The tragic death of actor Christopher Reeve in 2004 was devastating for those who knew and loved him, both in real life and his millions of fans from playing the pivotal role as Superman in four movies from 1978 to 1987. His death was made worse by the fact that nine years earlier, he became fully paraplegic from the neck down after being thrown by a horse. Reeve did not allow his paralysis to hinder his life and career though, as he worked with his wife Dana to bring more attention to the needs of and prejudices against those who were paraplegic, while he continued to act in and even direct films.
Now, there’s a fantastic new documentary about Christopher Reeve called Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, written and directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui (McQueen, Rising Phoenix), which takes a look at Reeve’s life, both as a person and a movie star, with incredible home footage coming straight from the Reeve family. The documentary covers the fast rise and devastating fall of a man seen by many as a bonafide superhero with his kids talking at length about the man and his life.
As you can imagine, it’s an incredibly emotional film, not just due to Reeve’s death after fighting for his life for years, but also once you realize how his death affected so many people, both close family and personal friends, but also, almost everyone in Hollywood.
Cinema Daily US had a chance to speak with Ettedgui (on the left) and Bonhôte about how they went about making the movie, first meeting with Reeves’ three children, though not doing any interviews with them until they had already plotted out the film’s general narrative. They also spoke about the film’s unconventional release pattern where it will be released by Fathom Events across the nation on September 21 with repeat screenings on September 25.
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Writers/Directors: Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui
Producer: Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford, Ian Bonhôte, Erin Sayder
Production Co: Passion Pictures, Misfits Entertainment, Jenco Films, Words + Pictures
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures/Fathom Events
Rating: PG
Genre: Documentary
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): September 21, 2024
Runtime: 1 hour, 44 minutes
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You can watch the trailer below: