Super-Man: The Christopher Reeve Story may well turn out to be the best documentary film of 2024.
It is, of course the story of Christopher Reeve, a struggling young actor who rose to meteoric fame with his breakout role as the Man of Steel in Richard Donner’s superhero film Superman released in 1978.
The posters and billboards boldly proclaimed, “You will believe that a man can fly!” The movie that lived up to the hype and became a smash hit, setting the stage for the explosion of superhero movies that would follow and catapulting Christopher Reeve to instant super stardom.
Two sequels starring Reeve followed with diminishing success. He pursued other projects in the years that followed but could not replicate the success that he achieved in his career-defining role. Superman was a hard act to follow.
And then came the disastrous equestrian accident in 1995 that left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. It was the end of his career and the end of his life, as he knew it.
He never recovered. He never walked again, despite his Herculean efforts to do so. He died on October 10, 2024. Tragically, his loving, supporting wife Dana passed away eighteen months later from lung cancer even though she was never a smoker. They left behind three children; Matthew, Alexandra and Will.
Super-Man is a movie that exceeds expectations, going far beyond the recounting of events to explore Reeve’s relationships with his parents, partners, children, colleagues and friends. The friends include his Julliard roommate and lifetime buddy, Robin Williams.
His colleagues included A-list Hollywood talent such as Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, Whoopie Goldberg and Jeff Daniels, just to name a few. Their stories and recollections paint the portrait of a young, strikingly handsome, ambitious actor who later rose above tragedy and adversity to become a spokesperson and advocate for people struggling with spinal cord injuries.
Despite the devastation and darkness of Reeve’s story, Super-Man manages to be a film brimming with genuine joy and love. Directors Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgul provide countless precious moments gleaned from home movies and videos that capture the tenderness and support that sustained Reeve in his most terrifying hours, helplessly lying in a hospital bed hoping that his breathing tubes would not accidentally disconnect in the middle of the night, rendering him unable to breathe or call for help.
The film strikes a perfect balance, capturing the moments of success and happiness as well as the despair of complete paralysis. Through it all, lessons are learned by Reeve and everyone around him, about life and living. It is thoughtful and insightful. It is a deeply emotional narrative journey of a family’s heroic fight.
Super-Man: the Christopher Reeve Story is a remarkable achievement. It is absorbing and entertaining at the same time. It moves you to both laughter and tears.
I once had the privilege of meeting Christopher Reeve in person. I was working at a television station in Pittsburgh that was producing a children’s special about the weather. Somehow, someone managed to make arrangements for Christopher Reeve to come out and tape a few of the segments. He flew to Pittsburgh in his private plane. Who better to talk about clouds than a man who had soared through them in the movies and in real life?
As I left my house that morning. I remembered that I had recently purchased a CD soundtrack of one of his more recent films and wondered whether he might agree to sign it. Later, after I spent fifteen minutes shooting photos of him in the empty studio set, I asked if he would mind signing something for me.
He was friendly and gracious and readily agreed. I handed him the CD for the movie Somewhere in Time (1980) a gushingly romantic, time-travel movie that he made with Jane Seymour. I remember him staring at it and smiling. After signing it, he handed it back to me saying that it was his favorite movie role. I had read that somewhere. Yet it still came as a bit of a surprise coming from him standing there in person.
Despite playing the Man of Steel on screen, he was a gentle romantic at heart.
Super-Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is perhaps the best documentary film of the year—perfectly balancing both tragedy and triumph in the life of one of Hollywood’s most beloved action heroes.
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