This documentary follows superstar Bret Hart during his last year in the WWF. The film documents the tensions that resulted in The Montreal Screwjob, one of the most controversial events in the history of professional wrestling, in which Vince McMahon, Shawn Micheals, and others, legitimately conspired behind the scenes to go against the script and remove Bret Hart as champion.
Bret Hart Owen Hart Vince McMahon Steve Austin Michael Hickenbottom Mick Foley Brian Pillman Blade Hart Julie Hart Stu Hart Helen Hart Diana Joyce Hart-Smith Keith William Hart Sunny Jim Neidhart Georgia Hart Mark Calaway Curt Hennig Dave Meltzer Wayne Farris Paul Budra Michael Landsberg Michael James Hegstrand Joe Laurinaitis Del Wilkes Bob Marella Earl Hebner Rick Rood Vince Russo Show All…
Die heimliche Wut des Catchers Hitman Hart, Bret Hart, Gentleman Catcheur, Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows
USA
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The Gimme Shelter of professional wrestling documentaries, an incredible triumph of journalistic access and being in the right place at the right time when history was haphazardly being made. Bret Hart is such a fascinating personality, he's surrounded by a grotesque business and unlike every other wrestler I've ever heard speak on it he's fully aware of and even analytical towards it -- check out the early scene where he describes Goldust as "pushing the homophobia button," what other pro wrestler can you imagine using the word "homophobia" in 1997? -- but maintains this incredible commitment to quality work and his own personal ideals even in this absurd cesspool we alternately refer to as the wrestling business and the United States of America. Surreal, multitudinous tragedy, even people with no interest in wrestling should watch this.
Watched with Bret Hart (and Dave Meltzer!) commentary on the excellent new Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray, in which Bret calls himself “the Robert De Niro of wrestling.” Which ... does that make Shawn Michaels the Pacino? I’m now going to spend way too much time trying to figure out which wrestlers would be the various characters in Heat.
you could accuse this of villainizing Vince McMahon but then you remember this is a documentary and you can't possibly villainize someone who is clearly the devil in a suit -- an essential document of not only wrestling but popular culture in america in the 90s and how we create, treat and remember our heroes
Put simply—the best film about professional wrestling there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be... but it's an absolute wonder that it even exists. Think about what the WWE has become—a soulless behemoth whose size has been sustained through territorial gluttony and ruthless elimination of potential threats—yet here we have an unassuming David of a documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada, in which Vince McMahon, wrestling's Immortan Joe atop his mighty brand Gigahorse, gets knocked the fuck out (just offscreen), and hurried away by bootlickers (onscreen). It's unbelievable stuff, and how an army of lawyers hasn't seen to the destruction or Hangar 51 treatment of this thing is a mystery to me.
Stepping…
"Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows" is a 1998 documentary film directed by Paul Jay and is centered around Brett "The Hitman" Hart in his final days in connection with WWE, or what was at the time WWF. Upon face value, it was my inception that the film was going to be firmly centered around the infamous "Montreal Screwjob" event that is one of, the most notorious events to ever unfold in the history of professional wrestling. With that being said, the film does have a firm anchor in its topical build to be connective with that event, but there is easily so much more context in this film, really giving an overall cohesive look at Hart, his (as well as…
Was on Netflix, and on heaps of "Essential Documentaries" list, and this is pretty amazing viewing. So often luck comes down to determining how great a documentary can be, and this doco starts rolling in the year before the most controversial event in wrestling history, the Montreal Screwjob. It's so well contextualised and the footage they get is just incredible, I was literally transfixed in suspense as it builds up to the betrayal, even though I knew what was going to happen. To think there are still conspiracy theorists who think what happened was fake is astonishing.
The documentary as a whole really taps into the world of wrestling as an American phenomenon, the connection it has had with fans…
Hitman Heart: Wrestling With Shadows is a fascinating wrestling doc featuring unprecedented access to one of wrestling’s most notorious and legendary families. The documentary comes at a professional crossroads for the Hitman and the industry he loves so dearly and sadly, right before his family would continually be racked by tragedy and overwhelming grief.
As a lifelong fan of professional wrestling and one who came of age passionately watching the performers who make up the foreground and background of this film, it’s sobering to know what the future holds for them. Most are not only gone from the sport but from our plane of existence — outside of Bret, the rest of the Hart Foundation (Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, The…
I watched this many years ago and only really remember the final scenes. However, thanks to idle time and YouTube algorithms I have lately been building up my nostalgia for 90s wrestling and WWF in particular. Its kind of addictive. I guess that's the point.
Wresting with Shadows is an incredibly intimate portrait of Bret Hart's final year in the WWF and all the noise that surround him and the industry itself. Its a fascinating look at the mechanics of sports entertainment. It culminates with the Montreal Screwjob but equally fascinating is the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin and the idea of the anti-hero prevailing over the old fashioned notion of the Babyface. It's perhaps no surprise that the…
While heavy on the cheap feel of late-90s TV documentaries, this is still a very unique and captivating film. Initially meant to follow a year in the life of Bret "The Hitman" Hart, it quickly becomes a slice of life centering on the infamous Montreal Screwjob and Bret's POV during that time. As such, it's an important film for any pro wrestling fan who wants to fully understand the history of the business.
"It's far more real than people think." - Bret Hart
23 years to this day and the Montreal Screwjob doesn't even feel like something that actually happened. It feels more like a dark fantasy than actual reality, but it did and it is truly one of, if not the most infamous moment in professional wrestling history.
1998's Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows is a documentary focusing on the career of pro wrestler Bret Hart & his controversial exit from the WWF. Paul Jay and his crew filmed Bret Hart in his final year in the WWF and had Bret provide insight on what it is like being a professional wrestler.
What I like is how this can appeal to non-wrestling fans,…
only thing better than bret hart spitting in vince mcmahon’s face is bret hart punching vince mcmahon’s lights out. sucks we only ever got footage of the former
