Issue 044

December 2008

One of the most charismatic and respected figures in the sport, Renzo Gracie is often regarded as the most fearless of the Gracie fighting family. The Brazilian fighter and trainer is the subject of a new documentary by film maker Gethin Aldous titled ‘Legacy’, which looks back not only at Renzo’s life and career, but also the last 100 years of the Gracie family. 

How did you come to make a film about Renzo? 

 I met a lovely American girl, who is now my wife, we lived in Barcelona for a year, then we decided to move to New York. I had been training BJJ in Barcelona with Robin [Gracie], he said ‘you’ve got to go to Renzo’s place’. This was back when Renzo’s academy was above the methadone clinic, you’d have all the junkies and jiu-jitsu guys in the lift together.  

You’d been filming for a few years, but someone had started this before you.  

Yeah, I didn’t even know. I met Renzo and asked him if I could make a film about him, he said yeah, but another group had been filming him for two years previously and another guy before that. The group that had filmed him for the two years ended up making The Smashing Machine – they decided to focus on the story of Mark Kerr. A few years in I met this guy called Alex Shun, he used to run Storm Kimonos. Because Renzo was wearing his gis he was following him around. He followed him from 1997 to 2000, and I took over at the end of 2001. Between the two of us we have pretty much his entire career.  

Along with what you shot, the archive material must have been fantastic.  

It was a dream come true. The time when Renzo fought in Brazil and there ended up being a riot, Alex didn’t go but gave the camera to someone else. There was a moment where the riot starts and he’s right next to the cage – I was flicking through it frame by frame and you see this huge splat of blood hit the floor right below him. He runs to get out and he gets to the edge of the stadium, turns around for a second and films, and it’s unbelievable – no-ones ever seen it, the riot, the whole thing going off.  

You’ve followed Renzo for the best part of seven years. That’s quite a journey in itself.  

It’s been insane. It’s funny because I shot for a year and a half and made it into a film. I was very naïve, I was told by Pride I could use their footage, it was all done on handshakes, and when I tried to get them to sign the paperwork it was a completely different story. At the time I was absolutely gutted – but that led to the film I’ve got now, which is even better because then I didn’t know about the earlier footage. The actual journey itself was incredible.  

What’s the angle of the film? Is it a warts and all piece on a fighter as a human being, or is it a look at one of the sport’s living legends?  

When I started making the film the idea was to make a music-based, fast paced action-packed documentary. And then when I didn’t get the [Pride] footage, I thought ‘what am I going to do?’ I thought I’d go for the depth of character he has. The name of the film, Legacy, came about after years and years of looking, and it just hit me one day. This dude wakes up every morning with one goal in mind: to continue the family legacy that he is so unbelievably proud of.  

Does the film look at the entire Gracie family history?  

The film is the whole story – from the Kodokan dojo to Renzo being on 60 Minutes. There is a lot about his father too – a lot of people know about Helio and Carlos Gracie, but not Robson Gracie. He was a revolutionary trying to overthrow the military government in Brazil – the whole group he was with were rounded up by the military police, all of them were tortured and they were all killed – the only person spared was Renzo’s dad, because one of the higher-ranking generals in the army trained jiu-jitsu. These stories are what define Renzo as a man – what you believe in is more important than anything.  

Boxing has a rich history of film making with some truly iconic movies about the sport. Do you think the title of your film could precipitate its success? Could your film become synonymous with the sport?  

I hope so! Who knows? More than anything I want this film to be a success, and anyone who is a fan of the sport to see it. This film has tried to show what Renzo has done with his life, what he’s achieved and the depth of his mission. We’ll wait to see how people will receive it.  

Any plans to follow this up with another film about MMA?  

I talked to Renzo a lot about making a feature film about the early days, not of the sport, but of the early days of the Gracie family – the street fights and the development of jiu-jitsu. There are so many rich stories about them.  

Renzo Gracie Legacy DVD is available from mid-November in the USA. For more information and to purchase a copy go to www.renzogracielegacy.com.