Andre the Giant

Synopsis: A look at the life and career of professional wrestler André Roussimoff, who gained notoriety in the 1980s as Andre the Giant.

Genre: Biography, Documentary, Sport

Director(s): Jason Hehir

Actors: André the Giant, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robin Wright, Cary Elwes

Production: HBO Sports


IMDB:: 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes:: 94%

Collection Edit Watch PDF Buy

: TV-14
Year:: 2018
: 85 min
: 43 Views

1
Man:
Most of us,
when we're children,
your parents
read fairytales to you.
There are knights,
there are dragons,
there are sorcerers,
there are giants.
He was those drawings
come to life.
He was a living manifestation
of our childhood dreams.
Ring Announcer:
And from Grenoble
in the French Alps,
weighing 477 pounds,
the eighth wonder
of the world,
Andr the Giant!
Man:
Everybody remembers
that moment
where they first saw
Andr the Giant.
We're all intrigued
by Andr the Giant
the human,
but the reason
we're intrigued by that
is because he seems
like so much more.
He was a god.
Ring Announcer:
The crowd goes wild.
This is the one
we've all been waiting for.
Andr the Giant.
Ring Announcer:
Holy mackerel!
Andr the Giant,
off the top turnbuckle!
Ring Announcer:
Andr cleaning house!
Announcer 2:
This is one man you
do not want to get riled up.
Ring Announcer:
Look at the size
of the Giant!
Andr still undefeated.
Ring Announcer:
Oh, slam!
Andr picked him up with ease!
Andr is unbelievable!
( crowd cheering )
( birds singing )
( man speaking French )
( camera clicks )
( clicks )
( clicks )
( clicks )
( man #2 speaking French )
( Andr "The Giant" Roussimoff
speaking )
( Andr continues speaking )
( grunting )
Patric Laprade:
He was just starting.
He was at the time
maybe 6'9, 6'10
when he was wrestling
in France.
He hadn't fully grown yet
'cause he started around
19, 20 years old.
He was leaner than what
North American people
remember of him.
So he would do a much more
athletic style than what
we saw in North America.
( grunting )
( both speaking French )
The first name that they used
in France was Jean Ferr.
The name come from
a folk hero from France
that was named Grand Ferr,
which means Great Fairy.
The backstory for
the Jean Ferr character
was that he was
a lumberjack.
That he was, you know,
discovered
in the middle of the woods
chopping wood.
( Andr, man speaking French )
You have to sell
a background story
to your character,
and he had the size
to be believable
that he was a lumberjack.
Thank you, Monsieur.
Laprade:
Andr was wrestling in many
venues all over Paris.
He was also working a lot
on the south coast of France,
and during the summer
was working in a lot
of festivals
all over the country.
( speaking French )
Laprade:
The first country
outside of France
where Andr wrestled
was Monaco.
And then he went
to Japan,
and he was called there
"Monster Roussimoff."
In June of 1971,
that was the first match
he ever had
in North America,
that was in Verdun,
just a suburb of Montreal,
and he was working
for a promotion
called Grand Prix Wrestling.
The very first ad said
that he was a giant
of 7'4", 390 pounds,
from the French Alps.
Being a giant from
the French Alps,
it's a much better story
than just being, you know,
a guy from a town
that nobody have heard of.
From the French Alps,
7'4", 415 pounds,
the friendly French Giant,
Jean Ferr!
( crowd cheering )
( man groans )
Commentator:
And there's a shot
to the top of the head.
And he's going into
the figure-four.
- Well...
- Commentator #2: Oh!
First thing, I said,
"There's money to be made
with the guy."
And they did draw money,
they sold out all over,
and the Giant
became a household name.
We'd get into a little town
and they'd come from all over.
You'd draw
3, 4, 5, 6 thousand people
at least 5 nights a week.
Commentator:
There's a shot
to the top
of the head.
Commentator #2:
Maurice is in very bad shape.
David Shoemaker:
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