Jesse Owens

The American Experience: Jesse Owens (2012)

**** (out of 4)

Excellent episode in the series takes a look at Jesse Owens' career leading up to the 1936 Berlin Olympics and his heartbreak upon coming home with four gold medals. Those wanting to see a full documentary on Owens should probably look elsewhere because this here just covers the year before the Olympics and then the aftermath. With that said, those interested in this period of history are certainly going to be in for a treat because this documentary covers so much in its short running time. William C. Rhodes, Jeremy Schaap, William Baker and Guy Walters are among the people interviewed as are two of Owens' daughters as well as some people who saw Owens run in the Berlin Olympics. The documentary does a very good job at covering the four races that Owens would win gold in and it also does a very good job at covering how Hitler and the Nazi party became more and more outraged as he won. The fourth race was a controversial one as Owens wasn't supposed to be in it but two Jewish runners were pulled at the last moment. The second portion of the documentary covers Owens' return home when he realized that there just wasn't much need for a black runner. The racial issues are all covered as well as what the legend had to resort to in order to make money.