Jesse Owens (American Experience)

This article is about the documentary. For the 2016 Jesse Owens biographical film, see Race (2016 film).

Jesse Owens is a 2012 American documentary television film produced and distributed by PBS. It serves as the seventh episode of season 24 of American Experience.

"Jesse Owens"
American Experience episode
Episode no.	Season 24 Episode 7
Directed by	Laurens Grant
Written by	Stanley Nelson Jr.
Original release date	May 1, 2012 (2012-05-01)
Running time	52 minutes
Guest appearance
Andre Braugher (narrator)
Episode chronology
List of episodes

Summary

It centers on American track and field athlete Jesse Owens and his participation in the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Production and release

PBS produced the film for American Experience.^[1][2] The film serves as a profile of Owens and includes experts weighing in on his accomplishments.^[1][3]

Laurens Grant directed the film.^[4] Stanley Nelson, who frequently collaborates with PBS wrote the film.^[4] Andre Braugher narrates the film.^[5]

PBS both broadcast the film and released it on DVD on May 1, 2012.^[5]

Reception

Mike Hale of The New York Times wrote positively of the film, though noted that it "suffers from its brevity," adding "There's not much time to get below the surface, and Owens's troubled post-Olympic life gets particularly quick treatment." Hale added that what Grant does put on screen "is unimpeachable."^[4]

Accolades

Grant, Nelson and Andrew Horn won a News & Documentary Emmy Award for their research on this documentary.^[6][7]