“Boom! Boom! The World vs Boris Becker” (2023)
Brilliant documentary series from Alex Gibney.
Having long admired both the subject and the man behind the documentary making lens, this two part series was an easy sell and a quite remarkable one it is too.
Front and Centre Court
Filmed 3 years apart in 2019 and 2022 as well as mere days before Becker was sentenced to two and a half years in a UK prison for financial and tax irregularities, you get to see many faces and emotions from the man often tagged as “Britain’s Favourite German” after his back-to-back Wimbledon wins in 1985 and 1986 and third in 1989. Jovial, self-effacing and self-reflective through to an emotionally charged man on the brink of prison, you also get to re-visit his meteoric rise from junior tennis to World Number 1, Grand Slam titles on 3 of the 4 surfaces in the world (the red clay of France the exception) as well as his early battles with John McEnroe, the mid 1980’s and later tussles with Ivan Lendl and then the titanic struggles for tennis supremacy with Andre Agassi. 49 career titles. The regaining of the vaunted World Number 1 and eventual retirement and emotional farewell to his Wimbledon “home” and “where it all started” as a fresh faced 17 year old, no punches are pulled off the court as he admits to his foibles and pressures away from the game he loves as well as the loves of his life and especially so ex-wife Barbara Becker.
A documentarian supreme
Behind the lens you’ll find Alex Gibney and should you be here via a love for sport or tennis and be unaware of the previous works of Oscar winner Alex Gibney, can I draw your attention to just 10 documentaries I’ve seen from his canon of 46 documentary films or TV series the New York born filmmaker has created in 43 remarkable years behind the camera?
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)
Gonzo (2008)
My Trip to Al-Qaeda (2010)
We Steal Secrets (2013)
The Armstrong Lie (2013)
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015)
No Stone Unturned (2017)
The Forever Prisoner (2021)
5th Set Tie-Break
Boris Becker was released from prison after serving 8 months of his 2 and a half year sentence and deported back to his home country of Germany on 15th December 2022. Following his deportation, he is currently unable to reapply for entry to the UK for 10 years.
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