ALTERNATE CANADIAN SCREENINGS

There were also alterations to the extended screenings on Canadian TV. Versions similar to the ABC cut that included the soufflé scene, the town’s destruction and the Whitehouse footage were screened late at night in the early hours of the morning. The CFCF12 edition did contain a lot of already familiar scenes from the ABC 1984 version such as the Concorde scene, extended prison scenes, the boy being killed, lots of extended dialogue throughout the film and of course the 2 minute conversation after Superman destroys the Fortress. Aside from the deletions I have mentioned, all the other extended footage that was found in the ABC 1984/88 broadcasts was also present in the CFCF12 edition. The CFCF12 edition is the last known extended broadcast of Superman II, to be screened in Canada.

Further alterations to the ABC screenings
The next 3 screenings of Superman II on ABC would delete 2 scenes from the 1984 broadcast.

The first of these screenings was on Easter Sunday 1985.
The second in Christmas 1985
And the third during the holiday season in 1986. This version was also shown on syndicated TV stations across the United States. The 2 scenes deleted involved part of the scene where Lex is negotiating and the 2 minute conversation between Lois and Superman after the Fortress has been destroyed. Both of these scenes were directed by DONNER. In ABC’s final 1988 rebroadcast of the extended version, these 2 scenes from the 1984 premier were re-inserted.

THE EUROPEAN AND AUSTRAILIAN EDITIONS

During the 1980s, Alexander Salkind’s company offered another cut of the extended Superman II that was made available to European and Australian TV stations. This broadcast was broadcasted in the PAL format (time accelerated) and timed in at 2 hours 26 mins. This is the longest known cut of the film in existence. It still remains unseen by many fans. Several reasons arise as to why the European/Australian broadcast is longer. These are

• ABC could not possibly fill a 3 hour timeslot without making cuts. The PAL broadcasts are time accelerated meaning that a 3 hour timeslot with commercials could be fitted in. Had this version aired in the USA, it would have run past 2 hours 30 mins.

• Cuts were possibly made due to political reasons. The scene with the Japanese family appears to place a very stereotype and harmful image of Japanese people. It was wisely removed from the TV extended versions. The scene with Zod shooting Nixon’s portrait appears to be filmed at a time when Watergate was still fresh in a lot of peoples' minds. To avoid offence, this scene was removed from both the theatrical cut and the US extended broadcasts.

This extended cut has been screened in Ireland, Denmark, Brisbane and Holland. The last known broadcast of the extended Superman II was on Austrailian TV in February 1989. When the rights reverted back to Warner in 1990, the theatrical cut was the only version placed in syndication.

ADDITIONS

All of the scenes from the ABC and Canadian extended versions are present in this edition.
After the newsbeat control man says, "…I have not seen the likes of this since Superman…" we see two short sequences.
The first sequence is of a woman viewing a football game, only to have it interrupted by a newsflash concerning the villians destruction of Houston, Idaho.

Wife: Yeah, yeah, no, get it. Yes! Yes! Take it! Take it! Good! Who are you?
The football game has been interrupted
Newsman: We interrupt this program to bring you a direct report from East Houston, Idaho
Wife: Don’t you know it’s first inning. Al…Alvin.
Husband: What?
Wife: Alvin, They to…they took the game of Alvin.
Husband: What do you want?
Wife: Al, what’s the number of the television…the stupid station?
Husband: What do you want to know that for?
Wife: They took the game off!
Husband: What?

It should also be noted that we hear in the background, a newsman telling the viewers that weapons have no effect against the villains. LESTER FOOTAGE

The second sequence is of a Japanese father and daughter at home. The father is cutting fish.

Father: I am so tired of all this violence on television. You should not watch that.
Daughter: Shut up Dad! LESTER FOOTAGE

During the Whitehouse scene, there is a shot of Zod killing a young black officer and shooting a portrait of former president Richard Nixon. If you own a copy of the ABC version, then you will notice that there is evidence of this scene. If you look closely at the background with the scene of the sniffer dog, you can see the bullet ridden portrait. DONNER FOOTAGE

There is an extended sequence of Clark and Lois travelling by car in the snow. This was actually edited in the ABC version. Music has been remixed to the scene.DONNER FOOTAGE

As in the Canadian TV version, the bully’s line "I don’t like your meat anyway" was not changed. DONNER FOOTAGE

ADDITIONS

Combined all the additional footage that was on the ABC and CFCF12 broadcasts including the extra dialogue between Lex and Eve, the soufflé scene, the full Whitehouse scene, the coffee scene, plus the long conversation between Superman and Lois after the Fortress has been destroyed.

We get to see a young girl viewing the villains destruction of the town Houston, on TV. Her father at this point is seen in the Kitchen, cutting fish. He rebukes his daughter for watching the TV. The girl turns round and tells Dad to "Shut up". The father and daughter appear to be Japanese.

We get to see a scene of a husband and wife also viewing the destruction on TV. They appear to live in a trailer park area. The husband can be seen very upset that the football has been interrupted by the news of the villains destruction. The scene then switches back to the president. LESTER.

CONCLUSION

The extended European/Australian broadcast is a major improvement over the theatrical version. It is the cut that begins to balance this film in favour of Richard Donner rather than Richard Lester. To anyone that only knows the theatrical cut, this edition feels almost like a different film. Unfortunately for a lot of fans in the United States and Canada, a lot of footage was removed from their extended editions. The European/Australian broadcast is the definitive extended broadcast that comes closer to letting us see what Richard Donner intended the final film to be. I estimate that over 50 percent of this film is Donner’s work as opposed to slightly over 30 in the theatrical. Quite a jump!

There is evidence of some of these scenes in the ABC and CFCF12 extended broadcasts. The scenes of Lex negotiating and also his trip to the fortress with Eve is abruptly cut in the ABC broadcasts. These scenes were essential to the film. Lex’s line "…Lex baby, you’re a hell of a fella, even when you lose you win" is an indication that he is referring to his foiled attempt with the Hackensack missile. The foiled missile would be extremely beneficial as it would have released the villains from the Phantom Zone. This scene of Lex and Eve exploring the fortress is beautifully filmed with some excellent music cues. It very much added to the feel of the film being that of Richard Donner. The shot of Zod blasting Nixon’s portrait is a great shot, but was removed from the final film as it would have caused outrage.

The main criticisms in this extended cut centre on pointless Niagara Falls scenes that were mercifully removed from the final film. The tourist shots appear to be a "Come to Niagara" commercial and the man breaking camera scene feels like a scene from the old British "Carry On" films. Further scenes that cause distaste are the scenes from people’s homes who are viewing the destruction of Houston via TV. The scene with the Japanese family could possibly go as far as appear offensive!

All and all, the extended version is a major improvement on what many STM diehard fans consider to be an average film. The point of this report is not to take away from the theatrical version, but rather make known the improvements in the extended TV versions. Maybe one day we will see a lot of Richard Donner’s work restored, but until that day comes, this edition is the closest thing we have.

Many thanks to GandAlfDC, Friend, Paulie1, and the entire Superman CINEMA DISCUSSION board for without their contributions and support, this document would have not been possible.

Running time: Theatrical 127 mins (120 mins UK)
Running time: ABC 1984/1988 - 143 mins
Running time: CFCF12 - 145 mins
Running time: Extended RTE/Channel 9 PAL broadcasts - 145 mins
Running time: European/Australian edition – 146 mins (time accelerated)