Christopher Reeve's 'Party Trick' Inspired Son's Documentary

Nov. 7, 2007 — -- Three years after the actor and activist Christopher Reeve died at the age of 52, a new DVD is being released today about Reeve's life after a 1995 horseback riding accident left him paralyzed.

Filmed over a two-year period by Reeve's oldest son, Matthew, "Christopher Reeve: Hope in Motion," is a poignant and sometimes searing look into Christopher and Dana Reeve's family life as Christopher fought to regain mobility and became the voice for others with spinal cord injuries.

Matthew and his sister Alexandra, who are both on the board of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, joined Diane Sawyer for an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America" to talk about the film.

Matthew Reeve said he decided to make the film after his father unexpectedly moved one of his fingers, more than five years after his injury -- something that Reeve jokingly called his "party trick."

"I was studying film, and it was a matter of timing," Matthew said. "I was visiting home one weekend, and he showed this party trick where he moved his index finger. There was no reported case of anyone with that level of injury having that kind of recovery 5½ years after the accident."

The thing that made Christopher Reeve such a powerful advocate was that he refused to accept that he would remain a quadriplegic for life. In fact, he made extraordinary medical progress in the last several years of his life. He was able to breathe without a ventilator for periods of time, take steps in a pool, regain his sense of smell and regain sensation in 70 percent of his body.

Peter Kiernan, the chairman of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, said that he wished Christopher and Dana were alive today to see the progress being made in treating spinal cord injuries.

"I think when he moved his finger, what he was really doing is pointing the way, and he was showing us that cures are possible, and we are getting people out of chairs today," Kiernan said.