No Holds Barred
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| No Holds Barred | |
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 Home video box |
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| Directed by | Thomas J. Wright |
| Produced by | Michael Rachmil Vince McMahon (executive) Hulk Hogan (executive) |
| Written by | Dennis Hackin |
| Starring | Hulk Hogan Joan Severance Kurt Fuller Tommy 'Tiny' Lister Mark Pellegrino Bill Henderson David Paymer Patrick O'Bryan Jesse Ventura Gene Okerlund Howard Finkel |
| Music by | Jim Johnston |
| Cinematography | Frank Beascoechea |
| Editing by | Tom Pryor |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | June 2, 1989 (USA) |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8,000,000 (estimated) |
| Gross revenue | $16,093,651 (USA) |
| IMDb profile | |
No Holds Barred is a 1989 film produced by Michael Rachmil, directed by Thomas J. Wright, written by Dennis Hackin, and starring professional wrestler Hulk Hogan (who is billed as executive producer alongside Vince McMahon). The film is produced by World Wrestling Federation (under a "Shane Distribution Company" copyright) and was released by New Line Cinema on June 2, 1989. It is rated PG-13. It was launched as an attempt to boost Hulk Hogan's acting career several years after his appearance in Rocky III.
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[edit] Plot
Hulk Hogan plays Rip, a very popular professional wrestler. Although Rip looks and acts like a brute, he is actually a golden-hearted guy. He has a younger brother, Randy, whose presence in the audience motivates him enough to win his matches.
Rip appears on a television channel which screens all his matches. Thanks to Rip, the channel is highly popular. However, the evil, money-hungry chairman of a rival channel, Brell (Kurt Fuller), wants to convince Rip to join their network. Rip respectfully declines, though Brell has his gang of thugs attempt to beat Rip into submission during the limo ride home from the meeting.
After visiting the No Count Bar, a rowdy establishment featuring a wrestling ring in the center and patronized by drunken, vicious fighters, Brell is inspired to create a new kind of wrestling program, focusing more on violence and sensationalism than Rip's more moralistic version of the sport. Brell's new program, Battle of the Tough Guys, is successful after the introduction of Zeus (Tim "Tiny" Lister Jr), a violent, seemingly unfazable ex-con who sports a "Z"-shaped patch of hair on his skull. Zeus killed an opponent in the ring after the fight was over, and has been in prison until recently.
Samantha, a beautiful corporate spy (Joan Severance), is sent by Brell to seduce Rip. However, Rip's good nature and dedication to charity wins her over, and she confesses the truth to the wrestler and turns to his side. After this fails, Brell attempts to have Samantha raped; as usual, Rip foils the plot and dispatches the would-be rapist into a tree trunk. Meanwhile, Brell and Zeus crash an outdoor charity event Rip is appearing at, demanding that Rip prove his honor by fighting Zeus live on Brell's new show. Once again, Rip avoids violent conflict and attempts to reason with Brell, who leaves in anger.
Randy and a friend decide to check out Zeus for themselves, attending an illegal fight being held in a warehouse. After watching Zeus defeat the monstrous Lugwrench Perkins (Jeep Swenson), Randy foolishly identifies himself as Rip's brother to Brell and his associates. Randy attempts to defend himself, but Zeus brutally beats him, sending him to the hospital. Finally, after this ultimate insult, a tearful Rip decides to accept Zeus' challenge.
Before the match, Brell abducts Rip's friends and threatens to kill them if Rip doesn't lose deliberately. With the odds against him, Rip wins the match after Zeus falls from a perch into the wrestling ring, collapsing it. Rip turns his attentions to Brell, who accidentally falls into an electrical panel to his demise. With his friends rescued and his brother recovering in the hospital, Rip celebrates his victory.
[edit] The match
| No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie | ||
|---|---|---|
| Details | ||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | |
| Date | Taped December 12, 1989 Aired December 27, 1989 |
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| Venue | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | |
| City | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| Survivor Series (1989) | No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie | Royal Rumble (1990) |
No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie, which is how the event was billed, was shown on pay-per-view, on December 27, 1989. The program consisted of the film in its entirety, followed by a match pre-recorded at a Wrestling Challenge taping on December 12 in Nashville, Tennessee.
- Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake defeated Randy Savage and Zeus in a Steel cage match (9:32)
[edit] Criticisms
Most critics considered the movie as a B-movie at best and camp at worst, criticizing the simplistic storyline and clichéd characters. Hulk Hogan received much of the criticism for his limited acting ability, but the film's frequent immaturity, designed to appeal to preteen boys, was also chastised. In one scene, Rip literally scares a limo driver to the point that the driver soils himself, complete with closeups of the unfortunate man's soiled pants and his shameful admission that he smells like "dookie".
[edit] Box office gross
The movie debuted at #2, behind Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, with $5,000,000 in ticket sales. Hogan writes in his autobiography the budget was about eight million dollars. Vince McMahon, who financed the movie, more or less broke even because of distribution fees. The final tally was about $15,000,000 in ticket sales.
At the height of the Monday Night Wars, McMahon joked while announcing Monday Night Raw, "Hogan promised me that if No Holds Barred lost any money he would personally reimburse me. I guess the check got lost in the mail."
Jim Ross would also joke during the late 90's while announcing an episode of RAW, "No Holds Barred? More like No Profit Allowed."
[edit] External links
- Review of No Holds Barred with animated screenshots at I-Mockery
- HulkHogan.com (Official Website)
- Hulk Hogan at the Internet Movie Database
