Michael Jordan to the Max [Blu-ray]

Director: Don Kempf, James D. Stern

Overview

Michael Jordan was the most famous, most honored, and probably the greatest professional basketball player of his generation, an athlete whose intelligence, charisma, and dazzling on-court skill helped earn his game a new level of popularity and won Jordan a record six NBA title rings. Michael Jordan to the Max, shot and initially released in the high-definition IMAX film format, takes a documentary look at Jordan's life and career, focusing primarily on the 1999 NBA playoffs, in which Jordan and the Chicago Bulls achieved their sixth professional championship under his leadership, shortly before announcing his final retirement from the court. Along the way, we're offered glimpses of Jordan's early days growing up in North Carolina, his rise to fame, and his successful off-court careers in business and advertising. Michael Jordan to the Max was financed in part by mvp.com, an internet company which Jordan helped to found.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/01/2011
UPC:	0031398132127
Original Release:	2000
Rating:	NR
Source:	LIONSGATE - 600000-AEC LGE
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	0:46:00
Sales rank:	21,766

Special Features

Commentary with co-director/producers James D. Stern and Don Kempf and producer Steve Kempf; Michael Jordan stats; 21-minute behind-the-scenes featurette; 2-minute Michael Jordan bullet time slam dunk featurette ; Trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Laurence Fishburne	Narrator,Narrator
Doug Collins	Actor
Bob Greene	Actor
Dean Smith	Actor
Deloris Jordan	Actor
Bill Murray	Actor
John Debney	Composer

Technical Credits

Jonathan Hock

Don Kempf	Director,Producer,Producer
James D. Stern	Director,Producer
Jonathan Hock	Screenwriter
Adam Silver	Executive Producer
Curtis Polk	Executive Producer
David Falk	Executive Producer
Gregg Winik	Executive Producer
Greg Smith	Sound/Sound Designer
Arya Shirazi	Sound Editor
Roderick Beltran	Sound Editor

Editorial Reviews

It's safe to see Michael Jordan as an icon: Thanks to his extraordinary talents and Nike's relentless marketing, the airborne image of the former Chicago Bulls guard is recognizable the world over. So it's fitting that Jordan -- and Jordan alone -- is the subject of an IMAX documentary, a medium previously reserved for the wonders of nature and space. Jordan's graceful, acrobatic feats of derring-do on the basketball court seem as natural on an IMAX screen as a herd of gazelles loping across the Serengeti. Michael Jordan to the Max is a brief, topical life story of the 6'-6" shooter, woven into the narrative of Jordan's final games during the four playoff series the Bulls endured on their way to the team's sixth NBA championship. It bears more than noting that the film was produced in part by NBA Entertainment, and Jordan's agent, David Falk, receives executive producer credit. Jordan was a brand, a product, and was fetishized by the media as such. But -- and this becomes very evident while watching this film -- there's a reason he was commodified: he was that good. Watching Jordan casually abuse quality players like Anthony Mason and Jeff Hornacek, players who can more than hold their own against the rest of the NBA, is evidence of his preternatural ability. Michael Jordan to the Max is far more visually pleasing than any of the previous highlight packages the NBA has stuffed together, and the tall, slow shots of Jordan in action have an ethereal elegance, none more so than the spectacle of Jordan shoving aside Utah's Bryan Russell and hitting the championship-winning jumper in Game 6 of the 1998 finals (be warned: audiences in Utah, New Jersey, Charlotte, and Indiana may want to keep away from this one). Michael Jordan certainly needs no further glorification, some might argue; but watching this reminds us of why we looked up (and up and up) to him in the first place.

Barnes & Noble - Pete Segall