O. J.: Made in America Part 1 (2016)
**** (out of 4)
The first part of the five part series takes a look at the early days of O. J. Simpson as he became a star at USC before heading to the NFL where he would struggle at first before eventually going for 2,000 yards in one season. While all of this is going on on the field, off he's becoming more and more popular through various ads where he becomes a spokesman who can target both white and black America.
There have been countless documentaries done on O. J. Simpson and I think many wondered what the point of another one was. I've seen most of the films out there on Simpson and I too wondered if a seven plus hour documentary was needed. Well, this first part was somewhat of a revelation because it really makes you remember what O. J. was like before those 1994 events. The first part of this documentary is really remarkable because of how many great details are packed into the running time and it perfectly captures the mood of the country as well as what made O. J. so special that he could take it over.
Not only is the college and NFL career of O. J. covered but so are his Hollywood days where he really made an impact even when most were probably betting against him. The film also covers the Civil Rights movement where athletes like Jim Brown and Ali were willing to risk their career and money to take a stand while O. J. seemed to either not care or just didn't want to bother because he cared more about himself.
By the time this first episode is over you certainly have your brain re-charged on who O. J. was and you really can't wait to dig into the future episodes.
**** (out of 4)
The first part of the five part series takes a look at the early days of O. J. Simpson as he became a star at USC before heading to the NFL where he would struggle at first before eventually going for 2,000 yards in one season. While all of this is going on on the field, off he's becoming more and more popular through various ads where he becomes a spokesman who can target both white and black America.
There have been countless documentaries done on O. J. Simpson and I think many wondered what the point of another one was. I've seen most of the films out there on Simpson and I too wondered if a seven plus hour documentary was needed. Well, this first part was somewhat of a revelation because it really makes you remember what O. J. was like before those 1994 events. The first part of this documentary is really remarkable because of how many great details are packed into the running time and it perfectly captures the mood of the country as well as what made O. J. so special that he could take it over.
Not only is the college and NFL career of O. J. covered but so are his Hollywood days where he really made an impact even when most were probably betting against him. The film also covers the Civil Rights movement where athletes like Jim Brown and Ali were willing to risk their career and money to take a stand while O. J. seemed to either not care or just didn't want to bother because he cared more about himself.
By the time this first episode is over you certainly have your brain re-charged on who O. J. was and you really can't wait to dig into the future episodes.