Superman II

Revealing mistake: There are two times in the New York battle when you can see the actors are being filmed in front of a screen: 1. when Superman kicks Non, Superman in on film and Non is hovering in front of the screen. 2. When Ursa is flying towards Non and Superman with the flagpole, she is hovering in front of the screen.

Revealing mistake: In the final scene, Superman is returning the White House's flag to its rightful place, flying over the fountain on the lawn...which is frozen solid in place. Obviously a photo backdrop.

Superman II mistake picture

Revealing mistake: When Zod lifts the boy's father with the beam of white energy, watch closely when he raises him up past the telephone pole...he 'clips' right through it, or rather the pole clips through him, as if he is transparent.

Superman II mistake picture

Revealing mistake: There are two external White House shots in the film. The second is a still shot, and should take place at least a few days after the first. However, it is a frame from the earlier shot, with the same person standing in the same spot on the lawn.

Superman II mistake picture

Revealing mistake: Near the end of the film when the 3 villains fly and later enter the fortress, you can see that it was a stuntman and not Gene Hackman.

Revealing mistake: In the New York battle scene, after Ursa distracts Superman, Non punches him and he goes flying backward into a building. Watch very carefully along the bottom of the screen. You can tell that Superman isn't even matted in from the chest down. Where is the rest of him?

Revealing mistake: When Non tries to fly at the end of the film, but falls into the bottom of the Fortress of Solitude, watch closely. He appears to hit some sort of safety pad after he falls, making the fog around him disperse very briefly, which shows him safely land on the pad. The fog quickly comes back and covers him as he ducks his head down.

Revealing mistake: When Zod says to Ursa to "blow them a kiss my dear" to the helicopter that's firing on them watch as the helicopter is indeed a real military helicopter, then when it loses control it's an obvious model and just before it crashes into the house it's a full size helicopter again but is completely different from the first one that was originally shown.

Tobin OReilly

Revealing mistake: In the beginning, when Superman is flying to the Eiffel Tower, the last scene that shows him flying towards the tower, you can see the wire Christopher Reeve was attached to as he swoops down. The wire stretches all the way across as Superman glides down.

Superman II mistake picture

Revealing mistake: In the first confrontation between Superman and the Zod Squad, Superman gets chased out over the water. In the first two shots in this chase, if you look at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen (at least in the letterboxed version) you can see the wake of the boat that they used to make these two pull-back shots. (01:34:40)

Garlonuss

Superman II mistake picture

Revealing mistake: In Houston, when a man is thrown through a truck, notice the ground he falls on: The sand is leveled higher than the rest of the road around, obviously to hide a landing mat. Furthermore, after the fall the man turns around and he's got a bulgy square on the back to help for a safe stunt.

Sacha

Revealing mistake: When Ursa kicks the astronaut into space, she takes a step back and looks upwards. When this happens you can tell that the film is being shown at double speed. Also, when Clark spins the guy on the chair at the end of the film, he snaps back upright far too quickly.

Revealing mistake: Inside the White House, Non throws a pillar at the soldiers. When it lands on the floor, it starts to move by itself like a puppet, revealing the whole structure was attached to a string.

Sacha

Revealing mistake: The fire that comes out of the flame throwers moves at a slow speed though the scene is developing at normal speed.

Sacha

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Much too vague. What scenes are you referring to. And how can you tell, other than knowing that Gene Hackman isn't really bald?

At the end of the movie, in the prison yard, when Lex took off the wig he was wearing, showing that he was bald, the wrinkles were unnatural, suggesting a bald cap.

Movie Nut

Revealing mistake: When there are multiple Superman's in his home, Lois Lane runs to one of the fakes. It seems as if she is the fake because her image becomes slightly transparent as she runs through him.

Revealing mistake: There are two times in the New York battle when you can see the actors are being filmed in front of a screen: 1. when Superman kicks Non, Superman in on film and Non is hovering in front of the screen. 2. When Ursa is flying towards Non and Superman with the flagpole, she is hovering in front of the screen.

More mistakes in Superman II

Clark Kent: I have to go back.
Lois Lane: You can't go back, there's no way now.
Clark Kent: I have to. I've gotta try dammit, I've got to try something. Anything.
Lois Lane: It's not your fault. You didn't know this was going to happen.
Clark Kent: They knew. I heard 'em. I just didn't listen.

More quotes from Superman II

Trivia: Richard Donner, the director of Superman, was originally hired to make Superman II. He had made over half of the movie before being fired. Richard Lester was hired to complete the film. So, Superman II contains footage from both the Richard Donner version and the Richard Lester version.

More trivia for Superman II

Question: How did Superman get his powers back? I don't understand what that green crystal did.

Answer: In the theatrical cut, nobody really knows why the green crystal restored his powers. However if you watch the Richard Donner cut, it is explained that the green crystal is a communication device that helps Superman talks to the residual essence/spirit/ghost of his father Jor-El. Before he died, Jor-El gave the crystal to his son. Jor-El anticipated that Kal-El might give up his powers, and he also anticipated that Zod might eventually escape the Phantom Zone, so Jor-El lets his son absorb the leftover energy of his spirit, thus restoring all his Kryptonian powers.

Matt Van Gogh

More questions & answers from Superman II