Tyson (1995) (TV)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Uli Edel

Writers (WGA):

José Torres (novel)
Robert Johnson (written by)

Release Date:

29 April 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Plot:

The story of Mike Tyson. From his early days as a 12 year old amateur with a powerful punch, to the...

Plot Keywords:

Mike Tyson | Champion | Heavyweight Champion | New York | Rags To Riches

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

George C. Scott	...	Cus D'Amato
Paul Winfield	...	Don King
Michael Jai White	...	Mike Tyson
James Sikking	...	Bill Clayton
Malcolm-Jamal Warner	...	Rory Holloway
Tony Lo Bianco	...	Jim Jacobs
Clark Gregg	...	Kevin Rooney
Holt McCallany	...	Teddy Atlas
Kristen Wilson	...	Robin Givens
Sheila Wills	...	Ruth Roper
Regal Hanley	...	Young Mike Tyson
Lilyan Chauvin	...	Camille Ewald
Rebekah Johnson	...	Desiree Washington
George Murdock	...	Baranski
Mane Andrew	...	Young Rodney Tyson

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:12 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | USA:Unrated

Company:

Edgar J. Scherick Associates

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Cus D'Amato admonishes his live-in tenant trainees for eating his ice cream, a Nutrition Facts label is visible on the side of the box. These were used by the the U.S.D.A. and F.D.A. after 1993, but this was still in the 1980s.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mike Tyson: I was just a kid when I first got to see Muhammad Ali. I saw the way people looked up to him, saw their smiling faces. And I said to myself 'That's what I wanna be, I wanna be champ of the world'.

Good, but not great and stolen by Great Scott and Winfield

This is a made-for-TV flick about Iron Mike. As people have already commented there are several memorable and incredible performances given here. Scott is, to my mind, one of, if not the greatest American actor who lived in the last century. Along with Jason Robards, Jack Lemmon, Jimmy Cagney, and today Kevin Spacey. (Yes, I said it, Kevin ranks right up there with the all-time champs. Don't believe me? See the movie he did with Annette Benning and Chris Cooper, then watch the Kaizer Soze flick. Unfortunately it is late and titles are escaping me.....)

So Scott steals the movie cursing and arguing and screaming his lungs out. By the way, after his death, it was rumored that D'Amato had forced Iron Mike to perform oral sex on him when Mike was a young boy under Cus's tutelage. True or not, it would certainly explain a lot....Paul Winfield as Don King is a great match. His performance is much more believable here than Ving Rhames's would be several years later on in "King". Tony LoBianco is good to as Jim Jacobs who for years managed Tyson. Jacobs incidentally was a jack-of-all-trades, winning the US Handball Championship for Men, having the greatest private collection of fight films ever collected, and being an expert on comic books. Talk about your Renaisannce guys. The only weak link is Michael Jai White. He doesn't really capture the caged-animal intensity of Iron Mike during his glory years. Tyson incidentally, should really consider making a film about his own life with actors of his choosing. Overall a good effort by some extremely talented actors.