Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Unlike many retrospectives of late lamented actors, this film has a much greater degree of honesty from it's contributors as it takes a look back at the life of the man most famous for darting about in a blue cape saving the world from Gene Hackman and Terence Stamp. It also benefits from being about a man and his family whose lives have been captured to quite an extent by home movies that illustrate the joyous, and heinous, moments as he rose to fame then struggled to come to terms with his life-altering accident. What we are given here is a frank portrayal of an actor - maybe not the most versatile, it has to be said - who tread the boards off, off-Broadway before lucking out at the audition in London the made him an household name. The p...

Hero is a revered term that, regrettably, is often overused, one that should be reserved for those truly deserving of the recognition. Whats more, somewhat surprisingly, its a label that is frequently most applicable to those who may not seem like the larger-than-life figures to whom its most usually accorded. But, in the case of actor and activist Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), hero is an attribute most definitely warranted. Having burst onto the scene in the lead role of Superman (1978), he embodied the very notion of movie superhero, a character whose uplifting impact was definitely needed in a society deflated by many daunting challenges at the time. He would subsequently draw upon his success in this film as a springboard to a variety ...