Interesting, exciting and well-presented. Superb. (Beyond The Mat (DVD))

Member Name: DaChild

Product:	Beyond The Mat (DVD)
Date:	18/04/01 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautifully directed, a great insight into wrestling.

Disadvantages: None of any importance

When I heard there was a wrestling movie featuring WWF Superstars being released, I expected it to be the WWF's answer to the 'WCW Movie' Ready 2 Rumble. Then I heard Vince McMahon wanted it banned, and I couldn't think why. I suppose after watching it, I can now see why, but this film is a serious outlook on wrestling as a whole. It is not, as I originally thought it was, a fictional film.

The film is directed by Barry Blaustein. Blaustein is a huge wrestling fan, and decided to go on the project to try and answer some of his own questions about why he loves the sport. What we get is a fly on the wall view of wrestling at its very heart.

The film itself focuses and speaks in depth with three wrestlers: Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, former wrestling great turned drug addict; Michael (Mick) Foley, long time wrestler and best selling author; and Terry Funk, the man who first retired in 1982, but still wrestles today.

We follow each of the three men around for a short while. The care with which Jake's reunion with his daughter is shown is superb, and although you may not want to watch the footage of the Foley family as Mick gets clattered with a steel chair, it is shown in such a way that makes you think, but doesn't make you feel guilty for watching it. The interviews with all three men are superb, as they talk quite openly about their experiences in the world of wrestling.

This film is a great watch for wrestling fans, and a very educational watch for non-wrestling fans. The only downside I can think of is that today, the film is a little out of date, since a lot has changed in the last few months.

The DVD extras are very little, featuring a trailer and some biographies, but aren't needed on what is essentially a superb film. Get it.

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