Andre the Giant

When it comes to sports entertainment, there is no doubt that Andre the Giant is one of the most iconic figures ever to walk the planet. In a land of mere mortals, he was a literal giant, both in physical stature and prosaic legend. He deserves a documentary befitting that sort of gravitas, which is exactly what this doc provides.

Basically, this documentary tells the story of Andre The Giant though three distinct lenses:

Andre the man: Chronicles his family life (I had never seen interviews with his siblings and/or daughter until now), as well as his very early days in France and when he was just breaking into the wrestling business. Some of the early videos of him in the ring are truly spectacular. The youthful giant!

Andre the myth: A decent chunk of this doc is spent re-hashing the old stories about Andre, such as his legendary drinking habits and sometimes irascible temper at those he didn't like (although for the most part he was very much a "gentle giant" in every sense of that phrase). Also, a good look is given at just how difficult traveling was for him, as basically an oversized man living in a normal-sized world (cars too small, airplane bathrooms a no-go, etc.)

Andre the wrestler: As is fitting, more time is given to this portion than anything else. Beginning with Andre's run through the wrestling territories of the 1970s, it then heavily focuses on his time in Vince McMahon's WWF, where he (and the business as a whole) rose to international fame. One of the highlights of the entire documentary is the multiple interviews with Hulk Hogan, especially his recollections of the iconic Wrestlemania III showdown between himself and the Giant. That was the match that truly got me into professional wrestling (and I'm guessing I'm not alone in that statement), so deservedly it gets a lot of rope here.

Overall, "Andre" is a wonderful documentary about the life of one of the world's most interesting figures. The only reason I can't give it the full 10 star treatment is because it probably could have used a bit more structure in its storytelling technique (it really bounces around from topic to topic and in time as well). Other than that minor quibble, though, the strong HBO production values and the ability to procure interesting and relevant interview subjects (always key when the subject being covered is no longer living) vault this to the rarified air of top documentaries. Even if you don't necessarily have a vested interest in professional wrestling, you can find something to be fascinated with in this hour and a half.

Masterful look at the man and myth that pretty much does everything it needed to. The one tiny caveat I have is that it would have perhaps been beneficial to show the painful final few matches he had just to give a sense of how far he'd fallen, but I get that they didn't want to dwell too much on the sad end. Plenty of tear jerking moments.

A terrific documentary. I enjoyed it very much. A nice overall sense of "the man!"

HBO Sports does a documentary on the iconic giant wrestling star. He is one of a kind. He is also very human. This is able to show both of him. It marries with the rise of WWF with the new cable TV from the regionalized local wrestling worlds. His pain is the most compelling aspect of this documentary. I know most of the other stuff. Of course, I already knew about his pain but it doesn't hit me until his suffering is put front and center. He's a friendly giant but like everyone else, he has his suffering along with his joy. He is a giant and a human being.

Towards the end of this film, someone compares Andre to Davy Crockett - as much myth as man. It is an apt comparison, and it makes a film like this pretty tough to make. You could tell every mythic Andre legend and skip the humanity...you could focus only on the humanity and miss the legend. This doc resides right at the intersection, and it succeeds for that reason. They capture what made Andre Andre while resisting the urge to tell every single story for 5 hours. As a child of the 80s, simply revisiting the first few Wrestlemanias and The Princess Bride was a blast. It is entertaining, and - just as importantly - it is human. Also, it is captivating.