{"id":582741,"date":"2023-07-14T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/goliath-review-showtimes-wilt-chamberlain-doc-entertains-but-demands-extra-depth\/"},"modified":"2023-07-14T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T16:00:00","slug":"goliath-review-showtimes-wilt-chamberlain-doc-entertains-but-demands-extra-depth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/goliath-review-showtimes-wilt-chamberlain-doc-entertains-but-demands-extra-depth\/","title":{"rendered":"#\u2018Goliath\u2019 Review: Showtime\u2019s Wilt Chamberlain Doc Entertains but Demands Extra Depth"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4e99546a8d6\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4e99546a8d6\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/goliath-review-showtimes-wilt-chamberlain-doc-entertains-but-demands-extra-depth\/#Goliath\" >Goliath<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    If the television universe had a better sense of poetry, Netflix\u2019s three-part Bill Russell documentary and Showtime\u2019s three-part Wilt Chamberlain documentary would have come out the same day. The Chamberlain doc would have gotten better ratings, but the Russell doc would have received better reviews, and then we would have discussed the relative merits of each type of success and come to the conclusion that judging either of them exclusively on that one measurement was reductive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Instead, Sam Pollard\u2019s <em>Bill Russell: Legend<\/em> premiered back in February, while Rob Ford and Christopher Dillon\u2019s <em>Goliath<\/em>, about Chamberlain, will air through the rest of July on Showtime and associated platforms. <\/p>\n<div class=\"review-summary-card\">\n<div class=\" lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-a-125 u-background-color-honey-light \">\n<div class=\"lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column u-width-275@tablet u-border-b-1@mobile-max u-border-r-1@tablet u-border-dotted lrv-u-margin-r-150 lrv-u-padding-r-150 lrv-u-margin-r-00@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-r-00@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-b-125@mobile-max lrv-u-margin-b-075@mobile-max\">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  lrv-u-font-family-primary u-font-size-34 u-font-size-38@desktop-xl lrv-u-line-height-small lrv-u-margin-b-125 \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Goliath\"><\/span>\n<p>                    Goliath     <\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>                    <span class=\"lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase lrv-u-font-family-accent lrv-u-font-weight-bold lrv-u-color-brand-primary lrv-u-font-size-16 lrv-u-display-block\">The Bottom Line<\/span><br \/>\n                    <span class=\"c-span  u-font-size-22@tablet u-font-style-italic lrv-u-font-family-secondary\"><\/p>\n<p>    Solidly informative, but not the Greatest of All Time.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                            <strong>Airdate: <\/strong>10 p.m. Sunday, July 16 (Showtime)<br \/><strong>Directors: <\/strong>Rob Ford and Christopher Dillon<br \/>\n            <span><br \/>\n                                            <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    While the two documentaries about contenders for basketball greatest-of-all-time status are both solidly made examinations of their complicated subjects, neither is even the recent GOAT when it comes to multi-parters about outspoken NBA centers. Steve James\u2019 Bill Walton <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> for ESPN holds that crown. But that doesn\u2019t mean <em>Goliath<\/em> isn\u2019t an entertaining if formally inconsistent attempt to give grounded human treatment to a man who is, more often than not, treated in un<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roachably epic terms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Wilt Chamberlain, as any casual hoops fan knows, is a legendary figure defined by numbers, fitting given how often he was accused during his career of being all about, well, numbers. The 100-point <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>. The season he averaged 50 points per game. And, yes, the 20,000 women he claimed to have bedded. Numbers are so crucial to \u201cThe Dipper\u201d \u2014 the nickname he preferred to the facile rhyme of \u201cThe Stilt\u201d \u2014 that he\u2019s even defined by other people\u2019s numbers, especially 11, the number of championships that Bill Russell\u2019s Celtics team won, several at the expense of squads fronted by Chamberlain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    From the outside, Chamberlain was judged as selfish \u2014 even in the one year he announced he was going to lead the league in assists and he did just that \u2014 and branded as a loser, though those criticisms were mostly leveled against him when it came time to make comparisons. Like, \u201cHere\u2019s why Wilt Chamberlain was actually only the second-best player of all-time\u201d or the fifth-best or the 10th-best.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    So was Wilt Chamberlain actually Goliath? And if so, does that make Russell, who anchored teams that sometimes included as many as eight Hall-of-Famers, somehow David? What sense does that make? When we try looking at the entirety of Chamberlain\u2019s life, rather than gawking at him as larger than life, does that make him better? Worse? Or just complicated?<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    The answer, of course, is an all-inclusive, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Ford and Dillon\u2019s film tracks Chamberlain\u2019s life from his time as one of 11 children growing up financially strained in Philadelphia, focusing on his youthful stutter and extravagant height. It traces his journey through a college career that ended in disappointment and a professional career in which he was part of a vanguard breaking down racial barriers and pushing for the kind of player autonomy that dominates today\u2019s game. At the same time, we learn about Wilt the brother, Wilt the teammate, Wilt the lover, Wilt the Nixon Republican, Wilt the female empowerment activist and more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    There\u2019s a lot of Wilt and, over three hours, the directors lean heavily into available footage of Chamberlain, going back to his college days. <em>Goliath<\/em> is worth checking out for that alone, the opportunity to be reminded that Chamberlain and his jump-off-the-screen athleticism would have been unique in any generation of the sport. This isn\u2019t one of those, \u201cWell, it was a different era and maybe today Wilt would be a role-player and nothing more\u201d situation. The guy jumped out of gyms in 1957 and he\u2019d jump out of gyms today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    When it comes to talking heads, <em>Goliath<\/em> suffers a tiny bit from the recent proliferation of multi-part sports docs. At this point, I\u2019ve now watched Jerry West tell basically the same stories in a half-dozen films since last year. Ditto Pat Riley. Ditto sportswriter Bob Ryan. Ditto USC academic \u2014 and my former grad school professor \u2014 Todd Boyd. It isn\u2019t surprising how many people appear in both this and the Bill Russell doc. They are inextricably linked, after all. But Chamberlain retired before Bill Walton\u2019s NBA career, and Goliath has an unexpected number of duplicate talking heads with ESPN\u2019s <em>The Luckiest Guy in the World<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    On the basketball side though, there still are some unique and distinctive interviewees, whether it\u2019s Tommy Kearns, who played for the North Carolina team that upset Wilt\u2019s Kansas Jayhawks in a legendary NCAA final, or teammates or rivals like Billy Cunningham or Rick Barry. Kevin Garnett, whose Content Cartel shingle produced the series, is also an excitable onscreen presence speaking about Chamberlain\u2019s long-term impact on the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Still, <em>Goliath<\/em> is at its best when it focuses on people who couldn\u2019t appear in any other basketball documentary, whether it\u2019s several of Chamberlain\u2019s still-fiery sisters or a number of women who either had dalliances with him or didn\u2019t have dalliances but want to make it clear how he treated women beyond his notorious reputation. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    It\u2019s very clear throughout that Chamberlain as a basketball star hasn\u2019t lacked for documentation. But when chronicling him as a person, there are still potent and untold stories, like an emotional memory from the son of a former teammate that leveled me toward the end of the third hour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    The documentary naturally suffers from the absence of Chamberlain\u2019s own voice, since he died back in 1999. The decision to have an AI program reading Wilt\u2019s own words in \u201chis\u201d voice is misjudged. This isn\u2019t like Netflix\u2019s recent Andy Warhol documentary, where you could imagine the recreation-obsessed artist being truly amused at being recreated himself. No, this is an affectless hollow shell of Chamberlain\u2019s voice, not exactly robotic, but definitely stuck in a single affectless cadence, exactly the opposite of what you\u2019d want from an effort at humanization. Maybe Garnett should have narrated? I don\u2019t know. But this was a bad solution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    The directors had a much better solution for how to handle sections of Chamberlain\u2019s life without available archival footage. Shadow puppetry by Manual Cinema Studios provides flavor far better than more conventional reenactments or animated sequences. I can\u2019t say I necessarily understand why shadow puppetry was the choice, but the whimsical silhouettes are funny and evocative enough that I wish they\u2019d been more thoroughly integrated into the documentary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    And, finally, I wish Ford and Dillon had been more committed to the intellectual approach provided by cognitive scientist Ben Taylor, who gets to do very superficial breakdowns of things like pace of play in order to put Chamberlain\u2019s statistics into context. Anybody who knows Taylor\u2019s work at all knows that he happily could have given detailed, nerdy breakdowns on some information that <em>Goliath<\/em> can only flit around. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Then again, I\u2019m sure I\u2019m in a very small minority of viewers who will get very briefly excited when the documentary begins discussing \u201cheuristics\u201d and then disappointed when, after defining the terminology, the concept is never mentioned again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    As I always say, a three-hour documentary series is either a feature that should have been further edited or a four-to-six hour documentary that should have offered greater depth. <em>Goliath<\/em> is satisfying enough as it goes, but maybe the legend of Wilt Chamberlain demanded that extra depth.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/plain\" class=\"optanon-category-C0004\">\n!function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\nif (f.fbq) return;\nn = f.fbq = function() {n.callMethod ? n.callMethod.apply(n, arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);};\nif (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\nn.push = n;\nn.loaded = !0;\nn.version = '2.0';\nn.queue = [];\nt = b.createElement(e);\nt.async = !0;\nt.src = v;\ns = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\ns.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);\n}(window, document, 'script', 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', '352999048212581');\nfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-reviews\/goliath-review-showtime-wilt-chamberlain-documentary-1235536049\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If the television universe had a better sense of poetry, Netflix\u2019s three-part Bill Russell documentary and Showtime\u2019s three-part Wilt Chamberlain documentary would have come out the same day. The Chamberlain doc would have gotten better ratings, but the Russell doc would have received better reviews, and then we would have discussed the relative merits of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":582742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Goliath_103_0004_R.jpg?w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[76503,144477,26939,1931,94432],"class_list":["post-582741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-goliath","tag-nba-sports","tag-showtime","tag-sports","tag-wilt-chamberlain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}