O.J.: Made in America

Watching a 7.5-hour long documentary about a case we all think we know may seem a daunting task at first, but trust me: you'll have a very hard time to resist the urge to binge watch the whole mini series once you've started. This documentary (which to me felt like a seven-and-a-half-hour feature film) is - in my humble opinion - one of the greatest achievements in American filmmaking and utterly captivating from the beginning to the end.

Where the equally brilliant but fictional series 'The Wire' took the topic of crime as a means to cast a look at all aspects and social layers of a whole city (Baltimore), 'O.J.: Made in America' examines the life and crimes of a single man (albeit one leading a very public life) to cast a very close look at American society as a whole, and the result is the most complete, in-depth analysis of the divided nation's collective psyche I have ever seen.

The portrait that emerges is so fascinating and so revealing and educational (and I hate to admit: thrillingly entertaining) that I believe this should be recommended viewing in schools and colleges across the country. And if you think: "Meh, I know that story, it's been all over the news - not interested", think again. Trust me, you do not know this story (or better: these stories). And there's a big chance you'll understand a great deal more about America once you've finished watching this masterpiece.

I know I'm dishing out superlatives here, but it's like director Ezra Edelman made the ultimate documentary - perhaps even the ultimate film. 'O.J.: Made in America' functions on so many levels; it's like watching a whole collection of films where the same protagonist inexplicably lives through a wide array of very different stories (which somehow STILL manage to end up as ONE cohesive tale). Just to give you an impression how rich this documentary is, I tried to count the stories and most dominant themes and found at least 10 (although you could probably find more):

1. There's the fascinating story of a poor kid from the ghetto rising through sheer will and enormous talent to become an American icon and superstar.

2. There's a great - and uplifting - sport story (especially for Football fans) that is usually the material of Hollywood films.

3. There's the very human drama of a genuine love story turning into an abusive relationship plagued by domestic violence.

4. There's the mesmerizing and shocking murder mystery;

5. the thrilling courtroom drama;

6. a razor-sharp satire about our and our media's unhealthy fixation on celebrities;

7. an unbelievable, surreal story of a nationwide man-hunt that gives Spielberg's 'Sugarland Express' a run for its money;

8. a close examination of the U.S. judicial system;

9. the story of the rise and the very, very steep fall of a man who had it all and lost everything;

10. an eye-opening story about race relations in America over the past 50 years

And as incredible as it may seem, those stories are all real.

The way Edelman managed to put them all together to forge this groundbreaking documentary can't be praised enough. A unique experience. 10 stars out of 10.

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

Favorite films: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Greetings from Lithuania.

"O.J.: Made in America" (2016) was without a doubt one of the very best documentaries I've ever seen, maybe even actually the best one - and i saw a few to say the least.

Although i do not live in America, i knew about some of these events before seen "O.J.: Made in America" (2016). It did not surprise me that at the end of this amazing documentary i end up almost seemingly seen a chapter from America's history, because it took for this series almost 8 hours to do it. What i was surprised about is that i couldn't imagine at the beginning that it was going to be done so convincingly great and crystal clear.

"O.J.: Made in America" features 5 episodes that all runs for almost 8 hours. But let this not scare you if kinda thinking to see it - i can't remember when the last time i was so absorb when watching a documentary.

"O.J" himself is shown here at center of events. Basically it is a biopic about his life, but at the same time if features events in Los Angeles that were surrounding him before and at the time of his (in)famous case. And all of this was shown in a very crystal clear fashion - i literally couldn't put this series down until its final frame.

Overall, "O.J.: Made in America" is magnificent look at the America's history. At the center of the event is "O.J." himself and its a fascinating look at the true American tragedy as one person puts it. Definitely one of the very, very best documentaries ever made.

A detailed view of the life of the infamous O.J. Simpson starting with his NFL carrier and his rise to an American icon to his downfall caused by one night in 1994. An excellent documentary series executed to perfection.

A blistering and engrossing documentary about the O.J. Simpson murder trial that explores how the sensational event became a symbol for the racial tension that was just waiting to boil over in Los Angeles in particular and the United States in general.

I was in college when the O.J. story happened, and I only half paid attention to it at the time, so it was fascinating for me to watch this film that seemed like a new version of an old story. The film makes no attempt to hide the filmmakers' opinion that the innocent verdict in the case was a gross miscarriage of justice, but I have to admit that, though I've always believed O.J. was guilty too, I would probably have acquitted him myself as a juror based on the dismal way the prosecution handled the case.

But the grossest outrage about the whole event -- I felt it at the time and I felt it again watching the movie -- is that the murders that made the whole trial necessary in the first place were forgotten amid the racial baiting and the defense's willingness to capitalize on the emotions of an angry and disenfranchised black community.

A seven-hour documentary may sound daunting at the beginning, but I challenge you not to binge watch it.

Winner of the 2016 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, a complete no brainer of a win.

Grade: A

This is one of the best documentaries i have ever seen. After recently watching the "not as good" "The People vs OJ Simpson" with John Travolta and Cuba Gooding Jr. This documentary was definitely a breath of fresh air.

The depth of it, the attention to all the details, the interviews, the massive amount of research that has gone into it. It is massive, to make this documentary is a tremendous undertaking, and is nothing but outstanding. It manages to keep you nailed to your seat for almost 8 hours, you sit and watch as you shake your head in disbelief. This documentary is nothing short of a masterpiece.

Even though most of us have heard about this story time and time again, and made up our minds years ago, the documentary gives you a new fresh look at things, you start from the very beginning. We follow OJ all the way back to when he started to become noticed as a good football player, and we follow him all the way to his fall from the top of the mountain.

The documentary does not take sides, which would be a terrible decision for any director to pursue, so after you have seen it, you have the ability to make up your own mind. Did OJ do it? Or did he not? I was never in doubt he was guilty of killing his wife and her friend, and this documentary didn't strengthen my opinion or weaken it, but it made me feel so sorry for Nicole Simpson and what she had been through, it is truly heartbreaking. I sit her and feel i wish i could go back in time and save her.

All the beatings, the abuse and the terror she had to endure through the years, she was the mother of his children, and was slaughtered as a pig, left to bleed out alongside her friend who were also bleeding out. And the guy who did it, got away free with murder. Horrible, just horrible.

The documentary does not filter this by censuring crime scene photos, no it shows them in close ups. To see what rage a person must have felt the moment he slices a woman's throat right in to her neck while she is still alive.

Now this is graphic, it is, but i think the documentary does it right by showing this to us. This is about the trial of the century, where a famous man faces the most famous justice system in the world. Will this justice system judge him based on the evidence?. Well most of us already know the outcome.

But why did this end the way it did?. There are details we have never seen or heard before, there are people that has not been able to speak out properly, this documentary has gathered key people from OJ's life all the way back to his childhood, and it builds an image of him, detailed, slowly, but never boring, it shows us who OJ really was, and how he became that way.

All the years after the murder of his wife, and OJ did nothing to find "the real killer". He was laughing and dancing, he had custody of his children, he lived a good life in a very nice house, and lived the dream as most others can't even dream of.

Watching all these clips of him, doing all this, and celebrating life as it was himself that was the god of it all, made me feel deeply sad for Nicole. If only someone had prevented this, if only someone could have done something.

I can never get those images of Nicole and Ron's crime scene photos out of my head. But i had to see them to feel how i do now.

Amazing documentary, highly recommended, both for those who know about the case and followed it, and for those who know nothing about it. See it, learn from it, and take in that this can actually happen.

My verdict is : 10/10