Tyson

I was fortunate (?) to have been in the Catskill (later Cus D'Amato) Boxing club with Mike in the early to mid 80's and as such got to see him just as he was starting to get the acclaim that would later get ridiculous. I remember that he was still like a little kid in a lot of ways---pushing his friend's motorcycle on Main Street in Catskill for him to pop start it, walking around with a NY paper's cartoon showing a drawing of him holding the world in his hands, and exclaiming to anyone who would listen "This is so fly!" And much more. He was happy, healthy, and on a course for greatness. Then Cus died, and after an incredible series of fights that left him with all the belts, Mike threw it all away. He doesn't shy away from telling the world how foolish he was, and it is heartbreaking to see him on the verge of tears as he seems to relive it in his memory. Director Toback does a brilliant job in letting his subject do all the talking, and it is riveting. One star off for not making it clearer why he let Don King take over and basically destroy his career. While he does acknowledge the piece of crap that King is, he needed to go a little further, since King was sort of the anti-Cus, if you will. I know Mike knew that he was always welcome to come back to Catskill, where Cus's knowledge is still being imparted even today.

Who knew that Mike Tyson had this inside of him? The best parts of TYSON are when Mike confesses his origins. I won't spoil it, but watching this documentary makes you understand why he is the way he is. The cinematography is great too, as it seems that it was probably shot within a few days but the editing is smooth and interesting. There is a great amount of footage as well, and not just boxing matches. You see Tyson from age 14 to present, training, living, in court, with his family, etc.

The best word to use when describing TYSON is "empathy". Before this movie, I admit, I thought Tyson was a nut. I thought he was just another lunatic professional athlete that was out of control. Not much changed... he WAS a lunatic, he WAS out of control... but you know 100% why after viewing TYSON. And you can't really blame him.

8/10. Highly recommended!

What a great documentary. For anyone who likes boxing, this is a must-see. You hear Mike talking, almost non-stop, throughout giving numerous details about his personal life. The techniques used to present the film were terrific, though it does require you to pay attention; at several points, Toback runs multiple moving split-screens - it's an interesting device as you are forced to "follow" the dialog as one screen box goes quiet as another picks up where it left off.

The fight footage is incredible. I felt like I was watching all this footage again for the first time.

Throughout, the viewer is given access to a side of Tyson I doubt any but his closest friends and associates have ever witnessed. At many points he chokes up, fighting back tears - it's an amazing thing to watch.

And there's a lot of laughs. I won't reveal them, but there is some really funny stuff.

An excellent narrative on Mike Tyson's life from his point of view. The narrative is all done by Mike himself. Watching this movie you feel like you're sitting in front of Mike Tyson asking him to tell you his life story.

The movie itself I believe is not scripted since it's Mike Tyson himself telling us and the way he spoke seems genuine and full of holes in logic. In short it seemed honest enough.

Seeing this documentary, you gain a good amount of perspective about Tyson's personality, his life, how he think, his problems, and the people around him. The best part for me was when he explained why he bite Holyfield's ears.

Definitely one to watch for his fans. If you're not a Tyson or boxing fan, you might get a little bored.

I think the person above has watched/reviewed the wrong film.

I've just got back from seeing this and it's purely a documentary featuring an interview with Tyson himself - no-one else, no actors.

I say 'interview' but you don't actually hear any questions asked - this is just Mike talking about his life/career almost as a monologue.

I thought it was a fantastic effort at just letting the user take from the picture what they want - there is no attempt to create a bias for or against Tyson in any way.

I never liked Tyson as a fighter/person but I realise having watched this that the person we saw tear up the heavyweight division in the 90s was a long way from the man himself. He now comes across as a humble man - though with few regrets.

The interspersing of his fights with his dialogue is superbly done - credit to the the direction of James Toback.