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Superman - The Ultimate Collection


RRP: £75.99
Our Price: £41.74 (subject to change)

Editorial
Synopsis

For the Superman completist, a bumper collection of all five films in the SUPERMAN saga. SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE – SPECIAL EDITION sees the birth of a legend as we are introduced to the titular superhero and his Kryptonian origins. Also included is the expanded edition, which features an additional eight minutes of screen time. This is followed by SUPERMAN II – SPECIAL EDITION in which our boy in blue must do battle with three escaped super criminals bent on destroying the earth. Presented here in both its theatrical and director's cut versions, the latter is expanded by an alternate beginning and ending, as well as 15 minutes of restored footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El. In the third instalment in the franchise, SUPERMAN III – DELUXE EDITION, Superman learns of his Achilles heel when he is exposed to kryptonite. The penultimate SUPERMAN IV – THE QUEST FOR PEACE sees the Man of Steel take on Nuclear Man, culminating in an explosive showdown of epic proportions. When the Super One returns to Earth in SUPERMAN RETURNS – SPECIAL EDITION, he discovers that the woman he loves, Lois Lane, has moved on with her life, and must figure out how to protect a world that has learned to survive without him. The ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S EDITION comes housed in a collectible keepsake tin, bursting with extra features.


Look, Up In The Sky... It's An Amazing Box Set
Review date: 2008-08-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

This box set comes with a slightly hefty price tag but believe me, dear reader, this is a set no Superman fan can afford to be without.
Everything about this box set, from the contents to the packaging, has been specially and thoughtfully considered in order to really give The Man of Steel his due.

I assume Richard Donner's 1978 Superman needs no introduction. It's present here in both its theatrical form and the 2000 extended edition are both available here. Both cuts look and sound excellent (if you've not seen the famous credit sequence in 5.1 surround sound, you haven't lived)and are supplemented by a host of superb bonus features. All the documentaries, deleted scenes and screen tests from the 2000 Superman release are here along with a surprisingly good period "Making of" doc.
Warner Bros have also been kind enough to throw in the ENTIRE Fleischer studios Superman cartoons. These animated shorts are endlessly charming and tremendous fun!
The 1951 Superman TV pilot, Superman and the Mole Men is here too. While it doesn't represent the best of the 50s TV series it's a nice and welcome addition.

Superman II gets the same treatment with similar extras. This set contains not only Richard Lester's theatrical version but a new cut by Superman director, Richard Donner. The Donner cut, by the way, may as well be a completely different film with a great deal more footage. Both are excellent in their own ways, though I think the Donner cut exists to supplement the original Superman II, not supplant it.

The first 2 Superman films have commentaries by producers Illya Salkind and Pierre Spengler as well as Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz. All are worth listening to, though Mr Salkind does come across a little pompous.

Superman III is well represented here, boasting a commentary track by Messers Salkind and Spengler, a period "Making of" and a slew of deleted scenes. While Superman III is not, generally fondly remembered I've loved it since I was a child and it's still a fun romp. Christopher Reeve is on form as ever and his interactions with Anette O'Toole show a genuine chemistry. Even if everything except the near legendary Superman vs Superman scene were chopped away, there'd still be a film worth watching.

Superman IV, while universally loathed, is firmly in the "so bad it's good" category for me. From the 'masonry vision' to Nuclear Man's mullet to Lenny Luthor's attrocious "valley boy" accent there's always something to giggle at in the film. It comes with a commentary by co-screenwriter Mark Rosenthal (essentially a two hour apology) and a bunch of deleted scenes which are silly and fun additions.

Superman Returns is here too, with pretty much the same content as the 2 disc special edition. I find the film to be a highly underrated and enjoyable take on The Man of Steel and I'm grieved slightly that Bryan Singer probably won't be asked to return to direct another Superman. The film looks absolutely stunning and the 5.1 track does the sound effects and John Ottman's score proud. The 3 hour documentary Requiem for Krypton is a comprehensive account of the film's production from inception to completion and there are also a handful of highly entertaining deleted scenes.

As if all this weren't enough, the set is capped off with two truly excellent documentary discs. "Look, Up In The Sky The Amazing Story of Superman" is a brilliant and comprehensive documentary detailing Big Blue's every incarnation from his early comic strips through the animated series and Lois & Clark to the Smallville TV series and Superman Returns.

"You Will Believe", the final documentary of the set is a highly detailed and frank account of the creation and reception of the Superman film franchise right up to 1984's Supergirl. While much of the material (especially concerning the first two films) is already seen or mentioned elsewhere it's still an entertaining and informative documentary.
The disc also contains some vaguely Superman related Warner Bros cartoons, as well as a cute, unseen TV pilot called 'Superpup'.
There are also two smaller documentaries. The Mythology of Superman is an interesting take on the superhero's roots in Greek and early mythologies narrated by Terrence Stamp and featuring many of Dcs heavyweight writers and editorial staff. The Heart of a Hero: A Tribute to Christopher Reeve is a deeply touching documentary about the man who made us all believe a man could fly. Fellow actors and crew members join friends and co-workers in remembering this remarkable man and my only regret is that it doesn't mention Reeve's political activism and staunch work for human rights.

My apologies for the lengthly review but it doesn't even encompass ALL the material in this magnificent box set.


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Reviews


Amazing! Amazingggggggg!!! (Quoting Lex Luthor!)
Review date: 2007-12-13 Rating: 10 out of 10

I've had this huge boxset for a year and still not seen it all. It's a brilliant buy and you won't regret spending your cash on it, as no doubt when it first came out i got it for £60, but now it's definitely affordable and cheaper especially if you buy it here on Amazon.

Well, there are 13 discs containing the 5 main Superman movies, plenty of features, commentaries, deleted scenes, documentaries, other past Superman cartoons, the George Reeves Superman episodes, the list goes on, so you'll never tire of watching this, you may even watch it all over again once you've seen it all as it's really special to relive the Chris Reeve movies again. With the size of the box and number of discs, it sure will provide hours of fabulous entertainment for everyone.

The boxset is exquisitely packaged featuring:
- metal tin box
- all 13 discs with special features providing over 20 hours of extra material
- a whole new 2 hour version of Superman 2 produced in 2006
- newspaper style booklet
- colourful cover sleeve for the boxset

Look out its coming back
Review date: 2007-09-23 Rating: 10 out of 10

I have to hold my hands up and Confess that I don't have a Clue why they are doing this but ' Superman: Ultimate Collector's Edition (13 Disc Tin Boxset) ' is being released in the UK on 15/10/2007 and it appears ' identical ' to the Boxset that was released on the 4 Dec 2006

The only ' major difference ' is the price.

The Boxset released on the 4 Dec 2006 had a RRP of £76.99
The Boxset being released on the 15 October 2007 has a RRP of £ 49.99

I have already spotted this at £ 39.99 for Pre-order's

The version coming out Next Month has

1. Superman: The Movie - 4 Disc Special Edition
2. Superman II - 3 Disc Special Edition
3. Superman III - 2 Disc Deluxe Edition
4. Superman IV - 2 Disc Deluxe Edition
5. Superman Returns - 2 Disc Edition

If you are like me and have been holding back placing a order it would appear you are best to hang on another few weeks.

I have hunted all over the Amazon site but I cant spot any mention of this coming out ' at this current time '

Still Super...if you can get the disc out to watch it!
Review date: 2007-07-31 Rating: 6 out of 10

I have to agree with the reviewer from Stoke-on-Trent. I wasn't that thrilled with the packaging either. While I like the metal tin idea, the 14 discs are stored in double-faced holders so actually ejecting the DVDs on the reverse is near impossible when the finger holes are inverted on one side and convex on the other. It made trying to remove half of the discs tricky while trying to avoid scratching.

I also have to admit that one of the main reasons I bought this set was for the Richard Donner version of Superman II. Now I'm really wishing I hadn't tarnished my memories of the original theatrical release. I was so disappointed. BEWARE SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON... I found the cutting and editing sloppy and was stunned by the sheer underuse of the Superman theme music. The performances of all of the main characters seemed to suffer. Donner's "verisimilitude" approach seems to have been at the expense of the emotion and chemistry seen in the theatrical release. His cut and pasting really costs the Lois/Superman romance dear. While the extra footage of Brando was superb, the clip-art treatment of Brando's head and resized figure being shifted from spot to spot at the Fortress of Solitude really annoyed me.

Perhaps I'm being sentimental but the things I really missed:

Susannah York.
Superman's dignity.
Lois's dignity.
The voice treatments - loved those.
The delivery of the classic lines.
Superman's secret revealed scene.
The score in certain scenes.
The Paris scene.
Superman smiling.

Most of all I felt the loss of the Lois/Superman "just say that you love me" resolution scene. However infuriating the 'memory removing kiss' was, the intimacy of that scene was just so captivating and Superman's sacrifice so much more evident. Instead Donner reuses the ol' Superman turning back the time trick again. It was just baulkish. Why would Superman bother fighting villains at all, he could just take a spin around the planet and turn everything back to his liking. It seemed to cheapen the reason Superman first resorted to this 'forbidden' measure - to save Lois.

Despite all my bemoaning, I would still recommend this boxset to all Superman fans, new and old alike. The Superman movies are still masterpieces of cinema, the last instalment especially. Even as a loyal Chris Reeve fan, Superman Returns doesn't disappoint. Brandon Routh does a sterling job and captures Superman, Clark and Reeve's mannerisms beautifully.




Films are amazing, packaging is awful
Review date: 2007-02-12 Rating: 4 out of 10

As a huge superman fan myself, i was very disapointed when i opened this boxset. I cannot fault any of the actual films or special features, but the packaging is ghastly. As pictured, the set 'looks' amazing with special feature loaded disks incased in a large metal box depicting the superman shild on the front....however in reality the metal is nearly as thin as paper and dents incredibly easily, it's not often you can describe a metal object as 'fragile' but that is the word i would use. Secondly, as you handle the boxset for the first time you will feel a clunking inside the tin, this is because the packaging that the actual DVD's are secured in is half the size of tin, allowing a good 5x3cm gap for the disks to rattle about in. I myself have had to break up some polestyrine pieces and wedge them between the disks and the tin to stop any further damage to either the tin or the disks. it is a real shame that this amazing must-have set has been ruined by it's shoddy packaging, a little extra thought, planning and better materials would have made this an ultimate collection, instead of a real disapointment.

Product Details/Specifications


Artist(s):
Superman

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321902101095
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 13
Format: Box set, PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen,
Release date: 2007-10-15
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 1019 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)

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