''Tyson'' is a 2008

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

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 Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

. 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, p ...

filmmaker

James Toback James Lee Toback (, born November 23, 1944) is an American screenwriter and film director. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1991 for ''Bugsy''. He has directed films including '' The Pick-up Artist'', ''Two Gi ...

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 (film), Arbitrage''. Early life Jarecki was born on June 25, 1979, in New York City, to Henry Jarecki and ...

, Bob Yari, and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony ( ; born May 29, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Anthony played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a ten-time NBA All-Star Game, NBA All-Star and six-time All-NBA T ...

. The film was publicly screened for the first time at the 2008

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

and won the Regard Knockout Award at the

Un Certain Regard (; '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 with unusua ...

event. ''Tyson'' was released in a limited on April 24, 2009, then it expanded wide on May 15, 2009, distributed by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

Synopsis

The documentary is a self-discovery of a

, 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 Mi ...

, 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 bordered by Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant and the subsection of ...

, 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 colonial founder, Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Britain in the Province of New York and a major ...

. A father-son relationship with his first professional trainer,

Cus D'Amato Constantine "''Cus''" D'Amato (January 17, 1908 – November 4, 1985) was an American boxing manager, boxing Promoter (entertainment), promoter and boxing Boxing training, trainer who handled the careers of Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, and José ...

, 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 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, known for his film and literary criticism. After starting his career at ''The New York Review of Books'', ''Variety'', and ''Slate'', he began writing film ...

wrote in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'': "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

* * * * * {{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 English-language documentary films