The final scene of Superman is all one has to see to understand. After Superman drops Lex Luthor off at the prison, he rises up into the sky and flies around the Earth, high above its surface.
The John Williams fanfare is playing, and Superman is coming towards us. As he approaches, he is looking around. He suddenly sees us and he smiles.
And that is it. That one moment encapsulates everything perfect about Christopher Reeve as Superman.
It is a moment of pure joy, pure hope, and pure decency. The marketing for that 1978 Superman film told us “You will believe a man can fly.”
That final scene left the audience believing more than a man could fly, it left us believing Superman was real.
Christopher Reeve was born to play Superman. 6’4″ (1.93 m). Piercing blue eyes. Chiseled features. A brilliant white smile. Confidence.
There are many perfect scenes, like the one described above. Another is the scene after Lois interviews Superman on her balcony.
Superman flies away and then returns as Clark Kent at her door. He comes in and he’s in full disguise mode. He’s wearing the glasses. He’s stooped. His voice is higher. His presence is smaller. He’s nervous.
There’s a moment where he contemplates telling Lois who he really is. We see him look in the mirror, remove his glasses and then his entire body language changes.
He transforms from the nebbish Clark into Superman just by adjusting his stance and expression.
There was no difficulty believing that Lois would not realize Clark and Superman were the same man.
Another such scene is the one in which he finds Lois dead and he breaks down. We see him slowly unravel and a fury of rage and despair boils to the surface and erupts.
Christopher Reeve managed to capture every aspect of Superman. He could be the alien powerhouse, the immigrant, and the gentle farm boy.
One more such scene is at the end of Superman II. Superman returns the dome and flag to the damaged White House. He looks down into the Oval Office and says:
“Good afternoon Mr. President. Sorry I’ve been away so long… I won’t let you down again.”
That little pause between “so long” and “I won’t” is so well done. He looks down for a second and his voice changes slightly. This is a Superman that is humble. This is a Superman with humility.
Christopher Reeve understood who Superman was. Reeve once said:
“What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and the maturity to use the power wisely. From an acting point of view, that’s how I approached the part.”