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Tough Guys (2017)
Directed by W.B. Zullo, Henry Roosevelt
Documentary · 1h 16m
10 years before the debut of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 1979, Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri dreamed up a contest pitting barroom bigmouths against wrestlers, martial artists, boxers, bouncers and brawlers, billed as no-holds-barred new type of competitive fighting. When the fights succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, they were swept up in a chain of events that ended in the first mixed-martial arts ban in the nation. “Tough Guys” chronicles the inception of Caliguri and Viola’s first bouts and the colorful, crazy cast of fighters who made them a hit as well as the politicians who brought it all crashing down. The film brings to life a moment when the national martial arts craze was building to a crescendo as the economies of Pennsylvania steel towns were plummeting to levels of unemployment never seen, breeding desperate men looking for a chance to prove their worth and make some money in the ring.
Cast
Crew
- Director
- W.B. Zullo, Henry Roosevelt
Details
- Release date
- 2017-09-15
- Runtime
- 1h 16m
- Genres
- Documentary
- Original language
- EN
- Countries
- United States of America
- Production
- Warrior Poets, Fictionless, MinusL Productions