Synopsis: The Zod Squad arrives on Earth and challenge Superman over the fate of the Earth.
Reaction: It's great to see this alternate take on a story that is essentially the same as the one released to theaters. The quality is a bit low because they had to simply put this together from footage already shot 25 years before (some footage even coming from screen tests) rather than shoot necessary footage to fill out the necessary scenes.
This movie is Richard DonnerRichard Donner's Director's Cut of the original Superman II. Donner was the original director, but was replaced by Richard LesterRichard Lester.
The green crystal Clark picks up in the Fortress of Solitude is a prop from Superman Returns. A shot of editor Michael Thau's hands was used for Clark picking up the green crystal.
The actor playing Clark Kent yelling out to Lois Lane after she jumps out of the Daily Planet is not Christopher ReeveChristopher Reeve. An uncredited actor was brought in to film the shot for the scene for the DVD release.
According to editor [?] Michael Thau, the films contains about 200 new special effects.
Most of the new scenes in this cut were shot during the production of the original Superman. They had to be re-written and re-shot by Richard LesterRichard Lester because, under Director's Guild rules, he had to direct more than half the film to be credited. One exception to this is the new alternate scene where Lois discovers Clark's true identity by shooting him. Richard DonnerRichard Donner was never able to shoot this scene during principal photography. The take now used in this cut was actually used as screen tests. The shots of Lois come from Margot KidderMargot Kidder's screen test (with the already cast Christopher ReeveChristopher Reeve) the reverse shots of Clark's reactions come from screen tests that were shot with Reeve and other potential Lois candidates.
