“Tyson”, the new documentary about the troubled career of boxer Mike Tyson, made its debut last week at the Cannes Film Festival. Filmmaker James Toback uses his second documentary to take an intimate look at a subject he knows well, the former Heavyweight Champion of the World. The two first met in 1987 when actor Anthony Michael Hall brought Tyson to the set of “The Pick Up Artist”, which Toback was directing. What has ensued is a 20+ year friendship culminating in the film.

There is only one interview in “Tyson”, with Tyson himself, who with a Maori tattoo surrounding his left eye, gives often shocking, profanity laced accounts of a life filled with enormous ups and downs. Stories of becoming Heavyweight Champ, blowing through $300-400 Million, being convicted of raping ex-wife Robin Givens (a charge denied by both Tyson and Toback), and biting Evander Holyfield’s ear of, not once, but twice are all recounted by the former boxer.

You can against domestic violence, a charge Mike Tyson is no stranger to, by learning more about the work of Project Debby, a non-profit organization that places victims of domestic violence in complimentary hotel rooms.

LINKS:

London Free Press: Tyson film claims he’s innocent of rape

Daily Telegraph: Cannes Mike Tyson start afresh again?

Variety: Toback Toe-to-Toe with Tyson’s Tale