Superman II is a film with a long and troubled history, especially for
fans of the original movie. Director Richard Donner, fresh off his
resounding success from the first film, found himself supplied with a pink
slip from the film's producers who then went on to hire Richard Lester to
replace him. What made things worse is that there had been a lot of
filming for Superman II done during the filming of the first movie.
Some of these scenes made it into the final release, while others were
redone in addition to the scenes that had yet to be put to film. The
result is a mishmash of two different directing styles (with, Donner's
being superior) along with the caliber of acting. What could have been a film
that strongly rivaled the first entry, if not overshadow it, instead
became an embarrassing example of what happens when "the suits" think they
know everything.
Though John Williams
provided the rousing, London Symphony Orchestra-powered, score for the
first film, he declined to return after the firing of Richard Donner. Ken
Thorne was hired to adapt Williams original score, while at the same time
having the original musical budget trimmed way down. Essentially, this is
a rehash of the original score, though some cues sound quite different due
to the performances of a smaller orchestra. Most of the music falls flat, and
the arrangements are not always well done. The opening Preface and
Main Title tracks are pretty good, but they lack the power
that the same original cues had from the first film. Still, for all of its
faults, it can be a fun little score at times. At the very least it makes
you realize the difference that John Williams and the LSO can make for a film.
This score was only released
on vinyl and cassette and it is quite difficult to find. A Japanese CD was
released that also contains music from Superman III, but this too
is also rare. With the excellent Rhino release of the original score,
there is really no reason to devote a lot of time to obtaining this score,
unless you have a good enough reason too. Still, if you happen to come
across it somehow, there are worse ways to blow your cash.
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