Andre the Giant (2018 film)

Directed by Jason Hehir and written by Simon Pummell, Andre the Giant is a documentary film about the legendary pro wrestler who was born with gigantism which would make him a beloved figure in the world of pro wrestling yet would deal with the prejudices of being gigantic. The film follows the man’s life from his early upbringing in France to being one of the most popular pro wrestlers in the world as well as being in movies like The Princess Bride. With interviews from wrestlers Hulk Hogan, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Pat Patterson, and Ric Flair as well as actors Billy Crystal, Robin Wright, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and filmmaker Rob Reiner. The result is a somber yet extravagant film about a man who was indeed larger than life.

Andre Rene Roussimoff was a man from a small French town just 40 miles away from Paris as he unexpectedly was growing very rapidly as a teenager where he would become a professional wrestler around the age of 17. Yet, this gigantic growth which he didn’t know where it was from would make him a major celebrity as well as a mythical figure in the world of professional wrestling. The film follows the man’s life from his beginnings in the small French town of Moliens where he lived with his two brothers who are interviewed in the film along with sister-in-law as they talk about Andre’s life in the small town and the difficulty he had with his growth. Yet, it would contribute to his love of athletics including rugby which would get him the attention of a local wrestling coach who saw what he could do.

Aside from pro wrestling writer Dave Meltzer, historians talk about Andre’s early wrestling career as it showed his athleticism early on but as his gigantism grew. He would become this special attraction upon his arrival in the early 1970s in Montreal where he got the attention of many promoters in North America. He would work in many territories in America as wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Pat Patterson, and Ric Flair along with wrestling announcer “Mean” Gene Okerlund would talk about not just Andre’s work method but also how he would run the locker rooms as he would protect and sell other wrestlers who are good to him but then there’s those he didn’t like such as Big John Studd and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. The latter of which was revealed by Hogan about Savage using baby oil to make himself look good but it pissed Andre off really bad who really slapped the shit out of Savage.

There are also these mythological stories that are told such as the consumption of alcohol that Andre had drank where Flair claimed he saw him drank 106 cans of beer in one night. It adds to the mythology and legend of Andre as another WWE personnel that talks about Andre is referee Tim White who was Andre’s handler for much of his career. There were also discussions of Andre’s life outside the ring where he did struggle with his condition and learned about it much later in his life though he didn’t seek treatment as he felt it would threaten his career. There was also the fact that he had a daughter named Robin Christensen Roussimoff, who is interviewed in the film, as she shows pictures of her time with her father at his farm in Erbelle, North Carolina. The people who lived in Erbelle talked about Andre who felt at home in the town as his times traveling would often make him feel lonely and sensitive where he found a surrogate family in the people who looked after his ranch.

Actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, and Billy Crystal talk about their time with him as Schwarzenegger knew him during the 1970s as he was often in awe of him. Elwes, Wright, and Crystal along with filmmaker Rob Reiner talked about working with him on The Princess Bride as they revealed some tidbits about the film as well as the pain that Andre was feeling as it relates to his back. With the help of editor Daniel Goddard, director Jason Hehir wouldn’t just compile the many footage of his matches but also some rare pictures including a few from Elwes and Andre’s daughter Robin as it shows someone who wanted to be like everyone else. WWE chairman Vince McMahon does dwell into Andre’s final years as he admitted that resentment from Andre over having to retire while WWE would continue without him as he felt sad that he is unable to wrestle. It was in early 1993 when Andre returned to France to visit his ailing father and then be at his funeral where he unexpectedly died on January 27, 1993 at the age of 46.

Hehir’s direction would have many of the people interviewed in a straightforward manner with Hogan being the one to talk about Andre’s impact as well as how he had been able to play a major part of the 1980s wrestling boom. The film’s music by Thomas Caffey is terrific for its triumphant score that play into the larger-than-life persona of Andre while music supervisor Rudy Chung helping to bring in an array of music that lives up to who Andre is.

Andre the Giant is a marvelous film from Jason Hehir and HBO Sports. It’s a documentary that wrestling fans will definitely enjoy as they would get a look at one of the sport’s most beloved figures while audiences familiar with the world of popular culture will see a man who was human like everyone but also had a heart that was as big as he was where all he wanted to do was make people smile. In the end, Andre the Giant is a remarkable film from Jason Hehir.

© thevoid99 2018

Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin'

***Very Special Thanks to Courtney for Helping Me Obtain This Film***

Directed by Chad Schaffler, Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin’ is the story about the world of professional wrestling in Memphis, Tennessee from the 1950s to its hey-day in the 1970s and early 1980s. Featuring interviews with such luminaries as Jerry “The King” Lawler, “Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart, Jerry Jarrett, “Soulman” Rocky Johnson, and various others. It’s a film that explores what made the Memphis scene so powerful and gathered large crowds before the era where the regional territories in American pro wrestling faded in the mid-1980s. Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin’ is a fun yet engrossing documentary from Chad Schaffler.

After the post-war era in the South where wrestling was considered a side-show act that eventually morphed into a local phenomenon through various promoters and its stars. The biggest star during the mid to late 1950s was Sputnik Monroe who played a bad guy but audiences loved him. He was also someone that local African-Americans loved since he was one of the early individuals to allow the venues in Memphis and parts of Tennessee to integrate for black and white audiences. Though it drew sell-out crowds in areas in the South, there wasn’t a lot of money coming in because of the promoters like Nick Gulas were cheating the wrestlers.

It wasn’t until Jerry Jarrett came in and made sure the wrestlers got paid during the early 70s when Jerry Lawler was becoming a major star for the local scene. While there were still veterans like Jackie Fargo, it was new stars like “Soulman” Rocky Johnson, Jimmy Valiant, “Superstar” Bill Dundee, and Lawler that kept the crowds going. While the demand was tough and led to the death of a few superstars including Lawler’s manager Sam Bass from a car crash. It was the hey-day for Memphis Wrestling where at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, shows would sell out by the thousands as Jarrett through his promotional and booking skills managed to get TV time for the superstar in the pre-cable days.

After breaking away with Gulas, Jarrett formed Continental Wrestling Association where things got really big for the local scene. Lawler was the main attraction as was Lawler’s new-manager “Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart which eventually cultivated into the legendary feud between Lawler and comedian Andy Kaufman in the early 1980s. While Jarrett admits to mixed feelings about Kaufman’s involvement, it did help expose pro wrestling to a national level as it was the peak of that era.

The film chronicles the rise of Memphis wrestling where it was a much more raucous style than a lot of more refined wrestling of the regional styles in other territories during the 1960s and 1970s. Yet, there was also a bit of entertainment that made it believable for audiences to be invested in. Director Chad Schaffler does create something that is about that world where it was all about the spontaneity and the involvement of the fans to really root or hate the wrestlers they see. For those wrestlers, they had to play the part of these personas they created while revealing what it took to sell tickets. Particularly from the perspective of a few fans that revealed what it was like in the early years where kids would go to see midgets wrestle and it was a big draw back in the late 1950s.

There was a level of violence in some of the matches but only because it was to emphasize the brutality that an audience wanted to see. The documentary makes no bones about the fact that it’s a wrestling promotion that is willing to do what it can to sell tickets and make money. Yet, it worked out very well until the mid-1980s when Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Entertainment organization came in along with cable TV and such. Jarrett and Lawler revealed that was among the things that ended the Memphis territory where if it was around today, it would be destroyed.

The film features a lot of footage of the old weekend TV programs the CWA had as well as old home-movie footage of the wrestling events. It adds to this wild atmosphere of that period where it’s definitely not the WWE, in terms of its cleaner yet lavish presentation. Through the wonderful yet straightforward cutting of Pritchard Smith and Sean Faust’s sound design, the film keeps being very engaging as it reveals why it was such a great scene that attracted someone like Andy Kaufman.

The Region 1 DVD for the film’s release features an array of special features including its trailer, more interviews, outtakes, and rare wrestling clips. The outtakes features various interviews with the people that are profiled like Sputnik Munroe, Jimmy Hart, Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Valiant, Rocky Johnson, and many others where they each delve into little stories about life in the wrestling industry plus other little tidbits that are truly entertaining. Notably about the advice Dick Clark gave Hart about standing out with crowd or why showmanship is important from the words of Rocky Johnson. A lot of these small little outtakes reveal the world of wrestling and the stories that are so important to them.

The Studio Wrestling highlights features some rare clips that includes an interview with a young Hulk Hogan and more of Andy Kaufman’s feud with Jerry Lawler where Lawler interviews Kaufman on his own show. The wrestling clips feature some small bits of infamous wrestling matches from the early days of color TV to the 1980s that reveal the rough world of the Memphis wrestling scene in all of its glory. One big special featurette is the Galento incident about the notorious Mario Galento who was a big star in the 60s but also a very violent star who had issues with Jerry Jarrett when Jarrett took over the Memphis promotion. This leads to an attack from Galento to Jarrett during a match against Jerry Lawler where all hell broke loose leading to more trouble. The overall work on the DVD is something that hardcore pro wrestling fans must have.

Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin’ is an extraordinary yet entertaining documentary from Chad Schaffler. For pro wrestling fans, particularly the ones that grew up in the South, this is a film they have to see just to see what it was like back in those days when it was wilder and uninhibited. For those that wanted to know what was it like back then before the much grander days of WWE, this is a film about the old days of the regional area. While it might not appeal to audiences that aren’t familiar with pro wrestling, it is still a very well-made documentary with interviews that are very engaging. In the end, Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin’ is a top-notch documentary from Chad Schaffler.

© thevoid99 2011