2. Superman II
Superman was pretty groundbreaking in 1978. Choosing to eschew the camp that had become associated with superheroes thanks to the
Batman TV show from a little more than a decade earlier, director Richard Donner (who had just come off
The Omen) approached it with an idea of verisimilitude and managed to secure heavyweight actors like Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman. The decision was made to shoot both
Superman and
Superman II back to back, but Donner was told by the producers, Alexander and Ilya Salkind, that he was constantly over-budget and over-schedule.
The clashes became so frequent that the producers brought in another director, Richard Lester, to serve as a go-between for them and Donner, but the Salkinds intention was to have another director available on-set if Donner had to be let go. Production shifted entirely to
Superman, and the famous scene of the Man of Steel traveling back in time to save Lois life was actually intended to serve as the ending for
Superman II after the Kryptonian supervillains destroyed Earth. When
Superman proved to be a massive success, the Salkinds resumed production on
Superman II, but fired Donner, who had already filmed around 75% of the movie. Lester was made the replacement, and reshot many scenes. Hackman refused to return to the set and so his scenes in the sequel were reduced and he was replaced with a body double when necessary. As a result,
Superman II had a really uneven tone, clashing between Donners verisimilitude and Lesters more slapstick approach. The appearances of Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder are remarkably different in some shots when compared to others, sometimes within the same scene. Marlon Brandos scenes were also removed because the Salkinds didnt want to pay to use his footage. It was also Lester who added some of the more bizarre elements, like Supermans throwable cellophane S-shield, the energy beams the Kryptonians possessed, and Supermans amnesia-inducing kiss to wipe Lois memory of his true identity. Years of fan campaigning eventually led to Donner being given the chance to release his own directors cut, called
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. Its overall a far superior film and more in-tone with
Superman, except rather than ending the movie with Lois still knowing Supermans identity, Donner reused the time traveling scene, which makes it seem like Superman solves all his problems by mucking about with time.