Jason Lockhart reviews the Blu-ray release of Body Slam
The film is a product of its time and may be offensive to some viewers
It stars Captain Lou Albano, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Dirk Benedict
The movie is about a rock and roll agent who promotes wrestling and rock music
Greetings, Classic Cinema and TV fans. This is Jason Lockhart here with you once again on a silver screen spotlight here on Classic Cinema Plus. This is a special feature that we're doing here and we're going back in time and we're dealing with the wrestling genre. Yeah, I was a big fan of wrestling during the era of the Monday Night Wars. I was just a very young teenager at the time and I would sit down with my dad and watch Monday Night Wars and we would sit and watch the antics of all the different wrestlers and and kind of flip back and forth to the two stations of the WWF at the time and the WCW and kind of see what's going on with both of them, like everybody did. And it was just a lot of fun. But I was brought up on wrestling. My dad was a big wrestling fan from the 80s, and so I would sit as a very young child. I remember some of my earliest times, remembering sitting down on a Saturday night and watching wrestling as a very young baby and watching Rock and Roll Express and the Midnight Express and Ric Flair on TBS way back in the day. Those are some of my most vivid memories as a child is that. And, wow. So wrestling holds a very special place in my life and in my heart. But the wrestling genre spawned a lot of different type of films. And probably when you think of The Wrestler, most people would think of the Mickey Rourke film, this one, The Wrestler. And this deals, of course, with the downfall of wrestlers when they go to the heights and then fall to just going to small venues and wrestling for very, very little. and all and the addiction and all the stuff that goes into it the lifestyle of wrestling and how it affects families and lives and all that type of stuff very very few um happily ever afters with wrestlers it uh it not it not always the best lifestyle so that's what uh... the wrestler with mickey rourke uh... kind of explored but that's not the only film that was called the wrestler the wrestler was also a film from the 70s this one. This one was very, very cool. We found this one at a dollar general, I think it was, and it was next to nothing. I think it was like $2. And I had been looking for this forever and so when I saw this, I was like, yes! Now this one stars Ed Asner. Amazing. Ed Asner. And it has some of the best classic wrestlers from the 70s and 80s that you remember so very, very much. you get Lord James Blair's, you have superstar Billy Graham, Dick Murdoch, you get Dusty Rhodes, the legend Vern Gagne, and so many. Now, this film is not anything like The Wrestler, this one. This film deals more with the idea of how they book a match and kind of protecting kayfabe. which is kind of protecting the idea of what wrestling is, kind of keeping it safe, not really letting everybody behind the curtain, per se, to know exactly how it's staged, but yet kind of deal with the booking of how matches are made. And that's kind of interesting, so that was very, very cool. But, now, Keena Lorber Studio Classics did something that is very, very interesting. thing uh oh it is probably one of the ones that i remember so much and that is this one body slam i remember seeing this as a teenager uh it came on television once and i remember watching it and it was like what is this and it was like the coolest thing in the world so much fun and so so much craziness and i've always wanted this and i was like i gotta get this and i couldn't find it And wow Kina Lorber Studio Classics have released this on Blu now I would never have dreamed we would have got Body Slam on Blu But here it is Here it is Body Slam on Blu Wow. I am so amazingly excited about this. It stars Captain Lou Albano, the amazing Captain Lou Albano, and the legendary Rowdy Roddy Piper. Unbelievable. Are in this film. It stars Dirk Benedict and Tanya Roberts, of course Those are the main characters And it deals with these Dirk Benedict is a fledgling agent, if you will Rock and roll agent And he's just trying to find a way to make money And not being very successful And he has a chance meeting with a wrestler Who's played by Rowdy Roddy Piper and he gets this idea to help him kind of be his manager, help him get more money, and then he gets the brilliant idea, why don't I do a promotion of wrestling and rock and roll and do a rock and wrestling connection. And wow, just amazing stuff. This film has so many amazing wrestlers and little cameo parts. You get the nature boy, Ric Flair. Yeah, nature boy Ric Flair. You get the living legend Larry Sabisco, Classy Freddy Blassie, and so many more are in this film. It is so awesome. And it's just about a guy, an agent, trying to make money and comes up with the idea of rock and wrestling connection. And it is so spectacular. This film is pretty, pretty awesome. It's been scanned in 2K, and so it's a new scan, and it looks pretty good. It looks pretty amazing. I have to be honest with you. It's clear, crystal clear. There's no real spotting or damage to the print. It really looks really good. And, yeah, we get an interview with the actor Barry Gordon, who's in this, and two count to trailers so very very cool yeah I wow I would I would have loved to seen an audio commentary on this Man this was really cool I love this film Just awesome stuff. Probably one of my favorite. That's pressing because Kino Lorber has done so many great things. But I was going to say this is probably one of my favorite releases that they've done. I think the reason I say that is because it's nostalgia to me. I remember it as a kid and so to me seeing it now again it just brings up so many good memories I just love it now Body Slam is a product of its time so there is some things in this that in this day and age is going to be offensive some terms that are used in this that is going to be offensive to some people so there's that you got to look into but all in all this is a tremendous release It is so spectacular. I just love it. And for wrestling fans or just fans of good action and a good action-packed film, yeah, definitely check out Body Slam. I think you're going to love it. You can get the full written review below, or definitely check it out. I think you're going to love it. Kina Lorber has Body Slam, a classic on Blu-ray here, and I love every second of it. wow. So I want to thank Akina Lorber Studio Classics sending this one our way so we can share our love of it for you and with you. Be sure to go to our official website and read all the articles and reviews and news and all that kind of good stuff. Watch videos, listen to our podcast, all kinds of good stuff. Go there, check it out and we would love to have your opinion on what you think about a film like Body Slam or The Wrestler the different ones or do you like wrestling films uh you know let us know in the comments we'd love to hear from you and until we see you next time with another uh silver screen spotlight this is uh jason lockard pastor j wishing you a blessed day and uh be sure to like share and subscribe and we will see you next time bye you
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