O.J.: Made in America (2016)

A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.

Director:

Ezra Edelman

Stars:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mike Albanese, Muhammad Ali

Won 1 Oscar. Another 48 wins & 35 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	...	Self (archive footage) (as Lew Alcindor)
Mike Albanese	...	Self
Muhammad Ali	...	Self (archive footage)
Marcus Allen	...	Self (archive footage)
Bea Arthur	...	Self (archive footage)
F. Lee Bailey	...	Self
Danny Bakewell	...	Self
Paula Barbieri	...	Self (archive footage)
Rona Barrett	...	Self (archive footage)
Joe Bell	...	Self
Carrie Bess	...	Self
Tom Bradley	...	Self (archive footage)
Nicole Brown Simpson	...	Self (archive footage)
Jim Brown	...	Self
Tanya Brown	...	Self

Storyline

It is the defining cultural tale of modern America - a saga of race, celebrity, media, violence, and the criminal justice system. And two decades after its unforgettable climax, it continues to fascinate, polarize, and even, yes, develop new chapters. Now, the producers of ESPN's award-winning "30 for 30" have made it the subject of their first documentary-event and most ambitious project yet. From Peabody and Emmy-award winning director Ezra Edelman, it's "O.J.: Made in America," a 10-hour multi-part production coming summer of 2016. To most observers, it's a story that began the night Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were brutally murdered outside her Brentwood apartment. But as "O.J." lays bare, to truly grasp the significance of what happened not just that night, but the epic chronicle to follow, one has to travel back to a much different, much earlier origin point, at not the end, but the beginning of the 20th century, when African-Americans began migrating to California ...

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Plot Keywords:

celebrity | running back | brentwood | year 1973 | 1990s | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Crime | History

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

A few months after its Oscar win as Best Documentary, the Academy specifically outlawed "multi-part or limited series" to be included as nominees for the category in future editions. Though the director has said his intention was to release as it was, a full 7-hour project, and many other film festivals had presented in such way, ESPN showed it as a multi-part project in several parts which made possible for this rule change at the Oscars.

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Goofs

Robert Shapiro says in an interview with Barbara Walters that O.J. Simpson was found innocent. Simpson was found "not guilty", not "innocent".

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Quotes

Tom Lange: [describing the crime scene] When I got there, they had the scene pretty well secured. They had the entire block taped off, the front door was wide open, old music playing in the background, candles lit inside, it was a very violent confrontation: rage, two victims, blood everywhere. We found a glove, it was the left glove, and a blood trail, indicating the suspect has been wounded on the left side, so we're just getting into this, when we find out that this is apparently OJ Simpson and his "...

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Connections

References Clockers (1995)

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Soundtracks

Hollywood Swinging
Written by Robert Kool Bell (uncredited), Ronald Bell (uncredited), George Funky Brown (uncredited), Robert Spike Mickens (uncredited), Claydes Smith (uncredited), Dennis D.T. Thomas (uncredited) and Richard Westfield (uncredited)
Performed by Kool & The Gang

User Reviews

in-depth examination

ESPN tackles the subject of O.J. Simpson in an in-depth documentary start from his football career to his L.A. life to the trial and finally his conviction in a different case. After the compelling American Crime Story, this is a great way to provide the context. This is not simply a sports doc or a doc about the trial. This digs into the pervasive racism in the LAPD and the history of race conflicts in the area. It's also very in-depth in its examination of O.J.'s personality. This doc lays it all out very well. The trial itself is less in-depth but it's interesting in a couple of ways. There are two of the jurors as well as a harrowing explanation and pictures of the crime scene. They really bring out more reality out of the trial. This fills out everything surrounding the case. The ACS is a fun pseudo-reality drama. This doc is great at filling out the actual reality.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 2016 (Spain)

Also Known As:

O.J.: Egy amerikai hős

Company Credits

Production Co:

ESPN Films, Laylow Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

467 min (5 parts)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1