‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story’ Sets HBO/Max Debut

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, the award-winning documentary from filmmakers Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui (McQueen), is set to premiere on HBO at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Saturday, December 7 and will also be available to stream on Max.

Recently winning six Critics Choice Documentary Awards, including Best Documentary Feature, Super/Man comes to HBO and Max after hitting theaters in wide release on October 11. The film examines how late Superman star Reeve persevered, following a life-altering accident, by using his fame to speak of hope and to change our perception of paralysis, all while remaining a dedicated activist, actor and filmmaker, devoted dad, and loving husband to Dana Reeve, the beating heart of the family. Chronicling Reeve’s personal and professional life before and after the near-fatal horseback riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down, the doc uses Reeve’s own words, as well as intimate input from his closest family members and friends, to paint a rich, nuanced portrait of a man who refused to be defined by his physicality and who proved that you don’t need tights and a cape to be a hero.

After becoming a quadriplegic, Reeve harnessed his reputation as Superman to help fund medical research through his foundation, creating initiatives to improve the lives of disabled people all over the world, all while continuing his career in cinema in front of and behind the camera, and dedicating himself to his family. His wife Dana cared for him heroically and remained committed to his advocacy work after his death at the age of 52, only to tragically succumb to lung cancer just 17 months later. Reeve’s foundation was renamed the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation on the first anniversary of her death.

Illustrated with a multitude of film clips of Reeve as Superman, as well as his other roles and the films he directed, and including never-before-seen, intimate home movies and a trove of personal archive material, the film also features the first-ever extended interviews filmed with Reeve’s children, as well as insight from his brother, his first wife Gae Exton, and Hollywood colleagues and friends such as Susan Sarandon and Glenn Close. The film also features extensive archival footage of Reeve with his best friend and Juilliard classmate Robin Williams, who, with his wife Marsha, was a constant source of support for Reeve and his family.

Presented by DC Studios in association with HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films, and Words+Pictures, the Oscars hopeful world premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Written by Ettedgui, Bonhôte and Otto Burnham, the film is exec produced by Connor Schell, Libby Geist, Marie Margolius, Mark Meatto, Andrew Ruhemann, David Moulton, Andee Ryder, and Daniel Kilroy.

From Deadline.com