First off, that trailer looked amazing. Second, I've never heard of these guys but having researched their story afterwards, I'm not really sure I could make it through that emotional roller coaster.
The Iron Claw
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Last: 1 yr ago by BadMoonRisin
I recall...
Bill Mercer was the straight-laced interviewer on the broadcasts from the Sportatoriam...believe he was a prof at then called NTSU (not sure if was at same time though).
And the public address announcer bellowing "Five minutes!" signaling the near-end of the matches. Meant things were about to get real.
Bill Mercer was the straight-laced interviewer on the broadcasts from the Sportatoriam...believe he was a prof at then called NTSU (not sure if was at same time though).
And the public address announcer bellowing "Five minutes!" signaling the near-end of the matches. Meant things were about to get real.
Mercer was in fact a sports journalism professor at North Texas. I believe he also did radio play-by-play for the Cowboys and the S.A. Spurs.Trajan88 said:
Bill Mercer was the straight-laced interviewer on the broadcasts from the Sportatoriam...believe he was a prof at then called NTSU (not sure if was at same time though).
Quick story that Mercer tells -- He was doing his weekly interview of Gary Hart from the Sportatorium back in the '60s. As he started the interview, Hart remarked that he 'missed' Mercer the previous week, and was told by others that Mercer was out matriculating.
In response, Mercer asked Hart, "Gary, have you ever matriculated?" Hart's reply -- "About twice a week."
maca1028 said:
First off, that trailer looked amazing. Second, I've never heard of these guys but having researched their story afterwards, I'm not really sure I could make it through that emotional roller coaster.
There was an interview or maybe the wwe hall of fame speech when they were inducted a few years ago where Kevin stood there and said something like "I used to have 5 brothers and now I'm not even a brother" and it was one of the most gutting things I've ever heard.
Gary Hart's bio is free online somewhere. Fantastic book about the entire WCCW era…before, during, and after.
Corporal Punishment said:
Gary Hart's bio is free online somewhere. Fantastic book about the entire WCCW era…before, during, and after.
During the early days of the pandemic, I found it on you tube. It was great. I grew up in Houston in the late 60's and 70's and to hear about the stories of Texas wrestling was great. The behind the scenes stories, not just of Houston and Dallas but the whole wrestling scene in the day was great.
THE IRON CLAW delves into the tragic story of the Von Erich’s with utmost reverence. Zac Efron delivers his most physically & emotionally demanding performance to date. Some of the best depictions of wrestling ever seen on film. A profound human drama of love, family & resiliency pic.twitter.com/VqxKWdPxAC
— Matt Neglia (@NextBestPicture) November 9, 2023
The Iron Claw is a total tearjerker. Zac Efron carries it home. Great performances all around.
— Gregory Ellwood - The Playlist 🎬 (@TheGregoryE) November 9, 2023
THE IRON CLAW: a heartbreaking tragedy steeped in Americana. Efron, White, Simon, and Dickinson add such interiority to their portrayal of the Von Erich family that it makes what happens sting so much more. Artful, empathetic, and at times exhilarating. Wiping tears away. pic.twitter.com/ojqQer1uZw
— James Preston Poole (@JamesPPoole) November 9, 2023
#TheIronClaw is tremendous, heartbreaking, and will have you in tears at the unbelievable tragedy that tore this great wrestling family apart. This is Sean Durkin's best film yet as he continues to explore isolated families torn apart by outside pressure including faith and need
— Travis Hopson (@punchycritic) November 9, 2023
It’s can’t come up with a well-constructed reaction for THE IRON CLAW because I’m too busy being emotionally obliterated.
— BJ Colangelo (@bjcolangelo) November 9, 2023
This film loves wrestling, loves brotherhood, and demands the world remember the Von Erichs as wonderful, complicated people, not tragic fodder. pic.twitter.com/p5UOJGNAJn
Horny! Creamy!
Electric cast that blends like a sweet creamy delight, but Jeremy Allen White & Zac Efron are the standouts. This movie is about to win so many Oscars, it’s crazy. A monumental achievement.#TheIronClaw #A24 #Film pic.twitter.com/spNSesV47u
— Atom (@theatomreview) November 9, 2023
Sean Durkin delivers the sort of the Von Erich family with grace and care. Zac Efron carried the film in both emotional and physicality delivering the best performance of his career. A story of family, wrestling and tragedy. I loved it.
— Ricky Vàlero (@rickyvalero_) November 9, 2023
#TheIronClaw pic.twitter.com/sHHSLeCF0U
So excited for this and will enjoy it with my family at Christmas. My brothers and I were a little young for the early 80s stuff but we knew the stories and were big WWF fans for the Texas Tornado era. Watched the Hulu Dark Side of the Ring the last of the von Erichs documentary tonight and sold my kids on the whole concept of local Dallas area wrestlers in the 80s being regional heroes with an unreal tragic headline.
How is it that The Blue Oyster Cult made a song that fits in almost any soundtrack?
JCA1 said:
Watching the trailer again, I might have flipped Efron and White for Kerry and Kevin. Kerry was an absolute monster at his peak and Efron's build is much closer than White's. Efron actually looks too bulked up for Kevin.
I'm still not over Kerry appearing as a prisoner in Problem Child. So surreal.
Incredible how much attention they give to the dress, hair, body language, and even technique of each son. The Sportatorium looks especially legit.
Looking through the cast I didn't see the youngest son Chris. Wonder why. Seems like he has to have been portrayed.
Looking through the cast I didn't see the youngest son Chris. Wonder why. Seems like he has to have been portrayed.
Guy that used to work for me was one of the pallbearers for one of the sons - ex professional wrestler himself. He had some wild stories about the family.
Nobody cares. Work Harder
safety guy said:Corporal Punishment said:
Gary Hart's bio is free online somewhere. Fantastic book about the entire WCCW era…before, during, and after.
During the early days of the pandemic, I found it on you tube. It was great. I grew up in Houston in the late 60's and 70's and to hear about the stories of Texas wrestling was great. The behind the scenes stories, not just of Houston and Dallas but the whole wrestling scene in the day was great.
I have read all of the wrestling biographies out there and Hart's is the best if you're an old school, territory-days fan of pro wrestling.
Although I think I'm going to love this movie, for nostalgia if nothing else, I can't help but think that some of the roles are miscast. Previous posters are right about Kerry, he was absolutely jacked, but the Bear actor doesn't do it justice. Further, Kevin was ripped too, but not like Ephron is. He was lanky and cut, not bulging.
Also, in the limited preview scenes we have of Fritz, he comes across as hokey and faking a Texas accent. I know there are some liberties taken with a movie, but Fritz absolutely cherished ALL of his sons and I think they are going to incorrectly make him out to be a monster.
I still remember when Kerry signed with WWF. Vince had plans to push him to the moon and put the IC strap on him quick. Kerry couldn't get out of his own way though. His peers described him as a comatose zombie ALL of the time. Further, after his motorcycle crash, they had to amputate most of one of his feet. Think about trying to wrestle with one foot. To his credit, he never told anyone about it and would shower with his boots on to keep everyone from finding out.
To this day, I still think Kerry is the biggest "what if" in all of pro wrestling. Much more so than Gino Hernandez or Magnum TA.
Well, I know I peed next to David Von Erich at the Loews Theatre in Plano in 1983.
Get a peek?87Flyfisher said:
Well, I know I peed next to David Von Erich at the Loews Theatre in Plano in 1983.
nope, but since he was 7-8" taller than me I bet he did.
87Flyfisher said:
nope, but since he was 7-8" taller than me I bet he did.
It don't mean nothing if he's taller…. If you're longer
Never heard that bit about the IC belt. Where does that come from? The amputation was well before his WWF debut, no?Hungry Ojos said:
I still remember when Kerry signed with WWF. Vince had plans to push him to the moon and put the IC strap on him quick. Kerry couldn't get out of his own way though. His peers described him as a comatose zombie ALL of the time. Further, after his motorcycle crash, they had to amputate most of one of his feet. Think about trying to wrestle with one foot. To his credit, he never told anyone about it and would shower with his boots on to keep everyone from finding out.
To this day, I still think Kerry is the biggest "what if" in all of pro wrestling. Much more so than Gino Hernandez or Magnum TA.
They came to our small Texas town a couple times in the 80s. I'll never forget it. We "splurged" for the ring-side seats. Got a photo of me and Kerry prior to the event, which he autographed. Such a cool time for a 9 year old kid in a small Texas town surrounded by nothing.
I was a bit young at the time, but we loved the Von Erich's and Kerry looked like the Ultimate Warrior before he existed. Agree about the physical castings seeming off relative to builds, but I imagine it's due to the role Efron would be most impactful (since he's the draw for a lot of youngsters).
What you said about him being a zombie makes sense. I never knew at the time why his career didn't take off.
I loved that era. I remember once my dad took us to Gilleys in the middle of the day (passing thru town) and we saw Dusty Rhodes playing video games with his big opponent that night. Was an eye opener for me as a wrestling true believer at the time.
What you said about him being a zombie makes sense. I never knew at the time why his career didn't take off.
I loved that era. I remember once my dad took us to Gilleys in the middle of the day (passing thru town) and we saw Dusty Rhodes playing video games with his big opponent that night. Was an eye opener for me as a wrestling true believer at the time.
Almost immediately after he debuted, they had him go over Mr. Perfect at Summer Slam and won the IC belt. Super unreliable though so they had to take it off him pretty quickly thereafter.
Not saying he was a **** person, but Fritz definitely wasn't a superhero.
I agree. After I bought Hart's book when it first came out, I couldn't put it down. You could tell that Hart had an excellent memory and a very sharp mind.Quote:
I have read all of the wrestling biographies out there and Hart's is the best if you're an old school, territory-days fan of pro wrestling.
Although it would never happen, I think they could make a movie about Hart's life.
A great movie scene would be the time he and Don Jardine (the Spoiler) misjudged the tremendous heat they had generated by twisting a 'hidden' coat hanger around Fritz's neck and dragging him during a match and causing a riot among the Sportatorium fans. They had to run and flee out the side door of the place to escape the mob that came after them.
The cool part of that story is that Hart got the idea from an incident he witnessed as a teenager in Chicago when a Chicago outfit guy didn't get paid one time and used a coat hanger to drag a bar owner off a bar stool, through his kitchen, and into a back alley. Hart said it was the most violent thing he ever witnessed in his life.
Binged season 1 of the Bear this week…it's always been on my watchlist waiting for the right time and it escalated after hearing the main character Jeremy Allen White is in this movie as Kerry. Awesome show and highly recommended for anyone hyped for this movie
when is this being released??
December 22nd.
This is a great documentary about the Von Erichs and the days of the Sportatorium in Dallas.
The quality isn't great but it's well worth the watch if you're into their history.
ETA: Not sure why it won't embed properly but the link will take you to it on youtube.
The quality isn't great but it's well worth the watch if you're into their history.
ETA: Not sure why it won't embed properly but the link will take you to it on youtube.
Will be seeing this today, cant wait!
Definitely worth seeing…
Caught it yesterday afternoon and found it to be a compelling retelling of a story very familiar to many of us…especially if you were a teen in DFW in the 80s.
I'd love to add some spoilers (do biopics have spoilers???) but I'll resist.
They really captured the north Texas middle class look of the day. Even the food they eat at dinner time was spot on. I thought the most adept portrayals were those of Fritz and David Von Erich. You can tell they studied the hours of footage in and out of the ring to capture the way they dressed (even Dave's Jack Lambert #58 jersey) and Fritz's work Dickies. They really nailed the body language too. Special props to the portrayals of Harley Race and Ric Flair. Definitely on target.
The story is told through Kevin's eyes. I thought, for actors, they really did serviceable jobs with some difficult and athletic moves in the ring…even showing how Mike kind of sucked. That was a nice touch.
One small criticism I have is I don't think the movie really captured how big of a deal the Von Erich's were in that day. A larger but understandable criticism is pretending Chris Von Erich didn't even exist. Writers must've had a hard time making his tragedy fit in the film. Hell, even Lance Von Erich makes an appearance.
Caught it yesterday afternoon and found it to be a compelling retelling of a story very familiar to many of us…especially if you were a teen in DFW in the 80s.
I'd love to add some spoilers (do biopics have spoilers???) but I'll resist.
They really captured the north Texas middle class look of the day. Even the food they eat at dinner time was spot on. I thought the most adept portrayals were those of Fritz and David Von Erich. You can tell they studied the hours of footage in and out of the ring to capture the way they dressed (even Dave's Jack Lambert #58 jersey) and Fritz's work Dickies. They really nailed the body language too. Special props to the portrayals of Harley Race and Ric Flair. Definitely on target.
The story is told through Kevin's eyes. I thought, for actors, they really did serviceable jobs with some difficult and athletic moves in the ring…even showing how Mike kind of sucked. That was a nice touch.
One small criticism I have is I don't think the movie really captured how big of a deal the Von Erich's were in that day. A larger but understandable criticism is pretending Chris Von Erich didn't even exist. Writers must've had a hard time making his tragedy fit in the film. Hell, even Lance Von Erich makes an appearance.
Saw it last night. Really enjoyed the portrayals and thought all of the actors did really well. Never knew about Kerry and the Olympics.
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