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Bookmark this pageTyson (2008)
Director: James Toback
Movie review
From Time Out London
Mike Tyson is in a reflective – even tearful – mood in this documentary made by his friend James Toback, in whose ‘Black and White’ the boxer appeared in 1999. You could describe the film, which marries archive footage with a new interview with Tyson, as a ghost-written autobiography expressed with a post-analysis tone – a tone that may or may not be linked to the fact that Tyson spoke to Toback soon after he left rehab.Tyson is the film’s sole voice and he talks freely through the good and bad times, from a criminal childhood in Brooklyn to the messy end of his career, via the death of his elderly trainer Cus D’Amato, his failed marriage to Robin Givens and his conviction for rape. He comes across as mellow and apologetic but reserves anger for the woman he was accused of raping (‘a wretched swine of a woman’) and Don King (‘a slimy, reptilian motherfucker’). Toback steers Tyson through every triumph and disaster you want to hear about, never pretending that the platform belongs to anyone but the man they used to call Iron Mike.
Author: Dave Calhoun
Time Out London Issue 2014, March 26 – April 1, 2009
User reviews of this film
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- JW said...
- Posted on Apr 17 2009 15:14 This is actually a much more interesting, moving and funny film than Calhoun's review suggests. Very well put together and not just for sports fans
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: James Toback
Cast: Mike Tyson
Genre(s): Documentaries
Rated: 15
Duration: 90 mins
UK Release: Mar 27 2009
US Release: Apr 24 2009
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