Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition [DVD] [2006] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Warner Brothers promised that 2006 would be the year of Superman and they delivered in a big way. In addition to the plethora of seemingly endless new Superman merchandise, nearly every conceivable screen incarnation of Superman to date has been released on DVD! The pinnacle of these releases being the Ultimate Collector's Edition DVD set. Here is exactly what's included;

DISC 1- Superman The Movie
* 1978 theatrical version with commentary by producers Pierre Spengler & Ilya Salkind
* Theatrical trailers, TV Spots
* Soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 (original 1978 audio mix in Dolby Digital 2.0)

DISC 2- Superman The Movie
* 2001 expanded movie with commentary by director Richard Donner & creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz
* Soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1
* Music-only audio track

DISC 3- Superman The Movie
* Taking Flight: The Development of Superman
* Making Superman: Filming the Legend
* The Magic Behind the Cape
* Additional scenes
* Screen tests
* Audio-only bonus: additional music cues

DISC 4- Superman The Movie
* The Making of Superman the Movie vintage TV special
* 1951 Superman and the Mole-Men movie starring George Reeves
* 9 Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons mastered from superior vault elements

DISC 5- Superman II
* Movie with commentary by producers Pierre Spengler & Ilya Salkind
* Additional scenes (over 8 minutes worth)
* Soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1

DISC 6- Superman II
* The Making of Superman II & Superman's 50th Anniversary TV specials
* First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series featurette
* The Remaining 8 Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons

DISC 7- Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
* All new introduction by director Richard Donner
* Commentary by director Richard Donner & creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz
* Superman II: Restoring the Vision featurette
* Additional scenes
* Dolby Digital 5.1

DISC 8- Superman III
* Movie with commentary by producers Pierre Spengler & Ilya Salkind
* The Making of Superman III vintage TV special
* Additional scenes (over 19 minutes worth)
* Theatrical trailer

DISC 9- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
* Movie with commentary by screenwriter Mark Rosenthal
* Additional scenes (over 30 minutes worth!)
* Theatrical trailer

DISC 10- Superman Returns
* Theatrical cut
* Dolby Digital 5.1

DISC 11- Superman Returns
* Requiem for Krypton: Making Superman Returns 3hr multi-part documentary
* Additional scenes (without Return to Krypton sequence)
* Theatrical trailers

DISC 12- You'll Believe: The Making of A Saga- 5 part documentary
* Origin- Superman in the media & the challenges the Salkinds faced
* Vision- Choosing the right script, director & actors
* Ascent- Production of a new kind of fantasy film
* Crisis- Conflicts behind Superman II
* Redemption- Criticisms & burnout of Superman III & IV
* Bonus new documentaries- Mythology of Superman, Remembering Christopher Reeve, vintage Superman parodies

DISC 13- Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman
* Kevin Burns 2006 documentary on Superman's history

DISC 14- Bryan Singer's blogs
* All the web blogs plus two never-before-seen

The Ultimate box is encased in a keepsake tin and also includes a reprint of the Superman comic book issue #7, a Superman overview booklet and a mail-in offer for 5 reproduction Superman theatrical movie posters. The original 2006 release of the set had the bonus content for Superman the Movie and Superman III erroneously omitted. Fans could order replacement DVDs of those movies by calling the WB customer service number. In 2007, the Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition was re-released with the corrected DVDs already included. Perhaps the best part of this collection is the unbelievably reasonable retail price, with many retailers selling it for significantly less. Like many fans who have grown up on the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, I've patiently waited for a collection worthy of its legacy. Finally, WB has compiled a set that not only honors the character but all of the fans that still believe in truth, justice, and the American way!

This is the box set that all superman fans have been waiting for. All four Christopher Reeve films (including a dramatically different version of 'Superman II' directed by Richard Donner) are included in this set as well as the recent Bryan Singer film. The breakdown of the set follows:

Superman (1978) - 4 Discs
- 1978 Theatrical & 2000 Expanded Cuts of the Film
- Commentary with producer Pierre Sprengler & Executive Producer Ilya Salkind
- Commentary with Director Richard Donner & Creative Consultant Tom Mankiewicz
- Trailer / TV Spots
- Music Only Audio Tracks
- Three Documentaries: Taking Flight: The Development of Superman, Making Superman: Filming the Legend, & The Magic Behind the Cape
- Restored Scenes
- SCreen tests
- Vintage TV Special - The Making of Superman The Movie
- 1951 George Reeve Film 'Superman and the Mole-Male'
- 9 Fleischer Studio Superman Cartoons

Superman II - 2-Disc Set
- Commentary with Executive Producer Ilya Salkind & Producer Pierre Spengler
- Trailer
- Vinatage TV Speicals 'The Making of Superman II' & 'Superman 50th Anniv'
- 'First Flight' Featurette
- 8 additional Fleischer Studio Superman Cartoons

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
- Commentary with Director Richard Donner & Consultant Tom Mankiewicz
- 'Superman II: Resorting The Vision' Featurette
- Additional Scenes

Superman III
- Commentary with Producer Ilya Salkind and producer Pierre Spengler
- Vintage TV Special - The Making of Superman III
- Additional Scenes
- Trailer

Superman IV
- Commentary with screenwriter Mark Rosenthal
- Additional Scenes
- Trailer

Superman Returns (2006) - 2 Disc
- Deleted Scenes
- 3 Hours of Documentaries including: 'Making SUperman Returns: From script to Screen,' 'Designing Superman,' 'The Joy of Lex: Behind the Scenes with Kevin Spacey,' & "How Filmmakers Recreated Jor-El'
- Trailer

Additional Discs
- 'You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman'
- 'Look up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman'
- Bryan Singer's Video Journal for 'Superman Returns'

Additional Goodies
- Reproduction of Superman Comic # 7
- Superman Overview booklet
- Mail-in offer for 5 Superman Movie Posters

Although this is a Great collection, Warner did mess it up and didn't warn in advance (they had to have known, but probably wanted to get this out for the Christmas season). Basically, the Superman III disk does not have any of the promised special features, as noted by some reviewers. In addition, disk one of the four disk Superman I part does not contain the 1978 Dolby 2.0 version, as promised. If you bought the standalone sets of four disk Superman I set or standalone Superman III that also came out on the 28th, this problem doesn't exist; only with the Ultimate or Christopher Reeve collections. As to whose fault it is, could be the company that printed the disk, could be that Warner supplied the wrong master, who knows? There was definitely a QA problem at both companies, though for this to happen. What's done is done.

Warner promises to fix it through an exchange, but it's not particularly "elegant". First, you must call 800-553-6937. After waiting your turn to get through, they ask for your information, including where you bought it. Then they will ask you for the "catalog code" (it's actually the proof of purchase code), which is near the UPC bar code. The UPC is on the sleeve the box came in. If you've already gotten rid of that, it is also on the bottom of the tin in very small numbers. This requirement is reasonable, in order to prove you really bought it. Then it gets interesting. In one or two weeks you are supposed to get, not the replacement disks, but some prepaid envelopes from Warner. You take the two "problem disks" and mail them back to Warner. When your disks arrive back there, they go into the queue for processing. Once they've verified they have your disks, and once they've remastered sufficient disks, they're supposed to mail the replacement disks you need. The estimate as of Dec. 1 was that the whole process would take four-five weeks from the time you first contact them (this is assuming that they print the corrected Superman I disk 1 on shcedule, providing you send back the disks as soon as you get the envelopes). They acknowledge that during this period you will not have any form of those two disks. This also renders the set unreturnable to where you bought it, by the way. When asked what happens if the disks you send back or the disks they send you get lost in the mail (a lot of stuff gets lost around big volume mail periods like Christmas), since you won't have any proof, they don't yet have a plan.

It seems that this is a cumbersome way to do this, and will cost Warner more what with having to pay double postage, extra processing and all, so one wonders why they did it this way (why not just send replacement disks to those who have proof of purchase?. Here's a Possible explanation: It's well known that most people don't return defectives if they can't take it back to the store where they got it (Amazon is unusual in tha they're taking care of people here). Maybe Warner made a business decision that it would be less exepnsive overall to set up a cumbersome mitigation process. By insuring a very small percentage of actual exchanges, their overall costs are much less. Then they could truthfully say that they have a process to take care of people, knowing full well that the process is sufficiently troublesome that the vast majority won't bother.

They acknowledged they're going to correct the problem in production and sets manufactured later will deliver what's advertised. The company that Warner has outsourced the replacement exercise to is saying the information that they have is that correct sets of the collections will not get to stores for two to three months. We'll see. Keep this and the exchange process in mind when making the decision when to buy.

To those chastising others for being petty complaining about this: Yes, it's a great collection. Yes, it's true that Superman III special features may not be that big a deal, and that the problem with Superman I's Dolby mix is not the end of the world (although the promised Dolby 2.0 mix is actually better) and that Warner promises to exchange (at least for domestic US sets). That's all true, but why should customers who have already paid for the product have to go through all these hoops just to get what they were promised?

UPDATE: I bought this set on Nov 28th and contacted Warner the same day. You'll note that in the above timeline I gave based on Warner's information, I should have gotten the prepaid envelope 7-10 days from then. As of today (Dec 24) there's no sign of the return envelope, so don't take the timeline I gave above as gospel. BTW, the phone number now shuts down at 7 PM PST M-F. I find it interesting that Amazon no longer sells the Ultimate Edition (maybe they're waiting for the corrected sets to avoid eating the cost of returns that aren't their fault) itself. Even more interesting, the Ultimate Edition is no longer listed on Warner Home Video's web site. Hmmmm....

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