Customer Reviews

Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows [VHS]

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bret "Hitman" Hart has been my favorite wrestler ever since I first watched this documentary on A&E a few years ago. He had always been a great wrestler, but after having watched this riveting tale of Hart's association with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996-97, he became my hero.

Bret Hart's tale in this video is both happy and sad. In the beginning moments of the film, we see a light-hearted and very accomodating Hitman talking about his family and how he started in wrestling. He talks about growing up a Hart, and how life at the house was not always so wonderful. For the first 20-30 minutes, this film shows us the happier side of Bret Hart. And that's when things get interesting.

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) made Hart an incredible offer that he almost couldn't refuse. But, as a man of integrity and moral values, he inititally declined the WCW's offer out of loyalty to Vince McMahon, the owner of the WWF. Instead of taking a three-year contract worth $9 million from the WCW, he signed a 20-year contract for significantly less with the WWF.

Bret Hart's topsy-turvy road in 1997 is a captivating one to travel on for the audience. Anyone who knows wrestling knows the name Bret Hart and what has happened with him throughout his career. This documentary, so beautifully done by director Paul Jay, gives you the dirt on what Hart's life was like back when wrestling was just starting to come into its more adult nature.

This film gives you the entire scoop on why Bret Hart was turned heel (turned into a bad guy). This film shows you exactly what happened at the now infamous 1997 Survivor Series, which forever changed the direction of WWF programming. You will see it all as the happy and appreciative Bret Hart from the first 20-30 minutes is slowly chipped away until a depressed and demoralized Bret Hart is left in the wake of what the WWF and Vince McMahon did to him.

After the film, there is a special interview with Bret Hart and director Paul Jay that takes place 18 months later following the double-cross at the 1997 Survivor Series. Bret Hart goes on to tell what life has been like since his departure from the WWF and how things in his life have drastically changed. One shock, for example, is his admittance of his divorce. This comes as such a surprise since we see him and his wife sticking so closely together in the film.

In short, this is one of the best wrestling documentaries out there. They don't get any more real than this, and any wrestling fan will find Bret Hart's real-life battle with Vince McMahon intriguing.

On a personal note, Bret Hart, in my mind, will always be the Excellence of Execution. He will always be "The Best There Is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be." He deserved to have a grand exit from professional wrestling. It's just too bad that neither the WWF nor the WCW had the decency to give him one.

This movie is not only the best wrestling documentary I have ever seen, but probably the best documentary on any subject that I have viewed.

It is a real and truthful depiction of former five-time World Wrestling Federation World Champion, Bret `Hitman' Hart, as he was betrayed by fellow wrestlers and his boss, Vince McMahon.

Bret Hart talks about growing up in Calgary, Alberta in a wrestling family. In the process he suffered verbal abuse from classmates and physical abuse from his father, wrestling legend Stu Hart (Order of Canada, 2001).

By the time Bret Hart hit the age of forty he worked his way up the wrestling ladder, to the point where he replaced Hulk Hogan as the WWF's top star.

Though the Federation's biggest name in the 1990s, Hart is forced to leave, and then double-crossed in his final match in order to ruin his name in the wrestling business. Essentially, on 9 November 1997 in Montreal Bret was promised that he would be allowed to leave the WWF on his own terms, but that was a lie by WWF management.

In a match with Shawn Michaels, Hart is embarrassed with an abrupt end to the match as Michaels had Bret in his trademark submission move, the `sharp shooter'. The match ends instantly with Bret Hart, a Canadian hero, being 'cut down' in his own nation.

The picture reaches it's climax with Bret Hart punching-out WWF owner and CEO, Vincent McMahon behind closed doors. Wrestling With Shadows accounts for the fall of Bret Hart in the WWF. It is a sad story of his final days in the very company he helped save, and sacrificed for. Such sacrifice included turning down millions of dollars from World Championship Wrestling, working injured and being subject to slander from WWF creative control (Bret Hart was portrayed as anti-American and a racist).

I recommend this movie, and hope you enjoy it.

The most important work on pro wrestling in the 1990s.

With Beyond the Mat going into wide-scale release sometime in 2000, Wrestling with Shadows can easily be named the most importance work about wrestling of the 1990s. This excellent documentary follows wrestler Bret "Hitman" Hart during his last few months within the WWF, his home for fifteen years, and the blurry line between real and fictional heroism.

The great strength of Paul Jay's documentary is its ability to legitimize wrestling as a real art form, while at the same time exposing its culture of sleaze and manipulation. A must see for anyone who wants to know more about wrestling.

This documentary really sheds light on a bunch of things that I'm sure that makes Mr. McMahon feel very uncomfortable. Who should we believe? Well, that really depends on you, the viewer. I really think this is an interesting side of the WWF (now the WWE) that very few have ever seen.

The movie is about the life and career of a very well known and famous wrestler, Bret Hart. It's about his life and his struggles with the WWF. And with Mr. McMahon, of course. Though wrestling is scripted, THIS is not. You also get to see the lighter side of Bret. The family side. You also see the toll his career takes on them.

I was really in awe as I watched "Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows." A very interesting documentary about the dark side of wrestling and the lives it can make....or destroy. Highly recommend this. Even if you don't like wrestling, you still might find this interesting.

In the end, Vince says "Bret screwed Bret." After seeing this, I'm not too sure about that. Don't know what to think. I really do enjoy the WWF, but it's hard to know for sure who was right. This documentary does open you mind to ideas and theories. In the end, it's really YOU who decides is telling the truth.

This was a great documentary. i bought before it had even gotten a distribution deal in this country and long before the 18 months after segment was added.
However, there was a lot of details that could have made things even better, regarding the survivor series finish. i sat here and read so many different reviews and it was great to see other people talking about this documentary and bret in such a positive light. However, it was the people calling Bret a selfish egomaniac that prompted me to write this review.
If anyone was a selfish egomaniac it was Shawn Michaels. If you went to bret's website [...] you could find somewhere on there, the wrestling observer article that dave meltzer wrote that gave all the details and the information that Shawn Michaels specifically told vince and bret that he was no longer going to lose to anyone in the federation. Yes, Shawn Michaels decided he was never going to lose another match in his career. Granted, that didn't come to pass but that is the reason Bret wouldn't lose to Shawn, along with his creative control clause, and his status as a Canadian hero, but because Shawn didn't have any respect for him so why should he show him any in return. He did everything to comfort Vince that he wouldn't run to WCW while holding the belt, even trying to delay his entrance to WCW. But because other people had screwed Vinny Mac, Vinny Mac wouldn't trust the Hitman.
It's obvious that Vince wanted to discredit Bret, first making him despised in the country where he did 90% of his performing, and then making him look bad after his leaving for WCW. He was afraid to lose anymore ground to the competition, and so screwed the one man who carried his company in the wake of Hulkamania.
In the end WCW blew itself up and further worsened Bret's career. But it was this documentary that made the WCW fans realize that Bret wasn't the jerk they treated him as and he later became in WCW, and it was shortly after this became widely distributed and played on tv that he gained his 1st WCW World title. then a couple months later, his career was over.
To be honest, there are a couple slow points in the movie (if you have watched it more than a few times) and it certainly could have been a little more detailed, because there was a lot more to the story than what we saw. Otherwise, a great documentary about a man who did everything for a company he believed in and how that company ruined his life.
Long live the Hitman.

There is so much about this film that is compelling that I don't know where to start. It serves not only to document the last year of Bret Hart's career in the WWF, but also shows the digression of pro-wrestling.

Though I don't pay much attention to wrestling these days, I was a big fan when I was younger. I caught this documentary on A&E and was fascinated by it.

It's difficult to describe this film without spoiling the ending. Bret Hart begins as the ultimate hero and over the course of a year becomes a villan, ending his time in the WWF in a disgraced state of uncertainty. Throughout this time, Hart never loses his sense honor and purpose and never betrays his "true fans". Without revealing too much, Paul Jay's film reveals that in the amoral enclave of pro-wrestling, this has disastrous consequences.

The home video contains a bonus interview with Hart and Paul Jay which serves as an effective coda. Hart and Jay discuss the devastating aftermath of Vince McMahon's betrayal of Hart; it is clear that Hart's life is in disarray. Ironically, the moral of the story may be, 'Don't place too much personal importance in your job'. At one point during the interview, Hart discusses his current situation in WCW (another wrestling organization he joined after WWF) and how he is loathed by fans. His response, "They pay me enough to live with that.", is indicative of his post WWF attitude toward his work.

As many critics have noted, Shadows reveals a factual story more compelling than most fiction writers could create. It is a documentary that proves more interesting than the subject matter (pro wrestling) from which it draws.

Bret hart instantly became my favorite wrestler of all time after watching this video. In light of Owen Hart's tragic death the video only becomes more poignant. Any doubts that Vince McMahon is the purest form of evil will be put to rest. The beauty of this tape is the fact that you don't have to be a wrestling fan to enjoy it. however, I bet there are more Hitman fans now and more people tune in just to watch him wrestle.

This is probably the best documentary I have ever seen. It follows Harts life growing up in a wrestling family, and ends with Harts disputed last match with the WWF. It is utterly compelling to see Hart struggle with Vince Mcmahon's betrayal after giving him a 20 year contract-then decicing he wanted out of it. Watching(in hindsight) him tell Hart he wants him to go to WCW, then lie about why he was leaving, lie about the supposed ending of the match at Survivor Series, and ultimately lie about everything to do with Hart is pretty disgusting to watch. If wrestling lasts 1000 more years, we will never have as compelling footage as is on here from that match. Watching Earl Hebner practically dive out of the ring as soon as he calls for the bell, and Mcmahon wiping the spit from his face as Hart glares at him from the ring with disgust is absolutely riveting. It's just a shame that they didn't include the part of the Mcmahon interview where he claims he "let" Bret knock him out afterwards. It would have brought some levity to a film which is pretty sad to watch for anyone who knows Bret Hart deserved to be treated with respect.

HITMAN HART: WRESTLING WITH SHADOWS is an astounding documentary that chronicles the story of Bret Hart, a loyal & devoted wrestler in the WWF, whose loyalty was rewarded by a wily promoter... Bret Hart & Paul Jay took the viewers into the most private moments of Hart's life in the WWF. The video showed the viewers how Bret cared about his wrestling career, his devotion to his chosen profession, his love for his family, his opinions about certain people in the WWF, his observation on how wrestling has changed over the years, & his relationship with WWF owner Vince McMahon, who stabbed Bret in the back after Bret gave 14 years of his life working for the WWF.

During the making of this video, Bret just signed a deal with McMahon for less money but a 20 year contract with the WWF. He could've gone to WCW for more money, but Bret felt a sense of loyalty to the WWF & Vince McMahon & opted to stay in the WWF. While this was going on, WCW was beating the WWF in the ratings. Vince later told Bret that he can't afford him anymore & wanted him out of his deal. Bret reluctantly agreed because he didn't want to leave the federation he has called home for 14 years. Then, on his last match for the WWF before leaving for rival promotion WCW...

I can't recommend this film enough. If you love wrestling & want to know what goes on behind the scenes, get this video & BEYOND THE MAT (Director's cut). You won't be disappointed.

Just one comment, as far as the comment 'Bret screwed Bret' goes, many people are connecting that with his move to WCW. It wasn't a move that helped him, even he says WCW had no direction but lest we forget, Bret was TOLD by Vince to get the contract from them, as he couldn't honour the contract he was offered by the WWE. See that, he was TOLD by the man to do so.

It's pretty clear as to who was the bad guy and who screwed who and gues what?
He's not Canadian.