The Province - Vancouver

The Hart of the matter
The Province (Vancouver)

Jonathan McDonald, Television Writer The Province

When NBC did its expose on pro wrestling a couple of weeks ago, the hulking tattletales hid behind masks and called the sport a big fake.

Bret Hart doesn't wear a mask in Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows.

Hart, the Calgary-born behemoth who made his fame and fortune wrestling in Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation, is the featured player in this compelling and revealing National Film Board documentary.

What began for producer Paul Jay as a quest for insight into the
behind-the-scenes machinery that makes the WWF work turned into a politicaland emotional battle as McMahon decided to turf his stable's stud.

Frankly, there's not a dull moment in the 93 grueling minutes of film. Hart is portrayed compassionately as one of 12 children who grew up in legendary wrestler Stu Hart's home.

"All eight boys got into wrestling," says Bret Hart, "and all four girls married wrestlers. Not quite what my mother had in mind."

It certainly wasn't. But when Bret got his start on Stu's Stampede Wrestling--a staple of many a young boy's Saturday afternoon in the late '70s -- he only got bigger. And bigger. And bigger.

That's exactly what's conveyed in this taut, exciting program. Wrestling fanatics -- and there are literally thousands upon thousands of them in the Lower Mainland alone -- will relish the familiarity and the cameras showing rare scenes of actors out of character.

Newcomers to the genre and doubters won't help but find pro wrestling
fascinating -- an opera for the masses -- and it's far more interesting than
watching the Anaheim Mighty Ducks play the Calgary Flames on Hockey Night in Canada.

Hart's character -- who now wrestles for Ted Turner's WCW -- has always been
lauded by fans for his wholesome values. And Hart comes across as the
straight shooter he is in the ring.

"I've kicked people full blast in the face," says Hart. "Did you ever wonder
for one second why there's no big bruise after?

"There is an art to wrestling. But people never come up and say, 'You're a
hell of an actor.' They just go, 'You're a phoney.'"

There's nothing phoney about the contempt between Hart and McMahon or that of jingoistic wrestling fans. When they turn on Hart -- and, by extension,
Canada -- the vitriol comes spitting out. When McMahon double-crosses Hart,
the pain seems real.

Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows won't make you want to turn away from the show. In fact, you'll probably want to find out when you can see it for
yourself, live.

HART FACTS

Born: Calgary, July 1957. Age 41. Divorced. Lives in Calgary with his four
children: Jade, Dallas, Beans and Blade.

Family: His father Stu, now 84, founded Stampede Wrestling in Alberta as well
as a wrestling dynasty. Bret's seven brothers became pro wrestlers and his
four sisters married wrestlers.

Early career: By 19, Bret won numerous amateur and collegiate wrestling
titles. He debuted as a pro in 1976.

Pro career: Bret moved to the World Wrestling Federation when his father sold
the business to Vince McMahon. Formed the Hart Foundation team with
brother-in-law Jim "Anvil" Neidhart and soon became a household name, dubbed The Excellence of Execution. Five times WWF champion.