Superman: The Long Movie

This is a bit off of the topic of film music, but not really since Superman is one of John Williams's all-time greatest scores, and it figures in what we are about to beat to death. As is fairly well known, when Superman was aired on network television and later in syndication in two parts, it was a lot longer, with extra scenes galore.

I got an interesting letter from Herbert Kaplan detailing some of the additions to the very longest version of the film. This is not the network broadcast, or any of the syndication broadcasts, but what I suspect was the copy provided to independent television stations. In other words, this long, longer, longest cut has all sorts of stuff which the stations would then clip as they wanted, to cram in more commercials. Although Herbert says he does not know where the video acquisition weirdos (don't have an address for them yet, sorry—I'll ask Herbert, write if you are interested) got this from, I've seen it at a friend's house and that was the explanation he gave me.

This is my single most favorite stand-alone Williams score and you can hear a lot more of it in the extended cut of the film. The first 50 minutes of the movie have to be the best superhero comic book adaptation ever. Unfortunately, word is that the picture's elements (the visual elements, the negative, not the music tapes) are in less than ideal shape, which is why it is unlikely it will come out any time soon on DVD or laserdisc—let alone theatrically—in the restored, super-edition it deserves.

***

From Herbert Kaplan:

...In the months since you printed my letter regarding John Williams's Superman score (FSM Vol. 2, No. 2), I have managed to acquire a video copy of the expanded version of the film from a mail order outfit called Sarjim Video Acquisition Agents, which I found in an ad in Goldmine Magazine. From the crummy picture quality, it appears to be a second- or third-generation copy, and it is impossible to determine its origin. There seem to be breaks in it where the commercials would go, but the commercials themselves have been VCR-edited out, one or two generations ago. Strangely, there is no Lois-falling-from-the-helicopter cliffhanger as there was in the ABC broadcast; the rescue scene just plays straight through. The closing credits have been chopped off, and there is no station identification. However, there is almost an hour of extra footage (much more than the version in syndication, particularly in the second half), including the extra Brando scene you mentioned. [In this scene Supe returns to the Fortress of Solitude for another conversation with Jor-El's floating head about why he must keep his identity a secret, etc., during the "super rescues." -LK]

After having seen the expanded version (watching the whole thing at once is an exhausting experience) I have very mixed feelings. On the one hand, as a huge fan of the movie, any chance to see almost an hour more of it is a real treat. One the other hand, anyone with taste or common sense would have to admit that the theatrical cut of Superman is a much better film. To begin with, a lot of footage was scraped up and added to the long version (in order to pad it to a full four hours, with commercials) which was never intended to be used at all. Alternate angles of sequences like the cheerleaders and jocks riding in their car, or Jeff East wandering around in the frozen wastes, make these scenes drag on forever. The north pole sequence ends up having to replay the beginning of Williams's "Fortress of Solitude" cue over and over to accompany the extra shots.

Other extra footage often consists of only a line or two added to various scenes. Although some of these are significant (such as Trevor Howard's mentioning the Phantom Zone by name—it goes unnamed in the theatrical print), others seem hokey or superfluous. (Lana Lang: "Gee, Clark, I guess you're about the nicest guy in the whole school.") Even when entire scenes are added, which occurs mostly in the second half, they seem like embellishments or digressions. Director Richard Donner's cameo, as one of the bystanders watching the news reports on the TVs in the store window, is cute, but hardly necessary. (Donner: "That'll be the day, when a guy can fly, huh?" Clark Kent: "Oh, I don't know... You'd be surprised.") Superman's walk down Luthor's torture tunnel, while impressively filmed, and a good demonstration of his super-powers, stops the story dead. The "President" makes an offscreen appearance (in a scene mysteriously referred to in the closing credits of the theatrical print; ever notice?) when a Secret Service agent interrupts his golf game to tell him there's a phone call from the Pentagon. Ho hum.

And, in a bizarre sequence which must be seen to be believed, the water flowing from Superman's makeshift dam irrigates a nearby Indian reservation in the desert. No kidding.

The worst parts of the extra footage expand upon what most regard as the movie's biggest flaw: the campiness of the villains. There is a regrettable amount of clowning around on their part which often seems improvised and is painful to watch.

For film- and film-music enthusiasts, the expanded Superman is noteworthy for three reasons:

1) It proves just how uncertain Richard Donner was about what level of humor to air for in the Metropolis sequences. He improvised and shot a lot of extra footage to cover himself, but it seems that his better judgment prevailed in the editing.

2) It makes us appreciate just how snappily paced and tightly edited a film the theatrical version was. If you take a hard look at all the extra footage, scene by scene, shot by shot, you can always find a good reason for why it was excised, whether it's a bad line reading, a logical inconsistency, a slowing of the pace, or a simple lack of pertinence.

3) It offers a chance to hear a tiny bit more of Williams's music, both in familiar cues which were shortened when the film was edited, and in other cues we never heard, written for scenes we never saw.

***

Herbert adds that he is still looking for a copy of the original ABC broadcast with its commercials intact, or perhaps a copy of the TV documentary "The Making of Superman: The Movie." Write Herbert Kaplan, 879 Bellmore Ave, North Bellmore NY 11710-5514. I will try to get an address for Sarjim Video Acquisition Agents— they do not appear to have a web site.