HamptonsFilm's SummerDocs series concludes on Wednesday with "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," at 7 p.m. at Guild Hall. Directed by Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui, the directors of "McQueen," the film tells the story of Reeve's rise from unknown actor to movie star, whose definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman, says HamptonsFilm, "set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today."
While Reeve starred in four "Superman" films between 1978 and 1987, he also had leading roles in "Somewhere in Time," "Deathtrap," "The Bostonians," "Street Smart," "The Remains of the Day," and many others that displayed his range as an actor.
In 1995, Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Virginia. While he had been an activist for environmental and human-rights causes since the '80s, after the accident he lobbied for spinal injury research and advocated for disability rights and care. He also continued to work in front of the camera and behind it as a director until his death in 2004.
The film includes never-before-seen home movies and a bounty of personal archive material, as well as the first extended interviews ever filmed with Reeve's three children about their father. Also featured are interviews with notable Hollywood actors who were his colleagues and friends, among them Jeff Daniels, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon, and Glenn Close.
Variety's Owen Gleiberman called the film, ". . . a moving, wrenching, compellingly well-made documentary about Reeve’s life that inevitably ends up centering on his accident and its aftermath."
Time Out said the film "portrays the Man of Steel as a fallible family guy -- an immensely gifted and passionate actor, activist, father and husband, who wanted to do the right thing, and ultimately did. It is a rich and intensely moving experience."
A conversation with Reeve's son Will Reeve, and Connor Schell, one of the film's executive producers, will follow the screening.
HamptonsFilm will host a reception at a private home in East Hampton before the screening. Tickets to the reception, which include the film, are $150. Film tickets are $35.
