Tough Guys (2017)
76 min
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.
- Release date
- September 15, 2017
- Country of origin
- United States
Trailer
Cast
- Amber Banaszewski as Waitress
- Jacquet Bazemore as Self - Referee
- Jack Bodell as Self - Referee
- Ann Butler as Self - Pittsburgh Press Reporter
- Frank Caliguri as Self
- Dann Carr as Self - Ringman
- Jamie Crowder as Danny Mad Dog Moyak
- Jimmy Cvetic as Self
- Anthony DeNunzio as Frank Caliguri
- Richard DiBiase as Bar Patron
Crew
- Henry Roosevelt · Director
- W.B. Zullo · Director
- Craig DiBiase · Producer
- Matt Kelly · Composer
- Dan Krysa · Composer
- Brad Grimm · Cinematographer
- Brock Bodell · Editor
- Jill DiBiase · Editor
- Henry Roosevelt · Editor
- Joel Thomas 'JT' Camp · Production designer