I recently watched all the officially released versions of Superman: The Movie as well as “The Final Cut” fan-edit. I came away realizing that the Special Edition is the best version to watch.
The theatrical cut is the tightest version of the film. Honestly, with the Special Edition available since 2001, I rarely watch the theatrical version anymore. It was a nice revisit as this is the cut I grew up with. I understand it’s the preferred version for many fans but those added scenes in the Special Edition have spoiled me and now I just feel like something's missing from this cut.
The “Special Edition” acts as Richard Donner's Director's Cut and, it’s my favorite version to watch. Donner himself has mentioned that this is his preferred edition of the film as well. It features an additional 8 minutes of footage, including new Krypton footage, added dialogue, and the now infamous trap sequences (machine guns, flamethrowers, and a freezing chamber) before Superman enters Luthor’s lair. For me, the added footage enhances the film because it gives us more scenes of Christopher Reeve without being superfluous, and the color grading is enhanced as well. The pacing remains tight and we get more of the movie.
The “Extended Edition”, released on Blu-ray, is the 1981 television cut. This 3-hour-and-8-minute version of the film was the original cut of the film in late 1977 before being re-edited for theatrical release. It first aired cut in two parts as a 2-night event on the ABC network. This version is more commonly called the "Salkind International TV Cut." This cut adds some amazing additional footage of Superman flying that should have been included in the Special Edition, in my opinion. Other than that, it’s a slog to get through. So much unnecessary footage slows the pacing, including whole scenes of added dialogue, and some of the added footage needs to be further color corrected to match the rest of the remastered film. It’s great to watch at least once, or maybe twice, to satisfy curiosity and see what was left out of the theatrical cut, but ultimately, it's not the ideal version. Most of the added scenes don’t really add anything to the film.
The “Final Cut” is a fan-edit by Kathryn Ross, a freelance film editor. This cut of the film runs 2 hours, 56 minutes and incorporates most of the Extended Cut footage while also digitally enhancing or altering many of the effects shots and adding some neat flourishes like added planetary effects in the opening credits. I like this edit much better than the Extended Cut as it is much tighter and the enhanced visual effects add a lot to their respective scenes. Changes in color grading enhance the colors of some scenes and the audio mix has been altered in places. This altered cut even incorporates the opening Daily Planet scene from Superman II: The Donner Cut as a Post-Credit scene. For anyone who may be new to fan edits, there are many different edits of this film. Kathryn Ross' edit is probably the best fan edit of the film.
Because Superman: The Movie is the best superhero movie ever made, and the grandaddy of all comic book movies, all of these versions offer a fun experience. Each cut adds something that enhances the original theatrical version. The weakest of these remains the “Extended Cut” because of its pacing issues. The “Final Cut” is gorgeous, an admirable attempt at restoring and honoring the film. Donner's “Director's Cut,” a.k.a. the Special Edition, remains the best version. If someone wants to watch this movie, I’d recommend they see each of these cuts, but for my money, the Special Edition is the definitive version.
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