Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition - Part IV

After the critical and commercial successes of the first two "Superman" films, it seemed nothing could possibly go wrong with Warner Bros.' successful film franchise. But after the troubling debacle that ensued during the production of the first two films and affected the eventual development of "Superman II", producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind were determined to steer the franchise back on course (read: in their own direction). Their intention: to produce "Superman III" with elements that then-contemporary audiences could relate to. Working with writers David and Leslie Newman, they conceived the elements of hostile corporate businessmen and computers gone haywire. In today's times, these threats are all too commonplace. Back in the early 1980's not many people thought this was possible.

The Salkinds also wanted more emphasis on comedy and humor to steer the third film to the big screen and bring in a larger audience, but who would fill that role? Enter the late Richard Pryor, at that time the hottest comedian in America. Pryor had just emerged from a near-death experience and sought diverse, interesting roles that stretched him as an actor - in other words, something safe and not so risky as the work he produced in the 1970's that brought him recognition and popularity. Pryor's role of the bumbling Gus Gorman, a down and out computer genuis, took center stage away from the Superman character, a sign that things were in trouble for the Man of Steel. (This blend of comedy and adventure seemed to threaten other film franchises, most notably in 1985-86 when at one point Eddie Murphy was considered for a supporting role in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home", which to the delight of Trek fans everywhere didn't come to light.)

Despite a fairly respectable $65 million domestic gross, "Superman III" premiered in the summer of 1983 but was hampered from the start with a weak script, recycled elements from the first two films that never made it to the screen, and too much comic emphasis on Pryor's mugging and director Richard Lester's flair for camp comedy that made his films of the 1960's successful. Add to it the fact that Christopher Reeve had begun to grow tired of the Superman role and vowed never to return, and you have a recipe for certain disaster.

Over the years I had viewed "Superman III" as an uneven mesh of elements both good and bad, and my thoughts hold true now as they have in the past. In some cases the good really comes forth. Reeve brought a needed maturity to Clark Kent that was severely lacking in the first two films; he no longer needed to put on an act, especially back home in Smallville. While Margot Kidder's part of Lois Lane was reduced to a mere two-scene quickie, no thanks to the Salkinds, Annette O'Toole brought quite a pleasing counterbalance as the now-adult Lana Lang, a divorcee and single mom who brings out Clark's heart of gold in a bittersweet romance that never fully develops. And while the action this time around is more pedestrian in presentation than epic in quality, the showdown between Clark and the evil Superman is an interesting study of man wrestling with his dual nature that comes right out of the Superman comics. However, the bad elements threaten to outweigh the good more often than not. With Pryor, Robert Vaughn, Annie Ross, and Pamela Stephenson as the film's villains du jour, their actions take center stage through much of the film, unfortunately shepherding Reeve to the middle of the group as a featured player instead of a leading man. In any James Bond film the main character is Bond himself, not the villain. The same is expected in a Superman film. Not so with this weak effort.

Now we come to the Deluxe Edition of "Superman III" from Warner Home Video, issued as Disc 8 of the 14-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition and also in a separate release. Right away I can tell you that compared to the previous DVD release, this new version is better in terms of some of its content and presentation, though overall the release itself needed quite a bit more effort put into it in some areas. (More on this later.)

The film itself is presented in a crisp anamorphic widescreen transfer conforming to the fiml's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, with your choice of English or French Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. This transfer is the same as on the previous DVD release from 2001. Colors and blacks are solid, and the image quality is quite good - a little too good, if you ask me. That's because as with the previous DVD, some of the elements that hid the illusion of a man flying are gone - in other words, lots of wires, wires, and more wires. No wonder Ilya Salkind was upset about this alteration from the original film masters. Compare this DVD to your old laserdisc or VHS copies of the film, and you'll see what I mean. If anything, Warner Home Video should have fixed the wire problem for this release (and for that matter with all of the Reeve Superman films) with a little CGI love that would have preserved the effect. The serious presence of wires all over the place simply draws me out of the film - where's the verisimilitude that Richard Donner worked so hard to maintain in the first two films? Gone with that little "You're fired!" telegram the Salkinds sent to him back in 1979.

Where this new DVD release shines is with the inclusion of a number of fairly decent supplements. First off, Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler provide an optional audio commentary for the film, as they did with the first two films. Here they discuss their insights into bringing "Superman III" to life, working with Pryor, Lester's comic touches, and so forth. It's a decent commentary from start to finish, though I still have trouble with some of their spin statements. In addition, the film's theatrical trailer (with the spoiler-filled ending, no less!) is recycled from the previous DVD and laserdisc releases, presented in widescreen format and Dolby 2.0 sound. You know it's an ominous feeling for a film's box office release when its ending is heavily spoiled in the preview trailer(s).

New to this DVD release is the vintage TV special "The Making of Superman III", narrated by Al Matthews (who portrayed the fire chief in the film). This 48-minute documentary pulls the curtain back on some of the production elements in making this third film come to life, including the construction of Ross Webster's elaborate skyscraper ski slope, the construction and destruction of the ultimate computer, shooting the elaborate opening sequence of comic mishaps, the junkyard fight, and other scenes throughout the film. Reeve, Lester, and O'Toole, among others, offer their thoughts on this latest installment, and it turns out that the biggest Superman junkie on the block this time around is not Reeve, Pryor, or Lester, but O'Toole! I had never known this program had aired on ABC during the 1980's, though I had suspected it so, and it's only been in the last few years that I found out it indeed aired on ABC. How I missed it, I have no idea. It's presented in full frame format and Dolby 2.0 sound, and the image quality is fairly good for a 20-year-old documentary. While it's far less technical than the other documentaries on the Superman DVDs, there are some nice little technical nuggets to glean here.

We also have a series of deleted and extended scenes, pulled from the film's extended TV broadcasts. All of these added scenes are presented in full frame format and Dolby 2.0 sound. Unfortunately, all of these cut scenes, along with those that didn't make this DVD release, add no story value at all to the film are not relevant to or missed in the final theatrical version. They still don't. Except for the brief snippets involving Reeve, I wouldn't have missed them at all. Furthermore, the selected clips included on this DVD are taken from a filthy-looking print with lots of dirt throughout the footage. That's really careless if you ask me. It's possible that the full frame print may be the only source in existence in referencing these cut scenes, and if that's the case, then that's one thing. Obviously the Salkinds had to reference a widescreen print of the film and its cut scenes to prepare it for broadcast (as with the first two films), didn't they? So where are the widescreen versions of these clips? Somebody fumbled the ball in a big way, if you ask me.

Furthermore, to call this DVD release a "Deluxe Version" is a misnomer. Seriously, a single-disc DVD release like this is far from earning the title deluxe anything. Had this been a true deluxe edition, Warner would have gone all out and included vintage interviews with Reeve and Pryor, a commentary with Lester (though every effort was made to obtain his participation in the creation of the new DVD releases), additional production features, TV spots for the film (including at least one with some alternate footage that never made it into the film), and the extended version in its entirety, all spread out over a two-disc set. This DVD is no more deluxe than a single-disc release of a standard DVD with the film, a trailer, and a few extras.

In preparing the Ultimate Collector's Edition, initial pressings of the set erroneously included the 2001 DVD pressing of the film sans extras. This turned out to be an honest production error that affected only the 14-disc set. Thankfully, Warner stepped up to the plate and corrected that problem, and while the recent reissue of the 14-disc set contains the corrected disc, fans who purchased the set back in November can still send in the original disc for a replacement. At least that's one good point in Warner's favor for this film.

"Superman III" is a disappointing film from start to finish. As a so-called "Deluxe Edition" DVD, it's still disappointing. But the documentary and Reeve's presence are probably the sole things that keep me from forgetting about this release altogether. As with IV (which I will review next time), Warner dropped the ball in a number of areas with this one. Unless a proper two-disc special edition comes along (something I honestly don't see happening), this is probably all we're going to get. And with Bryan Singer's 2006 revamp of the Superman franchise many have cast off III (and IV) into alternate universe continuity. I can't say that I blame them. Otherwise, this one's really for the hardcore Superman fans.

Next time around, it's Disc 9, "Superman IV" and the quest for the complete picture. See you then!

(Oh, lest I forget, happy 25th anniversary, "Star Trek II!" They don't make 'em like that anymore!)