Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is a new documentary detailing the life of original big-screen Superman actor Christopher Reeve. Originally a theater actor, Reeve shot from obscurity to stardom after being cast in the 1978 film adaptation of Superman. The documentary pulls back the curtain on Reeve’s casting, how he handled his newfound celebrity, and even what his family and theater buddies thought of his decision to take the role (spoiler: not everyone was as excited as one might expect).
Many in the public treated Reeve as if he really was Superman, which made the 1995 horse riding accident that left the movie star paralyzed even more ironically tragic. Fittingly, the bulk of Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story explores how Reeve and his family and friends (including star Robin Williams) handled the accident, and the work they have done ever since then to advocate for spinal cord injury research. To ensure that story resonated with audiences as much as possible, directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui turned to composer Ilan Eshkeri.
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Screen Rant interviewed Ilan Eshkeri about his unique approach to scoring Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. The Ghost of Tsushima, Layer Cake, and Stardust composer didn’t want to approach the film like most other documentaries, instead writing a lush, thematic score that was meant to evoke the richness of Reeve’s life and personality. Eshkeri detailed that approach, his first meeting with the Reeve family, and more about Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, which hits theaters October 11.
Ilan Eshkeri Discusses ing Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
“It Was Quite An Undertaking”
Screen Rant: Thank you for doing this. How dare you make me cry that much in a documentary. It’s really such a journey.
Ilan Eshkeri: [Laughs] Yeah. I was born the year the movie came out, but I grew up with it being… there weren't superhero movies, really, in the early ‘80s. Superman was pretty much the only one. It was the only superhero movie of any kind of real value, so I really grew up with that.
I when Christopher had the accident and all of that, but I didn't what happened to Dana and the full extent of the tragedy of it all. And then [the film is] also just this very human story of how when he was Superman, in his personal life, you wouldn't really have described him as a hero, but when he was in a wheelchair, he really was a hero.
When you got this project, how did you decide how you wanted to score it? The obvious thing to say is that sometimes it felt like you scored Reeve as a superhero.
Ilan Eshkeri: These days, I'm really looking for a good collaboration. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it's not a factory process for me. It's not about, “This is what you did in the temp. I'll do something like that,” and I don't do multiple projects at the same time. For me, it is truly an artistic endeavor, and it's about collaboration. I'm not getting into it because I want to be told what to do. I want to find a creative team who want to discuss and collaborate and create something together, and that's definitely the relationship that I have with Peter and Ian. I'm very grateful for it, and for the trust and the faith that they put in me.
We talked about all things about the movie, not just about the music—about the narrative, the story, and what we're trying to achieve for the film as a whole, and then music is my part of that. And so that was a conversation. “What is it that we're trying to say about the character?” Then, taking this sort of superhero theme approach to it was quite nerve-wracking knowing that I was going to be sitting side by side with the great superhero music of all time and the great maestro of them all, John Williams. So, it was quite an undertaking. The first thing I wrote, I wasn't too happy with. The main theme that plays in the titles and at the end titles was the second thing we settled on.
Eshkeri Details Writing Themes For The Life Of Christopher Reeve
The Themes Touched On Three Main Subjects
How much were you trying to take specific things, or even just a feel, from the John Williams Superman score?
Ilan Eshkeri: I think not at all. Of course, John Williams is a huge inspiration to me. I grew up with his music, love his work, and still learn from listening to his work, but there is a kind of classic Hollywood style to his work that—certainly for this project—was not necessarily appropriate. I suppose there is a nod to it in places… maybe more with the love theme than anything else. I think the score has a more contemporary feel than a John Williams score would have. There’s no way that you can be John Williams, especially if you're writing music that's going to sit alongside his work, so I didn't want to even try to do that. I wanted to just do what I do.
You mentioned a love theme. How did you decide what relationships and aspects of Reeve’s life you wanted to highlight with a motif or a theme?
Ilan Eshkeri: There are three main themes in the score. One of them is, I suppose, what we can call the superhero theme, which plays on the titles. And it's not about being a comic book superhero. It's about what we learn in the film—that, really, he became a hero when he was in the wheelchair. What it is to be heroic in real life—that's what that theme is about. It's about resilience, about inner strength, [and] about integrity.
Then there's the love theme for his relationship, first of all with Gae (Exton) and second of all with Dana. I think that that love theme is also relevant to the three children, who I just, by the way, had the great pleasure and honor of meeting at the premier in New York. Wonderful people, they all are. But that theme is just about love in Christopher's world, because when you meet his family now, there's such a strong bond. I really believe that that bond can only exist through the strength of love. I think Dana was very responsible for that as well. That [theme] has a bit more of a romantic Hollywood chord progression in it.
The superhero theme isn’t so much in the classic Hollywood style, but it uses French horns and strings so that, texturally, it has those sounds. The love theme leans a little bit more on late romantic classical chord progressions. I borrowed a little bit from Tchaikovsky, from one of his violin orchestral short pieces.
Then, there's a third theme. On the album, the best version of it is at the end, [and] it's called “For a Reason”. That theme is all about hope and looking to the future and moving forwards. That plays right at the end of the film, and it plays in the run-up to the Oscars. It's about triumph against adversity.
Reeve’s Family Gave Eshkeri The “Greatest Compliment” He Could Get For His Work
The Composer Tried To Capture Their Emotions About Their Father
I saw that you had met Reeve’s family. What was it like to meet them and talk to them about this project?
Ilan Eshkeri: First of all, they're very sweet, very lovely people. They're very inspiring in their own right. All three of them have achieved incredible things in their lives.
One of the things that's very difficult with documentary as opposed to fiction is that in fiction, you can manipulate the audience and the audience is going to accept that. You can push the boundaries with the music. You can use music to help the audience's imagination go wild. With documentary, you can't do that, because if you push too far, the audience starts to feel manipulated and they stop believing what's on the screen. You've got to get it absolutely pitch perfect for the emotion on the screen, and that is a really fine line.
I was really concerned about that, and after we'd gotten a little acquainted, my first question was to say, “I hope you feel like I captured the emotions correctly, [and] that I captured something of how you genuinely feel.” And they all said that I have done that. For me, that is probably the greatest compliment [I could get], and the biggest success of doing this work.
Was there a point in the movie, or an aspect of Reeve’s life, where you found it most difficult to write music that didn’t feel like it was manipulating the audience in the way you’re describing?
Ilan Eshkeri: Not really, because for me it's always an ongoing process. [With] everything I write, I write, I review, I rewrite, I review, I rewrite, I amend, I change… it's constantly changing. And, honestly, if I didn't have to hand it in, it would probably still be changing. It can always be more perfect. It's constant.
For me, the work is never really complete. It just has to be taken away from me. I think that's maybe because what I love is the process of creating the work. I don't love the finished product as much as I love the process of doing it. No one thing is particularly easy or more difficult than another because everything is just a process of refining all the time.
Eshkeri Lobbies To Become The Composer For Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
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Did the process of doing this film affect what you wanted to do next? Do you want to do more documentaries or a superhero movie going forward?
Ilan Eshkeri: I would love to do a superhero movie. They're making Supergirl next, and I've got a nine-year-old daughter. If only I could get that gig, she'd actually think I was cool for a change. It’d be lovely to do something like that.
It’s funny how one's career goes because I started off in my early career doing documentaries. The first score I ever recorded at Abbey Road Studios was a documentary about the Colosseum in Rome, and I did a lot of Horizon documentaries for the BBC. That's where I started, and I've done a few projects with David Attenborough, but I've not really gone back to documentary [since] I started doing Hollywood movies, fantasy adventures, and big, giant video games. Working with Ian and Peter has brought me back to that, and I've really enjoyed it. If the right documentary came along, I'd love to do another one.
I think, also, the way that people make documentaries has evolved. It's more sophisticated, and the music that we can write is more sophisticated. I think that the score for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story stands out as a weighty film score as any Hollywood film score would. I think it stands alongside any Hollywood film score. You wouldn't expect a documentary to have a score that was that meaty, and the film has a kind of Hollywood feel about it—not least because it's the first theatrical release from the new DC Studios.
About Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
The story of Christopher Reeve is an astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, and his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today. Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a ionate advocate for disability rights and care - all while continuing his career in cinema in front of and behind the camera and dedicating himself to his beloved family. The film is a moving and vivid cinematic telling of Reeve's remarkable story.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story will be released in theaters on October 11. The Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is out on digital platforms now.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
- Release Date
- September 21, 2024
- Runtime
- 104 Minutes
- Director
- Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui
Cast
Christopher Reeve-
Matthew Reeve
WHERE TO WATCH
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, chronicles the life of actor Christopher Reeve, famed for his role as Superman. It explores his career, the life-altering accident in 1995, and his subsequent work as an advocate for spinal cord injury research and disability rights.
- Writers
- Christopher Reeve, Alexandra Reeve
- Main Genre
- Documentary
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