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Tyson Doc Scores a Knockout

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 24, 2009 1:05 PM CDT

(Newser) – James Toback’s Mike Tyson documentary—a nearly uninterrupted monologue from the infamous boxer—has sent critics reeling in adoration. A sample of what they’re saying:

“You won’t know what hit you,” raves Peter Travers in Rolling Stone, calling it “one of the best movies of any kind this year.” Only Tyson is interviewed, but he “opens up like a man injected with truth serum,” and the results aren’t pretty.

“Tyson is worth seeing even if you have no particular interest in the sport or the man,” writes AO Scott in the New York Times. It’s a “profoundly honest” look at a “single suffering, raging soul.”
When the film screened at Cannes, everyone cheered, recalls Allison Samuels in Newsweek. “Tyson does not seem like the same man who chomped on Evander Holyfield's ear—twice,” she writes. “He seems at peace.”

[Videos (1)]

Boxer Mike Tyson and director James Toback pose at the photo call for the film "Tyson" during the 61st International film festival in Cannes, May 17, 2008. (AP Photo)

Boxer Mike Tyson poses at the photo call for the film "Tyson" during the 61st International film festival in Cannes, France, May 17, 2008. (AP Photo)

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Tyson Doc Scores a Knockout