AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE PEOPLE VS. O.J. SIMPSON is an utterly fascinating piece of work. It’s a very technical, clinical approach to what was the “trial of the century.” In many ways, it reminds me of the excellent film, ZODIAC, in that we’re driven headfirst into the details of crime that many films don’t delve into. Evidence gathering, investigations, interviews and general talk about crime and the criminals that commit those acts. The focus is show the details we don’t talk about. Let’s show how it affected everyone, even the people who weren’t involved. The real thrust of the piece is that, again like ZODIAC, we know the outcome of the story. The Zodiac Killer was never caught, but the case is still talked about to this day. Same with the famed trial: O.J Simpson is released with a ‘not guilty’ and the reverberating wounds of this trial still hit today. After all, would there have been two shows about the man in just the same year? I think not.
Though Ryan Murphy is the brain behind getting AMERICAN CRIME STORY on the air, his impact is felt as little as possible. This isn’t a flashy work comparable to AMERICAN HORROR STORY, GLEE, or NIP/TUCK. The pilot is directed in such a clinical, but beautiful way. It’s more a horror story than anything Murphy’s lens has conjured up. But doubling back, this show is about the actors and the script-work. It excels in every single conceivable way. You feel the pain, the horror of every single person involved in this case. And that’s down to the absolutely talented performers working in this show.
The show looks great on Blu-Ray, the muted colors and in some cases, popping colors, give the show a crystal clear and stunning look. Elsewhere, the Blu-Ray is lacking in features. There’s only two features to speak of, the cast and crew, and author of the source novel talking about the show. But that’s okay that there’s not much more material involved. Because frankly, the show speaks for itself. You don’t want to elaborate on something that works as well as it does, because it ruins the magic of the piece.
This is a bottom-line buy, because it’s a stellar retelling of an era where we all found ourselves captivated by a crime that we were not involved in personally, but one where we all felt a personal investment in the outcome.
AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE PEOPLE VS. O.J. SIMPSON can be purchased here!
Tags: American Crime Story, American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy, The People Vs. O.J. Simpson
No Comments