Bruno v Tyson offers a unique look at the mutual respect between two top boxers

BRUNO V TYSON

15, 90mins

★★★★☆

FRANK Bruno never shied away from taking a pounding – both in and out of the boxing ring.

He took it on the chin when jokes were made about his move into panto putting his career “behind him”, and when he was labelled a big softie and even when rival Lennox Lewis used a racial slur.

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But if you think it didn’t hurt, you’d be wrong.

This illuminating Sky Original documentary offers a long overdue reappraisal of the British fighter’s truly remarkable ring career.

Just because he has a jolly laugh giant enough to shake frowns upside down, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take him seriously.

Growing up on the tough streets of South London, he turned from street brawling to ring craft after being sent to a school for problem kids.

A sledgehammer puncher, Frank won his first 21 fights by knockout.
And by the time a 15-year-old Mike Tyson was sparring with him, he was European champion.

His problem, though, was the path to heavyweight domination became quickly blocked by Tyson — a ferocious fighter, undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time.

Mr Nice and Mr Nasty

Tyson defeated Bruno twice but it is the British contender’s bravery which makes him a true hero.

Even though doctors told him a history of eye injuries meant he could go blind in the ring, he carried on and took the world title by beating Oliver McCall in 1995 before retiring the following year after his second defeat by Tyson.

This film, by Benjamin Hirsch and Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald, charts the parallel paths between Bruno and Tyson.

It makes for an interesting compare and contrast because outwardly they appear to be so different. Bruno is Mr Nice and Tyson is Mr Nasty.

Yet, as this story unfolds, we learn they have a lot in common, including both spending time in psychiatric institutions after being overwhelmed by their inner demons. Throughout the film we see a mutual respect, which culminates in a warm-hearted chat between the two men 25 years on from their second bout.

But it is the American who is more willing to prise open old wounds. This documentary would have been truly champion if it had shown Frank being equally frank.

• Four-part series, Sky Documentaries

THE UNITED STATES vs BILLIE HOLIDAY

(15) 130mins

★★★☆☆

ANDRA DAY stars as Billie Holiday in this biopic exploration of how the legendary jazz singer was targeted by the FBI.

Determined to stop her singing anti-lynching song Strange Fruit, the chief of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics tells his team to “Go after that bitch on the drugs”, and sanctions a sting on her.

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African-American agent Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes) is deployed to infiltrate Holiday’s world, but he becomes conflicted about his role.

And after he arrests her, the two begin an affair.

Plenty is already known about Holiday’s troubled and addiction-ravaged life and her early death aged 44 in 1959 while handcuffed to a hospital bed.

So the focus on police racism here feels more relevant and important.

But style continually threatens to overshadow substance thanks to endless jumping between real time and flashbacks, colour and black and white footage, retrospective interviews and heroin-induced memory hazes.

A more narrow focus might have delivered more powerful results. Luckily, these muddles can’t distract from Day’s powerful presence and her magical singing, while Da’Vine Joy Randolph as friend Roslyn is also a treat.

• On Sky Cinema

BILLIE EILISH: THE WORLD’S A LITTLE BLURRY

(15) 141mins

★★☆☆☆

BEING a teenager is never easy, worrying about spots and how to snog.

But for Billie Eilish, still only 19, her formative years have been about writing a No1 album and recording the James Bond theme tune – all from her childhood bedroom.

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This documentary by RJ Cutler follows a 16-year-old Billie as she records her first album with brother Finneas in their very normal family home in California.

It sees the pair travel the world and perform in front of thousands of people and collect a host of Grammys.

The footage is mostly grainy and hand-held, with incredibly long takes of the siblings writing songs.

There’s no narration, so you learn little about Billie’s background.

But there are some personal moments, like when coming off the stage at the Coachella festival her biggest concern is about a row with her boyfriend.

The fly-on-the-wall convers-ations between the Eilish family often go on far too long and creep into the toe-curlingly pretentious.

But you can forgive Billie – she’s a very young and still often naive woman.

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