''Tyson'' is a 2008
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
about the life of former undisputed heavyweight world champion
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
Mike Tyson. It was directed by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
filmmaker
James Toback
James Toback (; born November 23, 1944) is an American film director and screenwriter. His screenplay for ''Bugsy'' won the 1991 Los Angeles Film Critics Association award for best screenplay of the year and was nominated for both the Academy Awa ...
and produced by
Nicholas Jarecki
Nicholas Jarecki (born June 25, 1979) is an American film director, producer, and writer best known for his 2012 feature film ''Arbitrage''.
Early life
Jarecki was born on June 25, 1979 in New York City, to Henry Jarecki and Marjorie Heidsieck. ...
, Bob Yari, and
NBA player
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team ...
.
The film was publicly screened for the first time at the 2008
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
and won the Regard Knockout Award at the
Un Certain Regard
(, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films w ...
event.
''Tyson'' was released on April 24, 2009, distributed by
Sony Classics
Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produc ...
.
Synopsis
The documentary is a self-discovery of a
Mike Tyson, who reflects on his highly controversial public life. It begins with clips of 20-year-old Tyson's convincing
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...
Heavyweight Championship win over
Trevor Berbick
Trevor Berbick (1 August 1954 – 28 October 2006) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 2000. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Pinklon Thomas, then lost it in his first defense in the same year to M ...
, then explores the fighter's upbringing and motivation. It is revealed that he had a dysfunctional family life and difficult childhood in
Brownsville, Brooklyn
Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is generally bordered by Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant and Cypress Hills to the north; East New York to the east; Canarsie ...
, where his crimes led him to
Tryon School for Boys in
Johnstown, New York
Johnstown is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County in the U.S. state of New York. The city was named after its founder, Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Province of New York and a major general during the Sev ...
. A father-son relationship with his first professional trainer,
Cus D'Amato
Constantine "Cus" D'Amato (January 17, 1908 – November 4, 1985) was an Italian-American boxing manager and trainer who handled the careers of Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, and José Torres, all of whom went on to be inducted into the Internatio ...
, is expressed as Tyson chokes back tears. He reveals his fear that he felt when D'Amato died in 1985. Tyson was 19 years old when he lost the one and only father figure in his life.
Tyson eventually unified the
WBC,
WBA and
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
title championship belts, becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion. This event was the root cause of Tyson's personal issues. Tyson notes that his great stardom at the age of 20 was both a blessing and a curse. From his great achievements at such a young age to the eventual tangled web of his existence, Tyson explains his flaws of mental instability, immaturity, lust for women and fear, all of which culminated into his downfall as a professional boxer. Now having fought and overcome his fears in order to earn his respect, Tyson is shocked by the outcome: a renewed respect for life and family.
Reception
The film received high critical praise, scoring an 85% approval rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes from 138 film critics.
It has a score of 83% on Metacritic.
A.O. Scott
Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis.
Early life
Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...
wrote in the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'': "Because it restricts itself to Mr. Tyson’s point of view,
toffers a rare and vivid study in the complexity of a single suffering, raging soul. It is not an entirely trustworthy movie, but it does feel profoundly honest."
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson (2008 Film)
2008 films
Documentary films about sportspeople
Documentary films about African Americans
American sports documentary films
2008 documentary films
Sony Pictures Classics films
Cultural depictions of Mike Tyson
Documentary films about boxing
2000s English-language films
Films directed by James Toback
2000s American films