Superman II [1979]

Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production: 1979
Running Times: 127 mins
Format: Technicolor     35mm     Panavision [anamorphic]
Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound: Dolby Stereo

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Alexander Salkind / Film Export A.G. / International Film Production / Warner Brothers
Production Executive: Bob Simmonds
Executive Producer: Ilya Salkind
Co-Executive Producer: Alyssa Cartegena [uncredited]
Producer: Pierre Spengler
Production Manager: Steve Lanning
Production Supervisor: Tim Hampton

SCRIPT
Script: Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman
Story: Mario Puzo
Characters: Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster
Creative Consultant: Tom Mankiewicz

DIRECTION
Director: Richard Lester, Richard Donner [uncredited]
1st Assistant Director: Dusty Symonds
2nd Assistant Directors: Gerry Gavigan, Christopher Newman
Assistant Director: Raoul Girard

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Bob Paynter, Geoffrey Unsworth
Camera Operators: Peter Hammond, John Harris
Assistant Camera: Nick Schlesinger, Jon Sorensen
Grip and Lighting Equipment: Lee Lighting Ltd
Labs: Technicolor

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Editors: Stuart Baird, John Victor-Smith, Ernest Walter

MUSIC
Music: Ken Thorne; John Williams [from Superman [1978]]
Song: Roger Ball, Hamish Stuart, The Average White Band [Pick Up the Pieces]
Song Performed By: The Average White Band [Pick Up the Pieces]
Music Editor: Robert Hathaway

SOUND
Re-Recording Mixer: Gerry Humphreys
Front Projection Unit Boom Operator: Jonathan Andrews [uncredited]

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Graham Freeborn, Kay Freeborn, Stuart Freeborn, Nick Maley [uncredited], Basil Newall [uncredited]
Costume Designers: Yvonne Blake, Sue Yelland

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Cinema Research Corporation; Howard Anderson Company; Zoptic
Special Effects Supervisor: Colin Chilvers
Special Effects Technicians: Jimmy Benson, John Evans, Garth Inns, Brian Warner
Miniature Effects Supervisor: Derek Meddings
Flying Unit Supervisor: Denys Coop

VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects Supervisor: Roy Field
Special Visuals: Stuart Freeborn
Visual Effects Photography: Paul Wilson

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: John Barry, Peter Murton

MISCELLANEOUS
Junior Assistant Accountant: Sarah Lucraft
Marketing Consultant: Craig Miller [uncredited]

LOCATIONS
Locations: Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Chobham Common, Surrey, England, UK; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Paris, France; St Lucia
Studio: Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Location Manager: Allan James

STUNTS
Stunt Coordinators: Vic Armstrong, Alf Joint, Paul Weston
Stunts: Bob Anderson, David Brandon, Cyd Child, Tim Condren, George Lane Cooper, Sue Crosland, Graeme Crowther, Clive Curtis, Billy Dean, Peter Diamond, Joe Dunne, Stuart Fell, Tex Fuller, Tom Hegarty, Billy Horrigan, Arthur Howell, Alf Joint, Wendy Leech, Mark McBride, Peter Munt, Valentino Musetti, Terence Plummer, Greg Powell, Terry Richards, Doug Robinson, Colin Skeaping, Stuart St Paul, Chris Webb, Paul Weston, Terry Yorke [all uncredited]

CAST
Gene Hackman [Lex Luthor]
Christopher Reeve [Superman / Clark Kent]
Ned Beatty [Otis]
Jackie Cooper [Perry White]
Sarah Douglas [Ursa]
Margot Kidder [Lois Lane]
Jack O'Halloran [Non]
Valerie Perrine [Eve Teschmacher]
Susannah York [Lara]
Clifton James [Sheriff]
E.G. Marshall [the President]
Marc McClure [Jimmy Olsen]
Terence Stamp [General Zod]
Leueen Willoughby [Leueen]
Robin Pappas [Alice]
Roger Kemp [spokesman]
Roger Brierley, Anthony Milner, Richard Griffiths [terrorists]
Melissa Wiltsie [nun]
Alain Demay [gendarme]
Marc Boyle [C.R.S. man]
Alan Stuart [cab driver]
John Ratzenberger, Shane Rimmer [controllers]
John Morton [Nate]
Jim Dowdall [Boris]
Angus MacInnes [prison guard]
Antony Sher [bell boy]
Elva Mai Hoover [mother]
Hadley Kay [Jason]
Todd Woodcroft [father]
John Hollis [Krypton elder]
Gordon Rawlings (real name: Gordon Rollings) [fisherman]
Peter Whitman [deputy]
Bill Bailey [J.J.]
Dinny Powell
Hal Galili [man in diner]
Marcus D'Amico [Willie]
Richard LeParmentier [reporter]
Don Fellows [General]
Michael Shannon [President's aide]
Tony Sibbald [Presidential imposter]
Tommy Duggan [diner owner]
Pamela Mandell [waitress]
Pepper Martin [Rocky]
Eugene Lipinski [newsvendor]
Cleon Spencer
Carl Parris [kid]
Richard Donner [man walking by diner - uncredited]
Beth Porter [football fan - uncredited]
Joe Walsh [sailor baby - uncredited]

Three imprisoned Kryptonian criminals escape from the Phantom Zone and arrive on Earth. But Superman has fallen in love with Lois Lane and has renounced his powers so that he can live a normal life with her. As the super-villains run riot, aided by an opportunistic Lex Luthor, the now all too mortal Clark Kent has to struggle back to the forbidding Fortress of Solitude and regain his powers before it's too late...

This is that rarest of cinematic beasts, the sequel that improves significantly on an already impressive original. Reeve is again perfect as both the Man of Steel and the bumbling Clark Kent and is given a run for his money by a powerhouse cast that also includes giants like Terence Stamp and Gene Hackman. Much more comic-book than the original and all the better for it, Superman II is by a long way the best of the series and the best interpretation of Superman on screen anywhere.

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Warner Brothers
Laserdisc Distributor: Warner Home Video [12031]; Warner Home Video [11120 LV]
DVD Distributor: Warner Home Video [11120]

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Argentina
Rating: Atp

Australia
Rating: PG

Chile
Rating: TE

Finland
Rating: K-12

France
Rating: U

Norway
Rating: 12

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: PG

USA
Rating: PG

1979
January
13: UK - shooting begins at Pinewood Studios

1980
December
9: Norway - theatrical release

1981
April
17: Finland - theatrical release

June
19: USA - theatrical release

July
31: Sweden - theatrical release

1996
September
23: USA - laserdisc release [Warner Home Video [12031]]

2000
February
22: Iceland - video release

2001
May
1: USA - DVD release [Warner Home Video [11120]]

2002
March
3: USA - television broadcast [on HBO F]

The three outlaws from Krypton descend to Earth to confront the Man of Steel in a cosmic battle for world supremacy.

The adventure continues

Stålmannen II - Swedish title
Superman 2 - Äventyret fortsätter - Swedish title
Superman II - Allein gegen Alle - German title

SEQUEL TO
Superman [1978]

SEQUELS
Superman III [1983]
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace [1987]

SEE ALSO
Hot Shots! [1991]
The Meteor Man [1993]

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Thrills: America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies [2001]

MAGAZINES

AIP & Co no.20 [August / September 1979] p.8 [UK]
review

BKTS Journal vol.62 no.11 [November 1980] pp.622-625 [UK]
article

L'Ecran Fantastique no.16 [1980] pp.63; 64-65; 65-67; 67-68; 25; 26-29; 30-32; 33-35; 36-39; 40; 41-44 [France]
review; interview; interview; interview; interview; interview; interview; interview; interview; interview; interview

Hollywood Reporter vol.261 no.12 [8 April 1980] p.14 [USA]
credits

Metro no.66 [1985] pp.26-27
illustrated article

Screen International no.182 [24 March 1979] p.1 [UK]
note

Screen International no.238 [26 April 1980] pp.1, 2 [UK]
article

Screen International 7 July 1979 p.12
credits

Starburst no.24 [1980] pp.44-47 [UK]
illustrated interview

Variety 3 December 1980 pp.22, 46 [USA]
credits, review

Variety 3 September 1986 p.112 [USA]
note

KEYWORDS

comic into film; superheroes; superman; super-villains; aliens; flying; antarctic; ice palaces; dc comics; eiffel tower; paris; brooklyn bridge; new york city; empire state building; journalists; hot air balloons; niagara falls; arm wrestling; buses; the white house; holograms; sequels; jail breaks; prisons; mount rushmore; terrorists; nuclear weapons; nuclear terrorism; the moon; crime fighters; invulnerability; lasers; radiation