Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition

Someone is bound to.

Nope. I was really looking forward to this set too. Sounds like a disaster.

Word is Warner dropped a major bomb with this set, since if you're a fan of Superman III, you won't be getting III: The Deluxe Edition with the Ultimate Collector's Edition set. Instead, advance word is that Warner just repackaged the already-available Superman III with the rest of the set, which does include the Donner Cut and Superman Returns.

More interesting is that, allegedly, Superman III's Deluxe Edition is included with the Christopher Reeve Superman Collection. However, one thing missing from each set is Superman's original 1978 Dolby audio mix, going against what was previously advertised. This is really odd, since I can't think of the last time Warner HV supposedly messed up something like this.

I don't think that's going to be such a big deal. Superman III's only fan has been dead for almost a year.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/10/pryor.obit/index.html

For me, it breaks down like this:

SUPERMAN THE MOVIE
- No original 1978 mix.
- Still missing several additional deleted scenes already aired on network TV.

SUPERMAN II
- Richard Donner Cut is an amateurishly slapped-together joke.
- Also missing additional deleted scenes aired on network TV.

SUPERMAN III
- "Delluxe Edition" with commentary, featurette, etc., didn't ship with the Region 1 Ultimate set -- instead, the original 2001 barebones release is included.

SUPERMAN IV
- Shitty movie. What can you do?

SUPERMAN RETURNS
- No commentary. No "Return to Krypton" deleted scene. No post-production coverage in the big 3-hour documentary.

I've also heard from friends who have the set already that the new extras on the older films are poorly-made, the menus are lame and there's an overall sense of corporate fast-cheap-whatever to the set. On the plus side, the restored Max Fleischer cartoons look beautiful.

Now, some of this is Warners' fault. Some of it isn't. Some of it is accidental. Some of it isn't. But as a consumer, I look at this 14-disc release and see a Metropolis-sized missed opportunity. No one would have been ahead of me in line to buy this set if Warners had gotten it right. But they didn't. Not even close.

Hopefully they'll have an exchange program for the missing 1978 sound mix and the SUPERMAN III Deluxe Edition. Only then will I consider buying this set.

...

I pre-ordered this from Amazon, and it shipped yesterday. I can't say I'll be shedding any tears over a Superman III special edition. I may shed a few over owning Superman III in any form. Since I never had any intention of watching it again, I won't miss the special edition.

The brando scenes in the Donner cut are good, as is the scene where lois jumps out of the window. But the sound mix is a bit wierd (badly timed cues, a tinny sound to the dialogue) and some of Lester's verisons of scenes were better. For example, when Kent goes back to the fortress of solitude to see Jor-el. Lester's version of the scene when he finds the green crystal is better than Donner's.

The ending doesn't work either. Jor-el had just given up his 'energy' to give KAl-el his powers back, so Kal-el will never speak to him again. But then Supes turns back time and it's back to normal, so the sacrifice doesn't mean so much.
They should have kept Lester's version. Sure the kiss was cheesy, but that scene was well acted and the ending with the president was fitting.
Worth seeing, but as a whole not better than Lester's.

I can't see why everyone is worried about this, since only two out of the five films are worth having in any format.

Hey, if you actually want to knowingly buy shoddy product, more power to you. Me? I'll wait for Warners to fix this mistake before rewarding them with my money.

Buying ANY version of Superman III and IV is knowingly buying a shoddy product.

The whole set is worthless shit anyway because they're holding back the Krypton sequences from SUPERMAN MOPES for a double dip. Anybody who buys this set should probably be forced to redistribute their obviously unneeded wealth.

In order to buy this boxed set, you'd have to be some weird, hardcore Superfan whose only weakness would be good films.

But that's just the tip of the Kryptonite continent, as I detailed above. The "good" parts of this set are also fucked up.

Which brings us back to: Why are you buying this crap? You don't like at least two of the five movies. The others are also missing important elements. As Devin said, you know they're going to double/triple-dip this thing down the road anyway, probably when THE MAN OF STEEL comes out.

If you really need these movies AGAIN - since I assume any Superman fan has already bought these on DVD possibly twice now - go with the "Christopher Reeve Collection," and just buy the Superman cartoons separately for 5 bucks or less.

I'm not buying this set, I was just wondering why people were getting worked up about the set's deficiencies when it has three HUGE deficiencies called Superman III, IV, and Returns. Lack of extras should be the least of your reasons not to pay sixty bucks for this thing.

Sorry. I wasn't clear. Even though it was the very first problem I listed...

It's missing the original 1978 sound mix on SUPERMAN THE MOVIE. This was originally promised by Warners in various chats and PR materials. This is a major element (not "just" an extra or a bad movie) that is missing from this set. For SUPERMAN movie fans, this issue is on par with the "Greedo shoots first" controversy in STAR WARS.

Additionally, for those who are interested in the whole set, I don't think it's unreasonable for them to want everything that has either been previously released or promised on the packaging. They are calling this the Ultimate Collector's Edition, after all. So far, the only word out of those three that is being served is "edition."

Do we get to go over the clanking noise again?

Only if it involves the sound of steel pipes hitting Warner Home Video executives over the head in the vacuum of space.

Seriously though, go to HTF, DVDTalk, Superman Cinema, Caped Wonder, Blue Tights, etc. People are pissed. (And again, these are fans who actually love these movies for better or worse, so they obviously have different needs than fairweather fans breezing through a CHUD thread.)

DVD has turned movie collectors into whiny bitches. If a new edition doesn't include the producer's childhood home movies, postcards the director sent to his mother during editing, and a sample of the chili craft services made on the last day of filming, fans start screaming about how they're being cheated, and the set is an incomplete joke that spits in the faces of the Zealotes-like devotion they've displayed over the years. Actually including the movie is becoming an afterthought to all the extra crap that's expected.

Hey, they spoiled us to begin with. It's not nonsense to expect greatness whenever possible, and in this case, there's no logical reason whatsoever for the mistakes this set has to be true.

That said, I've already ordered from Amazon, S1's new sound mix doesn't bother me, I still want the SII Director's Cut, Returns, and the documentaries, and I don't give shit number one about Superman III to begin with.

I'm still getting $60 worth of product, far as I'm concerned.

I honestly love this issue. Makes me smile to myself.
If anyone is going to go bring the topic back up, please let me know.

I tend to agree with you. But in this case, I think it's a legitimate beef.

SUPERMAN 3, shit sandwich or not, is served up on a gold platter in the 2-disc version, it doesn't seem too much to ask (and expect) to get the gold platter verison when buying the "Ultimate" collection.

III and IV are only one disc each. S:TM gets a whopping four discs, two of which are just the old dvd-18 release split into two dvd-9s. Superman II: theatrical gets two discs and the donner cut gets one.

All I'm wondering is how this massive screw up happenned. Were copies of the old release just lying around at the factory, not packaged in their cardboard snapper cases, and someone mistook them for the new release?

Whatever the specs. There's one verison better than the other verison.
You'd expect the better of the two to be the one included in the ULTIMATE edition.

Not gonna get any of the sets. Just plan on picking up Superman, Superman 2 and Returns because I don't have any of the previous versions.

I thought you slipped "Blue Tights" in as a gag. Good God man, that's an actual site.

Disregard my query. Someone on the dvdactive thread theorizes that WB must have retrieved the wrong ISO image.

Y'all are forgetting- why no "Supergirl"? Some assholes just gotta hate on poor Helen Slater.

Thedigitalbits.com contacted Warner about this. Seems like they're trying to rectify it quickly.

EDIT: Jeff beat me to it.

As someone who briefly temped at WHV not too long ago this clusterfuck doesn't surprise me. And in regards to not buying this because Singer wants to put out another edition with the return to kryptonite scene back in: so what. That scene is going to suck just as much as the rest of the movie (it's in the novelization and is pretty lame, though they should have had the part in the movie where it's found out that Luthor created the hoax to get rid of Superman). This dvd already has a 3 hour documentary. If there's much more they can give us besides that one scene, then it probably isn't worth seeing. And who's to say WB will want to do another edition. I mean, Singer is already getting the lion's share of the gross, and we'll see if it even does boffo business on dvd after bad word of mouth.

PS Here's the letter WB issued with the 800 number:

Statement from Warner Home Video, November 27, 2006

Bonus content was omitted from the "Superman III Deluxe Edition" in the 14-disc "Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition." Furthermore, disc one of "Superman: The Movie Four Disc Special Edition" did not include the Dolby Digital 2.0 mix. Neither disc is known to be physically defective in any way.

Warner Home Video wants to extend apologies to all of our loyal Superman fans who've waited so patiently for these great collections and has taken immediate steps to correct these errors with the intention of standing behind our product 100%.

Replacement discs can be obtained by calling: 800-553-6937. The exchange program applies only to purchases of the “Superman III Deluxe Edition” in the “Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition” and to disc one of “Superman: The Movie Four Disc Special Edition,” available as a single title, as well as in “The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection” and in the “Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition.”

Now I can sleep at night, knowing that whenever I select the original 1978 Dolby 2.0 track, the metal clanking noise in space that's haunted me these last five years will be no more.

This house is clean.

The Donner Cut is really, really bad. I almost fell asleep during a screening. Don't get your hopes up.

Edited to say: Probably the wrong thread...

You're right. Only the Brando scenes should have been added. The ending is lame, they should have gone with lester's.

I picked up a copy of Superman Returns (the 2-Disc Special Ed) at Best Buy, due to the fact they were giving away a copy of the DK Superman Dictionary (not a cheap thing to buy on its own). Anyhow, I have never had an issue with Best Buy, as they are relatively new here in Montreal, but for some reason, I thought this deal was too good to be true.

I walked in looking for the inevitable display stand, and lo and behold, no copies of that book I so desperately wanted. I figured, "Nah, they must keep them behind the counter." so I sauntered over to speak to the cashier, who clearly "Wasn't even supposed to be here today".

Turns out they don't have any copies available, as they never shipped them. Uh-huh. Funny how I kinda new that this was a farce to begin with. they then said "We'll give you a raincheque, and when it arrives, we'll have one for you." That was until I got to my car and read the raincheque and it said that they were holding a copy of the MOVIE for me.

Anyhow. This better be a fucking DAMN good DVD.

Anyone who bought this..is your "Look up in the sky" disc artwork different from the artwork on the back? I.E. the same as the old release?

Yeah, I have no idea why they did that. Before it had 5 different versions of Superman, now it just shows Animated Series Superman on one side and Routh on the other. Doesn't make a lot of sense, since the old way matched the other dvds, and this one doesn't. Again, I'm not surprised at this stupidity after spending some time temping at WHV's creative department.

Just watched the Donner Cut.

The "ultimate deleted scene" sentiment is dead on. It's a haphazardly slapped together reel of Donner's material with less caution thrown to coherency than it should've to be labeled as a standalone film, which, anyone and everyone should be warned, it REALLY isn't.

That said, there's some wonderful material in here, especially the Jor-El scenes, the less cartoony scenes with Zod and Co. (Ursa has a really great new line in the Oval Office), Chris Reeve being his usual awesome self. And sheer amount of work and love that went into making this happen at all has to be commended.

Anybody that knew the history, anybody even remotely curious should still get it, because it can't really be overstated how much stronger this film would've been with Donner at the helm 100%, and the Salkinds not trying to screw him at every turn. But, the definitive version of Superman II, it ain't. Mostly, I just walk away thinking there's probably one badass fan edit of both versions waiting to happen when some enterprising soul has the patience.

I'm actually looking forward to an ultimate fan edit of SUPERMAN II, now that most of the elements are out there in fairly pristine condition -- save for the additional deleted scenes that were in the ABC version. And considering how bad the visual effects and music editing are in The Donner Cut, and how seemingly any kid with an iMac can do better, we might be in for a treat. But I'm sure there will be a whole lot of crap to sit through first.

I almost picked it up when I realized I own the following:

the 2001 DVD set w/
Superman Expanded Version
Supermn 2
Superman 3
Superman 4

The Amazing Story of Superman 2-dsic w/ Bryan Singer Journals

The Fliescher Cartoons

So I just picked up the Donner Cut and Superman Returns once I realized I owned almost everything the Colelctors Set already. I could care less about all the extra featurettes and crap.

So the general consensus is that the Donner cut is not worth the money?

Because I was considering going back to Target and picking it up today.

The quicker you start seeing the Donner Cut as Disc Three of the Superman 2 Special Edition, the less disappointed you will be.

I dug it, myself. There's an economy to the film now (forced as it may be due to lack of footage in some instances) that makes it run at a nice clip as opposed to the bloated theatrical Superman II (and equally bloated Superman: The Movie)

Plus, it seems to fit, tonally, much better with Superman the Movie than the more polished theatrical cut did. I think it's a better movie even with it's mildly unfinished nature and it's questionable effects (the 1980 effects for the sequel were pretty shitty too, so the mix of shitty effects didn't really pull me out of anything while watching) than the theatrical Lester, which traded in some of the emotional honesty of the first film for padded slapstick and goofy tongue in cheek blah-blah.

For example, I don't mind losing the "I'll never let you down" crap with the President. That bit of flick always felt like Lester more smirking at flag-waving jingoism of the character than an honest moment. The movie isn't really about Superman as America's Protector anyway, it's about Superman choosing to be Superman. This cut focuses on that idea a lot more strongly than the Lester cut did.

Thau has a serious problem with transitions, though, and it tends to kneecap the film's attempt at looking more finished than it can be. There's gotta be a better way to glue together some of these sequences than clumsy fade-outs.

Yes, exactly. And although I understand the impulse to promote the Donner Cut as an all-new stand-alone version of the film, I think it sets even the most balanced of expectations up too high. But all of that aside, what's most disappointing about TDC is how poorly it's put together by the 2006 team behind it. When I went to DGA screening, I knew what to expect in terms of roughness and incomplete sequences, so that didn't bother me. It was the atrocious editing and VFX, all completed recently. The attention to detail needed for such an ambitious project was simply not there.

I'm glad Warners went through with this. I'm glad it's out. But even with the existing elements on display, it could have been so much better.

Hey All, Ive just completed a fan edit of superman 2, Ive rewatchjed it and its awesome. These are the changes made:

1. Removed the 5 minutes prologue sequence of Superman 1 and starts with Logo + dedication to reeves + superman throwing the rocket away to the credits.

2. Removed the test screen scenes and replaced it with lesters (works awesome)

3. Cut out superman reversing time. So now it goes like this ; superman returns lois to apartment + clarke goes and knocks that guy at the diner out, the end

I also trimmed scenes here and there to make it tighter. The entire film now runs for 1 hours and 28 minutes, and let me tell you, it really is quite awesome. if anyone knows where I can upload it, let me know.

I heard a rumor about this obscure, newfangled gizmo called www.youtube.com or somethin'. Sounds like something from THE FUTURE!

Seriously though, would love to see what you came up with.

LOL, right, youtube

its a 4.2 gig iso file. Can I upload 4.2 gigs? Can it play ISO?

at the future shop i work at we got a notice from whv about features they forgot to include in the set, and offered a number for replacement copies of the respective discs.

missing

-special features for Superman III
-2.0 track for Superman the Movie (disc 2, or disc 3, i forget).

if anyone here bought it in canada, i can procure the number for you to call if so desired.

i still want to pick it up.. i love those goddamn fleischer cartoons.