Michael Jordan to the Max

This forty-six-minute documentary was shot for IMAX, which is where the phrase in its title comes from. At its centre is the NBA finals series between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz and Michael Jordan's last season in Chicago. Alongside the on-court footage there are training sessions, the locker room and the preparations before games. Laurence Fishburne narrates. The film was made with Jordan's own participation, and that sets its limit: the account is built entirely on admiration, and the contested parts of his career or anything outside basketball do not enter. Against that, court footage shot in large format offers a closeness television could not give at the time. Phil Jackson and Bob Costas are among those speaking. Its short length and its focus on a single series bring it closer to a record of a performance than to a biography.