5 athlete documentaries worth watching soon

Films about athletes and their life stories are always inspiring and exciting, but the documentary genre makes the biggest impression: there are no made-up facts and scenery, and the script is written by life itself. Collected five pictures that tell about the lives of outstanding athletes.

“Queen of Basketball” (2021).

The Oscar-winning documentary short about Lucy Harris is produced by NBA stars Shaquille O’Neal and Stephen Curry.

Harris is one of the early stars of women’s basketball in the 1970s. She was the first woman to be selected in the draft, was named the season’s most valuable player three times, won Olympic silver in 1976 and brought her team to the championship title game three times.

After graduation, Lucy ended her playing career due to the lack of any women’s basketball competition. Afterward, she made attempts to become a coach, but they were unsuccessful.

“Because of the times she lived in, she, a black female athlete, was denied all opportunities. We want the world to know that she was the greatest. I want women, especially female athletes, to know about her,” O’Neal said.

“When We Were Kings” (1996).

A documentary that recounts the most difficult fight of Mohammed Ali vs. George Foreman, which took place on October 30, 1974 and was code-named “Rumble in the Jungle.”

In 1997, the film won a major documentary Oscar and an extremely positive reaction from audiences and professional film critics. In the movie you will not only pass with the athletes the way from the preparation to the fight itself, but also get closer to the personalities of the main characters.

“Make Us Dream” (2018).

The movie about the career of one of the most famous players of the English “Liverpool” Steven Gerrard tells about the formation of the midfielder.

You will see a first-person narrative and chronicle Steven’s career from the Liverpool academy to the very end of his career in 2016. In the picture there are a lot of reflections on the club, the functions of the captain and the fate of the athlete as a whole.

“Free Solo” (2018).

Another Oscar winner is a documentary about the legendary rock climber Alex Honnold.

It’s about the first man to conquer, without any help, a vertical 3,000-foot (415-meter) mountain known as “El Capitan” located in Yosemite National Park.

The film keeps you in suspense from beginning to end due to the realization that this is not a production or a prop set, but real wildlife and immense altitude.

“О. J: Made in America” (2016)

Oscar-winning documentary mini-series about American soccer star O.J. Simpson.

The famous soccer player was accused of murdering his ex-wife and her buddy. It was the most protracted and high-profile trial in the history of California, it lasted nine months. For such a crime, the state provides for the death penalty, but in this case the story took a completely different turn.