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Super/Man: the Christopher Reeve Story

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Super/Man: the Christopher Reeve Story

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Summary

A profile of the actor who rose to fame after starring in the 1978 film Superman, but was paralysed from the neck down in 1995 after a horse-riding accident.

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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Jeremy Aspinall

Before an unknown Christopher Reeve suited up as Superman in the eponymous 1978 hit that made you believe a man could fly, comic-book movies rarely fired up critics or the box office. Director Richard Donner had an all-star cast, a soaring John Williams score and state-of-the-art special effects, but without a capable, charismatic lead, it could have bombed. This immensely moving documentary charts Reeve's rise to global fame and happy family life with wife Dana, until a fall from a horse in 1995 left him paralysed from the neck down and needing a ventilator to breathe. Eschewing a chronological approach, directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui dovetail between his movie career, and the aftermath of that near-fatal accident and his later advocacy for better-funded spinal injury treatment.Home movies, archive footage and interviews with family and friends (Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg) reveal fresh layers to the Reeve story, while the contrast between his invincible Man of Steel persona and his real-life vulnerability is powerfully affecting. Indeed, Reeve's show-stopping, surprise appearance at the 1996 Oscars months after the accident not only had Hollywood's finest in tears but may also leave you needing a moment. And then there is Reeve's enduring friendship with Robin Williams, who was the first to make his stricken pal laugh when he turned up at the hospital pretending to be a Russian proctologist. Undoubtedly, there is tragedy here but there is inspiration, too, and the result is an intensely emotional but life-affirming portrait of a real-world hero.

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8.0/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameChristopher ReeveChristopher Reeve

Crew

rolenameDirectorIan BonhôteDirectorPeter Ettedgui

Details

Theatrical distributor

Warner Bros

Released on

2024-11-01

Languages

English

Guidance

Swearing

Formats

Colour

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