Continuity mistake: When Clark is visiting Lana and Ricky in the hotel, the stuff on the shelf behind them changes between shots.
Continuity mistake: Wood planks appear and disappear behind the rockets in the Grand Canyon.
Continuity mistake: When the helicopter releases the yellow strap holding the steel cage, part of it falls over the "W" on the logo. In the next shots it's in a different place.
Continuity mistake: The second time we see the souvenir seller at the Pisa tower he is standing by the side of his stall. In the next angle he is in a different position and place.
Continuity mistake: The people from Archibald Data watching the slapstick of the credits change from being 2 on each window panel, to 4 standing very close together in a single window.
Continuity mistake: During the credits, the amount of water inside the car is inconsistent throughout the scene. The first time it's covering the driver's throat. The second time it's at chest level but the guy's face and hair are totally soaked. Then in the third shot the water's filling the car.
Continuity mistake: When the green car smashes the fire hydrant, a yellow piece gets tucked underneath. In the following shots it disappears.
Revealing mistake: When Superman is in the cave, the computer is supposed to scan Superman making an instant diagram of him. Problem is that Superman's hands position is different to what the scan "sees".
Continuity mistake: During the sequence where Gus puts the table cloth on as a cape, Lorelei's right arm swaps between being between her legs to being on the side.
Continuity mistake: The second time Gus smashes the Krypton beam in the cave, some cables come off. In the next shot the cables are gone.
Continuity mistake: Before Bad Superman drops the bowl of nuts, a coaster is seen behind his left hand. In the following shots it disappears.
Continuity mistake: A scene shows some peanuts next to some smashed bottles, note the black ashtray. It is at first sideways, then in the next shot it is straight and continues to change position throughout the scene.
Continuity mistake: Gus places his hand on the door's frame. A split second later it's on the glass. (00:44:40)
Continuity mistake: When the blind man is walking two men from behind disappear in the close up.
Continuity mistake: While bad Superman is walking down the street Ricky calls him. From a back shot there's no one behind. From the front, a crowd appears behind the kid.
Continuity mistake: When Vera turns the TV off, in the aerial shot, the Tv is already off.
Continuity mistake: In the gym, the way Ross places the white towel around his neck changes between shots. His hands are covered by the towel or on top of it, depending on the shot.
Audio problem: When Gus is talking Brad into opening the glass door, the reflection of his mouth doesn't match what we are hearing.
Continuity mistake: When Superman is landing Jimmy, a fireman in the back takes his oxygen bottle off twice.
Continuity mistake: When phone booths fall, they don't knock down a blue bucket; but a frame later, in a close up, it's seen down on the floor.
Answer: There were rumors that Hackman was angry with the Salkind Brothers (the producers) for firing director Richard Donner, though Hackman later disputed saying that. His explanation, though he may have been downplaying the real reason, was that he had a number of other movie projects at the time, and he also did not wish to continually play the same villain in an ongoing movie series.
raywest ★