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March 10, 2007
superman too
I have a new Sexiest Thing I've Ever Seen in a Movie. Specifically, the movie Superman II.
The morning after he and Lois got busy, Superman and his father are arguing in the Fortress of Solitude. Lois is watching from afar. She's wearing white knee socks and the blue shirt of Superman's costume.
You can't even imagine how hot.
Don't remember this scene? That's because it wasn't in the movie. It was filmed by S2's original director, Richard Donner, who'd made S1. After a feud with the producers, he was fired after having shot most of the second movie. They hired another director, who cut a ton of Donner's footage and added the Eiffel Tower scene and travesties like the villains zapping Mt. Rushmore and the stupid amnesia kiss. The producers also cut all of Marlon Brando's footage in order to avoid paying him.
I expected it to amount to a couple restored scenes, but the "Richard Donner cut" of Superman II is film school in a box. You get to see something close to his version, and it's a substantially different movie than what was released. It's more serious. It's more affecting. It's smarter. Brando turns in a surprisingly warm performance, and the film continues the arc of the father/son relationship from the first movie. If you rent the DVD, be sure to listen to the commentary, where Donner and his writer expertly, often bitterly, contrast their movie with the released version. Their pain is obvious. I've never seen anything quite like this DVD.
Best surprise: certain that Clark is Superman, Lois pulls out a gun and shoots him. How come no one ever thought of that before?
Best moment: Brando glaring at Lois silently, accusingly. I've seen that look, myself.
posted by john at 10:53 PM • permalink