2023 was the 85th anniversary of the first appearance of Superman in the comics, and Warner Bros has released two coveted box sets featuring the Donner and Salkind era of “Superman” movies. For folks that consider themselves strictly fans of the Christopher Reeve Superman films, this set is very much in your wheelhouse. Thankfully the movies still hold up very well, even though the box set leaves so much to be desired.
“Superman: The Movie” is still the standard for superhero movies. It’s a beautiful, fun, fantastic look at Superman in a feature film. Christopher Reeve is pitch perfect in the role of the “Last son of Krypton,” an alien who becomes a superhero, who also masquerades as humble reporter Clark Kent. “Superman II” is the much acclaimed follow up which finds Superman confronting terrorists from his home world that land on Earth intent on ruling it. With Superman now depowered, he has to find a way to stop their reign of terror. “Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut” is the much demanded director’s cut by Richard Donner who alters the tone of “Superman II” with new scenes, new takes, and a new climax.
“Superman III” finds Superman facing off against cyber terrorists, as well as an evil version of himself, all the while matching wits with Richard Pryor. It’s a lemon, sadly. “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” is the lower budgeted final film in the series that sees the return of Lex Luthor who engineers his own super powered being to fight Superman. It’s awful, but by no means as bad as “Superman III,” when all is said and done.
Overall, while the set is just fine, it’s sorely lacking. There’s no inclusion of 2006’s “Superman Returns,” there’s no inclusion of “Superman: The Extended Cut,” and there’s no inclusion of the rare “Superman: The Movie, the TV Cut.” Although the set doesn’t pretend to be a definitive collection of the Superman movies, it’s odd they included the Donner Cut of “Superman II,” but did not think to feature the alternate cuts of “Superman: The Movie.”
We were given the Superman 5 Film Collection Box Set, so along with the 4K UHD’s, there are also the Blu-Ray Editions, as well as the Digital Codes for consumers. The Superman: The Movie Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack contains the following previously released special features on Blu-ray Disc including commentary by Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spangler, the vintage The Making of Superman, the vintage featurette Superman and the Mole-Men, and three animated shorts. They include 1943’s Super-Rabbit, 1944’s Snafuperman, and 1956’s Stupor Duck. There is also a TV Spot, the Teaser Trailer, and the original Theatrical Trailer.
The Superman II Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack contains the following previously released special features on Blu-ray Disc the Commentary by Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler, the 1980 TV Special The Making of Superman II, The Deleted Scene “Superman’s Souffle,” First Flight, and Fleischer Studios’ Superman vintage cartoons Superman, The Mechanical Monster, Billion Dollar Limited, The Arctic Giant, The Bulleteers, The Magnetic Telescope, Electric Earthquake, Volcano, and Terror on the Midway. Finally, there’s the original theatrical trailer. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack previously released special features on the Blu-ray Disc such as Commentary by Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz, and an Introduction by Richard Donner.
There’s the featurette Superman II: Restoring the Vision, six Deleted Scenes, and eight of the Famous Studios vintage cartoon shorts. The Superman III Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack contains Commentary by Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler, the 1983 special The Making of Superman III, eleven Deleted Scenes, and the original theatrical trailer. Finally, there’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo which includes Commentary by Mark Rosenthal, the 1988 Superman 50th Anniversary Special, fifteen Deleted Scenes, and finally the original Theatrical Trailer.