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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good
The Film: Superman II
Year: 2006
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What makes it special? There were few special editions more talked about and more highly anticipated than the Richard Donner Cut of Superman II . Donner directed the original Superman , and shot a significant amount of its sequel at the same time before being unceremoniously replaced by Brit director Richard Lester after a falling out with the producers, the Salkinds.
After several campaigns to get the Donner cut released on DVD, the final barrier to its creation was overcome in the run up to the release of Superman Returns , when the estate of Marlon Brando allowed the use of footage shot for Superman II to be used for the first time. There are several crucial differences – the most significant of which are that Brando now appears in the film, creating a greater sense of continuity with the first film and giving it a gravitas missing from the theatrical cut. The opening is all-new, replacing the Eiffel Tower sequence with two smaller scenes – one set in the Daily Planet where Lois throws herself out of a window to get Superman to save her, and the other at Niagara falls where she finally learns Clark’s secret, and not in the theatrical version’s clumsy manner. We see more of the Kryptonian trio and their devastation across America on their way to the White house and there’s no fight in the Fortress Of Solitude, which means no ridiculous cellophane “S”.
Unfortunately, the Donner Cut creates a number of fatal continuity errors with the first film (which was also altered significantly before release). For example the evil trio escape because Superman throws one of Lex’s cruise missiles into space; however, if he turns back time that missile should never have been fired. It also repeats the trick of the first film – reversing time by flying round the world – replication which comes across as awkward in context. Both of these were true to Donner’s original vision of the first two movies; the original would have ended with Superman saving Lois before the Earthquake killed her.
Be warned, though – this is in no way a complete movie. It feels like a choppy work in progress, with huge chunks missing (obviously, because Donner never got the chance to shoot them). Worthwhile experiment, though.
The Film: Daredevil
Year: 2004
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What makes it special? There are few films on this list as vastly improved by their special editions as Daredevil . In fact, we’d go as far to say that it turns it from a poor film into a very good one. You didn’t need Matt Murdoch’s heightened senses to tell that the theatrical version reeked of studio interference. It felt like a film that had been toned down for a PG-13 rating – against the dark look and tone of the action. The actual problems went much further than that. In order to make an Elektra spin-off more commercially viable extra scenes with Elektra were shoe-horned in for no artistic reason.
This Director’s Cut restores the Elektra sub-plot to its original status (ie, less of the luvvy dovey stuff), restores much of the themes of Catholic guilt integral to Daredevil’s character, reinserts an entire sub-plot exorcised from the film featuring rapper Coolio (it’s not as bad as it sounds) and makes it generally darker, grittier, much more violent (it went from a PG-13 to an R in the States) and more in tone with Frank Miller’s run on the comics with which the film was closely based. If your problem with the film is Ben Affleck, who still looks a bit awkward in red leather, then this Director’s Cut doesn’t fix that, but if you’ve dismissed the film in the past we urge you to pick this version up to see the film the way it always should have been.
The film: RoboCop
Year: 2001
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What makes it special? Sometimes Special Editions are a case of little more than reinserting scenes that were cut in order to get a specific rating from the MPAA or the BBFC (the US and UK classification boards). No film is a better example of this than RoboCop , which had several minutes of ultraviolence trimmed in order to get an R-rating.
The biggest reinstated cut comes right at the start with Murphy’s graphic murder cut by a whole minute. The effect is to reduce the impact of just how heinous a crime it is – Verhoeven making full use of Rob Bottin’s unsettling animatronic Weller to blow his arm off in-camera and show the back of his head exploding. Otherwise it’s generally a case of more blood and more gore.
The irony of the MPAA cuts is that it turns an intentionally darkly comedic film into one that just feels a bit grim – take the murder of the OCP board member by ED-209 – the uncut version goes on for so long it borders on the absurd, turning one board member’s final line “Somebody call an ambulance,” from something horrifying into something laugh-out-loud hilarious.
The Films: The Star Trek series
Year: 2001
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What makes them special? JJ Abrams’ Trek aside, the Star Trek movies have all received a “special edition” release of some form on DVD, but two in particular stand out from the Starfleet: 1979’s The Motion Picture and 1991’s The Undiscovered Country .
The Motion Picture ’s director’s cut was released in 2001 and adds a number of new effects shots, cleans up the audio and tightens several scenes by trimming the runtime. It’s a divisive version among fans – many preferring its less languorous pacing, whereas others lament the loss of 2001 -esque lingering shots from Robert Wise’s original, rushed, edit.
The Undiscovered Country ’s changes are much more significant, however, and dramatically change the narrative of the entire film by revealing that the Klingon assassin isn’t a Klingon at all, but a human wearing a mask. It sounds like a small difference, but in a series that often finds drama in the complex political relationships between races it’s a hugely significant moment of revelation to have omitted from the original release.
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