Andre The Giant

[formerlyfreedom]

Premiering April 10 on HBO.

Quote

Andre the Giant tells the story of a man who was never comfortable in his own gigantic body, but adored being a wrestler and had a heart of gold. The HBO documentary also shows the struggles The Princess Bride star endured with his body breaking down rapidly as he aged in adulthood and the abuse he had to endure from those who saw him only as a freak of nature. The documentary, directed by Jason Hehir, features interviews with McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Robin Wright, Rob Reiner and Roussimoff's daughter, Robin Christensen Roussimoff, among others. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Some official promos and clips from HBO:

Trailer #1:

Trailer #2:

Red carpet interviews at the premiere:

The Princess Bride cast remembers Andre:

How Andre got his name:

Hulk Hogan learned a lesson the hard way:

[funky-rat]

I would love to see this, but we don't get HBO anymore (and we don't do Netflix or Hulu or any of those).  My husband subscribes to WWE Network - not sure if they'll be able to air it or not.

[greekmom]

I would love to see this too. I have Netflix but I do not have HBO.

Hopefully they add it.

[piccolascimmia]

I watched last night and I thought it was really good.  While I was aware of him back in the day, I was never the biggest wrestling fan.  My husband the 80s wrestling fan also watched with me, and he really enjoyed seeing Andrew plus the rest of his childhood wrestling memories again either in the old clips or the current interviews (Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Snooka, McMahon, etc).

It made me a bit melancholy though to see how it was hard for Andre to just relax/hide/drop-out since he was so visually/audibly recognizable.  People can be cruel intentionally/unintentionally and he was so sensitive to it.  Also how young he was when he passed and the relative lack of medical exploration to see if the gigantism could have been treated to any extent.  Such an interesting mix of interviews of those who worked with him, his family, biographers, etc.

[Caseysgirl]

I felt really bad for Andre but I was blown away by the amount of alcohol that he consumed and yet, I guess he wasn't an angry drunk.  I suspect that liver damage had a lot to do with his early demise.

[CherryMalotte]

Big wresting fan (or rasslin) for years, and remember when USA first started out with all their wrestling programming, it seemed like it was on every night of the week, and some Saturday mornings as well.  I watched this one afternoon this past week and really loved it, though ultimately it's sad.   Wrestlemania 3 was the first wrestling PPV I ever bought boy was the Hulkamania running wild indeed.

Vince has always struck me as a slimy opportunistic bastard, so it was kind of nice to see him tear up over Andre.

[riffraff]

I became facinated with him after Princess Bride. I think his true self was really shown in that movie.

It was interesting to find out more about him and see how deeply the people that knew him really cared about him.

It really made me sad when they said people would make fun of him. Wth is wrong with us that we are so afraid of difference??

[ElectricBoogaloo]

More clips from HBO:

Director Jason Hehir: humanizing the mythological Andre

Andre hated Randy Savage

Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant WrestleMania III WWE

Ric Flair remembers Andre

Andre's flatulence

The greatest drinker of all time

Director Jason Hehir sees Andre for the first time

#MyAndreStory featuring Hulk Hogan, Bill Simmons, Big Show, and more

Arnold Schwarzenegger's dinner with Andre

[spaceytraci1208]

I enjoyed this. It provided a lot of insight into Andre's life. Despite the difficulties he had just living in the world, he seemed to have such a great attitude about it all. He was clearly loved by all who knew him.

It's great to see that Mean Gene is still with us. I still can't stand Hulk Hogan...he annoyed me even as a kid lol

[greekmom]

23 hours ago, spaceytraci1208 said:

I enjoyed this. It provided a lot of insight into Andre's life. Despite the difficulties he had just living in the world, he seemed to have such a great attitude about it all. He was clearly loved by all who knew him.

It's great to see that Mean Gene is still with us. I still can't stand Hulk Hogan...he annoyed me even as a kid lol

I agree with you about the Hulkster.

Finally was able to see it as my sister has HBO and she pvr'd it.

There wasn't anything new as information wise.  If you watched a few interviews about Andre you can get the same gist of the story.  I was hoping for some more dirt on his either he loved you or hated you.

I didn't know that Andre had a daughter. That was new information for myself.

The part of him hating being a heel stuck out.  Also Vince McM shedding his croc tears for Andre.  I don't think that man cares for anything or anyone except the mighty dollar.

[MarMar]

I just watched this. I only know him really from The Princess Bride but this kept my attention the whole length of the documentary. It was very good , a story about someone who made the best out of what life gave him but was human. I really enjoyed it and I am not a wrestling fan.  it showed areal human dealing with extrodinary experiences  I just read that Vern Troyer passed away.  Probably two sides of the same coin.  How do you live in a world not made for your size?