Tyson (2008)

James Toback directed this documentary about the boxer who was once known as "The Baddest Man On The Face Of The Earth".  "Iron" Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight boxing champion at the age of twenty, beating out Floyd Patterson's record of being the youngest champ.  The film opens with the fight where Tyson captured the win.

Tyson does most of the talking, which is a switch from other documentaries where there a lot of talking heads discussing the main subject.  The soft-spoken man who breaks into sobs about the close relationship he had with his late trainer Cus D'Amato is in stark contrast to the fighter who brutally beat down opponents.  Tyson appears in middle age to be a much more contemplative person.  The fighter is one who has regrets, but who has learned to recognize patterns that led to past problems.  All of those problems are highlighted -- the time spent in jail on rape charges, the substance abuse, biting Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight, the failed marriage between Tyson and actress Robin Givens, losing his title belt to Buster Douglas.  But there's the feeling that the angry juvenile delinquent from New York still bubbles underneath the surface.  This is a excellent documentary that sheds some light on a man who is praised and downgraded at the same time.