Superman II

**Superman II** is a UK VHS release by Warner Home Video on 5th October 1994.

## Description

A nuclear explosion in outer space has freed rebel General Zod and his evil cohorts from ther captivity in a fragment of Kryptonite. Having been banished for their treachery against Jor-El they now plot revenge on his son - Superman.

Can Superman save the Earth from extraterrestrial terrorists who share his super-powers...?

## Cast

* Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor: Criminal genius and Superman's nemesis. Armed with vast resources and scientific brilliance, Luthor's contempt for mankind is only surpassed by his hatred for Superman. Luthor strikes a bargain with the three Kryptonian criminals in an effort to destroy Superman.
* Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent / Superman: Born on Krypton and raised on Earth, Superman is a being of immense strength, speed, and power. Morally upstanding and instilled with a strong sense of duty, Superman tirelessly uses his formidable powers, which he gets from the Earth's yellow sun, to protect the people of his adoptive homeworld. His alter ego is mild-mannered *Daily Planet* reporter Clark Kent. Superman's abilities include: X-ray and heat vision, vast strength, speed and invulnerability, super-intelligence, flight and the hitherto unknown ability to throw the 'S' symbol from his costume as a plastic trapping device of some description.
* Ned Beatty as Otis: Luthor's incompetent henchman.
* Jackie Cooper as Perry White: Mercurial editor-in-chief of the *Daily Planet* newspaper and Lois and Clark's boss.
* Sarah Douglas as Ursa: Zod's second-in-command and consort. Ursa's evil will and power-lust are equal to and sometimes surpass those of General Zod's. Her contempt and utter disregard for humans, men in particular, make her a very deadly adversary. She has an inclination to collect insignia and heraldry from people she defeats or dominates, such as the NASA patch from the EVA suit of an astronaut she kills.
* Margot Kidder as Lois Lane: The ace reporter for the *Daily Planet* and Superman's love interest. Lois, is a driven career journalist, who lets nothing stand in the way of breaking the next big story and scooping rival reporters. While ignoring the potential consequences that sometimes put her in peril. She finds out that Clark is Superman, but her memory is erased when Clark kisses her.
* Jack O'Halloran as Non: The third of the Kryptonian criminals, Non is "as without thought as he is without voice." At 7 ft (2.1 m) tall, Non is a formidable hulking mute, who easily matches Superman's strength but has the intelligence and sometimes curiosity of a child and communicates only with guttural grunts and growls. Though he lacks the mental ability to use his powers effectively, he does however possess the same taste for destruction as his Kryptonian companions.
* Valerie Perrine as Eve Teschmacher: Lex Luthor's beautiful assistant and girlfriend who helps Lex Luthor escape from prison.
* Susannah York as Lara: Jor-El's wife and Superman's biological mother.
* Clifton James as Sheriff.
* E.G. Marshall as the President of the United States.
* Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen: Young photographer at the *Daily Planet*.
* Terence Stamp as General Zod: The ruthless, arrogant and megalomaniacal leader of three Kryptonian criminals banished to the Phantom Zone and unwittingly set free by Superman. Zod, upon landing on Earth and gaining the same superpowers as Superman, immediately views humans as a weak and insignificant sub-species and imposes his evil will for world dominance. However, his arrogance causes him to quickly become bored with his powers and he is almost disappointed at how little of a challenge humans are. His insatiable lust for power is replaced however by revenge when he learns that the son of Jor-El stands in the way of his absolute rule of the planet.

Gene Hackman, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty, and E.G. Marshall are the only actors who did not participate in the film's reshoots under the direction of Richard Lester. Where additional shots were needed for continuity, Lester used body doubles in place of the original actors. Marlon Brando's scenes were excised entirely, due to the high fee the actor had demanded for the use of his footage in the film.

According to the 2006 documentary *You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman*, Sarah Douglas was the only cast member to do extensive around-the-world press tours in support of the film and was one of the few actors who held a neutral point of view in the Donner-Lester controversy.

Richard Donner briefly appears in a "walking cameo" in the film. In the sequence where the de-powered Clark and Lois are seen approaching the truck-stop diner by car, Donner appears walking "camera left" past the driver's side. He is wearing a light tan jacket and appears to be smoking a pipe. In his commentary for *Superman II*, Ilya Salkind states that the inclusion of his cameo in that scene is proof that the Salkinds held no animosity towards Donner, because if there were, then surely they would have cut it out. Conversely, Donner has used his inclusion in the scene to debunk praise heaped on Lester around the release of the film where Lester took credit for the intense nature of the "bully" scene in the diner, pointing out that he (Donner) filmed the scene and not Lester.

## Trailers and info

#### **Opening**

1. Warner Bros Family Entertainment 1994 (The Secret Garden, Curly Sue, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Never Ending Story, Lois and Clark The New Adventures of Superman, Rover Dangerfield, Tiny Toons: Who I Spend My Vacation, Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales, and Dennis)
2. Gone with the Wind (Now Available to Buy on Video)
3. Free Willy
4. The Muppet Christmas Carol (On Video) (Now Available from Jim Henson Video)
5. The Santa Clause (Theatrical Trailer) (Coming to Town this Holiday Season 1994)
6. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (On Video for a Very Limited Time)
7. Disney Christmas Videos (1994) - Mickey's Christmas Carol, Disney's Sing-Along Songs: The Twelve Days of Christmas, A Walt Disney Christmas, Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too, and Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Very Merry Christmas Songs
8. Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier
9. Walt Disney Classics 1992 (Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Pete's Dragon and Mary Poppins)
10. Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
11. Pinocchio (Coming to Video)
12. Walt Disney's Classic Adventures (Kidnapped, Old Yeller, The Story of Robin Hood, Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)
13. The VCI children's trailer from 1993 (Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends, Rosie and Jim, Tots TV, and The Wind in the Willows)
14. The Return of Jafar (Exclusively on Video)
15. Winnie the Pooh Playtime Videos (Detective Tigger and Pooh Party)
16. The Jungle Book (Available to Own on Video)
17. Dinosaurs (Three Volumes to Collect)
18. Disney's Sing-Along Songs 1987 (The Bare Necessities and Heigh-Ho)
19. Bambi (Now Available on Video)
20. Winnie the Pooh Mini Classics 1995 (Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, and Winnie the Pooh and A Day for Eeyore)
21. The New Adventures of The Little Mermaid 1994 Videos (A Whale of a Tale, Stormy, The Wild Seahorse, and Double Bubble with In Harmony and Ariel's Gift in US Videos)
22. Darkwing Duck Collection (Darkly Dawns the Duck and Justice Ducks Unite!)
23. Disney's Sing-Along Songs 1993 (Be Our Guest and You Can Fly)
24. Beauty and the Beast (Now on Video)
25. Peter Pan (Available to Own on Video)
26. Disney's Sing-Along Songs 1995 (Circle of Life and 101 Notes of Fun)
27. The VCI children's trailer from 1995 (Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie, Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends, Tots TV, Rosie and Jim, Brum, Sooty and Co., and The Wind in the Willows)
28. The Fox and the Hound (Coming Soon to Video)
29. The VCI children's trailer from 1994 with clips from "The Magic House", "Sooty and Co.", "Rainbow", "Christopher Crocodile", "Brum", "The Riddlers", "Sesame Street", "Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends", "Tots TV", "Rosie and Jim" and "The Wind in the Willows".
30. Walt Disney Classic 1994 (Mary Poppins, Dumbo, Robin Hood and Alice in Wonderland)
31. The Three Caballeros (On Video)
32. Walt Disney Classics Range (Early 1995) - Basil, The Great Mouse Detective, The Sword in the Stone, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks

#### **Closing**

1. Black Beauty (Coming Soon to Video)
2. Thumbelina (Coming Soon to Video)
3. Muppet Sing-Alongs: It's Not Easy Being Green (Coming Soon from Jim Henson Video)
4. Screen Legends 1986 (Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends and Henry's Cat)
5. The Aristocats (Coming Soon to Video)
6. The VCI carnival promo from 1995 (Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends, Fourways Farm, The Wind in the Willows, Sooty and Co., Teddy Bear Sing-Along, Rosie and Jim, and Brum)