Memories of Christopher Reeve
Oct. 15th, 2004 12:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annathepiperThere are three movies that stand out from my days a kid as being defining cinema moments for me. Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars were two of them; Superman: The Movie was the third. I went to an extremely cool middle school, where we did things like go on field trips every so often just to see movies--and sometimes we'd just set aside a couple of hours to watch movies at school itself, as a treat if all the classes were doing well. I have a vivid memory of this happening for Superman: The Movie when it came out.
I remember being blown away by a great deal of things about that flick. John Williams' wonderful theme song, almost more than the actual movie itself, went a long way towards convincing me that a man could fly. The bright, triumphant melody line flung forth by the brass all throughout the main theme gives me a mental boost every time I hear it.
There was the grandeur and scope of many moments in the movie--the whole Destruction of Krypton sequence and the great sweeping fields of Kansas, two extremely different flavors of cinematic visual but each stunning in their own way.
And then there was Superman himself. Oh, like many, I have all the sympathy in the world for pre-Metropolis Clark Kent, the young man who's Different from everybody around him and gets snubbed for it; we all want to be able to kick that football at rocket speeds and outrun trains, if it'll show up those stuck-up, conceited jocks who give us such a hard time, I think. But the movie doesn't really come together for me, doesn't shine, till Christopher takes the screen. The first shot of him in the costume, a splash of scarlet and blue and gold against the whiteness of the North Pole, remains one of my all-time favorite, jaw-dropping, "YES!" moments in any movie.
I remember the delightful scene where Lois Lane is interviewing him, and she asks him what color underwear she's wearing. But she's standing behind a lead planter, and only after she comes out from behind it does he suddenly blurt out, "Pink!" And he casts a gently teasing, meaningful look downward along her. And I'm here to tell you, when he pins her with that soulful blue stare and informs her with firm conviction that he likes pink very much, my adolescent self was a-quiver with the swoonage.
And let's not even TALK about the flying sequence. I mean, sure, "Can You Read My Mind?" is an utterly sappy set of lyrics--but if you take the lyrics away you have a lovely melody line, and not even those lyrics can ruin the giddy intoxication of sympathizing with a woman who's being borne aloft by Superman, for fuck's sake.
I remember how he played Superman's heroism with an absolutely believable earnestness. When he's got the lump of Kryptonite on the chain around his neck, and he's gasping out for Miss Tessmacher to help him, he never asks for help on his own behalf. Not once. "Please help me to save them!" is the line that stands out for me.
I remember Superman II, and the titanic battle with General Zod and his two cohorts, and the love of a hero that drives him to become mortal for the sake of the woman he loves. That kind of sacrifice drives ALL the great love stories, and Christopher took me willingly, eagerly along on this one.
I remember Somewhere in Time and being absolutely wrenched by the ending.
I remember being startled and giggly at Deathtrap.
But mostly, I remember Superman. There have been other Supermans before and since--but not a one of them like Christopher Reeve.
Be at peace, hero. May your soul be somewhere now where you can truly fly.
I remember being blown away by a great deal of things about that flick. John Williams' wonderful theme song, almost more than the actual movie itself, went a long way towards convincing me that a man could fly. The bright, triumphant melody line flung forth by the brass all throughout the main theme gives me a mental boost every time I hear it.
There was the grandeur and scope of many moments in the movie--the whole Destruction of Krypton sequence and the great sweeping fields of Kansas, two extremely different flavors of cinematic visual but each stunning in their own way.
And then there was Superman himself. Oh, like many, I have all the sympathy in the world for pre-Metropolis Clark Kent, the young man who's Different from everybody around him and gets snubbed for it; we all want to be able to kick that football at rocket speeds and outrun trains, if it'll show up those stuck-up, conceited jocks who give us such a hard time, I think. But the movie doesn't really come together for me, doesn't shine, till Christopher takes the screen. The first shot of him in the costume, a splash of scarlet and blue and gold against the whiteness of the North Pole, remains one of my all-time favorite, jaw-dropping, "YES!" moments in any movie.
I remember the delightful scene where Lois Lane is interviewing him, and she asks him what color underwear she's wearing. But she's standing behind a lead planter, and only after she comes out from behind it does he suddenly blurt out, "Pink!" And he casts a gently teasing, meaningful look downward along her. And I'm here to tell you, when he pins her with that soulful blue stare and informs her with firm conviction that he likes pink very much, my adolescent self was a-quiver with the swoonage.
And let's not even TALK about the flying sequence. I mean, sure, "Can You Read My Mind?" is an utterly sappy set of lyrics--but if you take the lyrics away you have a lovely melody line, and not even those lyrics can ruin the giddy intoxication of sympathizing with a woman who's being borne aloft by Superman, for fuck's sake.
I remember how he played Superman's heroism with an absolutely believable earnestness. When he's got the lump of Kryptonite on the chain around his neck, and he's gasping out for Miss Tessmacher to help him, he never asks for help on his own behalf. Not once. "Please help me to save them!" is the line that stands out for me.
I remember Superman II, and the titanic battle with General Zod and his two cohorts, and the love of a hero that drives him to become mortal for the sake of the woman he loves. That kind of sacrifice drives ALL the great love stories, and Christopher took me willingly, eagerly along on this one.
I remember Somewhere in Time and being absolutely wrenched by the ending.
I remember being startled and giggly at Deathtrap.
But mostly, I remember Superman. There have been other Supermans before and since--but not a one of them like Christopher Reeve.
Be at peace, hero. May your soul be somewhere now where you can truly fly.
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Date: 2004-10-15 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-15 08:17 pm (UTC)I wanted to say something!
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Date: 2004-10-16 01:46 am (UTC)And I love the music, too.
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Date: 2004-10-16 02:19 am (UTC)I will freely admit I liked Dean Cain's Clark Kent better on the TV series Lois and Clark--but Dean couldn't hold a candle to Christopher when it came to being Superman. And I took one glance at Smallvile and it just would NOT WORK in my head, even aside from the whole weirdness factor of Bo Duke playing Clark's father.
He put everything into the role of Superman that Superman should be.
I think I may have to watch the first flick again some time this weekend. And go buy the second one, too.