TYSON documentary reviews from Sundance?
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I'm not the biggest fan of documentaries so going into Tyson I was admittedly nervous that it'd be a very unforgettable film. While it wasn't exactly unforgettable, it wasn't that spectacular, and felt like of a documentary I'd catch on HBO rather than in theaters. That's not a compliment, but I still did appreciate director James Toback's very intimate look at the boxer Mike Tyson because of how personal it was. Toback and Tyson are friends and he was able to get him to open up to the camera in a way only a very close friend could. It was worth seeing if only to get an understanding of Mike Tyson that I didn't have before.
Tyson covers a fairly comprehensive amount of his life history and boxing career. Although the running time is only 90 minutes, it felt fairly long, just because Tyson's actual boxing career began in 1985 and ended in 2005. And considering Toback, and especially Tyson, don't hold back on any of the down and dirty details, we get to hear about all of the ups and downs in his life over the years. It all began when he was being picked on as a young kid and progresses through his success as a boxer, marriages and divorces, and prison sentences. Tyson isn't exactly the most compelling guy, but this at least made him interesting to watch.
The problem with Tyson is that it's far too much of a talking heads film. To make his interviews actually entertaining to watch, Toback tries to use a split screen structure that just doesn't work at all. The film only features interviews with Tyson himself, which I thought was initially a smart move to make it much more personal, but it becomes a hindrance with Tyson's convoluted storytelling. He is only exciting to watch speak a few times, primarily when he gets emotional and starts to tear up, but after that, I just wanted to see more of his fights. In the end, it's probably not a documentary I'll ever think about much again.
http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/01/16/sundance-2009-review-james-tobacks-tyson/
Sundance Review: ‘Tyson’ is More PSA than Documentary
There is something so unintentionally funny, yet terrifying about the monster that is Mike Tyson. We all know him as one of the most controversial sports figures of our time, though there are many different perspectives to be had. One perspective is that of sympathy, for a troubled youth from the bad neighborhoods of Brooklyn thrust into the spotlight and driven mad by his own social withdrawn nature and the fear of the world around him. Others see Tyson as a monster, a criminal, a violent threat to society both in and out of the ring.
In his intimate documentary
, Tyson’s good friend director James Tobak (Black and White, Love and Money) has chosen to paint the former champ in the most sympathetic light possible. Mixing archival footage with up close and personal interviews from Tyson’s California home, Tobak’s documentary puts a painstaking amount of effort into presenting a singular point of view on the events, both triumphant and tragic, of his life. And for moments at a time, it works. There are moments when we can connect with the pain felt by a young Mike Tyson, a boy who was raised into a life of crime by the environment in 1970s Brooklyn. We can connect with the love that Tyson felt for his mentor and trainer, the late Cus D’Amato. We can also even connect with Tyson’s struggle with his fear of other people, his issues with trust and his deviant sexual tendencies.
Unfortunately the moments of connection are fleeting as the documentary slowly erodes from intimate portrait to a sort of public service announcement on Tyson’s behalf. In a Q&A after the Sundance premiere, director James Tobak was asked why his movie didn’t include any interviews from the people around the former champ — including, but not limited to any of his ex-wives, trainers, agents, etc. — he explained that he didn’t want to bring others in because they so often ‘lied’ about what really happened. There is some honesty in the film, including Tyson’s admission of having Ghonerreah before his first big title fight, but it all seems like shock deflection. When it came to the most controversial moments of Tyson’s life, Tobak’s doc allows him to pass by and say “I didn’t rape that girl” and spends only a few moments touching on his torrid domestic issues with first wife Robin Givens. It is enough to leave the discerning viewer wanting more.
In the end Tobak’s documentary spends its first half being an exciting look into the rise of a champion and creation of a monster, but squanders whatever momentum it had in its second half by beating us over the head with Mike Tyson the victim. And we get it, at least for a short time, that Tyson’s life has been hard. Unfortunately we are left with the feeling that there is more to be revealed, more under the surface, more that would have been found had Tobak — an admitted long time friend of the boxer — really set out to make anything more than a one-sided puff piece. For any great fan of boxing or general Tyson gawker, this film will serve as a solid way to spend 90 minutes once it makes its way to HBO or Showtime. But for the discerning moviegoer it is easy to see that Tyson is a documentary less focused on substance and more focused on selling us a singular point of view.
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/reviews/sundance-review-tyson-is-more-psa-than-documentary.php
Sundance Review: 'Tyson' puts up a good fight
Posted by Gregory Ellwood
Is there anything left to say about Mike Tyson? After Robin Givens,
Desire Washington and the Evander Holyfield bouts, hasn't the train
wreck of the former World Champion's life been dissected enough?
Director James Toback ("Two Girls and a Guy") didn't think so and if
you're a boxing aficionado or too young to remember Tyson's rise and
fall first hand this documentary should be a compelling and
entertaining portrait.
Told completely firsthand during sessions
shot at a Hollywood Hills home, Tyson comes across as more at peace,
mature and articulate than this writer can ever remember. He pointedly
never apologizes for anything (including the bizarre moment where he
bit Holyfield's ear twice in one fight), but certainly doesn't revel in
his more controversial moments.
Told in a conventional linear
style, Tyson starts off recalling how rough it was growing up in
Brooklyn, and more specifically, Brownsville. It was after being
pushed through the juvenile corrections system that his talent for
fighting was first recognized and eventually put him under the
guidance of legendary boxing trainer Cus D'Amato. As someone who lived
just north of D'Amato's Catskill, NY boxing academy, I keenly remember
the local news introducing the young Tyson and his harrowing story from
skid row to possible champion boxer. And while the death of D'Amato
has always been a touchstone for the beginning of Tyson's troubles,
hearing the former boxer talk about his former mentor is quite moving.
Tyson has discussed him in previous interviews, but it appears the
depth of this discussion brings out a vulnerable and emotional side he
hasn't really shown before. This is certainly one of the more
compelling moments in the doc, but unfortunately it takes place very
early on.
Consequently, the film's other intriguing portions are
much less personal. Toback smartly has Tyson talk about his mental
state and analyze himself over footage of a number of key fights.
Thankfully, this commentary isn't overdone, but from a historical
perspective it brings great insight into the sport and Tyson's place in
it.
Beyond that, there are a few interesting anecdotes (Tyson
claims he had gonorrhea during his first title fight vs. Trevor
Berbick, but didn't want to tell anyone), and the rehashing of his
relationship with Robin Givens isn't as fleshed out as it could have
been, but with Tyson only 42-years-old, the film ending is somewhat
anti-climatic. Is Tyson really going to be able to stay out of the
limelight? This project might have made more sense a decade from now
when the years had provided even more prospective.
Its also hard
to see "Tyson" making it to theaters, but it is, ironically, classy
entertaning fare that could find a home on Showtime or HBO. And as
mentioned previously, probably a must for all boxing fans or historians.
Sundance Report #8 - Tyson
Would you knowingly choose to lock yourself in a room with Mike Tyson for 30 hours in the name of cinema?
I’m back in the warmth for a few brief moments before heading off to
my next screening. Just moments ago I left a screening of “Tyson,” a
brutally frank, no-holds barred documentary about the life of former
world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. Winning standing ovations
from the audience tonight as well as those at the Cannes film festival
last May, this film definitely opens your eyes to the soul of a unique
and frightening individual. From director James Toback, “Tyson” tracks
the boxer’s career from his days as a teenage thief and drug dealer in
Brooklyn, to undisputed world boxing champion, to his dramatic fall
from grace and incarceration for rape. The film mixes archive footage
with raw interviews Tyson himself. Through the course of the film,
Tyson himself reveals how he lost more than $300m in the last few
decades and once sought to conquer and possess the women in his life.
This film does a phenomenal job humanizing Tyson. While not the
first film to do so, it’s certainly the first to really gain wide
exposure and acceptance. Told entirely through Tyson’s own words, this
film cuts deep into his persona, exposing a raw, no-holds-barred look
at his own success and failure. More than once, Tyson even breaks down
and cries on camera. This, my friends, is a unique window into an
amazing character.
Following the film, Tyson and Tobeck took questions from the
audience. Not surprisingly, most questions centered on Tyson’s own
journey and not so much on the film itself. Tyson said he was actually
quite “intimidated” by getting up in front of the audience tonight
since he was so far out of his element. He stated that more than
anything he was “working on being humble” and trying to be a better
person who was finally at peace with the world. He had spent so much of
his life being “afraid of failure” that he wasn’t even aware of who
he’d become. “I was just a moral mess,” Tyson said, going on to talk
about how it was “very hard to watch” the film because it meant that he
had “become very vulnerable.” Speaking on the subject of his heyday as
Heavyweight Champion, he said that he “became scared of that guy [on
the screen].” “[At the time] I never understood why people looked at me
and made those judgements against [my character].” It must be amazing
to look at himself now in such a different light.
Even for those who aren’t into boxing (I’m not at all), this is
still a pretty amazing film as a window into a larger-than-life
character. It will no doubt find a large audience.
Glad I caught this film. Trying to get there from “Over the Hills
and Far Away,” I quite literally had to throw myself on the hood of a
taxi to make it in time. Shuttle busses were backed up or so full
people were being crushed by the doors. I entered the theater with less
than one minute left to spare.
~Gunther
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