Champs (2014)

A documentary on boxing greats Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Bernard Hopkins examines their lives in and out of the ring.

Director:

Bert Marcus

Writer:

Bert Marcus

Stars:

Evander Holyfield, Bernard Hopkins, Mike Tyson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Evander Holyfield	...	Himself
Bernard Hopkins	...	Himself
Mike Tyson	...	Himself
Larry 'Ratso' Sloman	...	Himself
Dalton Conley	...	Himself
Naazim Richardson	...	Himself
John Pfaff	...	Himself
50 Cent	...	Himself (as Curtis Jackson)
Mary J. Blige	...	Herself
Lou DiBella	...	Himself
George Willis	...	Himself
Al Bernstein	...	Himself
Francisco Aguilar	...	Himself
Mark Wahlberg	...	Himself
Spike Lee	...	Himself

Storyline

This epic story of the rise of three of the most successful boxers of our time challenges the perception of the American Dream through the intimately personal life trajectories of Evander Holyfield, Bernard Hopkins and Mike Tyson. Much like modern day gladiators, our protagonists come from the bottom rungs of society, choosing the path of boxing or "the poor man's sport," as a last resort, and an alternative to much bleaker options such as prison or, worse yet, death. Following these fighters' paths from success to self-discovery, they recount their battles while illuminating our country's most critical social issues, including the struggle with poverty, racial inequality, broken homes, drug and alcohol abuse, violence and the failures of our educational and prison systems. CHAMPS unearths the unique resilience of these men in the face of life's most difficult obstacles - from personal finance to sustained brain injury - and highlights how our society and their industry exalts their ...

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Plot Keywords:

boxing | champion | boxer | rivalry | tough guy | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Sport

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 March 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mistrzowie

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bert Marcus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Lou DiBella: People who fight, fight their way out of something, whether it's poverty, whether it's jail... rich kids don't fight. Why the fuck would a rich kid fight? You know, poor kids fight. You want to fight your way to a different place.

User Reviews

Brilliant

This is a stand out film. I saw the film because a friend invited me to a special screening and knew nothing about it before watching. Afterwards I was totally floored and so happy to have spent 90 minutes that way. Documentaries can often drag, especially in a theater, but this felt so much like a gorgeously shot narrative film that I had to remind myself afterward that this was entirely real and authentic, not a scripted film. The themes, messages and characters were so full of impact. I especially loved Bernard Hopkins' story because I didn't know a lot about him and he is a truly remarkable person. The celebrity voices were also really fun to watch and totally impressive. Definitely see this one in theaters or on the computer - works so well either way.