Beyond the Mat (1999)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Barry W. Blaustein

Writer:

Barry W. Blaustein (narrative written by)

Release Date:

17 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Sport

Tagline:

The movie Vince McMahon does not want you to see!

Plot:

Heartfelt documentry focusing on the lives of professional wrestlers and how their sport is not fake.

Plot Keywords:

Wrestling | Championship | Backstage | Drugs | Chair

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Barry W. Blaustein	...	Himself - Narrator
Vince McMahon	...	Himself
Jim Ross	...	Himself - Sr. VP of Talent
Jim Bell	...	Himself - Sr. VP of Merchandising
Darren Drozdov	...	Himself
Roland Alexander	...	Himself
Tony Jones	...	Himself - XPW wrestler
Michael Modest	...	Himself
Terry Funk	...	Himself
Mick Foley	...	Himself
Danny Zucker	...	Himself - Childhood Friend
Dave Meltzer	...	Himself - Journalist
Jake Roberts	...	Himself
Ed Beckley	...	Himself - Promoter
Chyna	...	Herself
Matt Hyson	...	Himself
David Ware	...	Himself (as Coco B. Ware)
Jesse Ventura	...	Himself
Jerome Young	...	Himself (as New Jack)
Dennis Stamp	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ted DiBiase	...	Himself (archive footage)
Afa Anoai	...	Himself (uncredited)
Steve Austin	...	Himself (uncredited)
Matt Bloom	...	(uncredited)
Debbie Bonnanzio	...	Herself - VP of Creative Services (uncredited)
Mark Calaway	...	The Undertaker (uncredited)
Adam Copeland	...	Edge (uncredited)
James E. Cornette	...	Himself (uncredited)
Christopher Daniels	...	Himself (uncredited)
Shane Douglas	...	Himself (uncredited)
Roy Farris	...	Honky Tonk Man (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dory Funk Jr.	...	Himself (uncredited)
Tom Greene	...	Himself (uncredited)
Bret Hart	...	Himself (uncredited)
Brian Heffron	...	Blue Meanie (uncredited)
Michael Hegstrand	...	Road Warrior Hawk (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mark Henry	...	Himself (uncredited)
Paul Heyman	...	Himself (uncredited)
Devon Hughes	...	(uncredited)
Brian James	...	(uncredited)
Dwayne Johnson	...	Himself / The Rock (uncredited)
Michael Jones	...	Virgil (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tom Laughlin	...	Tommy Dreamer (uncredited)
Joe Laurinaitis	...	Road Warrior Animal (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jerry Lawler	...	Himself (uncredited)
Paul Levesque	...	Himself (uncredited)
John Lister	...	Himself - Fan (uncredited)
Mark LoMonaco	...	Buh Buh Ray Dudley (uncredited)
Jerry Lynn	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Robert Maillet	...	Kurrgan (uncredited)
Linda McMahon	...	Herself (uncredited)
Shane McMahon	...	Himself (uncredited)
Stephanie McMahon	...	Herself (uncredited)
Debra McMichael	...	Herself (uncredited)
Rena Mero	...	Herself (uncredited)
Kurt Nielsen	...	Himself (uncredited)
Gene Okerlund	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dustin Runnels	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Terri Runnels	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Vince Russo	...	Himself (uncredited)
Michael Seitz	...	Dok Hendrix (uncredited)
Peter Senerchia	...	Taz (uncredited)
Ken Shamrock	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
'Grizzly' Smith	...	Himself (uncredited)
Al Snow	...	Himself (uncredited)
Monty Sopp	...	Billy Gunn (uncredited)
Donna Spangler	...	Principal (uncredited)
Terry Taylor	...	Himself (uncredited)
John Tenta	...	Himself (uncredited)
Angelle Vachon	...	Herself (Luna Vachon) (uncredited)
Rob Van Dam	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
P.J. Walker	...	Himself (uncredited)
Sean Waltman	...	Himself (uncredited)
Leon White	...	Big Van Vader (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Barry W. Blaustein

Writing credits
Barry W. Blaustein		(narrative written by)

Produced by
Barry W. Blaustein	....	producer
Barry Bloom	....	producer
Brian Grazer	....	producer
Ron Howard	....	producer
Michael Rosenberg	....	producer
Debra Marie Simon	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Nathan Barr

Cinematography by
Michael Grady		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jeff Werner

Production Management
Debra Marie Simon	....	unit production manager (as Debra M. Simon)

Sound Department
Alan Barker	....	additional sound mixer
Perry Clark	....	additional sound mixer
Allen 'Big Al' Ewald	....	additional sound mixer (as Allen P. Ewald)
Ron Garrard	....	sound mixer
Shawn Holden	....	location sound
William Levins	....	audio prelay (as Willy Levins)
John Lusitana	....	additional sound mixer
Paul Vik Marshall	....	additional sound mixer (as Paul Marshall)
Robert Matthews	....	additional sound mixer
David S. McJunkin	....	additional sound mixer (as Dave McJunkin)
Dave Rainey	....	additional sound mixer (as David Rainey)
Eric Reisner	....	additional sound mixer
Roger Schmitz	....	additional sound mixer
Peter J. Verrando	....	location sound (as Peter Verrando)

Camera and Electrical Department
Samuel Ameen	....	additional videographer: Anaheim, CA
Albert Bassi	....	first assistant camera
Robert Bennett	....	additional cinematography: Los Angeles, CA
Albree Boytos	....	grip
Joan Churchill	....	additional cinematography: Philadelphia, PA
Kim Crabb	....	additional videographer
Ulysses Damalaon	....	first assistant camera (as Ulysses Domalon)
Nick Franco	....	first assistant camera (as Nic Franco)
Tamara Goldsworthy	....	first assistant camera
Steve Hitchcock	....	grip
Tyrell Janos	....	additional videographer: mini-digital
Pat Kuske	....	additional videographer: Sacramento, CA
Joe C. Maxwell	....	additional cinematography: Amarillo, TX (as Joe Carmino Maxwell)
Barry Norwood	....	first assistant camera
David Pryke	....	additional videographer: Nashua, NH
Leon Sanginiti	....	first assistant camera (as Leon Sanginiti Jr.)
Dale Scarberry	....	additional videographer: Amarillo, TX
John Scarberry	....	first assistant camera
David Weinreb	....	first assistant camera
Kent Westberg	....	additional videographer: Minneapolis, MN (as Kent Westburg)
Wade Whitley	....	first assistant camera
Richard Wilcox	....	grip
Alan Barker	....	additional cinematographer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Greg Brayton	....	assistant editor (as Gregory Brayton)
Thomas Knickerbocker	....	color timer (as Tom Knickerbocker)
Scott Miller	....	on-line editor

Music Department
Peter Afterman	....	music consultant
Brian Richards	....	music editor
Margaret Yen	....	music consultant

Other crew
Michael Adler	....	legal services
Pablo Ampue	....	production assistant
Corey Blaustein	....	assistant to director
Drew Caron	....	production assistant
Kim Crabb	....	production coordinator
Jeff Crandall	....	production assistant
Amy D'Alessandro	....	titles
Tony Estrada	....	production assistant
David Gati	....	production assistant
Dolly Greene	....	production assistant
Michael Greene	....	production assistant
Ella Marcus	....	craft service
Daniel McGarvey Jr.	....	production assistant (as Dan McGarvey)
Carolyn Miller	....	segment coordinator
Chris Pawsey	....	production assistant
Jennifer Payson	....	segment coordinator (as Jennifer Tamez)
Jennifer Scarberry	....	production assistant
Katherine Tapia-Cominole	....	transcriptions
Gentry Tennyson	....	production assistant

Thanks
Mitch Ackerman	....	personal thanks
Michael Adler	....	personal thanks
Mark Allen	....	personal thanks (as Dr. Mark Allen)
Woody Allen	....	personal thanks
Afa Anoai	....	personal thanks (as Afa the Wild Samoan)
Aida Anoai	....	personal thanks
Shokichi Arai	....	acknowledgment: archival sources, Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (as Mr. Shoichi Arai)
Tatsukuni Asano	....	acknowledgment: archival sources, IWA Japan Pro Wrestling (as Mr. Tatsukuni Asano)
Joe Barrison	....	personal thanks
Helen Blaustein	....	personal thanks
Ira Blaustein	....	personal thanks (as Ira)
Matt Bloom	....	personal thanks
Michael Braverman	....	personal thanks
James D. Brubaker	....	personal thanks (as Jim Brubaker)
Charlie Bruzzese	....	personal thanks (as Charles Bruzzese)
Lena Buffone	....	personal thanks
Luigi Buffone	....	personal thanks (as Luigi)
Ron Buffone	....	personal thanks
Ric Burkhard	....	personal thanks
Mike Camp	....	thanks: Kaleidoscope Films (as Michael Camp)
Thomas Carter	....	personal thanks
Ed Cohen	....	personal thanks
Lacy Cole	....	personal thanks (as Lacy)
Warren Cole	....	personal thanks
A.C. Connor	....	personal thanks (as D'lo Brown)
Dan Cox	....	personal thanks
Blaine DeSantis	....	personal thanks (as Blaine De Santis)
Ted DiBiase	....	personal thanks (as Ted Di Biase)
Jean Doumanian	....	personal thanks
Cynthia Drozdov	....	personal thanks
Olaf Drozdov	....	personal thanks (as Olaf)
Rob Ellowitch	....	personal thanks
Lori Garfinkel	....	personal thanks
Richard Garfinkel	....	personal thanks (as Richard)
Todd Gordon	....	personal thanks
Mondo Guerrero	....	personal thanks
Todd Hallowell	....	personal thanks
Kathy Hamilton	....	personal thanks
Bret Hart	....	personal thanks
Kimberly Jacobs-Toeg	....	thanks: Kaleidoscope Films
Brian James	....	personal thanks
Kevin Jones	....	personal thanks
Adam Kanter	....	personal thanks
Greg Klein	....	personal thanks
Walter 'Killer' Kowalski	....	personal thanks (as Walter Kowalski)
David Lai	....	thanks: Kaleidoscope Films
Michael Lano	....	personal thanks
Jack Lanza	....	personal thanks
Susan Laughlin	....	personal thanks
Tom Laughlin	....	personal thanks (as Thomas Laughlin)
Jerry Lawler	....	personal thanks
Patricia Levesque	....	personal thanks
Paul Levesque	....	personal thanks (as Triple H)
Mark LoMonaco	....	personal thanks (as Buh Buh Dudley)
Russell Long	....	personal thanks
Shane McMahon	....	special thanks
Jennifer O'Sullivan	....	special thanks: Cherry Lane Music Publishing, Inc.
Steve Panama	....	thanks: Kaleidoscope Films
Lisa Parker	....	special thanks: Cherry Lane Music Publishing, Inc.
Jeffery Passero	....	special thanks (as Passero Casting)
Pat Patterson	....	personal thanks
François Petit	....	personal thanks (as Francois Petit)
Bruce Pritchard	....	personal thanks
Tom Pritchard	....	personal thanks
Scott Roebuck	....	thanks: Kaleidoscope Films
Fumi Saito	....	special thanks
Peter Senerchia	....	personal thanks (as Taz)
Diane K. Shah	....	personal thanks
Steve Shapiro	....	personal thanks
Dean Silverstone	....	personal thanks
Al Snow	....	personal thanks
Joanne Steele	....	personal thanks
Joey Styles	....	personal thanks
Steven Sunshine	....	personal thanks (as Steve Sunshine)
Thomas Thee	....	thanks: Kaleidoscope Films
Bob Tischler	....	special thanks (as Robert Tischler)
David Tousignant	....	thanks: Kaleidoscope Films
Reneé Virga	....	personal thanks
P.J. Walker	....	personal thanks (as Peter Palaco)
Sean Waltman	....	personal thanks
Mikey Whipwreck	....	personal thanks (as Mikey Whippenwreck)
Tom Wright	....	personal thanks

Production Companies

• Universal Family and Home Entertainment (present) (as Universal Family & Home Entertainment Production)
• Imagine Entertainment (present)
• Lions Gate Films

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1999) (USA) (theatrical)
• Imagine Entertainment
• Lions Gate Films
• United International Pictures (UIP) (France)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2000) (Finland) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Video (2001) (Netherlands) (video)

Other Companies

• All Pro Wrestling  special thanks
• Amarillo Midway Chevrolet  archival sources
• Arco Arena  special thanks (as Arco Arena, CA)
• Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim  special thanks (as Arrowhead Pond, CA)
• Big Texan Restaurant  special thanks (as Big Texan Restaurant, Amarillo TX)
• Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company  special thanks (as Cherry Lane Music Publishing, Inc.)
• D&N Entertainment Center, NE  special thanks
• Duke City Video  special thanks
• ECW Entertainment  archival sources (as Extreme Championship Wrestling)
• ECW Entertainment  special thanks (as Extreme Championship Wrestling)
• Eastman Kodak  special thanks
• Entertainment Post  special thanks
• Foto-Kem  special thanks
• Four Media Company  post production services provided by
• Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling  archival sources: FMW 1996/8/23-9/24
• Gerber Financial Management  accounting
• Gold's Gym, Nashua, NH  special thanks
• IWA Japan Pro Wrestling  archival sources: Fire on Earth
• International Home Foods  archival sources: Chef Boyardee
• K-Mart, Nashua, NH  special thanks
• KGNC Radio  special thanks
• Kaleidoscope Films Group  post production services provided by (as Kaleidoscope Films, Inc.)
• Kaleidoscope Films Group  thanks (as Everyone at Kaleidoscope Films)
• MGM Clip + Still  archival sources (Hannah and Her Sisters ©1996 Orion Pictures Corporation All Rights Reserved)
• Macht Entertainment Group  special thanks (as Macht Entertainment)
• Matthews Studio Equipment  special thanks (as Matthews)
• Panavision  special thanks (as Panavision Camera)
• Pro Nails, Tyngsporo, MA  special thanks
• Southwest Airlines  special thanks
• Straightshooters Pool Hall  special thanks
• Streamline Films  archival sources (as Stream Line Films)
• Titan Sports  special thanks
• Universal Wrestling Federation Inc.  archival sources (as Universal Wrestling Archives)
• Ventura for Minnesota  archival sources (not-for-profit corporation)
• Wilson Family Funeral Home  special thanks
• World Wrestling Federation Entertainment  video footage provided courtesy of (as World Wrestling Federation ©1999 Titan Sports, Inc. All rights reserved)

Also Known As:

Beyond the Mat: Unrated Director's Cut (USA) (director's cut)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and violent content.

Runtime:

102 min | USA:108 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) (director's cut) | USA:R (No. 37049) | Australia:M | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:R(A) | UK:15 | USA:Unrated (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

APW Garage - 21063 Cabot Boulevard, Hayward, California, USA

Company:

Universal Family and Home Entertainment

Trivia:

Since the release of the film, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) lost a lawsuit to the World Wildlife Fund and was forced to change their name from WWF to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Quotes:

[after a match]
Barry W. Blaustein: So where are you going next?
Jake Roberts: My daughter's. She's, uh, doing her master's in psychology. So she's a real freak.

Movie Connections:

References "South Park" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Stand By Me

Finally a movie about wrestling that doesn't insult my intelligence

I've seen this movie a few times and as a wrestling fan for over 20 years I was glad to see a movie that showed a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes. Blaustien does an amazing job and it was no surprise that it was seriously being considered for an Academy Award nomination (sadly it never ended up being actually nominated).

Wrestling fans have had to defend their love of the art of pro wrestling for many years. When the topic would come up that I am a wrestling fan I would be faced with the same idiotic question, with a tone of disbelief in their voice, "You know it's fake, right?". My response has always been to follow that question with "And what is your favourite TV show?" I usually get an answer like "Friends" or something similar and I then mockingly explain to them that Rachel and Ross never dated and Monica and Chandler are not really married and that that isn't even their real names. Soon they began to see the stupidity of their proclaiming that wrestling is fake. Whew, sorry, kind of went on a rant there.

Blaustien's film allows non wrestling fans to see exactly how "fake" wrestling can be. The blood, sweat and hard work that these athletes and their families endure is vividly shown. We finally see a human side of the often larger than life characters that these men and women of the squared circle portray.

One thing that I found very profound was the drab, dark and gloomy colours Blaustein used in segments showing that human side as opposed to the colourfulness of the slick production of the athletes performing. We go from the glamorous pyro and bright lights of a live Pay per View event to shots of the wrestlers in their concrete, black and white, dirty and sweaty dressing rooms. I don't know if the director did this on purpose but I thought it was quite effective.

Bottom line this movie is a must for any fan of wrestling but I feel it is even more important to the non-wrestling fan interested to see why all these people watch this "fake" form of entertainment.