Tyson (2009)

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  June 12, 2011

  Callahan441

  "Tyson" is a very interesting documentary. It's an inevitably exciting film (as Tyson always was in his career), stylishly showcasing many of Tyson's devastating fights while also sensitively exploring Mike's life before, during and after his career. Tyson, in his trademark frank... read more fashion, reveals in a series of interviews how his rough childhood affected him, and how he discovered that violence was the only form of defence for a scared young boy in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Tyson elaborates on his brief life of crime before he was put in a borstal, where he was taken under legendary trainer Cus D'Amato's wing. Within years, Tyson had become an 18 year-old 218lb monster, a superb heavyweight contender.
  
  The documentary shows his career highs, as well as his painful decline to rock bottom, with Tyson covering his disastrous marriage to Robin Givens, his rape charge (which he vehemently denies), and his controversial losses to Evander Holyfield. 'Tyson' gives a solid overview of his life, it is a taut documentary that is guaranteed to hold your attention through both recent interviews and archive footage. I can imagine some critics will criticise the film's depiction of its leading man. Indeed, the film portrays Mike sympathetically, but Tyson is a remarkably honest man, I know few other public figures of his stature who parallel his frank openness. While the grounds of his rape charge are dubious and open for contention, I feel he is genuine. Despite his past behaviour, Mike being the first to acknowledge it, you can't help but pity him, he has led a life of confusion and interference from his numerous demons.
  
  Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Mike Tyson is truly unique and not what one expects. Which is why I advise anyone, particularly those who disregard Tyson, to watch this eye-opener, it won't necessarily change your opinion of the man, but surely you will be admiring his honesty.

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  April 8, 2010

  JonathanHutchings

  In Tyson, James Toback sets up a camera, sits the ex-champ down on a couch and lets him talk. And cry. And boast. And self-examine. And, mostly, self-justify. Toback calls his subject "a figure of staggering complexity." Actually, he's a figure of rather sad simplicity, a frighte... read morened and fatherless boy who grew up brutalized and grew to brutalize other people. That the ring afforded him, for a while, a chance to do that legally made him his fortune -- most of which he went on to throw away. What's doubly tragic is that Tyson still can't understand his own downfall. He was convicted of rape in 1992 and spent three years in prison. On camera now, he angrily declares his innocence, calling his accuser "a wretched swine of a woman." His insistence soon rings a little hollow ("I may have taken advantage of women before, but I never took advantage of her.") When he talks about women -- "I want to ravish them," "I want to dominate them sexually" -- it's in the language of aggression, not affection. Yet Tyson still thinks he's a good guy -- more sinned against then sinning, brought down by "leeches." By only interviewing Tyson, Toback lets him get away with it, too. Do Tyson's ex-wives have anything pertinent to add? Does Evander Holyfield, perhaps, have a differing point of view? It's a good bet, but you won't find them here. Instead, you will find a grab bag of occasional split-screens and sometimes overlapping or echoing dialogue -- all of which does more to obscure than illuminate the self-deceiving subject. It's a long, sad slide show of a man who had everything and lost it. The saddest thing is that this great fighter still doesn't seem to realize that he was his own fiercest opponent. Some elements of Tyson's story are utterly fascinating -- sadly, none of it gets more than a glossed over explanation (surely Tyson's hands-on involvement with the film had a lot to do with that). In the end, this documentary doesn't come anywhere close to recognizing its potential.

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  November 29, 2009

  gor41

  Well constructed, supremely edited documentary which gets as close to the enigma that is Tyson as one could hope. The fight scenes are electric but despite his candor you still get a very one-sided account of events.

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  October 26, 2009

  rezpatriot

  A very good biography by Tyson himself.

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  October 15, 2009

  LorenzoVonMatterhorn

  "A boy comes to me with a spark of interest, I feed that spark and in becomes a flame, I feed the flame and it becomes a fire, I fed the fire and it becomes a roaring blaze."
  
  A mixture of original interviews and archival footage and photographs sheds light on the life exp... read moreeriences of Mike Tyson.
  
  REVIEW
  What most people remember about Mike Tyson is that while he was a ferocious and dominant fighter in his prime, his character is a different story. He was imprisoned for rape, made obscene comments about his opponents, committed one of the most infamous incidents in all of boxing by biting his opponent's ear, and later became a drug addict facing numerous financial problems.
  
  Which is unfortunate, however, as James Toback's documentary "Tyson" attempts, quite successfully, to dispel the notion of Tyson the savage and show us Tyson the person. He does this by letting Tyson do all the talking, reminiscent of how Errol Morris let Robert McNamara tell his POV in "The Fog of War." And what Tyson tells us about himself adds up to what is probably the most honest documentary you'll see this year. It doesn't even seem like a documentary, conventionally speaking; it's more like a confession, a visual memoir that lends insight into why he acted irrationally many times in his life. You'll get insight as to how he became a boxer, about his legendary trainer and father figure Cus D'amato (In a moving scene, Tyson literally chokes up when recalling D'amato), what he was thinking while preparing for fights, and even his views on women, aided with some very revealing pictures. Of course, like Morris's film, this is all Tyson's story: You will not hear from Robin Givens, Don King, or anyone else. Watching this documentary, however, you come to trust Tyson; and how he bares his soul to the camera is, in some ways, more courageous than facing a formidable opponent in the ring. You feel that not only is Mike Tyson the most honest fighter, but he's also one of the most honest people on this earth.
  
  Toback's documentary manages to be engrossing because he humanizes Tyson, revealing a lesser seen side of the former champion, which is why even non-boxing fans will find this character study fascinating -- it transcends the savagery of the sport and allows us to understand this complicated, contradictory figure. There may be more relevant documentaries out there these days, but it's doubtful they are as honest and revealing as this one.

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  June 19, 2009

  rayman0071

  A stunning documentary about the rise and fall one of the greatest athletes ever to rise to the sport of boxing. The recount of his turbulant life and career throughout from director James Toback.

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  November 11, 2009

  panta2

  Delightfuly well crafted, this movie will introduce you to the real Mike Tyson - The Man! James Toback made a real treat and the music of Salaam Remi was like a cherry on the top of this artistic sweet!

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  January 21, 2010

  Dannyrovira

  A powerful and audaciously original documentary about the rise and fall of world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson as told in his own words. From his climb to the top of the fight game and the infamous celebrity days to his shameful rape conviction and three year prison stin... read moret, his battle with drugs and himself. Well directed by JamesToback, a compelling look at one man's ruin. Highly Recommended.

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  August 19, 2009

  fb1025970122

  Mike Tyson is no doubt an interesting figure and James Toback's documentary about the former heavyweight champion of the world is also incredibly interesting. Though I had built up alot of anticipation for this with all the critical praise it was recieving, it did not fully live ... read moreup to its hype, but instead was something different all its own. From the first frame, everything I had imagined the film being went away and 'Tyson' became a simple story told from the mouth of the man it happened to. It is so rare you get to here a first hand account of something as incredible as the rise and fall of one of the greatest boxers ever. We dont get interpretations of what others thought Tyson was going through when he was accused of rape or when he bit Holyfields ear, we hear what was going through his mind and what truly motivated him to act the way he did. Toback uses some interesting techniques in presenting how the mind of Mike works-many times he will overlap the interview footage and do split screens so as to create the scrambled and overloaded feelings Tyson is experiencing as he discusses certain subjects. Toback also uses just the right amount of old footage and photos so as to compliment the stories Tyson is telling instead of actually letting them tell the story. Tyson is more articulate and comes off more intelligent than one might imagine he would, you can tell he is being sincere and genuine without holding anything back-he is still upset by the loss of his first trainer and probably only true friend he ever had, he verbally destroys Don King and gives respect to fighters you might have expected he despised. The one draw-back to the film is that it has its slow parts while at the end still feeling like it only scrathched the surface of this very complicated figure. We hardly have anything here about the women in Tyson's life other than a few lines about how bad he treated them-we don't really get a sense of Tysons climb from nothing to the champion, and these are key elements that contribute to Tysons actions in his later years which may have recieved more attention than needed seeing as the film is only an hour and a half. The film is still very much worth watching despite feeling a bit cheated by such an engaging figure and the opportunity to have him spill everything, we feel there is so much more Mike could say-but if one thing is made clear it is that Mike Tyson is not the man you would think he is, and being able to make people understand Mike Tyson as a person is an accomplishment Toback should be very proud of.

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  January 16, 2010

  Naesssal

  If you can't stand the sight of Mike Tyson, you will not like this movie. If you find Mike Tyson kind of fascinating, either in a good way or a bad way, then you will find a lot to like in it. I loved that the film was completely told from his perspective. Other documentaries ... read morewould have included interviews with other people who knew or were inspired by him. It does kind of speed past some of the darker portions of his life, but the rest of the movie is so good that it is forgivable. Tyson is a very interesting speaker, and his story can more than sustain the running time. One of the best documentaries I've seen in quite some time.

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