Beyond the Mat (1999)

A heartfelt documentary focusing on the day-to-day lives of professional wrestlers, some on the rise, some on the wane, and others fighting for their lives.

Director:

Barry W. Blaustein

Writer:

Barry W. Blaustein (narrative written by)

Stars:

Terry Funk, Mick Foley, Jake Roberts

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

This documentary focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers Terry Funk, Mick Foley (Mankind), Jake Roberts (Jake the Snake) and Darren Drozdov (Droz). As the film progresses, the story of their lives unfolds, as we also learn how the wrestling industry is not the plastic-weapons fake-slap sideshow that many have perceived it as. We are shown how moves, although not actually injuring anyone, are not fake, and extreme training is required to be able to perform the stunts without being harmed. We are also treated to interviews with the family of Mick Foley and what it is like for them to know their father literally puts his life on the line every week and how it feels to have other children call their father a "fake". Vince McMahon, owner of World Wrestling Entertainment, also makes a few appearances, responding to criticism on various wrestling situations, including, once again, his real athletes, very real organization being called fake by sources such as USA Today and various news...

---

Plot Keywords:

wrestling | wrestler | three word title | drugs | championship | 

---

Taglines:

The movie Vince McMahon does not want you to see!

---

Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Sport

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and violent content

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Films

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 March 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beyond the Mat: Unrated Director's Cut

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,532, 24 October 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,047,570, 14 May 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Family and Home Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Lions Gate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 108 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Darren Aronofsky reportedly got the idea for The Wrestler (2008), after watching this documentary. Randy the Ram was based partly on Jake the Snake Roberts.

---

Quotes

Jake Roberts: My mother was 13 years old when I was born. Why? Because my dad raped a little girl that was in a room asleep. My dad was going out with my mother's mother. There you go. There's some bones for Jake the Snake.

---

Crazy Credits

Closing dedication: This film is dedicated to my wife, Lorrie and our children, Kasey and Corey, who have stood by patiently with love and support as I blabbed about wrestling for the last five years.

---

Alternate Versions

The DVD edition of Beyond the Mat has several minutes of deleted footage, plus audio commentaries by Mick Foley & Terry Funk

---

Connections

References South Park (1997)

---

Soundtracks

Stand By Me
Written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Ben E. King
Vocals: Carl Graves

User Reviews

awesome documentary showing the true nature of the wrestling game

man i loved this film, a real insight into what happens behind the scenes of the world famous wrestling franchise. well all my favourites were here but mostly of not mick foley, i love this guy and to see him in such a candid light was great, also jake the snake roberts, it was difficult to see what a bad state of affairs this once amazing personality has gotten himself into. but on the whole its just a very honest portrayal of what these guys have to go through day by day just to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads and those of their families. i also strongly suggest that anyone who likes this movie also read the two mick foley books and also try and find jerry the king lawlers nbook as well as they give a really deep insight into the world of sports entetrtainment. the only thing i didn't like about this film is that it didn't have any info or input by dusty rhodes who is by far my all time favourite wrestler, oh well they did a great job even without the American dream.