Matthew Reeve said it was “absolutely incredible” watching his father, Christopher Reeve, receive a long standing ovation at the 1996 Oscars one year after his horse-riding accident left him a quadriplegic.
It was the actor’s first public appearance since the accident in 1995, which initially left him paralyzed from the neck down.
On that dramatic night at the Academy Awards, a curtain raised to reveal the star onstage in a wheelchair.
“I remember I was in London, it was a school night and we stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning to watch it, and it was absolutely incredible,” Reeve, 44, told People magazine at Sunday night’s Sundance Film Festival premiere of the new documentary, “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.“
“And what sticks with me most,” he said, “was after that incredible warm welcome and that very long standing ovation that he received, his introduction — he followed it up with a wonderful speech about how cinema and movies are at their best when they not only entertain, but they inform and educate and address issues.”
Among those in the audience applauding the “Rear Window” actor that night were Tom Hanks, Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt, John Travolta, Meryl Streep, Jim Carrey and Nicolas Cage.
Reeve also remembered how clips from movies including “Coming Home” and “Terms of Endearment” addressed important human issues.
“So that’s always stuck with me,” he told People. “And that’s why also I feel like here, at Sundance, that’s what they do and that’s what they live for.”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” documents the “Superman” star’s film career and his life after the May 27, 1995 horse-riding accident, where he was thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia.
Christopher spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair and used a ventilator to help him breathe.
He died in 2004 at the age of 52 from cardiac arrest; his wife, Dana Reeve, passed away two years later from lung cancer at the age of 44.
After his death, his family established a foundation in his name, which is now called the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to research on curing spinal cord injury.
“Super/Man” features Christopher’s three children, Matthew, Alexandra Reeve Givens and William, who introduced the documentary Sunday night at the Sundance Film Festival.
In the documentary — which its directors, Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui described as a “retrospective biopic” — Matthew, Alexandra and Will recount their father’s recovery after his accident.
“Super/Man” includes behind-the-scenes footage and audio clips. Additionally, it documents the love story between Christopher and Dana, and between the actor and his first partner, Gae Exton, who is the mother of Matthew and Alexandra.
The film travels back and forth in time and also examines two key moments in Reeve’s life: his casting as Clark Kent in “Superman” (1978) and the horse-riding accident.
