Magic and Bird (2010) (TV)

Director:

Ezra Edelman

Writers:

Charles Olivier
Aaron Cohen

Genre:

Documentary

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Magic Johnson	...	Himself
Larry Bird	...	Himself
Steve Springer	...	Himself - LA Times
Evelyn Johnson	...	Herself - Sister
George Fox	...	Himself - High School Coach
Bryant Gumbel	...	Himself
Rick Robey	...	Himself
Mark Bird	...	Himself
Jim Jones	...	Himself - High School Coach
Bill Russell	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jerry West	...	Himself (archive footage)
Charles Pierce	...	Himself - Boston Globe (as Charles P. Pierce)
Cedric 'Cornbread' Maxwell	...	Himself
Michael Cooper	...	Himself
Arsenio Hall	...	Himself
Pat Riley	...	Himself
Ted Shaker	...	Himself
Brent Musburger	...	Himself
Jerry Sichting	...	Himself
Chuck Klosterman
Dennis Rodman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Isaiah Thomas	...	Himself (archive footage)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dan Dyrek	...	Himself - Orthopedic Therapist
Kevin McHale	...	Himself
Charles Barkley	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Walter Cronkite	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jackie MacMullan	...	Jackie MacMullan
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chris Wallace	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dick Schaap	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ezra Edelman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Aaron Cohen
Charles Olivier

Produced by
Rick Bernstein	....	executive producer
Ezra Edelman	....	producer
Ross Greenburg	....	executive producer
Joe Lavine	....	senior producer
Rahul Rohatgi	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Gary Lionelli

Cinematography by
Samson Chan		(director of photography)
Rob Newman		(director of photography)
Thom Stukas		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Charles Olivier

Production Management
Holly Peterman	....	production manager

Art Department
Terri Finaro	....	graphics
Heather Steckley	....	graphics: desktop
Angela Tyler	....	graphics: desktop

Sound Department
Jason Fox	....	audio editor (as Jason N. Fox)

Camera and Electrical Department
Frank Baglino	....	additional interview camera
Mark Berg	....	additional interview camera
Tom Fahey	....	additional interview camera
Warren Jones	....	additional interview camera

Animation Department
Aaron Kent	....	animation

Editorial Department
Ultan Byrne	....	on-line editor
Phillip Chalmers	....	on-line editor

Other crew
Vinnie Cintolo	....	production support
Marquis Daisy	....	production associate
Tripp Dixon	....	creative director
George Fox	....	archive source
Suzanne Glickman	....	clearances
Arsenio Hall	....	source: photos
Gary Holland	....	source: photos
Christine Johnson	....	source: photos
Joseph Keyes	....	production secretary
Nicole Little	....	production support
Liev Schreiber	....	narrator
Susanna Schwartz	....	clearances
Max Segal	....	clearances
Florence Zissler	....	production support

Thanks
Mary Bahl	....	special thanks
Paul Beatty	....	special thanks
David Benner	....	special thanks
Linda Bird	....	special thanks
Perry Crowell	....	special thanks
Ice Cube	....	special thanks
Seth Davis	....	special thanks
Tommy Heinshohn	....	special thanks
Fred Heumann	....	special thanks
Jill Leone	....	special thanks
Brent Musburger	....	special thanks
Lon Rosen	....	special thanks
Dick Stockton	....	special thanks
Marla A. Watson	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• HBO Sports

Distributors

• Home Box Office (HBO) (2010) (USA) (TV)

Runtime:

USA:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

HBO Sports

Excellent Documentary

Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals (2010)

**** (out of 4)

Exceptional documentary covering the rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The film covers their first meeting in high school, their battle for the NCAA National Championship and then their battles in the NBA. Throughout their battles on the court we get to see what made the two men who they become, what different things they were doing off the court and finally what brought the two of them together as friends. If you're a sports fan then you already know this story but it's really amazing what this HBO documentary is able to do because it's just so excellent that it really makes you forget what you already know and it makes you feel as if you're hearing these stories for the first time. The documentary is just so much fun and so touching that you can't help but get caught up in the excitement in these two men. The documentary starts off talking about Johnson and Bird's early lives and we learn where they got their drive to try and become the greatest of their era. This strong passion forced both of them to see the other as the rival and it's just fascinating seeing two people with so much passion and fighting for the same thing. If you know the story then you know many of the stuff discussed here but it's still very entertaining. This includes their first shot at a friendship while shooting a commercial and then there's the story of Johnson's announcement that he's HIV positive. Sport fans are really going to be impressed with this documentary but the film is so strong that even those who don't know Bird and Magic will still find this entertaining. This is certainly one of the most energetic and touching documentaries that's out there and it's well worth watching.