Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
04-10-18, 05:46 AM
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Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
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Andre the Giant
From HBO Sports, WWE, JMH Films and Ringer Films comes Andre The Giant, a documentary examining the life and career of one of the most beloved legends in WWE history. The ambitious, wide-ranging film explores Andre’s upbringing in France, his celebrated WWE career and his forays into the entertainment world. It includes interviews with Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Rob Reiner, family members and more.
André René Roussimoff was born in 1946 in Molien, France. In his early teens, he exhibited signs of gigantism though he was not diagnosed with acromegaly until his twenties. He began his training in Paris at 17 and eventually became known in wrestling circuits around the world. In 1973, Andre joined the organization now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, where he became a superstar and rival of WWE legend Hulk Hogan.
Emmy-winning Executive Producer Bill Simmons, who joined HBO in 2015 and founded sports and culture publication The Ringer, describes Andre as “the ultimate unicorn” and “a true legend.”
“Everyone who ever crossed paths with him has an Andre story — and usually four or five,” says Simmons. “I’m delighted to join forces with [director] Jason Hehir and WWE so we can capture Andre’s amazing story once and for all.”
From HBO Sports, WWE, JMH Films and Ringer Films comes Andre The Giant, a documentary examining the life and career of one of the most beloved legends in WWE history. The ambitious, wide-ranging film explores Andre’s upbringing in France, his celebrated WWE career and his forays into the entertainment world. It includes interviews with Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Rob Reiner, family members and more.
André René Roussimoff was born in 1946 in Molien, France. In his early teens, he exhibited signs of gigantism though he was not diagnosed with acromegaly until his twenties. He began his training in Paris at 17 and eventually became known in wrestling circuits around the world. In 1973, Andre joined the organization now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, where he became a superstar and rival of WWE legend Hulk Hogan.
Emmy-winning Executive Producer Bill Simmons, who joined HBO in 2015 and founded sports and culture publication The Ringer, describes Andre as “the ultimate unicorn” and “a true legend.”
“Everyone who ever crossed paths with him has an Andre story — and usually four or five,” says Simmons. “I’m delighted to join forces with [director] Jason Hehir and WWE so we can capture Andre’s amazing story once and for all.”
04-10-18, 08:26 AM
#2
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Looking forward to this. It's been Bill Simmons' dream project for many years. Amazing he never did it while at ESPN. Also, this will be his first HBO project since they canceled his TV show after three months in 2016.
04-10-18, 08:38 AM
#3
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
What I find amazing is that when most of us saw him lumbering around in the WWE in the mid 80's he was only 40 years old. Meanwhile The Big Show is 46 right now.
04-10-18, 08:59 AM
#4
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Can't wait! I loved Andre the Giant growing up as a kid. I still remember the Pre-Hulkamania days with Andre when Wrestling was still playing it straight and not admitting it was fake. I think Big John Stud was the only guy big enough to give him a fair fight as most of his fights were handicap matches.
04-10-18, 09:13 AM
#5
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
I'm only bummed that they didn't figure out how to get him in more movies before he passed away. Every moment of him in the Princess Bride is pure gold.
04-10-18, 07:32 PM
#6
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
He was awesome
I hope this is covered. It was a big deal back in 8th grade back in 1988 and could not wait to watch this match. A rare big match that was shown on a Friday night on NBC.
I hope this is covered. It was a big deal back in 8th grade back in 1988 and could not wait to watch this match. A rare big match that was shown on a Friday night on NBC.
04-10-18, 07:34 PM
#7
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Someone who watches it, please let me know if it's appropriate for a 12 year old boy to watch. I think my son might enjoy it. But I don't want to show it if it's too racy or depressing.
04-11-18, 12:46 AM
#8
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Very good doc, I teared up towards the end, when
Spoiler:
I was fortunate to see Andre live vs The Warrior (even though it was a 15 second match) RIP to both
04-11-18, 05:17 AM
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
I wish the WWE would come out with an Andre the Giant Blu-ray(and dvd) box set. As far as I know they only have one dvd which doesn't do his career justice.
04-11-18, 06:07 AM
#10
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
I knew I would shed a tear near the end.
For a while it seemed to be a Hulk Hogan doc. Maybe they could do one on him in the future and the Warrior too.
Not a lot of wrestling stuff covered or his feuds and matches after Wrestlemania 3.
Wish I got to see Andre in his prime years since I only saw him after 1987 when all the injuries caught up to him.
For a while it seemed to be a Hulk Hogan doc. Maybe they could do one on him in the future and the Warrior too.
Not a lot of wrestling stuff covered or his feuds and matches after Wrestlemania 3.
Wish I got to see Andre in his prime years since I only saw him after 1987 when all the injuries caught up to him.
04-11-18, 06:30 AM
#11
Moderator
Thread Starter
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Nice to hear my former elementary school gym teacher, Tito Santana, get a few mentions.
04-11-18, 07:15 AM
#12
DVD Talk Legend & 2021 TOTY Winner
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Excuse me, I think you mean Chico Santana.
04-11-18, 07:21 AM
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04-11-18, 10:50 AM
#14
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04-11-18, 05:19 PM
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04-12-18, 09:46 AM
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Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
That was enjoyable. I only became familiar with Andre once the WWF really started getting big, so it was interesting to see all of the stuff from the 70s-early 80s.
Loved watching his matches with Big John Studd.
Loved watching his matches with Big John Studd.
04-12-18, 11:20 AM
#17
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Thought this was really good. Hogan came off well and I don't think I've ever said Hogan came off well in anything.
I became a wrestling fan near the end of the territorial system when JCP started buying up territories. Had to be quite different having guys go from territory to territory and not really being able to have knowledge of them outside of what you see on you local tv wrestling show.
I became a wrestling fan near the end of the territorial system when JCP started buying up territories. Had to be quite different having guys go from territory to territory and not really being able to have knowledge of them outside of what you see on you local tv wrestling show.
04-12-18, 12:39 PM
#18
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Man that brings back some memories - I was in the 7th grade when Wrestlemania III went down and wrestling was my life. That whole year with Hogan losing on Main Event and eventual tournament as Wrestlemania IV was some good shit.
04-12-18, 04:10 PM
#19
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Here’s a good one from the mid 70s (I think) from the NWA Los Angeles promotion. Gordman and Goliath were the top heel tag team in LA for about 10 years.
04-12-18, 05:43 PM
#20
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Yes that was the best era and no divas matches back then.
04-12-18, 06:11 PM
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Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Changing about 20 minutes of the documentary and this could have been a WM III documentary. Overlooked the Friday night Hogan Match, The WM IV Hogan Match, Jake Roberts Matches, Warrior Matches, and a ton of Battle Royals. Only one small segment about his Daughter.
Hogan's book covers a bunch of missed stuff between him and Andre. He even admits he couldn't have pinned Andre at WM III if Andre didn't want him to. That explains Hogan's nervousness on the day of the match.
Also, A great story not in the documentary.
Ultimate Warrior was working with Andre and Warrior was giving him stiff clotheslines. Match after match Andre would say easy up. This was towards the end of Andre's career and he was suffering in pain. Warrior of course couldn't do anything but full on blast away with no finesse. One night Warrior is coming full head of steam for a clothesline and Andre just raises his fist about Warrior's height. Dropped Warrior hard. According to Hogan the Warrior went easier on Andre after that.
Hogan's book covers a bunch of missed stuff between him and Andre. He even admits he couldn't have pinned Andre at WM III if Andre didn't want him to. That explains Hogan's nervousness on the day of the match.
Also, A great story not in the documentary.
Ultimate Warrior was working with Andre and Warrior was giving him stiff clotheslines. Match after match Andre would say easy up. This was towards the end of Andre's career and he was suffering in pain. Warrior of course couldn't do anything but full on blast away with no finesse. One night Warrior is coming full head of steam for a clothesline and Andre just raises his fist about Warrior's height. Dropped Warrior hard. According to Hogan the Warrior went easier on Andre after that.
04-12-18, 07:55 PM
#23
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
Finally watched this and found it thoroughly satisfying. To my surprise, my non-wrestling fan daughter was very interested in it and also enjoyed it. For those who sort of complained about too much Hulk or WM III coverage I think you have to consider viewers like my daughter who know almost nothing about the build-up of wrestling to that point or just what it meant for Andre to put Hulk over like that. I thought it struck a very good balance without getting too inside the business. My daughter's only criticism was that she wanted to hear more about The Princess Bride.
04-12-18, 08:58 PM
#24
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
-Really great documentary on Andre as it brought back alot of good memories. As I said in an earlier post, I grew up in the early 80's when the transition from Wrestling to Entertainment Wrestling and it did a good job of showing its evolution with the rise of Hogan.
-I always wondered why they never made Andre the Champ back in the day, and it makes total sense that you don't want to overexpose him because he was a freak of nature. Looking back now, I remember that Andre was not there every week when I watched it and it was special when he made his appearances in the WWF back in the day.
-Wrestlemania 3 was the peak of that era because I kind of lost interest after that when I was in High School. I just remember that spring you had the leadup to Hagler/Leonard and Hogan/Andre, and they were both bigger then the Superbowl to people like me.
-It's a shame to see his relationship with Vince McMahon deteriorate in the latter years. As much as Vince is a genius for what he did with WWF, I always thought he came off as a total dick on a personal level and could see that Andre felt used as the new era of Wrestling took hold.
-I always wondered why they never made Andre the Champ back in the day, and it makes total sense that you don't want to overexpose him because he was a freak of nature. Looking back now, I remember that Andre was not there every week when I watched it and it was special when he made his appearances in the WWF back in the day.
-Wrestlemania 3 was the peak of that era because I kind of lost interest after that when I was in High School. I just remember that spring you had the leadup to Hagler/Leonard and Hogan/Andre, and they were both bigger then the Superbowl to people like me.
-It's a shame to see his relationship with Vince McMahon deteriorate in the latter years. As much as Vince is a genius for what he did with WWF, I always thought he came off as a total dick on a personal level and could see that Andre felt used as the new era of Wrestling took hold.
04-13-18, 09:33 AM
#25
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Andre The Giant (HBO Documentary) -- premieres 4/10/18
I enjoyed the film for the most part but was a bit surprised at how light it was. I expected more wrestling and more crazy stories (like the one posted above). It really could have benefited from 20 or 30 more minutes.