Byrne Robotics: Superman Returns movie

Almost four years ago, a group of dedicated Superman fans around the world sent out the call for video recordings of the first televised broadcasts. Thousands of dollars and countless hours were spent restoring the footage and reintegrating it into the film. And finally, the results of their hard work are ready to be seen. The project leaders have announced that the Superman II: Restored International Cut two disk DVD set has been completed. According to the announcement, the set contains:

The complete two hour, twenty-six minute version of the film.
On-screen commentary track, detailing what footage Donner shot, and other Restored International Cut trivia.
Long out of print documentary "The Making of Superman II."
Long out of print "Superman II Soundtrack."
"Lost Scene Gallery" featuring pictures of Donner's unreleased work on Superman II.
"Restoration Demonstration" showing before and after footage examples.
Complete RIC artwork folder. All the artwork, from the cover to the disc art, it's all included in TIFF file format.

Also included is the following message to Donner, which explains the motivations behind this project:

An Open Letter to Richard Donner

Your work is not forgotten. This restoration project, the Restored International Cut exists as a tribute to your vision and efforts.

It's been more than twenty years, and your fans are still patiently waiting for the real Superman II. Many of us have gone to great lengths just to get a glimpse of the film we've long been wanting to see. While we wait for an official release, the bootlegging community has shown no qualms in charging fans extravagant prices for low quality reproductions of footage known to exist. It is our hope that this project will offer fans a more reasonable way of obtaining those scenes.

This Restored International Cut of Superman II has two main purposes. First, to give fans the opportunity to see those scenes in the best possible manner, without having to pay inflated bootleg prices. This whole endeavor has been done as a labor of love, and is strictly non-profit. Secondly, to let you, Warner Brothers, and anyone else with influence know that the fans are still eager to see the rest of your lost work on Superman II.

Thank you and everyone else who collaborated with you, for all your hard work on the Superman films. I hope someday, all the fans of this film will have the opportunity to see the rest of your vision. As stated above, the Superman II Restored International Cut was a non-profit project and thus, it is not available for sale. However, the creators behind this project want to ensure that Superman fans everywhere get a chance to see this DVD. Towards that end, free copies are being made and distributed. And fans are being encouraged to make more copies to share with others. There is a forum, to request copies of the RIC, which can be found here. Due to a large number of initial responses, the request list is currently closed, but it should be reopened soon.

A trailer for the Superman II Restored International Cut is already online and can be seen here. It not only demonstrates the restoration of the footage, it also includes a preview of an even more ambitious project: the Superman II Green Cut. The Green Cut will be a fan edit of the film with spruced up special effects and reedited, to remove some of Lester's changes, in order to create a film more in keeping with Donner�s original vision of Superman II.

For more on the Superman II Restored International Cut and the Green Cut, check out http://www.supermancinema.co.uk/

The John Byrne Forum
Byrne Robotics > The John Byrne Forum		<< Prev Page of 19 Next >>