Mike Tyson has lived his professional and personal lives in the public spotlight, yet this installment for the A&E Biography manages to pack some surprises into its portrayal of the former heavyweight champion. Rescued from a life that would have led to "Attica or death," in the words of noted journalist Jack Newfield, Tyson was a prodigy in the ring due in part to his fanatical work ethic. His former managers and training partners interviewed in this documentary vividly recall a young Tyson who was always striving to be the best boxer ever, and footage shot for a documentary on his legendary trainer, Cus D'Amato, show him as a surprisingly sensitive 15-year-old. Tyson's years of perseverance paid off, yet after attaining great wealth and fame Tyson's life began to unravel. This documentary ends with Tyson still languishing behind bars, after being convicted of rape in a controversial case in Indiana, and while the video is dated, the coverage of his life to that point is first-rate. In his prime, Tyson was a brilliant boxer, and this intelligent and sensitive portrayal of how he was saved from a doomed life only to attain greatness and then spiral into self-destructive behavior is fascinating and disturbing.

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Biography