Superman II (1980)

Taglines:

The Man of Steel meets his match! See more »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »

Official Sites:

WB Home Entertainment - DVD site | Add/edit official sites  »

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | French | Russian

Release Date:

19 June 1981 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Superman 2 See more »

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK See more »

Budget:

$54,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$14,100,523 (USA) (21 June 1981)

Gross:

$108,185,706 (USA)

Production Co:

Alexander Salkind, Dovemead Films, Film Export A.G. See more »

Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Runtime:

127 min  | USA: 116 min (Richard Donner Cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (MegaSound encoding) (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Trivia

Tom Mankiewicz was hired to oversee the script originally written by Mario Puzo for the original Superman, which of course was to be made simultaneously with its sequel. Thus, the script had elements of both films in it. Mankiewicz eliminated most of the camp elements that Puzo had inserted in the original draft and went ahead with the filmmakers' decision to keep the religious allusions of the Superman story in the script. Specifically, there are elements of the Second Coming of Christ in the Superman saga ever since it first appeared in comic book form in the 1930s. Among the similarities to the Second Coming are: 1) Jor-El (God) casts out Zod (Satan) from Krypton (Heaven); 2) Jor-El's speech as he and Lara say goodbye to Kal-El "...The son becomes the father and the father the son...."; 3) The ship that brings Kal-El to Earth is in the form of a star (the star of Bethlehem); 4) Kal-El comes to a couple unable to have children "...How we prayed and prayed the good Lord see fit to give us a child...."; 5) Just as there is not much known about Jesus during his middle years, Clark Kent travels into the wilderness to find out who he really was and what he had to do; 6) "...You must live as one of them but always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be, they only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you, my only son." There would have been more religious references in the sequel if director Richard Donner would have been allowed to play out the story of Superman's fall and resurrection and his battle with evil in 'Superman II (1980). Unfortunately, he was fired and replaced by Richard Lester, who did not respect the Superman character or the mythology. See more »

Goofs

Continuity: After Superman catches the people in the bus, General Zod blows wind at the people in the streets that come after him. The people in the street are blown backward along with vehicles and debris. However, the flames are not effected at all by the wind. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Krypton guard: Alert, alert, alert.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Opening credits incorporate an extensive amount of footage from the first
Superman movie. See more »

Connections

Referenced in "Atop the Fourth Wall: TRS-80 Whiz Kids: The Computers That Saved Metropolis! (#4.39)" (2011) See more »

Soundtracks

"Pick Up the Pieces"
Written by Roger Ball, Hamish Stuart, and Average White Band (as The Average White Band)
Performed by Average White Band (as The Average White Band)
Courtesy of Atlantic Records See more »