The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection

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The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection is an 8-disc DVD box set of Superman films, released on November 28, 2006 by Warner Home Video.

It features all four Superman films starring Christopher Reeve (made between 1978 and 1987). It also contains the theatrical "Superman" film Superman and the Mole Men starring George Reeves. Additional material includes the 1940s "Fleischer" Superman cartoons.

The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection
The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection

Contents

[edit] Disc breakdown

  • Disc 1 - Superman - Theatrical cut (1978)
  • Disc 2 - Superman: The Movie - Director's cut (2000)
  • Disc 3 - Superman: The Movie - Bonus Material Disc 1
  • Disc 4 - Superman: The Movie - Bonus Material Disc 2
  • Disc 5 - Superman II - Theatrical cut (1980)
  • Disc 6 - Superman II - Bonus material
  • Disc 7 - Superman III - Theatrical cut (1983) and Bonus Material
  • Disc 8 - Superman IV: The Quest For Peace - Theatrical cut (1987) and Bonus Material

[edit] Details

Note: the language and subtitles information below is for the U.S. version of the discs. International versions include various languages, depending on the country and/or area of release.

[edit] Superman: The Movie

Main article: Superman (film)

The collection includes two versions of the first Superman film starring Christopher Reeve. One is the original theatrical cut, released in 1978, and the other, the DVD director's cut, released in 2001, containing eight minutes of previously-deleted footage, and a new audio mix. Both versions have been digitally restored. The collection features four discs devoted to Superman: The Movie, and is labeled "Special Edition".

A breakdown of the discs is as follows:

[edit] Disc One

  • Original 1978 theatrical version with soundtrack in Dolby Stereo Surround 2.0 and 5.1 surround sound
  • Commentary by producer Pierre Spengler and executive producer Ilya Salkind
  • Theatrical trailers
  • TV spot
  • Languages: English & Français
  • Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

Due to a manufacturing error, disc 1 was shipped out containing the 1978 version of Superman: The Movie, however, with only the 5.1 surround sound, and not the original 2.0 Surround sound, as stated on the packaging. This is known to affect disc 1 in all collections and all regions. The following statement is from Warner Home Video: [1]

[edit] Disc Two

  • 2000 expanded edition movie with soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Commentary track by director Richard Donner and writer Tom Mankiewicz.
  • Isolated Music Track

[edit] Disc Three

  • Documentary: Taking Flight: The Development of Superman (30 minutes, 12 seconds)
  • Documentary: Making Superman: Filming the Legend (30 minutes, 38 seconds)
  • Documentary: The Magic Behind the Cape (22 minutes, 44 seconds)
  • Restored scenes (10 minutes, 55 seconds)
  • Screen Test: Christopher Reeve (8 minutes, 56 seconds)
  • Screen Tests: Lois Lane (10 minutes, 27 seconds)
  • Screen Tests: Ursa (1 minute, 58 seconds)
  • Additional music cues (audio only)
  • Note: Storyboards, originally available on DVD-ROM from the 2001 DVD, is not included in this release

[edit] Disc Four

  • Vintage TV special The Making of Superman: The Movie (51 minutes, 47 seconds)
  • 1951 Movie Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves (58 minutes)
  • Nine Fleischer Cartoons: Superman, The Mechanical Monsters, Billion Dollar Limited, The Arctic Giant, The Bulleteers, The Magnetic Telescope, Electric Earthquake, Volcano, Terror on the Midway

[edit] Superman II

Main article: Superman II

The collection features two discs devoted to Superman II, and is labeled "Special Edition".

A breakdown of each disc is as follows:

[edit] Disc One

  • Theatrical Cut
  • New commentary by producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler
  • Soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Languages: English & Français
  • Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

[edit] Disc Two

  • Vintage TV special The Making of Superman II (50 minutes, 4 seconds)
  • Vintage TV Special Superman 50th Anniversary (48 minutes, 8 seconds)
  • New Featurette: First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series (12 minutes, 53 seconds)
  • Eight Fleischer cartoons: Japoteurs, Showdown, Eleventh Hour, Destruction Inc., The Mummy Strikes, Jungle Drums, The Underground World, Secret Agent

[edit] Superman III

Main article: Superman III

The collection features the theatrical cut of Superman III. There has been some demand for an alternate version of the film, as was done with the first two films. Superman III has previously been screened in two radically different versions: The theatrical version, and the television/broadcast version. Only the theatrical version is included with the collection. (See Superman III - Extra footage for a list of differences). The DVD is a single-disc and labeled "Deluxe Edition".

[edit] Disc One

  • Theatrical Cut
  • New commentary by producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler
  • Vintage TV Special The Making of Superman III
  • Additional Scenes (19 minutes, 43 seconds)
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Languages: English & Français
  • Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

[edit] Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

The collection features the theatrical cut of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. There has been some demand for an alternate versions of the film, as with the first two films.

It is known that a significant amount of footage (45 minutes) was cut from Superman IV, which has never been included in any release outside of its ill-fated Southern California preview screening. This footage has been found, and 30 minutes of this material are included as "deleted scenes" on the Superman IV disc, but was not incorporated into the film. However, it should be noted be noted that not all of the deleted scenes made it to the "deleted scenes" section such as the scene where Clark Kent is seen visiting the graves of his late foster parents.[2]

The film is single-disc and labeled "Deluxe Edition".

[edit] Disc One

  • Theatrical Cut
  • New commentary by screenwriter Mark Rosenthal
  • Additional Scenes (30 minutes, 32 seconds)
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Languages: English & Français
  • Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

[edit] Max Fleischer cartoons

All seventeen classic Superman cartoons created by Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios from 1941 to 1943 had been remastered and are included in the collection. The first nine cartoons (from Fleischer Studios) can be found on Disc Four of the Superman: The Movie four-disc special edition (Disc Four in the Christopher Reeve Superman Collection). The remaining eight cartoons (from Famous Studios) can be found on Disc Two of the Superman II two-disc special edition (Disc Six in the Christopher Reeve Superman Collection).

[edit] See also

[edit] External links