Taglines: The adventure continues.
Superman 2 movie storyline. Picking up where “Superman: The Movie” left off, three criminals, General Zod (Terence Stamp), Ursa, (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O’Halloran) from the planet Krypton are released from the Phantom Zone by a nuclear explosion in space. They descend upon Earth where they could finally rule. Superman, meanwhile, is in love with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), who finds out who he really is. Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) escapes from prison and is determined to destroy Superman by joining forces with the three criminals.
Superman II is a 1980 British-American superhero film directed by Richard Lester, based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is a sequel to the 1978 film Superman and stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, and Jack O’Halloran. The film was released in Australia and mainland Europe on December 4, 1980, and in other countries throughout 1981. Selected premiere engagements of Superman II were presented in Megasound, a high-impact surround sound system similar to Sensurround.
Superman II is well known for its controversial production. The original director Richard Donner had completed, by his estimation, roughly 75% of the movie in 1977 before being taken off the project. Many of the scenes were shot by second director Richard Lester, who had been an uncredited producer on the first film. However, in order to receive full director’s credit, Lester had to shoot up to 51% of the film, which included refilming several sequences originally filmed by Donner.
According to statements made by Donner, roughly 25% of the theatrical cut of Superman II contains footage he shot, including all of Gene Hackman’s scenes. In 2006, a re-cut of the film was released titled Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, restoring as much of Donner’s original conception as possible including deleted footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El.
The film received positive reviews from film critics, who praised the visual effects and story, as well as Reeve’s performance. It grossed $190 million against a production budget of $54 million. Three years after the film’s release, a second sequel, Superman III, was released, for which Lester returned as director.
Superman 2 (1980)
Directed by: Richard Lester
Starring: Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper, Sarah Douglas, Ned Beatty, Valerie Perrine, Susannah York
Screenplay by: Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel
Production Design by: John Barry, Peter Murton
Cinematography by: Robert Paynter, Geoffrey Unsworth
Film Editing by: John Victor-Smith
Costume Design by: Yvonne Blake, Sue Yelland
Set Decoration by: Peter Howitt, Peter Young
Music by: Ken Thorne
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: December 4, 1980
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