Mountain Rivera is at the end of his boxing career after a knockout by Cassius Clay in the seventh round. His left eye is one punch from permanent trauma, his ears turned to cauliflower, his speech slurred from “being hit a million times,” and he slings punches anytime he hears a bell, but his trainer and ‘cutman’ Army, and Miss Miller, a manipulative social worker, support his illusion that he could be a movie usher, a camp counselor, or a romantic partner for Miller.

Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson–almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion’s fights to create an arresting picture of the man.