First, the news we've all been waiting for, and by "we" I mean "hardcore Superman geeks." The long-awaited "Donner Cut" of the super-sequel will hit DVD on November 28th -- and it'll be surrounded by a ton of sparkly new Special Editions of Superman (1978), Superman 2 (1980), Superman 3 (1983), Supergirl (1984), Superman 4: The Quest for Peace (1987), and Superman Returns (2006).

I'll try to break this down as simply as possible. If you walk into a DVD shoppe on 11/28, you'll be greeted by:

• A 4-disc Special Edition of the original Superman, which contains both the theatrical and the 2001 extended cut, a new commentary with producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler, the 2001 commentary with Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz, three documentaries, some restored scenes, screen tests, archival materials, nine old-school Superman cartoons, and the 1951 feature Superman and the Mole-Men.

• A 2-disc Special Edition of the Superman 2 we already know and love, only now it comes with Salkind/Spengler commentary, two old TV specials, a Fleischer featurette, and more Super-cartoons.

• The single-disc Superman 2: The Richard Donner Cut, which comes with a new featurette entitled Restoring the Vision, a new Donner/Mankiewicz commentary, and (of course) the highly-anticipated retroactive facelift that the fans have been clamoring for.

The Superman Homepage fansite is currently running with an interesting little exclusive about the upcoming re-release of Superman 2 on DVD, part of the enormous Superman push we've been seeing (and will keep seeing) as a lead up/followup to the new Brandon Routh-styled Supes film. According to Superman Homepage, Warner Brothers had an interesting casting call a month back -- holding tryouts for Superman himself. They were rumored looking for a Christopher Reeve look-alike to add some additional footage to the classic film. Not a face double, however, just a body double; the added shots will only show our hero from a good distance.

I always get uneasy when I hear people are adding footage to a classic film. Sure, they often have good reasons, and sometimes maybe it even enhances the overall quality of the story -- but generally I like to leave things in their original, unaltered form. Am I alone here in thinking movies are best left unaltered once they've past a certain "classic" mark? Or am I just being a stodgy old Tevye type, shaking my fist and shouting "Tradition!"?