hyped garbage

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

When you want to show anyone what the world of Pro Wrestling to anyone who has been curious about it.Then Beyond The Mat is the way to go because it was produced, written and directed by Barry Blaustein who is said in the movie to have grow up a huge fan of Pro Wrestling.Years later he was inspired to find out why these men and women became Pro Wrestlers and when you watch this movie you get to see the rare world that we as wrestling fans hardly get to see.We get a behind the scene look at what makes wrestling, Wrestling you get Indy promotions as well as ECW Extreme Championship Wrestling and The WWF The World Wrestling Federation.Beyond The Mat also gives us some rare looks into the lives of the wrestlers we grew up with along with seeing what's it like for them, you get to see Mick "Mankind" Foley, The Rock, Terry Funk, Jake The Snake Roberts and many more pro legends. Along with seeing some rare footage of wrestling events there is just so much you can love as a fan of Wrestling and if you're not a fan you'll get a better understanding of why they chose this line of work. Beyond The Mat is the one wrestling film that gives the sport justice and it came from a fan which makes it much more better.If you haven't seen this movie you have to because it is classic I give Beyond The Mat A 10 out of 10

One of the oldest filmic clichés is that there's nothing sadder than an old boxer, a washed up pug. To that I might state that only an old wrestler is sadder. After all, wrestling is not a true sport- it's a violent theatrical production, and there is not much at stake for the viewers. As for the wrestlers, themselves….that's where this documentary from 2000 comes in. Directed by first time auteur Barry Blaustein it chronicles the re-rise of pro wrestling to prominence in the late 1990s- the era that saw Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Cactus Jack become celebrities of a greater nature than any of their forebears, like Killer Kowalski, Dusty Rhodes, Bruno Sammartino, or Hulk Hogan. The film starts off as an exploration of the men behind the 'names', yet it makes a mistake right off the bat, by billing itself as an exposé of the sport, a film that 'Vince McMahon doesn't want you to see'. McMahon, to those in the know, is the owner of the largest wrestling league in the nation- the WWE, then the WWF, but there's little in the film to suggest that this is a tell-all. There are some wrestlers with gripes, and we see tales of failed lives, and failed wrestling circuits, like the ECW and WCW (long since bought out by the WWE), and McMahon's league certainly has a history of dealing in drugs (steroids, etc.- as the aforementioned Hogan testified against him in a highly publicized trial in the early 90s), as well as being shamefully anti-union, and not caring of its performers (not long after the film's release one of its wrestlers- Owen Hart, of a well-known wrestling clan- was killed in a spectacular fashion while performing, and the film acknowledges that one of its minor characters, Droz, was paralyzed not long after the film was completed), but all of this is public knowledge, and old news.What works, though is the portrait of the biz the film portrays, and the three main wrestlers whose lives it follows…. The film has its moments of poignancy and insight, but they are too few and far between. A more pristine and jaded eye would have been necessary, and a more ballsy approach to the subject matter, to gain a following outside the 'choir' of pro wrestling. Still, since I go to those pews, every few years, I think it's a must see for any wrestling fan. The game has changed much during the decades, yet, in a sense, it hasn't changed at all. Whether good or bad is the crux, and what this film passes on.

Although there are many other excellent wrestling movies out there, I found this one to be the most intriguing. I read a comment here that the viewer believed the movie to be a "McMahon" propaganda flick promoting the WWF, but I believe the film is only intended to prove to all people that wrestlers are, like you and me, human beings who endure extremely hard and intense physical labor. Wrestling fans will love it and those non fans out there who can't enjoy wrestling because "it's fake" will awaken to the fact that wrestling may be staged but by no means fake. Also, if you are a fan of Terry Funk, Mick Foley or Jake the Snake, then this a must watch movie. Although the movie does refer to all of the WWF, it focuses on these three wrestlers and their past and present careers. I was astonished to learn some of the facts about them and the entire wrestling organization in general. Enjoy.

Being a gigantic wrestling fan, I couldn't wait to see this movie when it came out and it didn't disappoint. It is a great movie for fans and people who have never seen wrestling before. It is more of a documentary of the families of the men in the film than it is about wrestling. It seems that wrestling takes a back seat to the respective men's family lives. Barry Blaustein does an incredible job of editing, especially the scene with Mick Foley at the Royal Rumble 1999 when the lights go out and that song (whose name escapes me now but goes "When the light has gone...") plays and you truly see that wrestlers are more than guys in tights. You see that they are actually men who have families that care about them very much. While Beyond the Mat is good, I would have to say that it is not the best wrestling movie ever made. I would have to give those honors to Hit-man Hart: Wrestling with Shadows. If you want a good wrestling movie, watch Beyond the Mat. If you want a better wrestling movie, watch Hit-man Hart.