''Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows'' is a 1998 Canadian

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed, produced and written by

Paul Jay Paul Jay (born 1951) is a journalist, filmmaker, is the founder, editor-in-chief, and host of theAnalysis.news, a news analysis service. He was the founder, CEO and senior editor of The Real News Network (TRNN). Jay was born and raised in Toront ...

. It follows

Bret "The Hitman" Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal ...

during his last year in the WWF, from his World Wrestling Federation Championship victory at

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...

to his final match with the company and the infamous

Montreal Screwjob The Montreal Screwjob (also called the Montreal Incident) was a notorious professional wrestling incident where the outcome of a major match was changed without one of the wrestlers being informed – in order to "screw over" Bret Hart, who was i ...

at the pay-per-view

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

on November 9, 1997.

Synopsis

In 1997,

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(WWF) is embroiled in a fierce corporate rivalry with

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

(WCW), which will come to be known as "The

Monday Night War The Monday Night War or the Monday Night Wars, was an era of mainstream televised American professional wrestling, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, in which the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF; now WWE) '' Monday Night Raw'' (later ' ...

" among wrestling fans. Amid this rivalry, star WWF performer

finds his loyalties to his employers unexpectedly tested when he is offered a highly lucrative contract with WCW, their chief competitor. Although he is tempted by the prospect of a large salary with another company, he views Vince McMahon as a mentor and father figure, and he feels conflicted about leaving his longtime employer while they're struggling to overcome WCW in the ratings. In the interim, Hart struggles with developing a marketable public image. While he takes great pride in playing the role of a beloved hero ("face", in wrestling parlance), his superiors at the WWF fear that his heroic persona is seen as outdated and old-fashioned by the current generation of wrestling fans, who are increasingly showing a predilection for morally ambiguous antiheroes—a trend exemplified by the ascendance of Hart's rival

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...

. At the urging of WWF management, Hart reluctantly agrees to adopt the role of an arrogant bully who antagonizes fans and spouts anti-American rhetoric, which greatly conflicts with his desire to act as a positive role model for young fans. He is allowed to continue playing the role of a hero while performing for audiences in his native

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where he is widely viewed as a cultural icon. Despite his initial misgivings about leaving the WWF, Hart is ultimately left with no choice after McMahon chooses to rescind an earlier offer of a 20-year contract to stay with the company. But since Hart is the WWF's reigning World Heavyweight Champion at the time, his looming departure forces the company to choose a new World Heavyweight Champion to succeed him. As Hart prepares for his final match with the WWF in November 1997, it is determined that his last match will pit him against his longtime rival

Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...

in a televised bout at the

Molson Centre Bell Centre (French: ''Centre Bell)'', formerly known as Molson Centre, is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. In a recorded conversation discussing the predetermined outcome of the match, McMahon agrees that the match will end in Hart's disqualification (making it a draw), and that Hart won't be forced to lose to Michaels, whom he is widely known to personally dislike. When the night of the match arrives, it takes an unexpected turn when referee

Earl Hebner Earl William Hebner (born May 17, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestling referee. He is best known for his time as senior referee for the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) from 1988 to 2005. Hebner (along with his identical twi ...

prematurely rings the bell while Michaels has Hart in a "

Sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

" submission hold (Hart's signature move), resulting in Michaels being declared the winner—even though Hart never submitted. Immediately realizing that McMahon broke his word, Hart angrily spits in the WWF chairman's face in full view of the audience before storming off-camera. Later, backstage footage shows Hart's wife Julie confronting Michaels and his tag-team partner

Hunter Hearst Helmsley Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...

, accusing them of knowing in advance about McMahon's plan to change the outcome of the match, which both men deny. Furious at McMahon for betraying him, Hart eventually confronts his former mentor in the dressing room, leading to a physical altercation that ends with Hart punching him. In the final scenes, Hart spends time at home with his family some time after starting work as a WCW entertainer, while his former rivals Michaels and Helmsley ridicule him in a televised comedic sketch on the WWF's ''

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show features character ...

''. While still noticeably bitter about his mentor's betrayal, Hart claims that he is at peace, and ready to begin the next phase of his career. In a voiceover, he expresses pride in staying true to his ideals and refusing to compromise his integrity, but he opines that his in-ring alter ego "The Hitman" was murdered in Montreal, bringing his story to an end.

Production

''Wrestling with Shadows'' is co-produced by High Road Productions Inc. and the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

(NFB). It was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

format to both the United States and United Kingdom in 1999. It has been available on DVD in the UK since 2004. On February 3, 2009, ''Wrestling with Shadows: The 10th Anniversary Collectors Edition'' was released on DVD for the first time in the United States. This two-disc edition includes the movie, interviews with Bret Hart and director Paul Jay ten years later and "''

The Life and Death of Owen Hart Paul Jay (born 1951) is a journalist, filmmaker, is the founder, editor-in-chief, and host of theAnalysis.news, a news analysis service. He was the founder, CEO and senior editor of The Real News Network (TRNN). Jay was born and raised in Toront ...

''" documentary. In an interview featured on the two-disc special edition, Jay states that the filmmakers had a contract with McMahon to provide not only stock footage, but the waivers for the use of the names and likeness of the other wrestlers featured in the film. After the fallout from Montreal, McMahon feared how he would be portrayed in the film and refused both. The director goes on to state that WCW contacted the filmmakers and not only offered to pay for the lawsuit at an estimated cost of $750,000, but also offered a pay-per-view deal for the film and long-term distribution on the Turner network. Once McMahon became aware of this, the producers received a fax from Titan Sports Inc. saying that they would honor their original contract on the condition that the lawsuit be dropped and they could never sell the film to Turner. Jay said they were told they had a "slam-dunk" case but when asked about the film, they were told they would most likely be in court three to four years and "there would be no film" even if they won. Jay decided to make the film and drop the lawsuit. The director goes on to state that McMahon also used his reputation to kill some of the distribution deals in the U.S. and overseas. During Wrestling Observer Live on October 26, 2022, Dave Meltzer announced he took part in the recording on a commentary track with Bret Hart for a 25th Anniversary release.

Reception

The film was well received at the time and is today considered to be critically acclaimed. It won numerous

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

awards and has aired several times on both A&E and the Documentary Channel as well as on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

; after a 1999 airing on BBC Two, journalist Greg Wood of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' described it "a story beautifully told". Wrestling historian

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...

has stated that ''Wrestling with Shadows'', together with ''

Beyond the Mat ''Beyond the Mat'' is a 1999 American documentary film directed, written, produced and narrated by Barry W. Blaustein. The film focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers outside of the ring, primarily Mick Foley, Terry Funk, and Jake Robe ...

'', are the two most critically acclaimed wrestling documentaries. The Canadian film study book ''North of Everything: English-Canadian Cinema Since 1980'' declared the film to be one of the best National Film Board documentaries of the period and worthy of

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Flaherty's '' ...

's mission for the NFB.

Jordan Peterson Jordan Bernt Peterson (born 12 June 1962) is a Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator. He received widespread attention in the late 2010s for his views on cultural and political issues. Often described as Conservatism, conservativ ...

has expressed that the film as one of the greatest documentaries that he had seen in his life, stating that it was "one of the best documentaries about anything ever". The film won the Best Canadian Feature Documentary award at the 1999

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and Jun ...

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album inspired by Bret Hart's music choices was released on

Nettwerk Records Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...

under the Unforscene Music imprint on October 19, 1999. # Keith Scott – Hitman Theme Intro #

Rascalz Rascalz are a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia. The group played a crucial role in the artistic and commercial development of Canadian hip hop as well as specifically for the Westcoast scene in Vancouver popularizing the te ...

– Sharpshooter (Best of da Best) # DDT – Lie Detector #

Rob Zombie Robert Bartleh Cummings (born January 12, 1965), known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live show ...

– Superbeast # Gob – Self-Appointed Leader # Gloritone – Halfway #

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

– Only the Strong Survive #

Sebadoh Sebadoh () is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for his ...

– Flame # BTK – Peppyrock #

Days of the New Days of the New was an American rock band from Charlestown, Indiana, formed in 1995. The band later relocated to Louisville, Kentucky. They consisted of vocalist/guitarist Travis Meeks and a variety of supporting musicians. They are best know ...

– Touch, Peel and Stand # Keith Scott – Original score # Moist – Resurrection #

Econoline Crush Econoline Crush is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, formed in 1992. They have released five studio albums and three studio EPs, and are best known for their charting singles such as " You Don't Know What It's Like", "Home", ...

– Sparkle & Shine # S.O.F.T. – Second Coming # Keith Scott – Original score

References

External links