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By: Mallika Sen
The story of O.J. Simpson’s life was inherently cinematic — what started as fodder for a triumphant sports biopic abruptly became something much darker and complex as Simpson slid from fame to infamy following the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
It’s little wonder then that Simpson’s many-chaptered life — his football career, acting forays, murder trial, acquittal, civil liability judgment, sports memorabilia robbery conviction and finally, his death Wednesday — has spawned a whole ecosystem of media.
Much of it rests firmly in the dubious realm of the lurid and sensational, from the widely panned horror movie that posits Brown Simpson was murdered by a serial killer to Simpson’s own hypothetical confessional book, “If I Did It.” The Simpson case is ubiquitous in pop culture, too, with direct portrayals in countless TV shows like “The Simpsons” (no relation), a name-check in Jay-Z’s “The Story of O.J.” and a direct throughline to the Kardashians’ reality television and business empires. Norman Mailer, the Pulitzer Prize winner convicted of stabbing his own wife, even adapted the case into a television movie, “American Tragedy.”
You won’t find any of those on this list. Here, instead, The Associated Press has collected 10 documentaries, television shows, books and podcasts exploring Simpson’s life and influence with key insights.
“O.J.: Made in America”
This list isn’t ordered, but if you only have the appetite for one piece of media, set aside roughly eight hours for this definitive documentary. Directed by Ezra Edelman for ESPN Films, the five-part project that aired on ABC and ESPN covers the so-called trial of the century in explicit detail, but it takes three parts just to get there. “O.J.: Made in America” contextualizes Simpson’s life, career and notoriety with race relations in the U.S. It became the longest movie to win an Oscar when it won best documentary in 2017, where Edelman dedicated his statuette to Brown Simpson, Goldman, their families and the victims of police brutality.
“O.J.: Made in America” is streaming on ESPN+ and is available for purchase on other online platforms.
“June 17th, 1994”
Another installment of ESPN Films’ “30 for 30,” the Brett Morgen-directed 2010 documentary clocks in much shorter, at less than an hour. The documentary takes its title from the date of the slow-speed Ford Bronco chase, but it doesn’t rehash it. Instead, “June 17th, 1994” captures that day through the lens of the other sports events happening that day, including Arnold Palmer’s final U.S. Open round and the start of the World Cup. In ranking it as the best “30 for 30” in 2014, Rolling Stone magazine said it shows “how viewers process television, and how the media struggles to make sense of events that have no clear outcome.”
“June 17th, 1994” is streaming on ESPN+.
“O.J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose”
Directed by George Romero — yes, he of the “Night of the Living Dead” films and a zombie movie godfather — this 1974 documentary follows Simpson as an up-and-coming Buffalo Bills running back. As the only entry on this list produced before Simpson’s descent into notoriety, it’s an untainted glimpse into Simpson’s early life and early fame.
“O.J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose” isn’t available to stream on traditional platforms, but can be found on the Internet Archive.
(AP)
