Tough Guys (2017) [NR]

Release Date:
September 15, 2017

Original Title:
Tough Guys

Genres:
Documentary

Production Companies:
Fictionless
MinusL Productions
Warrior Poets

Production Countries:
United States of America

Ratings / Certifications:
US: NR 

Runtime: 76

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.

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Director:
W.B. Zullo
Henry Roosevelt

Executive Producer:
Morgan Spurlock

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