ironhorse_iv
Executively produced by Janine Marmot and Bill Simmons, the HBO documentary film about the life of one of pro wrestling's most legendary and mythical figure, Andre the Giant, was a huge success. For the most part, the story move from Andre's childhood, as Andre Roussimoff in rural France to his superstardom as Andre the Giant in the United States, to his eventual downfall, with ease. However, there were parts of the documentary directed by Jason Hehir that seem to drift off, a bit. It venture too much time, into establishing how promoter, Vince McMahon and his megastar, Hulk Hogan change the pro-wrestling business in the 1980s to the national level, for a little too long. It really did, hurt the pacing for the film. In short, the filmmakers should had shown, more on how Andre the Giant help usher that era, a little bit better. They really did, skip, a lot of very important events and dates in Andre's career, such as his role in promoting wrestling in one of its first major PPV super-show, by fighting professional boxer Chuck Wepner in an unscripted boxer-versus-wrestler fight in 1976 in Japan. Another is his role in 1985's 'WrestleMania' & his only World Championship win in 1988. You would think, those moments would be mention. Sadly, those examples and others, not mention was not in here. The movie also ventures too much in the familiar & well verse route of story beats, bringing nothing really new the table. Anybody that watch, any of the previous Andre the Giant's documentaries, such as 1999's "Andre: Larger than Life', might not find anything in this HBO special to be really that stand out worthy. However, that isn't the biggest problem of this film. Another problem with this documentary is that, not everything is as accurate as it should had been. The documentary is so whimsical, so ridiculous and so out-there subtly, it's really hard to tell, the different between fact & fiction. Everything is so blur. Don't get me wrong, that isn't always a bad thing. I didn't mind the film telling exaggerating tall-tales stories of Andre the Giant's larger than life, lifestyle, such as it relates to his drinking, his strength, & how tall, he really was. After all, it's pro-wrestling. There is hardly anything real about that. Although, I kinda wish the documentary wasn't walking a tightrope in terms of the standards of journalistic integrity. Certain claims such as Andre's disdain for certain wrestlers should be, presented with some accuracy. After all, it's pretty hard for the dead to defend themselves. I really have to doubt, that Andre really hated Big John Studd and Randy Savage in real-life. If he did, there is little research to back, that statement up, by the filmmakers. So, any claim like that, should be, taken with a grain of salt. Despite that, I did like the talking heads sequences with his family, friends, fellow wrestlers, historians, and celebs, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ric Flair, Robin Wright, Tim White, Billy Crystal and others.
Vince McMahon's emotional breakdown on Andre's time in the WWF, was also a highlight. It's rare to see tears, come out from Vinnie Mac's face. He really did humanize the performer. I also dig the discussion about 1987's 'WrestleMania III' main event was choreographed, in order, to hide Andre's body limitations. However, I have to doubt, Hogan's claim that Andre the Giant refused to decide how to finish the match ahead of time & he was having doubt that Andre was going to put him over. Industry journalists such as Dave Meltzer and David Shoemaker says otherwise, outside the documentary, which they are feature, citing the fact that Andre had lose before, outside of WWE's historic canon & the fact that Andre the Giant was professional about doing the job. Regardless, the idea that they didn't have a finish to the match did built some suspense that was somewhat worthy to watch on the documentary even if it's hardly true; much like Andre retiring to his farm after leaving WWF, when in truth, Andre popped up on WCW's Clash of the Champions XX broadcast as a part of a celebration in honor of 20 years of professional wrestling on TBS. Nevertheless, what happen in his last days on Earth; in the end, Andre the Giant left a giant legacy, worth remembering. Overall: While, it's hard for any documentary to distill a man's life in 90 minutes. I think, this HBO special did a great job with the giant task on doing so. Because of that, this is a must watch for any pro-wresting fan. It's worth visiting.
