Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows - Production

Production

Wrestling with Shadows is co-produced by High Road Productions Inc. and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). It was released on VHS format to both the United States and United Kingdom in 1999. It has been available on DVD in the UK since 2004. On February 3, 2009 Wrestling with Shadows : The 10th Anniversary Collectors Edition was released on DVD for the first time in the United States. This 2 disc edition includes the movie, interviews with Bret Hart and director Paul Jay ten years later and "The Life and Death of Owen Hart" documentary.

In an interview featured on the two disc special edition director Paul Jay states that the filmmakers had a contract with McMahon to provide not only stock footage but the waivers for the use of the names and likeness of the other wrestlers featured in the film. After the fallout from Montreal however, McMahon feared how he would be portrayed in the film and refused both. The director goes on to state that WCW contacted the filmmakers and not only offered to pay for the law suit at a cost of ($750,000) They also offered a pay-per view deal for the film and long term distribution on the Turner network. Once McMahon became aware of this the director states that they received a fax from Titan Sports Inc. saying that they would honor their original contract on the condition that the law suit be dropped and they could never sell the film to Turner. Paul Jay said they were told they had a "Slam-dunk" case but when asked about the film, they were told they would most likely be in court three to four years and "There would be no film" even if they won. They chose to make the film and dropped the law suit. The director goes on to state that McMahon also used his reputation to kill some of the distribution deals in the U.S. and overseas.