It’s the DVD collection that could turn even the Man of Steel into a caped couch potato.
After nearly two decades of his comic book colleagues like Batman, Spider-Man and the X-Men stealing the spotlight on the big screen, this year marked the return of the original superhero to theaters with director Bryan Singer’s hit film Superman Returns. And just in time for the holidays Warner Home Video officially makes 2006 the “Year of Superman” with the release of the Superman Ultimate Collectors Edition, an amazingly comprehensive 14 DVD compilation of all of Superman’s cinematic adventures.
The set is nearly as multi-powered as Superman himself, and even though a few of its attributes (like the Richard Pryor-centric yet comedy-impaired Superman III or the painfully earnest Superman IV) are about as useful as the “kiss of forgetfulness” he uses in Superman II the whole package is like a gift from Krypton. Packaged in an appropriately steely box, it’s a fitting tribute to the big screen legacy—from George Reeves debut performance to Christopher Reeve‘s defining portrayal to Brandon Routh’s majestic revival—of the first and arguably greatest superhero of them all.
Along with some 20 hours of commentaries, deleted scenes and supporting documentary material—including the gorgeously animated Fleischer Studio cartoons from the 1940s, two long-unseen ABC TV specials chronicling the making of the first two Reeve films and an amusingly lighthearted 50th anniversary special from 1986 produced by Lorne Michaels—there’s an unexpectedly effective “unseen trilogy” to be discovered: When viewed back-to-back, the longer Richard Donner director’s cut of Superman: The Movie, the recently re-created Donner cut of Superman II (from which the director was fired and replaced by Richard Lester) and Singer‘s new film, the heretofore unknown thematic links between the three films form a surprisingly coherent and satisfying three-act story.
“It wasn’t really planned that way,” Singer told Hollywood.com when asked if he’d specifically crafted his film to continue the threads of Donner‘s lost version of Superman II. “I’d only seen about 20 minutes of the film when I was at the studio and Dick showed me some of it.”
Singer‘s Superman Returns also gets a lavish three-disc treatment, including the debut DVD release of the film’s theatrical release, a disc filled with behind-the-scenes documentaries chronicling the making of the film from inception to casting to Brandon Routh’s wrap day on the set, and a disc featuring the video blogs Singer posted on his Web site during filming (among them is a very realistic hoax segment that has Singer rushing to the New Zealand set of King Kong to fill in for a nearly comatose Peter Jackson). Still, we wonder if this will actually be the ultimate edition of Superman Returns: the absence of a commentary track by Singer and some much-discussed deleted sequences—like Superman’s return to long-dead Krypton—suggest an expanded director’s cut disc may yet be in the offing.
Among the Ultimate Collector’s Edition other splendors:
• A four disc treatment of 1978’s Superman: The Movie, featuring the original theatrical version, Donner‘s director’s cut (until now, the only version on DVD) and two discs loaded with documentaries exploring the landmark film’s nearly-as-epic backstory in detail.
• Three discs focusing on Superman II, including the Lester-helmed theatrical release, the newly released Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut and another disc filled with supporting materials (Donner and screenwriter Tom Mankiewiscz provide a commentary track on the re-cut version).
• The less-inspired sequels Superman III and Superman IV, with commentary tracks featuring III‘s producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler (who also lend commentaries to the first two films) and IV’s screenwriter Mark Rosenthal.
• A pair of well-crafted and compelling documentaries, the Singer-produced, Kevin Spacey-narrated Look, Up In the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman, which aired on TV during the summer release of the new film: and You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman, which further explores the behind-the-scenes drama (and comedy) surrounding the original four films. There’s also a heartfelt mini-doc that pays tribute to the life and legacy of Christopher Reeve.
• Some delightful oldies-but-goodies, including the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men, which marked George Reeve’s first appearance as the Man of Steel and serving as something of a de facto “pilot” for his subsequent TV series The Adventures of Superman; 17 of the groundbreaking Fleischer brothers Superman cartoons (with Superman’s famous radio voice Bud Collyer voicing the hero) from the 1940s, along with a mini-doc on their creation and impact; and even Superpup, the wildly ill-conceived pilot for a 1950s kidie TV show featuring little people in dog masks playing the iconic characters.
The much maligned 1984 spin-off Supergirl isn’t included in the set, but it’s also hitting stores simultaneously, so combined with the up-to-date full-season DVD sets of the Man of Steel’s small-screen exploits (The Adventures of Superman, Lois & Clark, Superman: The Animated Series and Smallville) and the two movie serials starring Kirk Alyn as the original live-action version of the hero, fans of high-flying adventure now have the perfect opportunity to retire to their own Fortresses of Solitude and thrill the truly never-ending battle for Truth, Justice and the American Way.
Hollywood.com’s video coverage of ‘Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut’
Hollywood.com’s cast and crew interviews from Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Hollywood.com’s video coverage of the ‘Superman Returns’ DVD launch party
