I finally got around to James Toback’s documentary “Tyson” last night, which is an extremely thoughtful look at, well, one side of the heavyweight’s story. Tyson makes for a captivating subject but I’m not sure the effort made for a captivating film.
Tyson will be on Oprah this afternoon. Here are a couple of highlights that have popped up up via CNN:
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10 responses to “Tyson on Oprah’s couch”
“Was it an abusive relationship?”
“Oh definitely, definitely. Both ways, definitely.”
Aww, poor Mike Tyson got hit a few times by his ex? Poor wittle heavyweight boxing champion.
was a great film, what the heck are u talkin bout Kris. u just tryna go against the grain.
I thought it was a TERRIBLE film — one of the worst I have seen this year. The integrity of the project is completely compromised by Toback’s relationship with Tyson — he lets him get away with telling a ridiculously one-sided version of his story. As a fan of Iron Mike back in his glory days, I was truly sickened by the film that reeks of dishonesty from the moment that Tyson starts talking about how his last few fights were only for the $$ … what do you think the doc was for?
This was a truly good film. This person has had a roller coaster life worth talking about. He is decidedly honest and I believe tells a true story. The ups and downs of his life touch us all. His failures are as big as his achievements. He does not whitewash his story. The film shows Tyson’s emotional depth, his sense of despair, his desire and effort to overcome his demons, his high intelligence. It’s an American story, the kind the rest of the world does not have. I’m glad he told me about himself because I would have known only what the press told me otherwise. The story was presented in a mesmerizing way and the time flew by as I watched. Maybe Michael Jackson would be alive today if he could have talked about himself. I say “You go Iron Mike – Bravo!
hey mcguff, thanks 4 pointing that out that the film was only from mikes perspective, we couldnt figure that out ourselves.
As Roger Ebert said in his 4 star review, the case against Tyson has been laid out a million times , GOD forbid Tyson actually makes his own case. U sound like one of those sportswriters that never gave Mike a break.
And by the way, as much as i have followed mike’s career and loved the film, that doesnt mean i gave him a pass on the extreme controversies of his life or career.
I loved this movie, ironically it is probably between Tyson and The Cove (another documentary) for my favorite film so far this year.
I agree with Kris. An interesting guy does not automatically make an interesting movie. And fading to a shot of the man walking on the beach does not automatically make his words more profound.
mike: Not going against the grain (and it’s certainly not a unique opinion of the film), but McGuff pretty much sums it up. I wouldn’t say I hated it as much as he did, as the film, even from as a piece of subjectivity, is a fascinating look at an unusual character to say the least. But it’s not able to be anything truly great because of built-in flaws in the planning and execution.
Mike, I didn’t make myself clear enough: I wasn’t pointing out or criticizing the approach — Tyson talking on a couch, which I actually didn’t mind — but instead criticizing Toback’s reasoning behind such a move. I found it confusing that the late 80s and early 90s were glossed over in literally minutes, with such a few montages of uppercuts and knockouts.
We’re ushered through Tyson’s upbringing — which was heartbreaking at times — and then rushed through his dominance, so we can crawl through his problems in the 1990s. It’s a project that was merely contrived to rebuild his image and make him some money. I don’t blame Mike for doing the project at all — who wouldn’t?!? — I blame a filmmaker that let friendship get in his way of truth.
The man’s mind is scary.