The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Yonkers, New York is putting on a special screening of the extended cut of “Superman: The Movie” to celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary.
Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Times: 7:00pm/9:00pm
Cost: $10.00
A rare theatrical screening of the 188 minute extended version, originally created to air on TV in two parts.
40th Anniversary Screening
Decades before blockbuster Extended Cuts were common, Superman proved a true “Man of Tomorrow.” Superman: The Movie received an ahead-of-its-time makeover for its television premiere – nearly 40 more minutes of story, creating a two-night television event. We celebrate the 40th Anniversary of SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE by screening the rarest cut of Richard Donner’s superhero epic.
Visit the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema website for more details.
Source: 13th Dimension.
Man, I hope they put out a celebratory anniversary showing in the cinemas in Scotland.
I’d like to hear from someone that’s seen the 188 version. Donner himself has said they edited back in a bunch of junk scenes that make the movie less desirable.
Just bought it recently and watched it. I rather enjoyed it. I disagree that it makes the movie less desirable. It’s just more and different in some respects. Though I can kinda see where Donner is coming from. I think biggest benefit of it is that since you see so much more of what they shot it does kind of get your mind going on how you might do your own edit of the film. I say this because in some ways I absolutely agree with Stuart Baird’s choices and in others I can’t understand why in the world he… Read more »
After seeing the three hour version of Superman the movie I have to wonder what was so bad about the scenes that were deleted? In my opinion, the three hour version is the best one yet for Superman the movie. There were a lot of excellent scenes of Superman that were taken out of the original cut. Close ups of his flight, the Jimmy Olsen photo scene where Superman lifts Jimmy up to take a picture. Then there were scenes of Lex that were taken out. I feel that in those scenes Lex is shown to be more of a… Read more »
I guess the main reason why I like this version so much more than the other versions, is that I get to see more story. It’s longer, and I like long stories. I get to see more of the characters and scenes that they are in. Granted that there are scenes that aren’t paced as well as others, and yes there are scenes that are a bit long, but for me, that means I get to see more from these characters. And I like that.
I agree with you on Lex. Though his feeding Miss Tessmacher to “the babies” does make you wonder why the heck she joined back up with him in the beginning of Superman II (where did she go for second half of that movie anyway?). Also nice because it shows that Superman didn’t just leave her to Luthor’s mercy after she helped him.
The whereabouts of Miss Tessmacher after her scene in the Fortress of Solitude is a good question Mattcomics. They never explained what happened to her did they.
I think you answered your own question – the studio didn’t want to show a serious side because comic movies in that day and age weren’t suppose to be considered or even thought of as being remotely serious – The Watchmen and the Dark Knight trilogy showed that comic book movies can be and should be more than camp. Unfortunately WB can’t get that through their head as shown with Green Lantern and Justice League.
Problem is DKR and Watchmen just shoved things in the opposite but equally obnoxious extreme. Doubling down on grimdark became the default creative solution to friggin everything! The quest for SERIOUS has wrecked a lot of damage on superheroes and I would even include Batman in that.
I think we’ve begun to see more attempts at reaching a balance but only recently. It’s been a loooooong road and we’re still not there yet IMO.
Contrary to what others have said I personally agree with Donner. Much of the added stuff is superfluous fluff and save for a few great shots of Superman most of the scenes only really serve to unnecessarily pad out the movie and make set pieces overly long. Personally I think the 2001 remastered version is the definitive edition.
Matt and Spidey……..thanks for the info on extended cut. Appreciate your views.
Your welcome Redcape. I’m glad I could provide some insight to a fellow superman fan.
Redcape, what do you think about this version of the film?
I haven’t seen it yet.(I think) I remember when STM was on TV and it had 11 minutes edited back in. Matt had pointed out the gauntlet scene and there were several others that didn’t amount to much importance but were good to see. I’m going to have to get it now and see for myself. For the record……..I was there on opening day weekend back in 78. It was a once in a life time experience that I will never forget let alone repeating the same excitement level that Superman the movie created. When Superman showed up and the… Read more »
Thank you for sharing your experience on seeing the film on opening day Redcape. I appreciate you sharing your experience. I haven’t seen the film at a theater myself, however the cinema that I go to has a history of playing older films such as Back to the Future and the Never ending Story for a weekend in the summer time. I hope that one day they will show Superman the movie, but for now I’m happy to see it on my tv. I do recommend seeing the three hour version of the film. I can see why they would… Read more »
One thing I do want to give people a bit of a heads up on is that the 3 hour cut is presented in its original stereo sound mix. If it sounds different to you from the other cuts it’s not your tv or speakers that is the reason.
Thanks for pointing that out MattComics. That’s an interesting fact.