An Oscar nominee for Best Documentary, director Ezra Edelman's ESPN-aired five-part miniseries chronicles the life of Orenthal James Simpson, the famous ‘80s Buffalo Bills running back who became a movie star before appearing in the trial of the century after he was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in 1994. Early episodes trace Simpson's troubled childhood in San Francisco (his parents separated when he was young, and the documentary reveals that Simpson's father was gay) along with his meteoric rise on the football field as a running back, first in college at USC and later as a pro in Buffalo. Simpson married Brown, his second wife, in 1985, but the couple eventually divorced in 1992, following multiple incidents of domestic abuse in which Brown was beaten. O.J.: Made in America does an excellent job of placing the Simpson trial within the context of racial divisions in America, particularly in the Los Angeles area, with segments on the 1965 Watts riots and the 1991 Rodney King beating and subsequent trial in which the white police officers caught beating King mercilessly on tape were acquitted, sparking civil unrest. Many in the black community saw the Simpson trial as payback—Simpson's highly questionable verdict of innocence vs. the exoneration of guilty LAPD racist cops. The documentary combines archival home video, news, movie, and trial footage, with interviews of Simpson's friends (including filmmaker Peter Hyams), trial lawyers (Marcia Clark and F. Lee Bailey), Brown and Goldman family members, and authors such as Jeffrey Toobin (The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson). The final episode looks at Simpson's life after the criminal trial, first as a social pariah who was found guilty in a follow-up civil trial, then as a party animal living a life of debauchery, and finally back in court on bizarre charges of kidnapping and burglary after he tried to recover lost personal memorabilia in a Vegas hotel room in 2007—a case that resulted in a whopping prison sentence that was widely seen as retributive justice. Telling a powerful, tragic, and distinctly American story, this VRT Notable Videos selection is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)
O.J.: Made in America
(2016) 5 discs. 463 min. Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $39.98. Team Marketing (avail. from most distributors). Volume 32, Issue 2
O.J.: Made in America
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