In the immortal words of Lord Byron, the truth is often stranger than fiction. No timeless adage better applies to The Iron Claw, Sean Durkin’s riveting and emotionally fraught biographical tale of the Von Erich brothers, professional wrestlers who rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Based on the true events that shaped the Von Erich family, the film careens down a path of such unmistakable triumph and unthinkable tragedy that one can only sit back and wonder how much, if anything, was embellished or fabricated to increase the dramatic stakes of the story. In particular, the movie explores the lasting effects of “The Von Erich Curse,” which affected the lives of each family member in different ways through a profoundly unfortunate set of circumstances that downright defy belief.
Although the film has received unanimous praise for its stark realism and gritty authenticity, it’s worth exploring the minor...
Although the film has received unanimous praise for its stark realism and gritty authenticity, it’s worth exploring the minor...
- 2/27/2024
- by Jake Dee
- JoBlo.com
Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the year’s most talked-about scripts continues with The Iron Claw, which tells the saga of the wrestling Von Erich family in two hours.
It begins with Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany), who wrestled in the ’60s. When they were old enough, Fritz got his sons Kevin (Zac Efron) and David (Harris Dickinson) in the ring, eventually training Mike (Stanley Simons) too. Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) only turned to wrestling after his Olympic hopes in 1980 were dashed by the U.S. boycott.
The A24 film is named after the Von Erichs’ signature move, but like any biopic, consolidating the life of its subject requires craft. In the case of the Von Erich family, that meant four brothers were all the film could handle. Youngest brother Chris Von Erich, who took his own life at age 21, is not included.
Writer-director Sean Durkin does not...
It begins with Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany), who wrestled in the ’60s. When they were old enough, Fritz got his sons Kevin (Zac Efron) and David (Harris Dickinson) in the ring, eventually training Mike (Stanley Simons) too. Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) only turned to wrestling after his Olympic hopes in 1980 were dashed by the U.S. boycott.
The A24 film is named after the Von Erichs’ signature move, but like any biopic, consolidating the life of its subject requires craft. In the case of the Von Erich family, that meant four brothers were all the film could handle. Youngest brother Chris Von Erich, who took his own life at age 21, is not included.
Writer-director Sean Durkin does not...
- 1/5/2024
- by Fred Topel
- Deadline Film + TV
The Iron Claw is full of bruises. The family at the center of writer-director Sean Durkin’s film, the Von Erichs (a stage name much different than their surname Adkisson), revels in ring-induced contusions. The bodies of the boys in the ring take a collective beating, a constant amount of pressure and pleasure from winning wrestling bouts often organized by their father and coach, Jack (Holt McCallany). Durkin’s biopic initially celebrates the glory in the ring, but as time passes and the young men fall one-by-one, the filmmaker focuses on the moments before and after each match, on muscles about to break, on psyches hanging by a thread, on the sheer weight of generational masculinity forcing its way into their heads.
Kevin Von Erich (a stoic Zac Efron) and his brothers, David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), and Mike (Stanley Simons) battle inside and outside the ring, pushed by their promoter,...
Kevin Von Erich (a stoic Zac Efron) and his brothers, David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), and Mike (Stanley Simons) battle inside and outside the ring, pushed by their promoter,...
- 12/30/2023
- by Michael Frank
- The Film Stage
“The Iron Claw” revolves around the Von Erich family, a dynasty of professional wrestlers who made history in the intensely competitive sport in the early 1980s. Based on a true story, the A24 drama features Von Erich brothers Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) and Mike (Stanley Simons). One brother, however, was omitted from the film altogether: Chris Von Erich.
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, “Iron Claw” filmmaker Sean Durkin explained why he decided not to include the youngest Von Erich, who also wrestled but struggled to match his brothers’ success due to his asthma and brittle bone condition. He died by suicide in 1991 at age 21.
“There was a repetition to it, and it was one more tragedy that the film couldn’t really withstand,” Durkin said of a version that included all the brothers. “I honestly don’t know if it would have gotten made.
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, “Iron Claw” filmmaker Sean Durkin explained why he decided not to include the youngest Von Erich, who also wrestled but struggled to match his brothers’ success due to his asthma and brittle bone condition. He died by suicide in 1991 at age 21.
“There was a repetition to it, and it was one more tragedy that the film couldn’t really withstand,” Durkin said of a version that included all the brothers. “I honestly don’t know if it would have gotten made.
- 12/24/2023
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
This article discusses the real-life story of The Von Erichs and as such could be viewed as containing spoilers for "The Iron Claw."
Sean Durkin's "The Iron Claw" is the tearjerker film of the year, one that I called "emotionally eviscerating" in my review as it takes a folkloric look at the real-life tragedies of the Von Erich wrestling dynasty. The film focuses on Kevin, David, Kerry, and Mike Von Erich throughout the 1980s and early '90s, a decade filled with unimaginable deaths and heartache. Despite this, "The Iron Claw" ends with a bit of optimism, and a cathartic release for Kevin Von Erich, known as "The Last of the Von Erichs." The film ends sometime in the 1990s and given the harrowing true story at the center of the film, non-wrestling fans might be wondering what happened to Kevin Von Erich and the rest of the family in the years that followed.
Sean Durkin's "The Iron Claw" is the tearjerker film of the year, one that I called "emotionally eviscerating" in my review as it takes a folkloric look at the real-life tragedies of the Von Erich wrestling dynasty. The film focuses on Kevin, David, Kerry, and Mike Von Erich throughout the 1980s and early '90s, a decade filled with unimaginable deaths and heartache. Despite this, "The Iron Claw" ends with a bit of optimism, and a cathartic release for Kevin Von Erich, known as "The Last of the Von Erichs." The film ends sometime in the 1990s and given the harrowing true story at the center of the film, non-wrestling fans might be wondering what happened to Kevin Von Erich and the rest of the family in the years that followed.
- 12/23/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
When it comes to serious movies about wrestling, The Iron Claw is a bit unorthodox. During the height of wrestling’s popularity in the late ‘90s, we had two major documentaries on the subject via Wrestling with Shadows and Beyond the Mat. The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke was serious, but fictional, based loosely on the modern life of Jake “The Snake” Roberts and his contemporaries. The recent Fighting with My Family, meanwhile, was a sensationalized and comedic take on Saraya/Paige’s initial ascent in WWE.
By contrast, The Iron Claw is based on a bitterly true story that has always been considered one of the darkest corners in wrestling history. It has been the subject of several documentaries itself and has long been viewed as a rich resource for a potential Hollywood film. That’s because the rise and fall of World Class Championship Wrestling coincides with the story of the Von Erich family.
By contrast, The Iron Claw is based on a bitterly true story that has always been considered one of the darkest corners in wrestling history. It has been the subject of several documentaries itself and has long been viewed as a rich resource for a potential Hollywood film. That’s because the rise and fall of World Class Championship Wrestling coincides with the story of the Von Erich family.
- 12/23/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw picks up right where the acclaimed filmmaker’s first two films left off. 2011’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and 2020’s The Nest both received critical praise, as did the staggering performances of Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon, respectively. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Zac Efron is now receiving the best reviews of his career in Durkin’s latest well-received drama about the tragic true story of the Von Erich wrestling family.
The A24 film centers on Efron’s Kevin Von Erich, as he’s the sole survivor of a real-life nuclear family that once included five other sons: Jack Jr, David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), Mike (Stanley Simons) and Chris. In a tough decision, Durkin cut the youngest brother, Chris, from the proceeding, since there’s only so much trauma an audience can handle in one two-hour-plus sitting.
The A24 film centers on Efron’s Kevin Von Erich, as he’s the sole survivor of a real-life nuclear family that once included five other sons: Jack Jr, David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), Mike (Stanley Simons) and Chris. In a tough decision, Durkin cut the youngest brother, Chris, from the proceeding, since there’s only so much trauma an audience can handle in one two-hour-plus sitting.
- 12/20/2023
- by Brian Davids
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Zac Efron stars in ‘The Iron Claw’ (Photo Credit: Brian Roedel / A24)
There’s not much in the world of entertainment that’s more theatrical than professional wrestling. And in the wrestling world, it would be hard to find a story more dramatic than that of the Von Erichs, a family of grapplers who found as much misfortune as fortune and as much infamy as fame during their time within the squared circle. It’s a bit of a surprise that it’s taken so long for that story to be made into a movie. Writer/director Sean Durkin has finally done it, though. He’s brought us The Iron Claw.
The Iron Claw tells the story of the Von Erich family, focusing mainly on patriarch Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) “encouraging” his sons Kevin (Zac Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson), and Mike (Stanley Simons) to follow...
There’s not much in the world of entertainment that’s more theatrical than professional wrestling. And in the wrestling world, it would be hard to find a story more dramatic than that of the Von Erichs, a family of grapplers who found as much misfortune as fortune and as much infamy as fame during their time within the squared circle. It’s a bit of a surprise that it’s taken so long for that story to be made into a movie. Writer/director Sean Durkin has finally done it, though. He’s brought us The Iron Claw.
The Iron Claw tells the story of the Von Erich family, focusing mainly on patriarch Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) “encouraging” his sons Kevin (Zac Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson), and Mike (Stanley Simons) to follow...
- 12/12/2023
- by James Jay Edwards
- Showbiz Junkies
Writer-director Sean Durkin turns to a childhood obsession with a Texas wrestling dynasty and almost Shakespearean tragedy in The Iron Claw, a gritty, atmospheric, sometimes suffocatingly grim story of the Von Erich brothers, who ruled regional rings in the early ’80s with a then-inventive rock ‘n roll style of wrestling that won them rabid fans but at a cost.
Some families are snake-bit. The Kennedys are one that through the decades met success and unspeakable tragedy equally. The Wallendas, the great family circus trapeze family, also mixed glory with a high-wire act that didn’t always end well for some members. I wasn’t familiar with the Von Erich brothers, a close-knit family of Texas-born and -bred wrestlers managed by a take-no-prisoners father, but Durkin clearly was. He has carried around their story, particularly their premature deaths, in his head for years, finally now finding a way into telling their...
Some families are snake-bit. The Kennedys are one that through the decades met success and unspeakable tragedy equally. The Wallendas, the great family circus trapeze family, also mixed glory with a high-wire act that didn’t always end well for some members. I wasn’t familiar with the Von Erich brothers, a close-knit family of Texas-born and -bred wrestlers managed by a take-no-prisoners father, but Durkin clearly was. He has carried around their story, particularly their premature deaths, in his head for years, finally now finding a way into telling their...
- 12/12/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
A true-life American tragedy that leverages the summery Texas idyll of “Dazed & Confused” into a larger than life — but heartbreakingly sincere — re-telling of “King Lear,” “The Iron Claw” is a wrestling epic inspired by a legend so sad that writer-director Sean Durkin felt like he had to sand it down in order for it to seem believable on screen. Inverting the fake it so real ethos of a sport that’s long been enjoyed as a form of steroidal theater (its operatic melodrama sustained by the exaggerated nature of its spectacle and vice-versa), Durkin’s film dials back the body count so that the scale of its loss doesn’t make it impossible for audiences to accept that it actually happened, or to exalt in the love that it ultimately left behind.
Scholars of wrestling’s pre-wwf history might see “The Iron Claw” as an act of erasure, but I...
Scholars of wrestling’s pre-wwf history might see “The Iron Claw” as an act of erasure, but I...
- 12/12/2023
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.
Starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, Maura Tierney,
with Holt McCallany and Lily James, watch the new trailer.
From University Of North Texas:
The story of the Von Erichs is one of triumph in the ring and also personal tragedy. In April 1984, Sigma Phi Epsilon sponsored a match that was intended to be a homecoming for David after a tour with All Japan Pro Wrestling. Unfortunately, David fell ill during the tour and died on February 10 of acute enteritis. Brothers Kevin and Mike returned to Ntsu in his honor in April to defeat their arch-nemeses the Fabulous Freebirds,...
Starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, Maura Tierney,
with Holt McCallany and Lily James, watch the new trailer.
From University Of North Texas:
The story of the Von Erichs is one of triumph in the ring and also personal tragedy. In April 1984, Sigma Phi Epsilon sponsored a match that was intended to be a homecoming for David after a tour with All Japan Pro Wrestling. Unfortunately, David fell ill during the tour and died on February 10 of acute enteritis. Brothers Kevin and Mike returned to Ntsu in his honor in April to defeat their arch-nemeses the Fabulous Freebirds,...
- 10/12/2023
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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