"Superman II" 30th Anniversary

Just when you thought this month couldn't get more choked full of anniversaries....today is the 30th Anniversary of "Superman II"! The movie marked the return of Christopher Reeve in the role that made him famous, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind switching out winning "Superman, The Movie" director Richard Donner for Richard Lester, plus the re-introduction and bringing to center stage of Terence Stamp as General Zod along with the other Phantom Zone escapees Ursa and Non.

The movie certainly did not have quite the same polish as it's predecessor, but was a true continuation of the original. Even though it would be another 25 years until we saw Richard Donner's original cut and version of the film. Unfortunately, John Williams did not return to score "II" so we given Ken Thorne instead. With Lester in place, the Salkinds had him reshoot footage that Donner had completed.

Now, by no means am I putting the movie down! Even though it's a slightly different animal than what we'd hoped Donner would bring to the table, Lester's version added a few more comedic elements to the story. Plus, there are so many memorable lines:

Ursa: "They need machines to fly."
Zod: "What bravery. Be nice to them, my dear. Blow them a kiss."

Luthor: "What am I gonna do with you people, huh? I held up my end, I delivered the blue boy. What do I get from my triple threat? 'Bow! Yield! Kneel!' That kind of stuff closes out a town."

Superman: "General, would you care to step outside?"
General Zod: "Come to me, son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod!"

And of course, the ever popular...

Zod: "THROW IT!!!!"

Tomorrow night I'll be setting the 'way back' machine for 1981 and having a screening of the movie at the 10th Box.

BTW, check out this pic of me with Margot Kidder, Jack O'Halloran, Sarah Douglas and Marc McClure from Comic-Con in 2006. Click to see a larger version.