Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows
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Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows | |
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Trimark | |
Release date | December 20, 1998 |
Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows is a 1998 Canadian documentary film directed, produced and written by Paul Jay. It follows Bret "The Hitman" Hart during his last year in the WWF, from his World Wrestling Federation Championship victory at SummerSlam to his final match with the company and the infamous Montreal Screwjob at the pay-per-view Survivor Series on November 9, 1997.[1][2]
Synopsis
In 1997,
In the interim, Hart struggles with developing a marketable public image. While he takes great pride in playing the role of a beloved hero ("face", in wrestling parlance), his superiors at the WWF fear that his heroic persona is seen as outdated and old-fashioned by the current generation of wrestling fans, who are increasingly showing a predilection for morally ambiguous antiheroes—a trend exemplified by the ascendance of Hart's rival
Despite his initial misgivings about leaving the WWF, Hart is ultimately left with no choice after McMahon chooses to rescind an earlier offer of a 20-year contract to stay with the company. But since Hart is the WWF's reigning World Heavyweight Champion at the time, his looming departure forces the company to choose a new World Heavyweight Champion to succeed him. As Hart prepares for his final match with the WWF in November 1997, it is determined that his last match will pit him against his longtime rival
. In a recorded conversation discussing the predetermined outcome of the match, McMahon agrees that the match will end in Hart's disqualification (making it a draw), and that Hart won't be forced to lose to Michaels, whom he is widely known to personally dislike.When the night of the match arrives, it takes an unexpected turn when referee
In the final scenes, Hart spends time at home with his family some time after starting work as a WCW entertainer, while his former rivals Michaels and Helmsley ridicule him in a televised comedic sketch on the WWF's
Production
Wrestling with Shadows is co-produced by High Road Productions Inc. and the
In an interview featured on the two-disc special edition, Jay states that the filmmakers had a contract with McMahon to provide not only stock footage, but the waivers for the use of the names and likeness of the other wrestlers featured in the film. After the fallout from Montreal, McMahon feared how he would be portrayed in the film and refused both. The director goes on to state that WCW contacted the filmmakers and not only offered to pay for the lawsuit at an estimated cost of $750,000, but also offered a pay-per-view deal for the film and long-term distribution on the Turner network. Once McMahon became aware of this, the producers received a fax from Titan Sports Inc. saying that they would honor their original contract on the condition that the lawsuit be dropped and they could never sell the film to Turner. Jay said they were told they had a "slam-dunk" case but when asked about the film, they were told they would most likely be in court three to four years and "there would be no film" even if they won. Jay decided to make the film and drop the lawsuit. The director goes on to state that McMahon also used his reputation to kill some of the distribution deals in the U.S. and overseas.
During Wrestling Observer Live on October 26, 2022, Dave Meltzer announced he took part in the recording on a commentary track with Bret Hart for a 25th Anniversary release.
Reception
The film was well received at the time
Wrestling historian Dave Meltzer has stated that Wrestling with Shadows, together with Beyond the Mat, are the two most critically acclaimed wrestling documentaries.[7] The Canadian film study book North of Everything: English-Canadian Cinema Since 1980 declared the film to be one of the best National Film Board documentaries of the period and worthy of John Grierson's mission for the NFB.[8] Jordan Peterson has expressed that the film as one of the greatest documentaries that he had seen in his life, stating that it was "one of the best documentaries about anything ever".[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
The film won the Best Canadian Feature Documentary award at the 1999 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.[17]
Soundtrack
A soundtrack album inspired by Bret Hart's music choices was released on
- Keith Scott – Hitman Theme Intro
- Rascalz – Sharpshooter (Best of da Best)
- DDT – Lie Detector
- Rob Zombie – Superbeast
- Gob – Self-Appointed Leader
- Gloritone – Halfway
- Bryan Adams – Only the Strong Survive
- Sebadoh – Flame
- BTK – Peppyrock
- Days of the New – Touch, Peel and Stand
- Keith Scott – Original score
- Moist – Resurrection
- Econoline Crush – Sparkle & Shine
- S.O.F.T. – Second Coming
- Keith Scott – Original score
See also
- Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be
- Bret Hart: Survival of the Hitman
References
- ISBN 978-0-8108-8788-6.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/video/movies/100000003336564/hitman-hart-wrestling-with-shadows.htmle [dead link]
- ^ "Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows". Collection. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
- ISBN 1-85109-559-4.
- ^ Veal, Ben (10 June 2013). "Pink and Black Attack: Bret Hart's ex-wife Julie Hart pulls no punches in new book". mirror. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ Wood, Greg (7 November 1999). "The sadist, the loving father and a knockout end". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
- ISBN 978-1582618173.
- ISBN 9780888643902.
North of everything hitman hart.
- ^ Peterson, Jordan B. (13 April 2017). Jordan Peterson - Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows (Video) (Film). YouTube: Bite-sized Philosophy. Event occurs at 00:40. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
- ^ [1] Archived June 11, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2] Archived October 24, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [3] Archived January 21, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [4] Archived August 10, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [5] Archived October 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [6] Archived June 23, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [7] Archived January 20, 2018, at archive.today
- ^ Tamsen Tillson, "Canuck hot docs picked". Variety, May 11, 1999.
- ^ "Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows - Original Soundtack [sic] | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-03-06.