and his wish to spend his life with her. After conferring with the artificial intelligence of his mother Lara, Superman removes his superpowers by exposing himself to red Kryptonian sunlight in a crystal chamber, becoming a mortal. Clark and Lois spend the night together, then leave the Fortress and return from the Arctic by automobile. Arriving at a diner, Clark is beaten up by a truck driver named Rocky.
Meanwhile, the Zod gang, after becoming accustomed to earth, travels to the White House and forces the President of the United States to surrender on behalf of the entire planet during an international television broadcast. When the President pleads for Superman to save the Earth, General Zod demands that Superman come and "kneel before Zod!" Clark and Lois learn of Zod's conquest and, realizing that humanity alone cannot fight Zod, Clark returns to the Fortress to try to regain his powers.
Lex Luthor escapes from prison with Eve Teschmacher's help, leaving his accomplice Otis behind. Luthor and Teschmacher infiltrate the Fortress of Solitude before Superman and Lois arrive. Luthor learns of Superman's connection to Jor-El and General Zod. He finds Zod at the White House and tells him Superman is the son of Jor-El, their jailer, and offers to lead him to Superman in exchange for control of Australia. The three Kryptonians ally with Luthor and go to the offices of the Daily Planet. Superman arrives, after having found the green crystal that restores his powers, and battles the three. Zod realizes Superman cares for the humans and takes advantage of this by threatening bystanders. Superman realizes the only way to stop Zod and the others is to lure them to the Fortress. Superman flies off, with Zod, Ursa, and Non in pursuit, kidnapping Lois and taking along Luthor. Upon arrival, Zod declares Luthor has outlived his usefulness and plans to kill both him and Superman. Superman tries to get Luthor to lure the three into the crystal chamber to depower them, but Luthor, eager to get back in Zod's favor, reveals the chamber's secret to the villains. Zod forces Superman into the chamber and activates it; however, Superman crushes Zod's hand and tosses him into a crevice. Luthor deduces that Superman reconfigured the chamber to expose the trio to red sunlight while Superman was protected from it. Non falls into another crevice when trying to fly over it and Lois knocks Ursa into a third. Superman flies back to civilization, returning Luthor to prison and Lois home.
At the Daily Planet the following day, Clark finds Lois upset about knowing his secret and not being able to be open about her true feelings. He kisses her, using his abilities to wipe her mind of her knowledge of the past few days. Later, Clark returns to the diner and has a rematch with Rocky the truck driver and defeats him easily. Superman restores the damage done by Zod, replacing the flag atop the White House and tells the president he won't abandon his duty again.
Cast[]
- Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor
- Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent / Superman
- Ned Beatty as Otis
- Jackie Cooper as Perry White
- Sarah Douglas as Ursa
- Margot Kidder as Lois Lane
- Jack O'Halloran as Non
- Valerie Perrine as Eve Teschmacher
- Susannah York as Lara
- Clifton James as Sheriff
- E.G. Marshall as the President of the United States
- Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen
- Terence Stamp as General Zod
The Richard Donner Cut[]
Main article: Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
During the production of Superman Returns, Warner Bros. acquired the rights from Marlon Brando's estate to use the late actor's footage from Superman into the film.[69] Shortly after, Ilya Salkind confirmed that Donner was involved in the project to re-cut Superman II using Brando's unused footage. Editor Michael Thau worked on the project alongside Donner and Tom Mankiewicz, who supervised the Superman II reconstruction.[70] Despite some initial confusion, Thau confirmed that all the footage shot by Donner in 1977 was recovered and transferred from a vault in England.
The new edition, titled Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released on DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray on November 28, 2006. In order to make Donner's vision of Superman II feel less incomplete, finished scenes by Lester that Donner was unable to shoot were incorporated into the film as well as the screen tests by Reeve and Kidder for one pivotal scene. The film also restores several cut scenes including Marlon Brando as Jor-El, an alternate prologue and opening sequence at the Daily Planet that omits the Eiffel Tower opening from the original, as well as the original scripted and filmed ending for Superman II featuring Superman reversing time before it was cut and placed at the end of the first film.
Sequels[]
Superman II was followed by two sequels: Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This was the third highest grossing film of 1981.
- This is the second film in the Christopher Reeve Superman Series.
- This film along with the first film Superman where shot back to back.
- This is the second film in which Christopher Reeves portrays the title character.
- Gene Hackman did not return to do reshoots for the second film. All of his scenes were originally filmed by Richard Donner. Other scenes shot by the new director that required Hackman used a look-a-like and a voice impersonator to add any lines needed.
- Christopher Reeve felt that this was the best film in the franchise.
- In the original script, the nuclear missile from Superman (1978) releases Zod and companions from the Phantom Zone. This scene was added to Superman II (2006), and the scene in Paris was deleted.
- Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor), Ned Beatty (Otis), Valerie Perrine (Eve Teschmacher) and E.G. Marshall (The President) were the only actors not to participate in the film's re-shoots under the direction of Richard Lester.
- Despite Lex Luthor always being depicted as bald in the comic books, Gene Hackman refused to wear a bald cap for the movies. So it was agreed that he would instead wear a series of ill-fitting wigs that would imply baldness. Hackman relented to wearing the bald cap for the prison scenes, however, as it was unfeasible that Luthor would be allowed to keep his wig collection while locked up.
- Original director Richard Donner was fired by the producers.
- Henry Fonda was the front runner for the major cameo role of the U.S. President. Instead, his 12 Angry Men (1957) co-star, E.G. Marshall got the role.
- Originally, Richard Donner had filmed Superman talking to his father for this movie, but Marlon Brando sued for (and won) a share of the first film's gross. The lawsuit also awarded him a share of this film's gross, even though he doesn't appear in it. Brando's scenes were replaced by scenes with Superman's mother. Brando's scenes appeared in Superman II (2006), and briefly during a scene in Superman Returns (2006).
- John Williams did not return as composer, due to scheduling commitments with Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). However, Williams granted the Salkinds permission to use his original themes, and even recommended composer Ken Thorne, a personal friend of Williams, to compose the film's score.
- Warner Brothers released the film in Europe at the end of 1980, and in the U.S. in the summer of 1981.
- Sarah Douglas said she had more fun working with Gene Hackman than any other actor from the first two Superman films.
- The only one of the first four Superman movies not to have any scenes in Smallville.
- Sarah Douglas was the only cast member to do extensive around-the-world press tours in support of the film, and was one of the few actresses who held a neutral point of view in the Donner-Lester controversy.
- Christopher Reeve (Superman), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane), Jackie Cooper (Perry White) and Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen) are the only actors to appear in the first four "Superman" films. Of these, McClure was the only one to appear in Supergirl (1984).
- Sarah Douglas later made a guest appearance on Supergirl (2015) in season 3's "Supergirl: Fort Rozz (2018)", playing a Kryptonian priestess, Jindah Kol Rozz, for whom the eponymous Kryptonian maximum-security prison is named.
- Two "007" veterans contributed to the screenplay, although neither is credited. George MacDonald Fraser co-wrote Octopussy (1983). Guy Hamilton directed Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973), and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). Tom Mankiewicz, an uncredited co-screenwriter of Superman (1978) and this film, also co-wrote the latter three 007 films.
- Originally, the Salkinds considered Guy Hamilton for director, but he declined.
- Gordon Rollings played the fisherman in this film. He went on to play the "Man in Cap" during the opening sequence of Superman III (1983).
- The film features two actors who appeared in this film and a James Bond film, both times playing similar roles; Shane Rimmer played a ground control crew member in You Only Live Twice (1967), while Clifton James played the Sheriff J.W. Pepper in Live and Let Die (1973) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
- Randall "Tex" Cobb was considered for the role of Non.
- This film marks Otis' second predisposition with ladders. In Superman (1978), he operated a book case step-ladder for Luthor's personal library. In Superman II (1980), he spots a rope-and-plank ladder for Teschmacher's hot air balloon.
- The most expensive movie ever made at the time. of its release.
- Sarah Douglas was the only cast member to do extensive around-the-world press tours in support of the film, and was one of the few actresses who held a neutral point of view in the Donner-Lester controversy.
- On August 1, 1981, a television spot for the film was the first commercial ever aired on MTV.
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